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NANCY GRACE

Misty Croslin Reportedly Flunks Another Polygraph

Aired March 26, 2010 - 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. The last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who takes to the airwaves, claiming she`s innocent. But even in one brief interview, she can`t keep her story straight, including a 180 on a lie detector she flunked. Little Haleigh`s own father, Ronald Cummings, and baby-sitter- turned-stepmother Misty Croslin both handcuffed, arrested, booked. Charges, drug trafficking.

Bombshell tonight. Reports from behind bars Croslin writes a letter detailing what she claims happened the night Haleigh disappears. But who has the letter? And will it solve what happened to Haleigh? This as Croslin`s brother and fellow inmate, Tommy Croslin, says he wants a polygraph. But he wants the test done privately, not by police. Why? And tonight, breaking news on sitter and stepmother Misty Croslin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: I`m telling you, man, everybody here is, like, Famous Misty Croslin (INAUDIBLE)

I woke up, and she was gone!

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: I come home from work and my child was not there!

How the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) can you let my daughter get stole, (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!

MISTY CROSLIN: Me being in the jail has nothing to do with Haleigh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The investigators has had an effect on her.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: I see a smile!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And right now, they are investigating a letter she has sent to a family member telling what she says she knows about that night with Haleigh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bottom line, you don`t know where Haleigh is.

MISTY CROSLIN: Bottom line.

That`s what they think, I`m going to break? There`s nothing to break me on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The letter has gone to a family member.

MISTY CROSLIN: Well, today Art said Misty holds the key.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The family member turned it over to investigators.

MISTY CROSLIN: I didn`t do anything to with little girl! I loved her like she`s my own!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are trying to see what details in the letter they can confirm, what they can`t.

MISTY CROSLIN: I cry all the time about Haleigh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meanwhile, the attorney for Croslin`s brother, Tommy Croslin, is trying to set up a poly for his client.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: I said, I can`t help you find nobody. I don`t know where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tommy Croslin says he has nothing to do with Haleigh`s disappearance and wants to clear his name.

TOMMY CROSLIN: Told them everything I know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s talking to her sister-in-law, and she says she`s going to say what she knows...

MISTY CROSLIN: It`s going to hurt two people.

CHELSEA CROSLIN, MISTY`S SISTER-IN-LAW: That we care about?

MISTY CROSLIN: Kind of. One, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She tells her mother that she`s told her attorney, that he knows.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We really would not care who it implicates.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is it? She won`t say.

LISA CROSLIN: You write her, she`ll continue writing you.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know. I`m going to write her back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Reports from behind bars misty Croslin writes and sends a letter detailing what happened the night little Haleigh disappears.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: If we could find Haleigh, we`d all -- it`d be better for everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) go stand up, baby.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know. I`ve been -- I`ve been -- I sit and wonder every day.

I just woke up and our back door was wide open, and we can`t find my daughter.

Thinking, just trying to go back.

I see the back door open, and I go in the room and she`s gone!

Just thinking if there`s anything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How the bed be made if (INAUDIBLE)

MISTY CROSLIN: I do. Every day.

They`re going to now. They`re going to know. I`ve just got to wait until I can -- my lawyer is ready.

And I just -- it`s not, Dad. There`s nothing!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This as we learn Misty Croslin`s brother, Tommy Croslin, through his lawyer is trying to set up a polygraph test to clear his name.

TOMMY CROSLIN: I`ve got nothing to say to them because they`re a bunch of damn liars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tommy has said repeatedly on the tape, I don`t know anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She wants to involve them in the situation so that they will corroborate her story.

MISTY CROSLIN: It`s just that, you know, I`ve got to do what I`ve got to do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s not going to crack.

LISA CROSLIN: Did you tell them what you know?

MISTY CROSLIN: My lawyer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s protecting herself.

LISA CROSLIN: Well, what`s he saying?

MISTY CROSLIN: I can`t really say. He`s comfortable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`d rather go to jail as a drug dealer than a baby killer.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m not going to be in this jail forever, Ma.

LISA CROSLIN: I know, baby.

MISTY CROSLIN: They`re not going to keep me locked up forever, I`m telling you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And tonight, out of Satsuma, Florida, breaking news. Straight out to investigative journalist Art Harris. What about it, Art?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Nancy, I can tell you that on Artharris.com, we`re reporting exclusively Misty Croslin has flunked a secret police polygraph she`s taken behind bars. Police have asked her what happened that night. They have been trying to corroborate what she has written in several letters, one to her sister-in-law, Chelsea, another to her father, that describes what happened that night. They quizzed her on it under polygraph conditions with a veteran polygraph examiner, and she flunked miserably. Those are the words of the examiner.

GRACE: Art Harris, what do you believe, after all of your undercover work, is in the letter?

HARRIS: Well, Nancy, I can tell you that Chelsea Croslin, sister-in- law, described to me that Misty told her cousin -- a cousin from Tennessee and her brother, Tommy, came over that night to steal a gun Ronald had been bragging about he had in his closet. They show up. The gun wasn`t there. Misty said, you know, He must have taken it somewhere else. So Tommy said, I`m out of here. Cousin Joe got mad and took Haleigh. That is the story she`s claiming in these letters to family members, Nancy.

GRACE: OK, Art, she`s claiming that she was awake and cognizant and knows the cousin took the baby?

HARRIS: She says -- has said on several occasions, in addition to the letter, that she remembers waking up and seeing cousin Joe with Haleigh. Now, whether that can be corroborated is a big question. He`s not been charged. He says he had nothing to do with it. He`s not in jail, like she is and her brother, Tommy.

GRACE: To Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, In Session, who`s been on the case from the very beginning. Weigh in Jean. Is this even possible, this new story from Misty Croslin?

JEAN CASAREZ, IN SESSION: Well, let me weigh in in regard to Tommy. Tommy`s attorney has said that he wants to take a polygraph. So if he was involved in all of that, as she seems to say, but her polygraph doesn`t say that`s the truth, then I think Tommy does need to take a polygraph to see where he stands on that particular issue.

GRACE: Now, Jean, take me back. Wasn`t it Tommy Croslin, which is her brother, that says he went to the home that night, the night Haleigh goes missing, bams on the door between 10:00 and 10:30, waits and waits and waits, nobody ever comes to the door? Wasn`t that him?

CASAREZ: He`s said it repeatedly. He has said that story repeatedly. Now he is voluntarily wanting to take a polygraph. He`s never taken one before, Nancy, that we know of.

GRACE: Elizabeth, please cue up the video of Marlaina Schiavo taking us through the home.

Jean Casarez, I`d like to get Tommy Croslin under polygraph to ask him about that night that he says he went there and bammed and bammed and bammed and beat and beat and beat on the door and she never came to the door, Misty Croslin, nobody ever came. Many people say she wasn`t there.

I want to go to you, Marlaina Schiavo. You have been in the home. Isn`t it true that where she was sleeping, Misty Croslin was sleeping, there`s no way she would have been able to ignore her brother bamming on the front door?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: There`s no possible way that could happen because where she was sleeping to -- in relation to the front door was only about 10 feet away. So if someone was banging, they would have heard it.

But what is really strange about this whole thing with Tommy is that when he was arrested and he gave this information to investigators, they never issued a polygraph and they never cleared the story one way or another with him. So now his attorney says it`s time for him to tell the story about what happened that night, Nancy.

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Out to Laurie in Michigan. Hi, Laurie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I just wanted to tell you, God bless you for -- as hard as this is for you, you are bringing such an awareness for all these children. I have a grandson that I have guardianship of, and I believe because of you and the awareness that you brought about these children, we were able to get the guardianship. He was traumatized, in a bad situation, and he is happily living with us and undergoing counseling. And it`s because of you. I think you saved his life.

GRACE: Oh, gosh!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But the question I have for you is, can she be hypnotized? And if she can, can that be held up in court?

GRACE: First of all, Laurie, I don`t deserve those kind words.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You do.

GRACE: But thank you. You`re the one that`s saving your grandchild`s life.

I want to go on that issue of hypnosis -- isn`t it true, Art Harris, that Misty Croslin said at one juncture she would agree to being put under hypnosis, but yet either she walked out of the hypnotist or she refused to be, wouldn`t let herself be put under?

HARRIS: Nancy, that`s right. With Tim Miller of Texas Equusearch, she volunteered to do that, and it apparently did not work.

GRACE: OK, Liz, do you have the video and the sound of Marlaina taking us through the home? Here`s the video. Tell me what you`re seeing, Marlaina.

SCHIAVO: Well, Nancy, this is the master bathroom, OK? This is where -- this is the master bedroom where Misty was sleeping with little Haleigh. And when she claims she woke up at 3:00 AM and she went to the bathroom -- which the video is going towards the opposite end of the house, or the trailer- and to go to the bathroom, notices that the light is on. And this is when the scramble starts to -- you know, where is Haleigh? She noticed Haleigh isn`t there. And the question still remains as to why she didn`t go to the bathroom that was actually in the bedroom itself.

GRACE: So Marlaina, how far is her bed, Misty Croslin`s bed, from the front door?

SCHIAVO: From the front door, it`s about 10 feet. Now, the back door where she said the door was propped open with a cinderblock, that was about 16 feet, Nancy.

GRACE: Joining me right now exclusively, a very special guest, James Werter. He is the attorney for Tommy Croslin. And he says he will schedule an independent polygraph. James Werter, thank you for being with us.

JAMES WERTER, ATTORNEY FOR TOMMY CROSLIN: Thank you, Nancy. Good evening.

GRACE: Mr. Werter, Tommy Croslin insists he came to the home the evening Haleigh goes missing. He places himself at the home where the child disappeared. But he says he bammed on the door repeatedly, nobody ever came, and he left.

WERTER: Nancy, you have to understand when that statement was given, he had been arrested for that grand theft charge and he was in for a week waiting bond, and he was interviewed every day until he finally gave that statement. That`s why we want a polygraph to clear the air on the timeline.

GRACE: Well, don`t you think that Misty Croslin would have told this story before now, that she woke up and saw cousin Joe and her brother standing over Haleigh?

WERTER: I can`t really speculate as to anything that Misty says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: You know, people are saying I`m not -- I don`t think about Haleigh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought all along that she had something to do with it.

MISTY CROSLIN: Everybody in this block knows I think about her all the time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And now this kind of just proves it.

MISTY CROSLIN: I got all my food. Oh, my God!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was the last one to see our daughter.

MISTY CROSLIN: It was like Christmas last night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: Get me out now.

LISA CROSLIN: When I leave here, I`m going to go by Lindsey`s and get some pictures for you.

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes.

LISA CROSLIN: Of Haleigh and Junior.

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes. I want one of Haleigh and Junior and one of Ronald.

LISA CROSLIN: All right. I`ll get them all to you.

MISTY CROSLIN: I mean, I still love him, Mama.

LISA CROSLIN: Huh?

MISTY CROSLIN: I still love him.

LISA CROSLIN: I know you do, baby.

MISTY CROSLIN: I wish I had powers, man. I would be, like, Poof, out of this place.

You can ask everybody in the cellblock right here, right now. Everybody in this block knows that I think about her all the time, that I talk about her all the time.

In this letter that I`m writing you, I write -- like, it`s to you and Dad, but there`s parts in it that`s for you and parts of it`s in there for Dad.

I cry all the time about Haleigh, pray all the time about Haleigh.

LISA CROSLIN: Yes, I know.

MISTY CROSLIN: So they can all kiss my ass.

I want to start a letter tonight for you guys, start writing it tonight. Going to write Timmy, as soon as I get his address. Can send him a thing. I`m going to write Nanny and -- you and Mom and Nanny and Timmy.

I`m not no drug dealer. I don`t -- you know, I`m nothing like that. They can kiss my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Out to Andie in Arkansas. Hi, Andie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. We love you here in Arkansas. Thank you for what you do.

GRACE: Well, thank you very much. And thank you for calling in. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I just wanted to make a quick comment about Misty Croslin.

GRACE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has anyone ever considered that maybe she`s not talking because she herself did something to Haleigh? I mean, everybody knows that it`s very hard to blend families, and especially with a 17-year- old that`s very immature and knows nothing about mothering.

And I would bet that little Lucy probably has your husband just wrapped around her little finger because that`s what daddies do with daughters. And I think that she was so jealous of Ronald`s relationship with this child, and maybe even moreso because she had medical problems and needed a lot of attention. So I think that she herself, if she didn`t do it, she certainly had somebody to do it for her. And I think her motive was jealousy.

GRACE: Well, Andie in Arkansas, that to me is the obvious answer. I agree with you as to why she`s not talking. And there`s no way she has sat behind bars all this time and endured all these police interviews and questioning to cover for cousin Joe and her brother Tommy. The first thing she did when she got behind bars is rat out Tommy Croslin on an alleged burglary. So why would she cover for him if she were to wake up in the middle of the night and see him standing over Haleigh? I don`t see it.

But to Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, author of "Dealbreakers," what about Andie`s question?

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: I think she`s totally right because when you listen to Misty Croslin, she doesn`t reminisce about Haleigh. She doesn`t talk about feeding her, cooking for her, pushing her on a swing. She doesn`t say to her mom, Mom, do you remember when she was walking to school or when I read that little book to her? She has no empathy towards and no attachment to this little girl and no memories. It`s like someone pressed the erase button, which to me is an indicator of guilt.

GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight out of Orlando, a specialist in Florida law, Mark Nejame, Eleanor Odom, prosecutor, Atlanta, Renee Rockwell, defense attorney, Atlanta, Peter Odom, defense attorney, Atlanta.

And I want to go first to Mark Nejame. Weigh in, Mark.

MARK NEJAME, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi. Good evening, Nancy. You know, when it comes to Misty, just really, who knows? The reality of it is she hasn`t been truthful about anything...

GRACE: Wait, wait, wait. Mark Nejame, look, you`ve got a great reputation. You`ve got to give me more than "Who knows." And let me remind you that with us tonight is the attorney for Tommy Croslin, James Werter out of Jacksonville, and he`s willing to put his client strapped up to a poly. So do you really believe, Mark Nejame, that Misty Croslin has sat on this story all this time and not told police?

NEJAME: No. No. I mean, Misty`s out for Misty. Misty failed a polygraph in my office. She`s apparently failed another polygraph. Her story`s changed like the wind changes. I think that Tommy`s lawyer`s doing the right thing. I think he needs to get a polygraph out there. I think, though, that he needs to go ahead and make sure that the questions are the right questions and not just ones that are created that still leave ambiguity out there. He`s got to be real clear about what they`re asking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: Did you read the papers today?

I wish that they would have took me instead of her.

The people that are involved, that the cops think that`s involved, is locked up.

They go out and look for that person, maybe they -- they would be -- have the answer.

Then it`s the father of Haleigh Cummings and the stepmother of...

They`re trying to get all the answers from me that I don`t have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: They didn`t try to question you anymore or anything at all?

TOMMY CROSLIN: No. I ain`t got nothing to say to them jokers. Let them cover over and talk -- talking to me. I`m going to tell them to (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Leave me alone. I ain`t got nothing to say to you lying people.

TIMMY CROSLIN: Yes.

TOMMY CROSLIN: Crooked-ass cops.

TIMMY CROSLIN: Yes. Yes. It`s (EXPLETIVE DELETED), dude.

TOMMY CROSLIN: If I knew something, you`d know a long time ago. Leave me alone. Talk to my lawyer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Right. It`s always the cops` fault when they catch you on video selling dope.

I want to go straight back out to our lawyers, but first to Art Harris, investigative journalist, who broke the story just a few moments ago regarding yet another failed polygraph. What are the circumstances surrounding the poly?

HARRIS: Nancy, I can tell you that investigators have been trying to get Misty to take a new poly for quite a while. She was too sick one night to take it. But finally, on February 26th, 5:30 PM, they sent for her from her cell, the St. John`s County jail, several investigators, and one of the top polygraph operators in Florida, a woman who works part-time for the -- a nearby sheriff`s department, set up for it, and they sent for her.

She left her cell, went to the administration building. And they were very careful to spend at least an hour going over questions and what they were going to cover so that they could have control -- you know, control of questions and they knew what they were talking about and it would be a valid polygraph. She then went over this story about Misty claiming Tommy and cousin Joe showed up and Joe took the baby. They went over it again and again. Investigators...

GRACE: Where -- go ahead, Art.

HARRIS: Yes, investigators were waiting in another room. They were so excited, Nancy. They thought this might be the turning point. They had a tidbit. They had Misty telling these morsels that they wanted to believe, and they were trying to parse them out to see what parts of these stories might be verifiable through the poly. That would allow them to take it to the next step and squeeze somebody else, maybe.

Suddenly, the polygraph operator at 8:30 PM goes into the other room where everyone is waiting and has to deliver the news. Miserably, she flunked.

GRACE: That she flunked. When you say miserably, how badly did she flunk?

HARRIS: Every -- every question, I`m told, there was deception and they could not verify anything. And it is so frustrating. These investigators have worked so hard for so long. One has even mused that -- wonders could this be someone who can`t pass a polygraph, but could she be telling the truth?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: I have a drug problem.

CHELSEA CROSLIN: The problem is you`re not even a drug addict.

MISTY CROSLIN: Some black guy just jumped in my car and stole my whole purse!

I am. I smoke marijuana.

He threw me out the car and had a gun and said he was going to shoot me!

CHELSEA CROSLIN: You got caught up in the mix.

LISA CROSLIN: I know I got caught up, but I just realized...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S MOTHER: I talked to your lawyer today.

MISTY CROSLIN, RONALD CUMMING`S EX-WIFE, LAST SEEN HALEIGH: Yes. We don`t know what they`re going to do. And he says that you guys have to stop talking to Leonard, too. As long as you guys (INAUDIBLE) -- you know, we all need to stop talking to him, too.

L. CROSLIN: I know. I`m not calling him no more. I don`t want it to hurt you.

M. CROSLIN: Yes. Because everybody y`all talk to that`s just hurting me.

L. CROSLIN: Yes.

M. CROSLIN: No newspapers. Don`t talk to the newspaper articles. Don`t talk about anything. Nothing to nobody.

Well, today Art said Misty holds the key.

L. CROSLIN: I know. It`s what it says in this one, too.

FLORA HOLLERS, MISTY CROSLIN`S GRANDMOTHER: Just hold your head up high. You ain`t got a damn thing to hide.

M. CROSLIN: Exactly. I`m not -- it`s hard in here. Of course it`s hard. But there`s nothing I can do. I`ve just got to live by every day and make the best of it, I guess. I`m doing OK.

TIMMY CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S BROTHER: Nancy Grace, she`s like, I mean, no, I do not sit there and think, you know, talk about Haleigh 24/7, but every night before I go to bed I say my prayers and Haleigh`s in my prayers every night.

M. CROSLIN: Haleigh`s always on my mind 24/7. She`s always on my mind. Just because I`m not talking about her doesn`t mean she`s not. You know?

T. CROSLIN: Yes, yes. It`s always like in the back of your head. You know, but you don`t talk about it all the --

M. CROSLIN: No, you can`t talk about it all the time. It will be -- you know? You`ll go crazy. I talk about her a lot, though.

I talk about her a lot because I mean, it`s just It feels better when I talk about her. So -- and Nancy Grace can say whatever she wants but we don`t care about her. Everybody in this jail knows that I talk about Haleigh a lot. Every article that we get in the newspaper I keep it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HOST: We are taking your calls. Out to Charlene, Indiana. Hi, Charlene.

CHARLENE, CALLER FROM INDIANA: Hi. And it`s a pleasure for you to take my question.

GRACE: Thank you for calling.

CHARLENE: Thank you so much for truly, truly being a victims` advocate.

GRACE: Thank you, Charlene.

CHARLENE: Misty Croslin, she seems to be such a bragger and wants people to think she`s so tough and so smart. I wonder if anyone has questioned any of the other inmates to see if maybe she has confided or bragged about Haleigh, you know, since she has to keep up this appearance.

GRACE: That`s a good question, Charlene in Indiana. Before I would go to trial on a major case I would always go to the cell block -- sometimes more than one cell block --to find out if the defendant had been speaking. They normally do.

Jean Casarez, what do you know?

JEAN CASAREZ, CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": Well, we know what she has said in her jailhouse tapes. She has said that she talks to everybody about how much she misses Haleigh and how much she thinks about Haleigh.

But you know, I think Charlene brings up a great point because in the Casey Anthony case we just found out through a prosecution`s motion that Casey had written 258 pages to another inmate, and no one would have believed that.

GRACE: To Bethany Marshall -- Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, author of "Dealbreakers," joining us tonight out of L.A.

Dr. Bethany, she does go on and on about how everybody knows I talk about Haleigh. But I and our staff have combed over hundreds -- it feels like hours of hours of her yakking and there`s not one time where she says, you know, that night everything was just fine. We went to bed. I did the laundry. That`s all I can tell them.

Or, you know, I took Haleigh to school that day or, you know, I was thinking about last Christmas and how happy she was.

Nothing. We have never once heard a recollection about Haleigh.

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": You`re right. And if we knew nothing about Haleigh, we wouldn`t know anything from listening to her. There`s not one story or one recollection.

But what we do know about Misty is she is manipulative. That`s why she wrote this letter that then they had to give her a poly on to see if the letter was true. So this is yet one more example of her being manipulative, is that she gets on the phone talking to her brother and she starts to say oh, yes, I talk about Haleigh all the time.

She simply doesn`t.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Mark Nejame, Florida expert, joining us out of Orlando. Eleanor Odom, Renee Rockwell, Peter Odom. And attorney for Tommy Croslin joining us tonight out of Jacksonville, Florida, James Werter.

First to you, Eleanor Odom, polygraphs, hypnosis. Can they come into court?

ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: It depends. A polygraph can if there`s a stipulation by both the state and the defense --

GRACE: An agreement.

E. ODOM: An agreement. Exactly. And then it could come into evidence. But hypnotists and hypnosis, that has not been allowed in courts as of yet.

GRACE: And when she says stipulate, Renee Rockwell, typically the way it`s done is that before you take the polygraph you agree -- we`re going to do a poly, this is who`s going to give it -- and you don`t know the results when you agree up front.

We`re going to let it come into court. Right?

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That`s right. But you don`t know the results, Nancy. I wouldn`t let one of my clients take a polygraph unless I had gotten a polygraph previously by a private polygrapher.

And I`ll remind you of the case, Nancy, that you and I had together when you were tracking to crack the red rapist case in Atlanta. You remember that.

GRACE: Very well.

ROCKWELL: We had a witness. It was my client. You weren`t letting him get on the stand until you polygraphed him.

GRACE: That`s right.

ROCKWELL: Because it`s an investigative tool. The polygraph didn`t come in. But you wanted to know if he was telling the truth. But basically, you never see that unless it`s agreed to ahead of time. And most lawyers won`t do it. Most defense attorneys.

GRACE: Well, of course they won`t, Renee. Because most defense attorneys` clients did it. No offense to you, defense attorneys, but come on, that`s the deal.

Look, the police can hardly keep up with all the crime out there. How many thousands of criminals get away every day?

So you know, spare me.

What about it, Peter Odom? Hypnosis, polygraphs come into evidence?

PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, no court voluntarily allows polygraphs in without a stipulation. What that tells you is this. They`re scientifically unreliable.

However, people`s reactions to a polygraph are very important. When Tommy Croslin says hook me up, I`ll take a polygraph, that tells me something about what he has to say. Because it shows that there`s a perception out there that polygraphs are scientifically reliable.

If someone says I want to take that test, that adds a bit of credibility to what we think he might have said.

GRACE: It certainly does. And I`ve got a question for you, Peter Odom, defense attorney, Atlanta. It`s a simple yes-no.

In your practice as a lawyer in any of the jurisdictions in which you`ve practiced, have you ever directed for anyone to get a polygraph?

P. ODOM: Yes.

GRACE: OK. So much for you claiming it`s not scientific. Back to --

P. ODOM: But not because it was reliable. Because it was to satisfy, placate a prosecutor that believed so much in polygraph tests.

GRACE: And you went along with it.

P. ODOM: Sometimes you`ve got to do that, Nancy.

GRACE: Now I`m going to try to go back to James Werter if Peter Odom -- is that OK with you? I take it that it is.

James Werter, attorney for Tommy Croslin. He`s planning to hook Tommy Croslin up to an independent poly.

What about a police poly?

JAMES WERTER, ATTORNEY FOR TOMMY CROSLIN, PLANS TO SCHEDULE INDEPENDENT POLYGRAPH FOR TOMMY CROSLIN: Well, I was looking. It was actually my suggestion. And we were looking for a more objective, non-biased person.

This is being organized by the private investigator Steve Brown. And he is an 11-year FBI veteran. I trust him completely. I will be present.

And we both sat with Tommy, and what we call down here have a come to Jesus talk with him, and we expressed that he is not going to beat a polygraph. It is a good investigative tool. But I agree that it is not a precise instrument.

GRACE: Everyone, as we go to break, we are taking your calls live. With us tonight, not only Mark Nejame out of Florida, but James Werter, the attorney for Tommy Croslin. This is Misty Croslin`s brother. She`s already ratted him out on a burglary.

As we go to break, happy birthday to a Florida friend, Holly Helan McCormick. Devoted mother of two. Loves spending time with her family and friends. There are her kids, Grace and Cole. Husband Robert.

What a beautiful family.

And happy birthday to Georgia friend, Kim. Olympic silver medalist 400- meter hurdles. President of Body by Batton Sports Performance Company. Now, that`s a resume.

Happy birthday, Kim.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. CROSLIN: I dipped my bread in the chicken soup. It was so disgusting the chicken noodle soup today was disgusting. It seemed like it was old, like six, five years ago.

We just ate like about 30 minutes ago.

L. CROSLIN: What did you eat?

M. CROSLIN: Taco salad.

L. CROSLIN: Taco salad?

M. CROSLIN: Yes.

L. CROSLIN: Was it good?

M. CROSLIN: It was alright. I ate it all.

(LAUGHTER)

L. CROSLIN: It was alright then.

M. CROSLIN: I mixed the beans with it. Man, we had some nasty mystery meat tonight. I didn`t eat it.

L. CROSLIN: What?

M. CROSLIN: It`s called mystery meat. And I ate the pudding on the plate and drank my drink and I had green beans, but I ain`t eating no green beans without no garlic or no salt.

L. CROSLIN: No. They don`t give you salt there?

M. CROSLIN: No.

L. CROSLIN: What are they feeding you all tonight?

M. CROSLIN: We have some like meatball thing and noodles. It wasn`t that bad. I ate it. I ate all of it.

L. CROSLIN: That`s funny because Misty said you got her a bunch of HoneyBuns.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S BROTHER: Yes.

L. CROSLIN: But your sister L. CROSLIN: got more chips though.

TOMMY CROSLIN: Yes. Me, too. I knew she was going to get a bunch of potato chips. Misty is a chip eater.

L. CROSLIN: I know. That`s what I told her.

TOMMY CROSLIN: She loaded up on them Doritos.

M. CROSLIN: Oh my god, they had nasty --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: What`s with the whining about the food? I had a half of a chicken sandwich. That`s it.

Eleanor, what did you have?

E. ODOM: Let`s see, I think I didn`t have dinner tonight, Nancy.

GRACE: And the whining and complaining behind bars, it`s incessant. Let`s see. Tonight Miss Croslin is having chicken and rice with gravy. Sounds good. Peas, bread, pudding, and fruit juice. Fortified with vitamin C.

Now, that`s better than anybody on this panel got tonight. But yet the whining. The complaining. About the food. Her mattress. She`s got a private room with two beds in it. Both of them are awful. It`s like "The Princess and the Pea."

She hates what they play on the television. They pipe in movies for them. She hates them, too.

I want to go out to Dr. Robert Cartwright, an expert in his field, joining us out of Atlanta.

Dr. Cartwright, these polygraphs, lie detectors, they`re based on a physical reaction. How does it work medically?

DR. ROBERT C. CARTWRIGHT, M.D., PEDIATRICIAN AND ALLERGIST: Well, certainly, when you have stress, which would indicate perhaps deception, it creates changes in your physical makeup.

Your heart rate can change, blood pressure can change. Your, you know, EKG in terms of your heart waves can change. So that`s really what they`re looking for.

GRACE: And Dr. Cartwright, there`s no real way that I know of that you can control those involuntary bodily reactions.

CARTWRIGHT: Not certainly for an average person, somebody in Misty Croslin`s position. I don`t think that would be possible. Now, apparently, there are people in, you know, CIA, FBI, those types of people, that have been trained to break those. But for routine people, no.

GRACE: Of course I guess you could dope yourself up on sedatives so you`d be so zonked out you`d just be flat. But I would be afraid I would screw up the answers if I had taken some kind of medication. Would that work?

CARTWRIGHT: Well, you know, certainly there is a history of drug use here. So she may be better on drugs. Who knows? But it really is an unknown there.

GRACE: Hey. Hey. Hey, Cartwright. Don`t give her any ideas. OK?

To Leonard Padilla, bounty hunter, who offered to bond Croslin out of jail, joining us out of Sacramento via Skype.

Hello, Leonard Padilla. Leonard, let me ask you a question.

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER, OFFERED TO BOND MISTY CROSLIN OUT OF JAIL: How are you doing, Nancy?

GRACE: I`m fine. Tommy Croslin reportedly looking for somebody to pay for his polygraph. What do you make of his declaring he wants a polygraph as it relates to Misty Croslin`s handwritten letter that he was in the home standing over Haleigh the night she disappeared?

PADILLA: I had several discussions with Tommy as well as family members, and I said I`d be willing to help out. But it has to be somebody that I would refer him to. And that would be Jack Tramarko.

I`ve contacted Jack Tramarko. Jack Tramarko contacted his wife and also the investigator on the case. And the other stipulation was that it would be a public polygraph, it would not be a polygraph where the defense attorney administers it and then if he doesn`t like the results it doesn`t get released.

Now that`s where I stand with Tommy as far as a polygraph. And I believe that Tramarko`s on board with me as far as doing it.

GRACE: Yes, Tramarko`s got an excellent reputation as a polygrapher.

I want to go now to Bill Majeski, former NYPD, now with Majeski Associates, a licensed polygraph examiner.

Bill, what do you make of all this?

BILL MAJESKI, FMR. NYPD DETECTIVE, MAJESKI ASSOCIATES, INC.: OK. Just to clear up a couple of issues here. One, you know, a polygraph, it relies on psycho-physiological response.

What you do is you`re asking the person a question. No surprise questions. All the questions are prepared beforehand. They`re gone over beforehand. And the subject is instructed to answer those questions with a simple yes or simple no answer.

So now the process as you ask the question, that person thinks about the response to that question, then responds to it, and then physiologically reacts and those are then transmitted to a chart and those charts are read and evaluated.

In terms of why they want this person to take a polygraph test, contrary stories. What they`re trying to do is they`re trying to get him away from the scene. His initial statements were that he was at the scene when the child disappeared. So the lawyer wants to say OK, let him take a polygraph to prove that he was not there, nowhere near the area when it occurred.

But there are a lot of other things that can be done in terms of the -- you know, the interviewing process with all of these people. You can ask the same question over and over again. But unless you ask it a different way, you`re not going to get a different answer.

GRACE: To Art Harris. And Elizabeth, if you would take that video in full of Haleigh. This is on Christmas morning. I remember when Ronald Cummings -- could you take down the fonts and the banners and all that?

I want to see Haleigh. I remember Ronald Cummings sitting watching this with tears in his eyes.

Weigh in, Art Harris. Where do we go?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, ARTHARRIS.COM, INTERVIEWED MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S NEW STEPMOM: Well, Nancy, you know, he was -- he has been so distraught publicly that, you know, he has been also ruled out. So you have to come back, it always comes back to Misty.

Where they go from here, they`re frustrated.

GRACE: Everyone, it`s time now for "CNN Heroes."

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1003/26/ng.01.html

[Sassycat]

http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1003/31/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Misty and Ronald Plead Not Guilty to Drug Charges

Aired March 31, 2010 - 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. Last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who takes to the airwaves, claiming she`s innocent. But even in one brief interview, she can`t keep her story straight, including a 180 on a lie detector she flunked. Little Haleigh`s own father, Ronald Cummings, and baby-sitter- turned-stepmother Misty Croslin both handcuffed, arrested, booked. Charges, drug trafficking.

Tonight, we obtain more secretly recorded jailhouse tapes, hours of Croslin yakking to Mommy, Daddy, you name it, all caught on video. As police comb these jailhouse tapes for clues as to Haleigh`s whereabouts, where is the 5-year-old little girl?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news in the case of missing 5-year-old Florida girl Haleigh Cummings. Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and former stepmom-slash-baby-sitter Misty Croslin were in court today, both claiming they`re not guilty of trafficking thousands of dollars worth of prescription painkillers. Undercover video allegedly captures Cummings and Croslin selling drugs to an undercover police officer over five times during a one-month period. Cummings and Croslin remain in jail on high bonds, as reports emerge the investigation into Haleigh`s disappearance heats up, with sources telling investigative journalist Art Harris that Misty Croslin has failed another police poly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: I want to go straight out to Marlaina Schiavo, our producer on the story from the very, very beginning.

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, both Ronald and Misty were in court today. Both pled not guilty to the drug trafficking charges that they are facing. Now, we know because we`ve showed on this show that we have seen both Ronald and Misty in the drug sting operation that the police caught on tape. So we`re not really sure how this is all going to play out. Ronald has a new court date in May. Misty will be back in court in June.

And also, Ronald`s cousin, who was also seen on the surveillance tape handling the drugs, pled no contest. So that will be interesting. She`ll be sentenced at the end of April. And we`re going to see how this all plays out in about a month.

GRACE: Straight out to Art Harris, investigative journalist at Artharris.com. You told me last week that there was going to be a polygraph of Tommy Croslin. It hasn`t happened. Why?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: That`s right, Nancy.

GRACE: Did he back out of it? Is he afraid?

HARRIS: Nancy, they want the right circumstances for this polygraph. They want the right polygrapher. And so they are in the process of trying to find someone they trust, someone -- not the police yet, but someone who Tommy will feel comfortable with. It will take them about two weeks, I`m told, and cost about...

GRACE: But why should it take two weeks? Because you`ve got Joe Trimarco, one of the most well-known polygraphers in the country, who says he`ll do it. Padilla is willing to set it up. What`s the problem? You`ve got Bill Majeski, licensed polygrapher, who`s on the show tonight. What`s the hold-up?

HARRIS: Problem is, you`ve got -- well, you`ve got to get Tommy out of jail first, and he`s got a big bond he`s got to put up. So that`s one problem.

GRACE: So you`ve got Jack Trimarco and Majeski standing by, and what did you say the problem was?

HARRIS: Well, Tommy`s in jail. If they wanted to fly down there, they would have to work that out with the authorities and give it to them in the administration building, where they gave it to Misty.

GRACE: "They"? "They" would be the defense team. And the defense team speaks for Tommy Croslin. Let`s go back to the significance, why we want a poly on Tommy Croslin. What can you tell me about the letter written by baby-sitter-turned-stepmother Misty Croslin, the last person to see Haleigh alive?

HARRIS: Nancy, I can tell you that I spoke to the people who got that letter, two family members, Chelsea Croslin and father Hank Croslin. It says -- it claims that Tommy was at the trailer that last night with a cousin named Joe from Tennessee and that they were there to steal a gun Ronald had been bragging about. It wasn`t there. Tommy said, I`m going home. Cousin Joe, according to Misty in her letter, took Haleigh and left. He was mad.

GRACE: So she`s saying after all this time that Tommy and Joe were there and that cousin Joe leaves with the baby. OK. What about her polygraph she just flunked? This would be, I think, her third or fourth poly. She`s flunked a stress test, a voice stress test. And she would not -- either walked out or would not submit to a hypnotist.

HARRIS: That`s right, Nancy. Well, this polygraph she flunked miserably, the first police polygraph since she`s put the story out, I broke on Artharris.com. And this is a problem. She has flunked it. That means that her story about Tommy and cousin Joe and everything else is -- comes into question. So Tommy wants to clear his name. The family is concerned. They don`t know who to believe yet. And they are eager for Tommy to pass a polygraph so that they can believe at least in him.

GRACE: Weigh in, Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, In Session.

JEAN CASAREZ, IN SESSION: Here`s the reality, Nancy, all right? Tommy has said that he went to the trailer that night, he knocked on the door repeatedly, nobody answered. Now his attorney, James Werter, has said that he wants a polygraph taken so we`ll know the truth as to whether he was really there at the trailer that night. So it`s ironic, Nancy, to give your client a polygraph to show he actually lied to authorities, but at the same time, you`re clearing him from being at the scene the night Haleigh went missing.

GRACE: To Bill Majeski, former NYPD detective, now Majeski Associates, Inc., out of New York, licensed polygrapher. How hard is it to set up a polygraph under these circumstances?

BILL MAJESKI, LICENSED POLYGRAPHER: It`s not that difficult to set it up. It`s just a question of coordinating schedules. Like, Jack is in California, I`m in New York and New Jersey. Depending on where you would have to go, sometimes the client comes to you. In this particular case, the examiner would have to go to the client.

The other issue with polygraph is that the right questions have to be asked in any polygraph examination. You hear about people passing tests, failing tests, but then you want to take a look at the questions. What questions did they fail? What questions, you know, were they truthful about? So clearly, the questions are a very key ingredient in the overall process.

But in terms of setting it up, it shouldn`t take, you know, that long. It depends on the urgency of the situation.

GRACE: I want to go to Dr. Robert Cartwright, pediatrician, joining us out of Atlanta. Haleigh suffered from Turner syndrome. I know she was out of school a lot. I know that it stunts your growth somewhat. She was a tiny little girl. You have other related health problems with Turner syndrome. What do you know about it?

DR. ROBERT CARTWRIGHT, PEDIATRICIAN: Turner syndrome is a genetic syndrome that involves the loss of one of the X chromosomes. Normal females have two X chromosomes. With Turner`s, you have just one. It`s associated with a variety of defects, cardiac defects. They are typically short. They can have endocrinological problems with their hormones, so -- and oftentimes, they`re incapable of having children. But it`s a widely encompassing syndrome.

GRACE: You know, Dr. Bethany Marshall, based on what Dr. Cartwright is telling us -- Bethany psychoanalyst, author of "Dealbreakers," joining us out of LA. You know, a caller called in wondering if the father, Ronald Cummings, didn`t give Haleigh a lot of attention -- she`s his only daughter, and she was also ill with Turner syndrome -- how that would have affected the baby-sitter-turned-stepmom, Misty Croslin?

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: Well, certainly, what we could guess is this little girl had a lot of special needs, and if Misty was already jealous of the little girl or wanted Ronald all to herself, that would engender a lot of hostility towards this little girl.

But you just played some tape of Misty`s mother saying that she was going to bring some pictures of Junior and Haleigh to the jail. And Misty says, Oh, Ronald, Ronald, too. She dismisses the pictures of the little ones, and she wants the pictures of Ronald`s instead. So that really tells you where her loyalties lie. It`s with him, not with the children.

GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight, felony prosecutor Eleanor Odom -- she has handled many death penalty prosecutions -- Renee Rockwell, veteran defense attorney out of Atlanta, and also out of Atlanta, Peter Odom, defense attorney.

You know, Renee, I`m sure you`ll say this has nothing to do with anything, but I`ve got here a lot of her jailhouse orders. In one month last month, she spent $400 -- you know, that could be rent somewhere -- on junk food alone. She whines incessantly about her food, her bed, the TV, the movies they get to watch behind bars. Candy, lotion, chicken sticks, strawberry fruits -- I mean, it goes on and on -- $400 worth of this!

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, thank God that can`t be used against her in any kind of trial. But all this jailhouse stuff, all these tapes...

GRACE: She certainly hasn`t lost her appetite about little Haleigh gone missing!

ROCKWELL: No, but have you looked at her, Nancy? It`s almost painful. When you see her on these tapes talking, going on and on, first of all, as a defense attorney, that just makes you cringe. But look at how young and immature she is. She may never be...

GRACE: You know what?

ROCKWELL: ... implicated...

GRACE: You know what, Renee? You know what, Renee? Yes, go ahead and look at her, but then look down at the bottom of your monitor right now, Renee, at little Haleigh, the most innocent. She wasn`t out selling dope or high as a kite or drunk that night. This was an unprotected, defenseless child, and she by all accounts is most likely dead. And the reality is, either Misty Croslin had a hand in her death, knows about her death, or was so negligent in taking care of this child, the baby is dead. And we don`t even know where her body is.

Peter Odom, of course, Renee Rockwell says it doesn`t matter. But it matters to me...

PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy...

GRACE: ... that Miss Thing has not lost her appetite whatsoever behind bars!

PETER ODOM: If I`m her defense attorney, I`m going to take that list that you just read and I`m going to show to the jury. I`m going to say, This is a girl that might be 19 or 20, but she acts like a 10-year-old and she has the mentality of a 10-year-old. To me, I think it`s pathetic.

GRACE: OK. Fine.

PETER ODOM: I think it`s pathetic.

GRACE: Fine. Say she`s got the mentality of a 10-year-old. Liz...

PETER ODOM: And you can hear that -- you can hear that when she talks.

GRACE: Really?

PETER ODOM: You can hear it in her phone calls.

GRACE: Because -- Liz, if you could cue up that pinhole video from inside a cop car, where she is selling hundreds of Oxycontin. You know, Eleanor Odom, I hardly think a 10-year-old could have pulled that off.

ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: No, Nancy. And I just think of the lie after lie that comes out of her mouth. And you`re right, she is responsible. She`s criminally responsible. And I`m wondering why the cops maybe haven`t charged her with criminal neglect of a child for the night Haleigh went missing. I wonder what the cops maybe know that they`re holding back.

GRACE: What would your theory be, Eleanor?

ELEANOR ODOM: Well, the fact that the child went missing under her care. She should have been more aware of the child.

GRACE: So again, Peter Odom says that she has the mind of a 10-year- old. We`re about to play you her inside a police car organizing, orchestrating a major sale.

What about it, Dr. Bethany Marshall, the mind of a 10-year-old?

MARSHALL: No. I mean, I think what we`re seeing is anti-social personality disorder. I mean, when you think of that, you think of reckless disregard and lack of concern for the rights and the safety of others. And we`ve seen that in all this tape.

She tries to sell her own brother up the river by pinning it on him. That`s reckless disregard. She has no memories of this little girl. That`s reckless disregard. She says she doesn`t remember what`s going on that night. Let`s say she was on opiates. That`s reckless disregard.

And I`ll tell you what. With opiates, you don`t black out, you nod out, which means you nod out and then you come back and forth, in and out of consciousness, which would imply she would remember some of what went on that evening, if not all of it.

GRACE: Take a listen to Misty Croslin orchestrating a dope deal with an undercover cop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, you want to -- you want to hop in?

MISTY CROSLIN: Baby, get in. Get in. Who is that?

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: Someone unlock the door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

MISTY CROSLIN: I know that`s somebody. I know her. I just want to know who she is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve got them. I`ve got them 10 in little (INAUDIBLE) baggies. If you want to count them out real quick, we`ll make sure they`re all (EXPLETIVE DELETED) there.

CUMMINGS: I`m positive they are, man.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s a hundred there, there should be a hundred there.

MISTY CROSLIN: ... 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 in there.

CUMMINGS: There`s 100 in here. They`re all in 10-packs. There`s 100.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There should be -- should be 10 in each one. So just whenever...

CUMMINGS: It should be -- it`s going to take a couple days for you to get rid of 200 of them, now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I mean -- I mean, I`ve -- I mean, I`ve got - - I`ve got two weeks to play with so, I mean, you know, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) two weeks, whatever.

CUMMINGS: OK. I`ll get it for you. No problem. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) two weeks, I can make the money to pay for them and eat it myself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

MISTY CROSLIN: Uh-oh!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Hey, do me a favor...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground! Get on down! Get on down! Get on down!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New details emerge in the case of missing 5-year- old Florida girl Haleigh Cummings. Haleigh`s former stepmom-slash-baby- sitter Misty Croslin, who police say is the key to finding Haleigh, in court today facing over 100 years in jail for allegedly trafficking hundreds of illegal narcotics. Croslin`s ex-husband, Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, also appeared before the judge today on similar charges. He has pled not guilty. But what does this mean for the Haleigh investigation? Police say they continue to follow all leads that come in and will not stop the investigation until Haleigh is found.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: First to Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer. What more, Ellie?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, Art Harris is reporting that Misty Croslin has taken yet another polygraph test. Now, apparently, according to Art, what Misty was polygraphed about is this letter that she wrote. In this letter, she claims that the night that Haleigh went missing, her brother Tommy, as well as her cousin Joe Overstreet, were at the house.

Now, law enforcement very interested to know whether or not this latest account of what happened that night is accurate, and Art is reporting from his sources that that is why they took her out of her cell, into a private conference room. They had actually flown in a polygraph examiner, the top female polygraph examiner in Florida. They asked her to ask specific questions about this letter to try to suss out whether or not there is actually something that would implicate either her brother, Tommy, or cousin Joe.

Now, remember, Nancy, back at the very beginning, we heard that Tommy Croslin might have been over that night. He says he was there, he knocked on the door no, one answered. We`d also heard about this cousin, Joe Overstreet, who lives in Tennessee. Now, police told us way back at the beginning that both cousin Joe and brother Tommy had been questioned at length, that they weren`t considered suspects. But now this new letter sheds some light on what Misty is saying happened that night.

GRACE: On secretly recorded jailhouse tapes, we see Misty Croslin whining, complaining about everything from food to TV and movies that are piped in for her at the jail. She complains about her mattress, all of her ailments. And tonight, the video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m burning up.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: You`re hot?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes. I just got out of the shower, like, because my hair was all messy and greasy and (EXPLETIVE DELETED). So I took a shower, and then I had to do all that running.

LISA CROSLIN: You had to run?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes, I had to run up and down the stairs carrying my stuff. I got all my food. Oh, my God! It was like Christmas last night.

LISA CROSLIN: Was it? Did you get a lot of stuff?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes, I got some (EXPLETIVE DELETED) munchies, man.

(LAUGHTER)

LISA CROSLIN: Did you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA CROSLIN: You get up and eat breakfast at 4:00?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes.

LISA CROSLIN: What did you eat?

MISTY CROSLIN: Cereal and -- plain cereal and bread and jelly.

LISA CROSLIN: Do y`all get milk with every meal?

MISTY CROSLIN: Just with breakfast. I hate it here.

LISA CROSLIN: Huh?

MISTY CROSLIN: I said I hate it here!

LISA CROSLIN: I know you do, baby. Don`t cry, please! Just stay strong. Have faith in your lawyers.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m trying!

LISA CROSLIN: Just hang in there, baby. I want you out just as bad as you want out of that nasty place.

MISTY CROSLIN: I get so bored!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and former stepmom-slash-baby-sitter, Misty Croslin, were in court today, both claiming they are not guilty of trafficking thousands of dollars worth of prescription painkillers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If convicted on all six drug charges, Misty could be looking at a 150-year prison sentence. Lawyers say if she knows anything about what happened to Haleigh, now might be a good time to talk.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`ve been the one, the main focus. They just need to move on and look for the right person.

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!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: After her arrest on multiple drug trafficking charges, and all the time Haleigh Cummings has been missing, knowing full well cameras are rolling, Misty Croslin finally brings herself to ask for a photo of Haleigh. In a stunning twist, Croslin admits she, quote, "can`t bring Haleigh home."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA CROSLIN: I don`t know, sis.

MISTY CROSLIN: It`s crazy.

LISA CROSLIN: Yes, it`s crazy. About drove me up the wall and down the wall.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know I cried.

LISA CROSLIN: I do, too.

MISTY CROSLIN: I mean, I prayed, and that`s all I can do. And you know, people are saying I`m not -- I don`t think about Haleigh. You can ask everybody in this cellblock right here, right now. Everybody in this block knows that I think about her all the time, that I talk about her all the time.

LISA CROSLIN: I know, sis. They had me and you talking...

MISTY CROSLIN: And I cry. I cry all the time about Haleigh, pray all the time about Haleigh.

LISA CROSLIN: Yes, I know.

MISTY CROSLIN: So they can all kiss my ass, and I hope they put that on -- and yes, they`re going to put the visitation from the other day of me saying all that stuff. But you know, I was upset. It was the day -- and I just wanted out of here.

LISA CROSLIN: I know.

MISTY CROSLIN: But now, you know, I know my lawyer is doing his job and he`s doing the best that he can for me. And I appreciate that.

Can you send me a picture of Junior and Haleigh and one of Ronald and me at our wedding or something?

LISA CROSLIN: What I`ll do, I`ll take the collage you have and take the pictures off of it.

MISTY CROSLIN: Well, I only want one picture of Junior.

LISA CROSLIN: OK.

MISTY CROSLIN: And a picture of Haleigh. And one picture -- I don`t know if I really want one of Ronald.

LISA CROSLIN: I don`t know...

MISTY CROSLIN: Just send me one of Ronald and Junior together.

LISA CROSLIN: We called Leonard last night, and he`s going to call us back sometime today.

MISTY CROSLIN: So what is he saying?

LISA CROSLIN: Huh?

MISTY CROSLIN: What is he saying?

LISA CROSLIN: He says the only way he`s going to get you out is if you help him find out what happened to Haleigh.

MISTY CROSLIN: So how am I going to do that if he don`t get me out?

LISA CROSLIN: Huh?

MISTY CROSLIN: How am I going to do that if he don`t help me get out?

LISA CROSLIN: I know, baby. He knows that, and he`s going to call us back sometime today, said.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) tried to call him?

LISA CROSLIN: Have you tried to call him?

MISTY CROSLIN: No.

LISA CROSLIN: Let me give you his phone number.

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t have a pencil.

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: Misty, I don`t know if it`s a good idea because I don`t want you to lose your lawyer.

MISTY CROSLIN: All right. What are they saying, though?

HARRIS: He says that the only way he`s going to get you out is if you tell him where Haleigh is, bring Haleigh home.

MISTY CROSLIN: I can`t just bring her home, you know?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: When we come back, it`s all about Misty Croslin as she whines to Mommy and Daddy, focusing only on herself, more of their jailhouse visits caught on tape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Breaking news in the case of missing 5-year- old Florida girl Haleigh Cummings. Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and former stepmom/babysitter Misty Croslin were in court today, both claiming they are not guilty of trafficking thousands of dollars` worth of prescription painkillers.

Undercover video allegedly captures Cummings and Croslin selling drugs to an undercover police officer over five times during a one-month period.

Cummings and Croslin remain in jail on high bonds as reports emerge the investigation into Haleigh`s disappearance heats up with sources telling investigative journalist Art Harris that Misty Croslin has failed another police poly.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: I want to go straight out to Marlaina Schiavo, our producer on the story from the very, very beginning.

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: It was breaking news today, Nancy. With Ronald and Misty, they were in court today. They pled not guilty to the drug trafficking charges.

Now we know that Ronald is facing five counts. Misty is facing eight. They are both facing very high bonds. They are not getting out anytime soon.

Now we know that Ronald will be back in court on May 13th and Misty will be back in court on June 3rd. And the defense -- Misty`s defense attorney is waiting on discovery. But we already have seen much of what they have, which is the surveillance video of the drug -- the drug deals going down.

So it will be interesting to see what that defense is going to be in the future. And also, now that Misty knows she`s not getting out of jail, Nancy, we are waiting to see if she will talk and tell us more about what happened the night Haleigh went missing.

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: And another thing, Nancy. We were recently hearing that Misty Croslin has been given yet another police polygraph. Art Harris is reporting this at artharris.com.

He says that law enforcement took Misty out of her cell, gave her another polygraph test, which he`s hearing from his sources she failed.

Now by my count this is about the fourth polygraph test that Misty Croslin has taken. She was given one by the FBI at the outset of the case. Also given one by Putnam County. Now neither of those agencies ever revealed what those results were.

Misty was also given a private polygraph, administered by someone on the behalf of Texas EquuSearch. Now according to Texas EquuSearch founder Tim Miller, Misty Croslin failed that polygraph miserably.

She was also given a private layered voice analysis test, which again showed deception, according to the administrator, and she was attempted to get -- or they attempted to give Misty Croslin some sort of hypnosis to see if that might help her recall the events the night Haleigh went missing.

However, that hypnosis was apparently unsuccessful. So this latest polygraph just adds to the mystery about what happened that night and what Misty Croslin may know.

MISTY CROSLIN-CUMMINGS, RONALD CUMMING`S WIFE, LAST SEEN HALEIGH: I`m turning by the school. All right. All right. Bye.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is 190 right there.

MISTY CROSLIN: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over here?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes, go this way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, like I told her earlier, I`ll just give y`all a call when I`m done out there and start heading this way and we`ll see what`s up at that point.

MISTY CROSLIN: All right.

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF MISSING 5-YR-OLD HALEIGH CUMMINGS: Yes, if I can`t. I mean, I don`t know if you do roxies or whatever, but --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst. Bethany, these shots clearly show, this is undercover police video from a pinhole camera. It clearly shows she -- Misty Croslin understands what she`s doing. She is not, as defense attorney Peter Odom says, got the mind of a 10-year-old.

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": No. And you notice the chain smoking, the lip licking, the scratching of her nose. That means she`s high on opiate. That`s -- opiates. That`s a classic sign of opiate abuse.

I think all of this behavior is really indicative of anti-social personality disorder, not being in a regressed 10-year-old state.

GRACE: Back out to Jean Casarez. Where are cops going now? And what do you think of her just popping up with this story she detailed in a letter, according to Art Harris, that Tommy, her own brother, Tommy Croslin, and cousin Joe are responsible for Haleigh`s disappearance that night.

JEAN CASAREZ, CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": I think they need to go back to basics. You know, often going back to basics is a very good thing. And Nancy, if we do that for a second, remember, the 911 call, the call that started all of this, it wasn`t made by Misty. It wasn`t made until Ron got home. Ron requested her to do it.

GRACE: Take a listen to Misty Croslin behind bars. You decide for yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m going to start a letter tonight for you guys. I`ll start writing it tonight. I`m going to write Timmy. As soon as I get his address. And send him a thing. I`m going to write nanny and you and mom and nanny and Timmy. Tell Uncle Jerry to tell Nicole to write me. And Aunt Margo and him. Please?

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S FATHER: All right. I will.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m going to write Grandma June tonight to because she wrote me again. I`m going to write her tonight.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S MOTHER: Did you let her know that Chelsea`s letter got to you?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes.

L. CROSLIN: Because she was worried about not getting to you. (INAUDIBLE)

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes, I got it. I`m going to write her back.

L. CROSLIN: Huh?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes, I got it. I`m going to write her back.

L. CROSLIN: Yes. You write her, she`ll continue writing you.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know. I`m going to write her back.

L. CROSLIN: I still can`t see you.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m going to write you tonight, start writing the lawyer tonight.

L. CROSLIN: OK. All right. You know, when I leave here I`m going to go by Lindsey`s and get them pictures for you.

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes.

L. CROSLIN: Of Haleigh and Junior.

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes. I want one of Haleigh and Junior and one of Ronald.

L. CROSLIN: All right. I`ll get them all to you.

MISTY CROSLIN: I mean, I still love him, Ma. But --

L. CROSLIN: Huh?

MISTY CROSLIN: I still love him.

L. CROSLIN: I know you do, baby. I`m sure he still loves you.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know he does.

L. CROSLIN: I know. That`s what Teresa was talking about. That she don`t even get to see Junior. That was part of her letter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Speaking of Junior, that is Haleigh`s little brother, Ronald Cummings Jr. Where is he, Jean Casarez?

CASAREZ: Well, he`s with Crystal Sheffield, his birth mother. She has temporary custody right now. She got it after all of them were arrested and put into jail.

GRACE: Art Harris, what`s happening with the drug charges? What`s become of them?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, WWW.ARTHARRIS.COM: The drug charges -- you mean against the mother --

GRACE: Misty Croslin, yes.

HARRIS: OK. They are going forward. There`s going to be a hearing at the end of the month where she is going to plead not guilty and then she will have to face how she`s going to proceed.

If she is convicted, Nancy, you`re talking about 114 years behind bars. She now doesn`t have anything to bargain with, especially since she`s flunked this polygraph. No information that`s reliable to offer up right now.

GRACE: Back to the polygraph, what more can you tell me about her flunking it?

HARRIS: Well, I can tell you that she was given every advantage, Nancy. Law enforcement tried to make her comfortable. They brought her up, they gave her a cigarette, and she was in a very good mood before she took it.

It was given by a woman named Patty Knight, a veteran polygraph examiner in Florida, about 30 years in the business. And they went over, as the experts have said, the questions, so she knew what she was getting into, and as they proceeded through the story of Joe and Tommy she did not pass.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Eleanor Odom, Renee Rockwell, Peter Odom. Typically, what happens next in a trial?

Eleanor, she`s going to plead not guilty. How fast will we see these drug charges, drug trafficking charges go to trial?

ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: Well, in Florida you have automatic speedy trials. So it`s going to happen pretty quickly. But since she`s pled not guilty, the defense is entitled to receive basically a copy of the prosecutor`s whole file.

That`s called discovery. And then we`ll get ready for trial, or maybe there will be a plea bargain, but we`ll have to see. It sounds like a pretty good trial for the state.

GRACE: And to you, Renee, will they be tried together?

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, this is not a case that`s going to go to trial. I cannot imagine it. The one you have to feel sorry for, though, is Ronald. Because obviously he has nothing to bargain with. He`s just going to be sunk.

I don`t see a trial. I see a plea bargain. And I see Misty not spending a whole lot of time in jail just because of her age. I see Ronald just going down a lot harder.

GRACE: You know, I see it completely differently, Eleanor, because they want out of Misty what happened. And the prosecutors are going to take her to trial and give her the max if the judge will do it if she won`t talk.

E. ODOM: Well, that`s exactly right, Nancy, and besides, the prosecutor -- the defense attorney may want them to plea, but the prosecutor may say hey, I`m not offering anything but 125 years. Well, that`s going to force the defense to go to trial. This needs to go to trial.

GRACE: Peter?

PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, what you have to keep in mind is that there`s really not -- there aren`t that many drugs. There`s not that much drugs involved. It`s only $4,000 worth of drugs.

Now I know it qualifies under Florida law for a 25-year minimum, or minimum mandatory penalty. But in perspective, these are not big players. She`s not going to do that much time.

GRACE: Liz, cue up for me them on video selling dope to an undercover agent.

Jean, how did this come about?

CASAREZ: Well, it was an undercover. And it was very, very specifically done so that they would have exhibit A, which is the videotape of all of the drug deals. They`re all on tape.

GRACE: How many charges? How many times did Misty Croslin sell dope?

CASAREZ: Well, her charges, she`s got eight counts right now of drug trafficking. Several are 25-year minimum maximums. And then Ronald has five counts right now. So he`s right up there.

GRACE: Tonight, as we are in the midst of holy week for many of us that still seek the Prince of Peace, Happy Easter from the twins.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: We obtained even more recorded jailhouse tapes. Hours of Croslin whining to her family, demanding, begging, angry. Behind bars on serious drug charges, Croslin convinced she can make it all just disappear by getting herself into drug court. Even after admitting to repeat drug sales on video. All the while complaining about everything in her private jail cell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m going to tell the judge that I have a drug problem and try to get drug court because I have smoked pot and -- you know?

L. CROSLIN: That`s what you need to do, Misty.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m going to try. I mean, I tell my lawyer I don`t -- and you guys are going to be at the court, right?

I have I drug problem.

CHELSEA CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S SISTER-IN-LAW: The problem is you`re not even a drug addict.

MISTY CROSLIN: I am. I smoke marijuana. OK?

C. CROSLIN: And you got caught up in the mix.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know I got caught up. But I do drugs.

(CROSSTALK)

MISTY CROSLIN: I just want probation, house arrest. Something, you know? I don`t want to go to prison. But -- I mean, it`s a mandatory. You know the -- you know what -- you know?

C. CROSLIN: Oh, yes. They`re saying -- I mean, it`s mandatory minimum 25 years in Florida. So.

MISTY CROSLIN: I can`t do that.

C. CROSLIN: You`ll be 40 years old, dude. I mean, you wouldn`t get the whole 25. You know you would get probably like with good time and (EXPLETIVE DELETED), I don`t know, what, like 19 years or something.

MISTY CROSLIN: No, they`re not going to do that for me. I`m telling you. No. They can`t give me that much time. Seriously, no, they can`t. They cannot do that.

C. CROSLIN: You`re just (EXPLETIVE DELETED) --

MISTY CROSLIN: Caught up in the wrong thing.

C. CROSLIN: Helping out friends.

MISTY CROSLIN: Exactly. No, they`re not going to give me that long. God had given me any -- gave me a sign that they`re not going to put me away for that long. Maybe five years, but not that long.

H. CROSLIN: Has your lawyer called or seen you?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yesterday. I seen him yesterday.

H. CROSLIN: Any good news?

MISTY CROSLIN: I mean, just, you know, whatever. Doing the best we can. I take a shower right before I --

H. CROSLIN: Don`t think he`s not -- don`t think he`s not working for you. He`s working for you.

MISTY CROSLIN: Oh, he is. I know he is. And I was just upset the other day because the day it was, it was the 9th and I was upset and I just wanted out of here. But now I don`t want him -- I don`t want nobody to bail me out unless -- I mean, if someone bails me out that`s fine. I`ll get out or whatever.

But no strings attached. If they`re going to want to talk to me, then no. Don`t bail me out. Because I`m actually right now, I`m serving time right now. You know? I`m here 23 days. I am serving time on my sentence.

So I`m going to see if I can try to get like drug court or something. I don`t know if I can or not. But I`m going to try.

H. CROSLIN: You`ve got to have money to do that.

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes, I know.

TIMMY CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S BROTHER: It (EXPLETIVE DELETED) snowed last night. It was all slushy and (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

MISTY CROSLIN: Oh, man, I bet you it`s so pretty up there.

T. CROSLIN: Snow sucks.

MISTY CROSLIN: I love the snow. I want to go sledding and (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

T. CROSLIN: Yes, when you get up here and you see the snow you`re in the snow, you`ll be like (EXPLETIVE DELETED), get me out of here.

MISTY CROSLIN: It`s like cold -- I mean I hate the cold. So -- I`m like it`s cold.

T. CROSLIN: Yes, it`s (EXPLETIVE DELETED) freezing up here right now.

MISTY CROSLIN: I bet you it is. I don`t care. I`d rather be up in the cold than this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) hell hole.

T. CROSLIN: Oh, yes. I`d rather be anywhere besides that hell hole.

MISTY CROSLIN: They be telling me some crazy stories like there was this one lady. She wrapped herself in toilet paper, her whole body in toilet paper saying that she was arising from the dead. There`s crazy people in here.

H. CROSLIN: Yes, I know.

MISTY CROSLIN: But nobody bothers me. That`s a good thing. Nobody bothers me at all. But I`m upstairs now. So I can -- that`s where I wanted to be anyways. But like I`m all the way at the end. But I wanted to be in the next one. I want to be in 3 instead of 4.

So tonight I`m going to see when they move this girl out if they can move me in 3 instead of 4.

I asked them not to play the news because it was hard enough for me today. What do they do? Play the news. And they talk (EXPLETIVE DELETED) about me.

T. CROSLIN: Did you watch Nancy?

MISTY CROSLIN: No. We watched the news. Action News.

T. CROSLIN: What did they say?

MISTY CROSLIN: That I`m still the key, and yes, they don`t have enough -- they don`t have enough to arrest me on and all that (EXPLETIVE DELETED). But I`m just -- I went to a counselor today because I specifically asked them please do not play the news.

Today`s a very bad day for me. Tomorrow is going to be a bad day for me, too, OK? So I asked them, just please, OK? I mean, how hard is it to -- you know?

T. CROSLIN: Yes. That`s messed up.

MISTY CROSLIN: What`s on the newspaper?

FLORA HOLLERS, GRANDMOTHER: Well, according to your mama, day before yesterday it was that you had stated that Timmy and -- I mean Tommy and Joe had run away with Haleigh.

MISTY CROSLIN: That wasn`t on the newspaper.

HOLLERS: Huh?

MISTY CROSLIN: That wasn`t in no newspaper.

HOLLERS: She said the whole front page of the newspaper was covered with it.

MISTY CROSLIN: Huh-uh.

HOLLERS: Yes.

MISTY CROSLIN: She`s silly. That wasn`t on the newspaper.

HOLLERS: That`s what she told us. We`ve got -- you know, we`ve got our private investigators up here that`s good at computers.

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes. That wasn`t all on the paper.

HOLLERS: Huh?

MISTY CROSLIN: That wasn`t on the paper.

HOLLERS: Said that wasn`t in no damn paper?

MISTY CROSLIN: Huh-uh. Because I have, I keep every article that comes out.

HOLLERS: Yes.

VIVI, AUNT: Why the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is your mama and daddy lying about it for?

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know.

VIVI: It come from her daddy.

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Haleigh`s former stepmom/babysitter Misty Croslin who police say is the keep to finding Haleigh in court today facing over 100 years in jail for allegedly trafficking hundreds of illegal narcotics.

Croslin`s ex-husband, Haleigh`s father, Roland Cummings, also appeared before the judge today on similar charges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: On hours of secretly recorded jailhouse tapes we see babysitter-turned-stepmother Misty Croslin yakking to mommy and daddy and who knows all else. All on video.

At the same time, police combing these very jailhouse tapes for clues as to Haleigh`s whereabouts. Still, to this day, no sign of the 5-year-old little girl.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: When the detectives come they give me a cigarette.

L. CROSLIN: Do they?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes.

H. CROSLIN: What now?

L. CROSLIN: When the detectives come to see her, they give her a cigarette. Well, you know what, Mimi, you don`t need them. Tell them you don`t want them.

MISTY CROSLIN: Well, when I`m with them, I need them.

L. CROSLIN: Huh?

MISTY CROSLIN: When I`m with them I need them.

L. CROSLIN: Oh, I can imagine. Oh, god. When is the last time they`ve been there?

MISTY CROSLIN: Last week sometime.

L. CROSLIN: Last week. What all are they saying?

MISTY CROSLIN: Nothing much.

L. CROSLIN: Did you tell them what you know?

MISTY CROSLIN: My lawyer.

L. CROSLIN: You`ve only told your lawyer.

MISTY CROSLIN: My lawyer knows.

L. CROSLIN: And what`s he saying?

MISTY CROSLIN: I can`t really say. He`s comfortable. That`s all I can say.

L. CROSLIN: Huh?

MISTY CROSLIN: He`s comfortable.

L. CROSLIN: As long as he`s comfortable OK. He asked when you all coming up here now. I`m not going nowhere right now. As long as my daughter and my son`s locked up, I won`t be leaving here.

MISTY CROSLIN: No, you`re not.

(CROSSTALK)

L. CROSLIN: Huh?

MISTY CROSLIN: No, you`re not leaving.

L. CROSLIN: What?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes, you`re staying here until I get out.

L. CROSLIN: Yes, I know I am. I`m not leaving.

MISTY CROSLIN: If they send me somewhere like -- you know, if they send me to prison, whatever county I`m in you need to move there.

T. CROSLIN: You need a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) try to get you a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) edumacation in there.

MISTY CROSLIN: Edumacation? I`m trying to. I`m trying to get a GED book right now.

Edumacation?

(LAUGHTER)

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m going to get my edumacation. I am for real. I am for real. I`m going to get that while I`m locked up, I`m going to -- I`m coming out with a diploma.

T. CROSLIN: Yes, I mean, well, you might as well, I mean --

MISTY CROSLIN: I got nothing else to do. Nothing better to do.

T. CROSLIN: Nothing else. Nothing better to do besides learn, and that`s what you need, you need to learn some (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes. Learning how to read and (EXPLETIVE DELETED). When you guys, when I write you your letter, you can tell you`ll be able to tell that I`m doing a lot better because I can spell a lot better. I wish they would give my house arrest probation or something.

L. CROSLIN: I know. I got you --

MISTY CROSLIN: Because you know when I go to court, they might let me out. If they -- they might let me out and then I have to come back and -- you know?

L. CROSLIN: I know. That`s what I`m saying. They might. You never know.

MISTY CROSLIN: I mean, they can give me probation for 10 years. I don`t care.

L. CROSLIN: I know. You got to get a place to live, too, Sis.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Let`s stop and remember Army Private 1st Class Cody Grater, 20, Spring Hill, Florida, killed Iraq. Awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal.

Dreamed of a military career since he was a boy, collecting micromachines, loved military books, hip-hop, restoring his Honda Civic. Leaves behind grieving mom Anita, stepfather Larry, sister Cheyenne, girlfriend Iris.

Cody Grater, American hero.

Thanks to our guests but our biggest thank you is to you for being with us. See you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern, and until then, good night, friend.

END

http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1003/31/ng.01.html

[Sassycat]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/13/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Divers, K-9 Teams Search River, Woods on Haleigh Cummings Tip; Haleigh Suspect in Custody

Aired April 13, 2010 - 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. Last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who takes to the airwaves, claiming she`s innocent. But even in one brief interview, she can`t keep her stories straight, including a 180 on a lie detector she flunked. Little Haleigh`s own father, Ronald Cummings, and baby-sitter- turned-stepmother Misty Croslin both handcuffed, arrested, booked, charges drug trafficking.

Bombshell tonight. At this hour, reports a suspect is in custody, a suspect in Haleigh Cummings`s disappearance in custody. Something or somebody leads search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters to comb the St. John`s River and a wooded area just two miles south of the home where Haleigh disappears. This is happening as we speak. It`s been going on for the last hours. The search, we are showing you an aerial view of it right now.

And in the last hours, after baby-sitter-turned-stepmother Misty Croslin insists over and over, I don`t know what happened, investigators go roust Croslin out of her private jail cell to question her yet again. And tonight, we learn Croslin flunks another -- another, this is the fourth one -- polygraph.

In the last hours, family members gathering at the Putnam County jail. Is there finally a break in the search for Haleigh Cummings? Has her body been found? Did Misty Croslin finally crack?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Putnam County sheriff`s deputies, acting on a tip, began searching this lake for clues that could lead them to Haleigh Cummings.

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: I woke up, and she was gone!

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: I just come home from work, and my child was not there!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Less than five miles away from the house where little Haleigh disappeared...

MISTY CROSLIN: ... the back door open, and I go in the room and she`s gone!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dive teams are concentrating on this boat ramp.

RONALD CUMMINGS: How the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) can you let my daughter get stole (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!

MISTY CROSLIN: I didn`t do anything with that little girl! I love her like she`s my own!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fishing boats from Clay County are also being utilized in this water search.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bottom line, you don`t know where Haleigh is.

MISTY CROSLIN: Bottom line.

That`s what they think, I`m going to break? There`s nothing to break me on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the massive search continues, Misty Croslin is being questioned by Putnam County authorities. But her current location is unknown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cadaver dogs are back there, and they are being used, as well.

MISTY CROSLIN: ... Misty holds the key.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there is evidence at this boat dock or at the river`s bottom, it is likely covered with sediment or dirt, since Haleigh disappeared more than a year ago.

MISTY CROSLIN: Me being in jail has nothing to do with Haleigh.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: And I said, I can`t help you find her body. I don`t know where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators have even drained ponds, acting on a tip that a clue might be at the bottom of that pond.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking now, CNN affiliate WFTV reporting, citing sources, a suspect is in custody in the Haleigh Cummings investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. At this hour, reports a suspect in Haleigh`s disappearance in custody. Something or somebody leads search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters to comb the St. John`s River and a wooded area just two miles south of where Haleigh disappears.

We have learned in the last few moments a blue ice cooler, a large blue ice cooler, has been pulled up out of the St. John`s River. Is there a break in the search for the 5-year-old missing girl Haleigh Cummings?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Breaking news tonight in the search for 6-year- old Haleigh Cummings.

MISTY CROSLIN: I just hate this, man! They`re trying to ruin our whole lives!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... area where authorities are searching is between Satsuma and Welaka, five miles from the home where Haleigh was last seen.

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: Regardless of what the outcome is, I want to know where Haleigh`s at. I want to know who did it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Putnam County sheriff says authorities are acting on a tip.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Misty Croslin`s grandmother confirms to Nancy Grace that she passed on information to detectives about the possible location of Haleigh`s body.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Divers and cadaver dogs spent all of the day searching the St. John`s River, looking for clues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We probably saw probably anywhere, I like to say, between 12 and 15 divers.

HARRIS: If we could find Haleigh, we`d all -- it would be better for everybody.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: (INAUDIBLE) You`ve got to stand up, though.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know. I been -- I sit and wonder every day, thinking, just trying to go back.

I seen the back door open. And I go in the room and she`s gone!

GRACE: She said at one juncture that she believes up to four people were in the home the night Haleigh went missing.

MISTY CROSLIN: ... and think if I missed anything.

GRACE: ... then chalked it up to a dream-like interlude that she had.

MISTY CROSLIN: They`re not going to keep me locked up forever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Croslin taken away from her St. John`s County jail cell.

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is!

They won`t even let me do anything!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A suspect is in custody in the Haleigh Cummings investigation, according to CNN affiliate WFTV`s sources.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t care who had something to do with it. Those are the people who need to be put away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ll continue this investigation until we can bring it to a logical conclusion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Sources telling us tonight that this has officially, as of today, turned into a homicide investigation. As we go to air, at this moment, we are showing you live photos and live video. The St. John`s River and a densely wooded area about two miles south of where Haleigh disappeared, her home, is now being combed not only by cadaver dogs -- there you are seeing the photo of an ice cooler, a blue ice cooler being hauled up out of the St. John`s River -- being combed by cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters, search teams, all of this happening in the last couple of hours, in the last 10 to 12 hours. We find out Misty Croslin rousted out of her private jail cell and grilled again, in fact, taken back to Putnam County to be questioned and then taken back to her jail cell. Then, suddenly, everyone converges at the St. John`s River.

Straight out to Art Harris, investigative journalist. Art, what do you know?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Nancy, I can tell you that the break in this case, as unlikely as it sounds, came from Misty`s brother, Tommy Croslin, and that in an interview that he had with a retired FBI agent, Steve Brown (ph), supposedly an investigator for his lawyer -- Brown would not comment -- but that he told him that is where they should look and that Tommy led detectives in the last couple of days to this spot on the river with Steve Brown and said that`s where they needed to go look, that this is where her body had been dumped.

He suddenly has confirmed, it looks like, the story that Misty Croslin, his sister, has been telling others in two letters from jail, claiming cousin Joe from Tennessee came into the trailer that night, tried to steal a gun from her then boyfriend, now husband -- or now ex-husband Ronald Cummings, couldn`t find, it, got mad, took Haleigh, that Tommy left and Joe left with Haleigh. Joe has denied any involvement. He has a lawyer. He`s talked to investigators a couple of times.

But back to the river bank. It was Tommy who flunked a polygraph in the last few days, my sources tell me, a private polygraph, and he decided finally to come clean. I talked to his grandmother in Tennessee today, Nancy, and she said to me that Tommy was on the phone with her and said -- she said he said, I`m just -- I can`t keep this to myself any longer. Her name is Flora Holler. She said to me, Well, I asked him, Did Joe do it? And Tommy said yes.

GRACE: So that leads me to my next question, Art Harris. That says to me that Misty Croslin was at the home, that cousin Joe was at the home, that Tommy Croslin -- they were all there and nobody stopped the perp from taking the girl. And all this time, they`ve known. Nobody called 911. Nobody called the father, Ronald Cummings, nothing. If this scenario is true, they should all go down for homicide!

HARRIS: Nancy, the story is that they were in the home and that Misty and Tommy were both threatened by cousin Joe, threatened to kill them, their family, and that for this long, they have sat on this story. Now, whether true or not, they are now teaming up independently to confirm at least one story that police are following to its conclusion and have high hopes this could at least lead to a break in the case...

GRACE: That is BS, Art Harris! Because they could have told police the truth! They could have called 911 when they took -- if this is true. If they took that child, that defenseless 5-year-old little girl with Turner syndrome, if they let somebody take that -- take her from that house and now she is dead, probably molested, in the St. John`s River, they all need to go down on the Florida death penalty!

Out to Marlaina Schiavo, our producer on the story. What more can you tell me, Marlaina?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: I can tell you, Nancy, that Misty was taken from the jail. She was questioned by investigators. They have confirmed this on the record. We know the family gathered today in Putnam County and they had private conversations. But we have spoken to the family, and it was a very tearful meeting, Nancy. And also, we know that this is the very first time that police have ever sent cadaver dogs since Haleigh first went missing, on location. So they have a lot of information, a lot of significant information in this case, Nancy.

GRACE: Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, In Session. Jean Casarez, if this is true, what it means is Misty Croslin, who was baby-sitting, let somebody come in that house and stood by, probably high as a kite on dope, and take the girl, the baby girl out of the house, if this scenario is, in fact, true, Jean Casarez.

JEAN CASAREZ, IN SESSION: Yes. And let me give you a little legal terminology that you know well. It`s called accessory after the fact. I looked up the Florida law, Nancy. It is a first degree felony punishable by life in the state of Florida if you have information that you know a crime has been committed and you help that individual by not divulging it.

GRACE: To Regina in Wisconsin. Hi, Regina.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I just have a comment. I think if this family`s all involved in it, they all need to fry for it because that`s a beautiful little girl, should not have died.

GRACE: She never had a chance, Regina. And if this scenario is true -- and that`s a big if, but if this scenario is true, she has not come forward with the truth because she was part of it, part and parcel.

As we go to air tonight, we are showing you video of an ongoing search of the St. John`s River there in Florida. Scuba divers, helicopters, cadaver dogs, search teams converge on the St. John`s and a densely wooded area in the search for the body of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are detectives walking around the neighborhood, trying to find out any more information that might be available, anything connecting any of the officers to clues about what happened to Haleigh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN: As soon as they get this Haleigh case wrapped up, they`ll let us alone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... received a tip yesterday...

MISTY CROSLIN: ... answer any questions I have to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... that there was possibly some physical evidence in the Haleigh Cummings investigation.

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is.

I`m not hiding anything.

They just need to move on.

Dad, there`s nothing!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re just following up on that lead to verify it, or to, you know -- if it isn`t true or if it is...

HANK CROSLIN: Regardless what the outcome is, I want to know where Haleigh`s at.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re out there to rule it in or out.

RONALD CUMMINGS: Well, of course I want to know if she knows anything.

MISTY CROSLIN: If I had something to do with it, I knew where she was, we wouldn`t be sitting here today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We saw probably anywhere, I like to say, between 12 to 15 divers.

911 OPERATOR: When did you last see her?

MISTY CROSLIN: It was just -- like, you know, it was about 10:00 o`clock. We were -- she was sleeping.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was probably six or eight of them that was actually in the water right in front of the dock, just searching in front of the dock area.

911 OPERATOR: Does the door look like it was pried open?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was more divers being brought out by boat.

911 OPERATOR: Does it look like you had some sort of -- someone try to enter into your house?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several K-9 units walking around.

HANK CROSLIN: They`re going to wrap it up in the next two weeks.

MISTY CROSLIN: I hope they do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How old are you?

MISTY CROSLIN: Just turned 18.

HANK CROSLIN: Only one that knows is the people that was there.

MISTY CROSLIN: I sit and wonder every day, thinking, just trying to go back and just think if I missed anything!

HANK CROSLIN: I want them to find Haleigh, too, and find who did this to Haleigh. I don`t care who it is.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`ve been the one, the main focus.

I`m tired of staying in this one cell, man. It`s bullcrap!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. But first to Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer. Ellie, what more can you tell us about the search that`s going down right now, as we go to air, for Haleigh`s body?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, it`s been in full swing since about 9:15 this morning, residents in the area even saying that there were investigators in the area last night poking around, going door to door, asking questions. Our affiliates are reporting that they`re seeing large lights brought in, like the kind you`d see at a ball diamond or a stadium. So it looks like they`re planning to search throughout the night for information or some kind of evidence, possibly even Haleigh`s remains.

GRACE: Out to the lines. Mary Ann in Georgia. Hi, Mary Ann.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Nancy. I so much commend you for your work. Listen, I had a question. Remember when Junior said that he saw a dark figure and the couch jumping. Could that have been Misty`s cousin Joe raping her that night?

GRACE: Now, that is a scenario that no one has brought up. I want to go back to Art Harris, investigative journalist at Artharris.com. Art, not only did Junior, Ronald Cummings`s son, Junior, say that he saw a male dressed in dark clothes there that evening, but then Misty Croslin in some bizarre, twisted story says she, in a dream-like state, recalls I think three males, three to four males in the home that night, which means there was somebody else in the home, as far as I`m concerned. These two stories do jibe with what we are hearing.

HARRIS: That`s right, Nancy. Now, I can`t speak about that alleged sexual encounter. However, Misty has had some questionable encounters with Joe in the past, her family members tell me. I can tell you also...

GRACE: Well, that`s all coming from her. And she`s already...

HARRIS: That`s right.

GRACE: ... flunked four polygraphs, Art. I mean, what more do you need?

HARRIS: Of course. Well, the thing is, that night in this dream-like state, Nancy, she`s now accounted for at least two of the males in the home, and that would be allegedly cousin Joe and Tommy. The interesting thing is, why did they wait so long to come forward? What was Tommy hiding? What was she hiding? But now...

GRACE: Well, obviously, they`re part and parcel of it, Art, because if it were a simple matter of going, I know who did it, it`s cousin Joe, that`s who you need to be looking at, this is what happened -- if it were that simple, they would have come forward. But obviously, if the scenario is true, Art, they didn`t want to incriminate themselves.

Where does Crystal Sheffield, the bio mom, stand on all this?

HARRIS: Well, the bio mom, I`m told, came out of the department today, sheriff`s department in Putnam County, distraught, weeping, and told a friend that, quote, "Joe killed my baby." Now, whether that`s true or not, that`s what she said.

GRACE: Art, repeat. I couldn`t hear you.

HARRIS: I said that she was told by sheriff`s department investigators enough information that she came out of the meeting and called a friend to say, quote, "Joe killed my baby," from my sources.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this going from a missing persons case to a homicide investigation?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is a decision that will be made later.

MISTY CROSLIN: When Haleigh`s found, I will be let out of jail because that`s the only reason they`re keeping me in here.

If they go out and look for that person, maybe they -- they would be - - have the answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... sheriff`s office and law enforcement boats just scouring that particular part of the river.

RONALD CUMMINGS: Somebody stole my child out of my bed!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... less than five miles away from the house where little Haleigh disappeared.

911 OPERATOR: 911. What`s your emergency?

MISTY CROSLIN: I just woke up, and our back door was wide open, and I can`t find my daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They feel good about this tip.

TOMMY CROSLIN: I said, I can`t help you find her body. I don`t know where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... cadaver dogs, dive teams, fishing boats...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She has been brought back for an interview.

MISTY CROSLIN: They say it`s not enough, it`s not enough, they want more. There is no more! I tell them and tell them and tell them and they just don`t listen!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: As we go to air tonight, scuba divers, cadaver dogs, search teams, helicopters now converging on the St. John`s River, as you can see what is going on there in Satsuma, Florida. Also, a densely wooded area being searched right now just two miles south of where Haleigh disappeared. Cadaver dogs brought in. This has not happened since Haleigh first went missing.

And with us tonight, Tracy Sargent from Homeland Security, K-9 handler, and Cinco to explain to us what the cadaver dogs are doing. Tracy, welcome. Cinco, welcome. Please explain.

TRACY SARGENT, K-9 HANDLER: Thank you, Nancy. We`re glad to be here. What the dogs will be working on or detecting is human remains. This being a cold case, it`s going to be a difficult one for the searchers and for the dogs because the scent itself is going to be very faint. And dogs are really the best resource for that. They are best used for situations that we can`t see the remains or smell the remains ourselves. And in this case, even in water, if they`ve got a good location, the dogs still can detect that smell.

And we`re going to give you a demo of that.

Cinco, here. Cinco, hunt.

And what the dog is doing, he`s searching these different areas and he`s telling us there`s nothing here. And then he`s going to get to remains, which in this case -- he`s indicating right now, and then he`s going to -- what we do, his trained alert. In this case, it is a sit. At that point in time, we will reward the dog. And then I`m going to hand him off right quick. And what happens is that the dogs will tell us what to do -- or tell us that there`s something there. And from that situation, the investigators will follow up with additional resources. In this case, it will be divers and boats and sonar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is the one that holds the key information to finding out what happened to this beautiful little girl. I mean, who was with her, the last person with her? She was!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: We have breaking news in the search for Haleigh Cummings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do have a search going on at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The neighborhood is pretty much on lockdown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now we are conducting a search of the waterway.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Dive teams, police boats working very methodically to try to, you know, discern and find what is at the bottom of the St. John`s River.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had -- we received a tip yesterday that there was possibly some physical evidence in the Haleigh Cummings investigation, and we`re just following up on that lead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They haven`t done a search this extensive since she first went missing.

MISTY CROSLIN, BABYSITTER/LAST SAW HALEIGH CUMMINGS: When I went to sleep, she was there, and then when I woke up she was gone.

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FMR. DC POLICE DETECTIVE; FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: Number one, you`ve got Misty Croslin locked up in jail. Now has one of them finally cracked?

M. CROSLIN: I`m so tired of this, like I`m just so tired of being locked in one cell. I`m just so tired of it, like it drives me crazy.

CHELSEA CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S SISTER-IN-LAW: I know.

M. CROSLIN: Yes. But it`s going to hurt two people.

C. CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE) that I should know.

M. CROSLIN: It`s going to hurt two people.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Misty was taken out of the current jail, and she is being interviewed.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you found Haleigh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we have not found Haleigh.

M. CROSLIN: I`m going to try to do everything to find her. You know, I`m going to answer any questions I have to because I know I didn`t do anything to that little girl. I would never hurt her. They love me. They -- I mean, they look at me like their mom.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Repeatedly referring to Haleigh as that little girl.

We are taking your calls live. You are seeing aerial photos and video of the search going on right now. They are planning to work into the evening for the body of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings there at the St. John`s River.

Also in densely wood area two miles south of Haleigh`s home, search teams.

Somebody or something led them to launch this search. Helicopters, scuba divers, cadaver dogs, search teams, all converging on the St. John`s River.

We are taking your calls live. Out to the lawyers. Let`s unleash them. Sue Moss, family attorney, child advocate, New York. Renowned attorney Daniel Horowitz, joining us out of the San Francisco jurisdiction. And tonight out of Atlanta, defense attorney Raymond Giudice.

Weigh in, Sue Moss.

SUE MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY & CHILD ADVOCATE: Conspiracy to commit a crime will get you the same jail time. I wonder if Misty is guilty of conspiracy, kidnap conspiracy, helping Joe kidnap this little girl.

If that kidnap resulted in her murder, then she is equally responsible for the murder via the felony murder rule. They`re grilling her now, asking her questions. If they find her guilty of conspiracy, she`ll fry.

GRACE: Daniel Horowitz?

DAN HOROWITZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: She`s a victim of the same family system that led to this whole debacle. She is pathetic. She did not wake up one day and say I want to see somebody kidnap, kill, and remain silent out of fear. She deserves pity, not this type of attack.

GRACE: Daniel Horowitz -- put Horowitz up. If this scenario is true, she stood by, aided and abetted someone taking an innocent 5-year-old girl out of the house in the middle of the night.

HOROWITZ: She stood by?

GRACE: She didn`t call 911. She let the people in. She let them take the little girl --

HOROWITZ: Right, Nancy, and --

GRACE: If the scenario is true.

HOROWITZ: And what was done to her to make her so fearful that she would let somebody she cared about be taken like that? She must have been abused and hurt --

GRACE: Don`t -- high as a kite?

HOROWITZ: Don`t judge her until you know.

GRACE: You don`t know anything about whether she`s been abused or molested. That is complete BS.

HOROWITZ: You can see it by the way she is.

GRACE: You can see it?

HOROWITZ: Yes. Have some compassion for her.

GRACE: She is high. She is on drugs. That`s what you see.

Ray Giudice, weigh in.

RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, the issue becomes you get to the death penalty or a serious prosecution like that, the state is going to have to show sientor, meaning knowledge that she knew that the alleged third party in taking the child was going to cause harm to the child.

I think that`s where the problem`s going to be, especially --

GRACE: Ray.

GIUDICE: -- if the third party --

GRACE: Ray, please.

GIUDICE: -- turns out to be a family member who did not make an overt threat to harm the child.

GRACE: Ray. Ray.

GIUDICE: Yes, Nancy.

GRACE: Taking a 5-year-old girl out of the house in the middle of the night. Are you --

GIUDICE: That`s irresponsible.

GRACE: Well, I know for a fact that you are not crazy. Why are you even saying this?

GIUDICE: Because you know you can`t get the death penalty because you stand by and watch a third party commit homicide if you haven`t --

GRACE: No.

GIUDICE: -- conspired with them.

GRACE: No. No.

GIUDICE: I can stand by all day and watch somebody kill somebody and I don`t have a legal obligation to do anything about it. If she didn`t conspire and she didn`t assist -- Jean`s right, she`s got that charge, but not a capital case for death penalty, Nancy. You know that.

GRACE: Sue moss, we`ve heard them out.

MOSS: What?

GRACE: I don`t know. They both went to reputable law schools.

MOSS: I can`t believe it. This guy --

GIUDICE: And we both read the law, and there`s no sientor --

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: No, let her finish, Giudice.

MOSS: -- went to take on --

GRACE: Cut Ray`s mike. Go ahead, Sue.

MOSS: This guy went to take a gun and then he took the little girl instead. What could he have been taking this girl for other than a nefarious reason?

GRACE: If the scenario is true, I wonder, Sue Moss, if it was a fight over a gun, which Ronald Cummings denies, or something to do with Haleigh as it relates to Misty Croslin`s dope dealing.

Back to you, Art Harris. Isn`t it true that from behind bars this whole crew has been saying that it has to do with the dope dealing?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, WWW.ARTHARRIS.COM: That`s right, Nancy. In fact, they have been denying they were dealing drugs when you see it in black and white. You see it in living color on the undercover video.

So obviously, they have a history of lying. In this case, I`m told that Misty`s story is that cousin Joe put a knife to her throat, Nancy, and that is why she was so frightened. Tommy says that he threatened to shoot him. So if this is true, then that is the fear factor.

GRACE: The fear factor. OK. You really think I believe anything these two say?

Art Harris, come on, you`re the investigative journalist --

HARRIS: Nancy, I`m just -- Nancy, I`m reporting what my sources are telling me. That`s all I can do. I`ll let you be the judge.

GRACE: OK. We`re taking your calls. To Mary in Georgia, hi, Mary.

MARY, CALLER FROM GEORGIA: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?

MARY: You know, in the very beginning, I think it was around the day that Misty came home from her three-day binge, she said that she had had company that afternoon, and I thought she said it was Joe and some cousins.

GRACE: You know what, you`re absolutely right, Mary in Georgia. What about it? To you, Jean Casarez.

JEAN CASAREZ, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": She`s right. Mary in Georgia is exactly right. And here`s -- Nancy, we`re seeing a pattern. We`re seeing so many people, including Junior, saying there were people there that late afternoon and that evening on that day. That`s a lot of similarities.

GRACE: You know, you`re right. And Mary in Georgia is right.

To Paul Penzone, former sergeant, Phoenix Police, director of provincial programs at Childhelp.org.

Penzone, what do you make of it?

PAUL PENZONE, DIRECTOR OF PREVENTION PROGRAMS, CHILDHELP.ORG, FORMER SERGEANT, PHOENIX PD: Well, if this turns out to be true, the things that we are learning it`s probably going to turn to a free-for-all which we`re going to see is everybody pointing the finger, him saying they were afraid, him saying that he was directed by them, so there`s going to be a lot of working parts.

But I have to say, Nancy, give credit to your show for keeping pressure on this case all this time because it was influential in the breaking point now.

GRACE: Penzone. Penzone. Let`s just get real for a minute.

PENZONE: Yes, ma`am.

GRACE: How many times have at trial -- and I would love to try co- defendants together. Put them all in the same pot in front of a jury and let them stew. They all start doing this. Oh, yes, he held a gun at me. Oh, yes, he put a knife to my throat.

They let the girl get taken. The girl is dead. I don`t believe one thing they`re saying about how they were threatened. They`re so threatened. They weren`t threatened.

PENZONE: They were all responsible if this turns out to be true. And each one of them could have made a difference. Regardless of who was responsible to take that baby`s life, that`s what happened, each one of them put themselves first and they could have made a difference in this child`s life and maybe stopped it from occurring.

GRACE: To Dr. Lillian Glass, psychologist, body language expert, and author of "Toxic People."

Dr. Glass, you and I have seen it over and over and over. Blame somebody else. The blame game. The SOD defense, some other dude did it. That`s where this is headed.

LILLIAN GLASS, PSYCHOLOGIST, BODY LANGUAGE EXPERT, AUTHOR OF "TOXIC PEOPLE": Exactly. And you see she had every opportunity to speak up. And you didn`t need a lie detector test. You could see it in her body language. The ums, the silence. You just saw it. She was completely lying. And now she`s whining.

She`s whining away in her prison cell -- or her jail cell, I should say -- and she wants to talk to the governor because she doesn`t like her food and she`s not happy that she can`t be with other prisoners.

This is a horribly spoiled, obnoxious girl, and I doubt there was a fear factor involved.

GRACE: Well, and another thing. They`ve been behind bars all this time. They weren`t in fear behind bars.

GLASS: Exactly.

GRACE: To tell the truth.

GLASS: Exactly.

GRACE: What? He leaves with the girls unless they were with him at the time when he left. Why didn`t they call 911? He was gone. They weren`t afraid anymore. They did nothing to protect the girl. If the scenario is true.

To Dr. Joshua Perper, chief medical examiner out of Broward County, author of "When to Call the Doctor." If her body has been in the St. John`s all this time, what would you expect to find, Dr. Perper?

DR. PERPER, CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, BROWARD COUNTY, AUTHOR OF "WHEN TO CALL THE DOCTOR": Well, I would expect the body to be skeletonized, basically, you`ll have just bones and very little tissue. However, if the body was found in some kind of box, then there would be much better preservations of the body.

GRACE: That`s a good point, Dr. Perper. And in fact, a blue ice chest has just been pulled out of the St. John`s River.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. CROSLIN: It`s still focused -- everything`s still focused on Haleigh. This is what Haleigh wanted. She`s always talked about it.

UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: When did you last see her?

M. CROSLIN: It was about 10:00. She was sleeping.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What would you tell Misty to come back home and tell us the truth?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you feel that Misty is the key to this investigation?

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: No, I don`t.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Breaking news in the case of missing 5-year-old Florida girl Haleigh Cummings.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A massive search in this neighborhood.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The search is again focusing on areas near her father`s hometown in Satsuma.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Off of the boat ramp which is just a quarter of a mile down the road.

LISA CROSLIN, MOTHER OF MISTY CROSLIN: I`m watching you on TV right now.

M. CROSLIN: What am I doing?

L. CROSLIN: You`re on NANCY GRACE, me and you talking on the phone.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The Putnam County Sheriff`s Office says authorities are acting on a tip but they didn`t elaborate it.

M. CROSLIN: What did they mean that our lives are going to be more than hell now than it was for this whole year?

HANK CROSLIN, FATHER OF MISTY CROSLIN: Because they`re going to wrap it up in the next few weeks.

M. CROSLIN: Well, I hope they do.

H. CROSLIN: I want to know where Haleigh`s at. I want to know who did it.

M. CROSLIN: Exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Haleigh Cumming`s mother Crystal Sheffield has asked -- been asked to come down to the Putnam County Sheriff`s Office in regards to the search.

M. CROSLIN: I cry all the time about Haleigh, pray all the time about Haleigh.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Cadaver dogs, dive teams, fishing boats called in from all across areas of Florida to help hopefully find the clues that could lead them to this little girl.

H. CROSIN: I know for a fact Tommy -- Tommy ain`t got the heart -- Tommy ain`t had nothing to do with that (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

M. CROSLIN: Well, let`s not talk about that.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: There`s been so much talk and concern about this little girl hoping that, you know, she would be found alive, but the investigation is all focusing on a lake.

M. CROSLIN: I wish I had powers, man. I would be like poo-poof out this place.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: For those of you that are just joining us, as we go to air tonight at this moment, the St. John`s River is being combed by cadaver dogs, scuba divers, search teams, helicopters, as well as a densely wooded area about two miles south of where Haleigh was last seen alive. Her home.

We also know that Misty Croslin, the babysitter turned stepmother, was rousted out of her private jail cell today and questioned, taken to -- back to Putnam County, questioned for hours and then sent back to her jail cell.

Why?

We also are hearing reports that the suspect is in custody.

We are taking your calls live. To Heidi in Indiana, hi, Heidi.

HEIDI, CALLER FROM INDIANA: Hi, Nancy. Thank you so much for taking my call. And thank you for being the angel that you are. I am a victim of violence, and I really appreciate everything that you do for all of us.

GRACE: You know what, Heidi? I don`t deserve that. But I want to thank you anyway. And thank you for calling in.

HEIDI: Absolutely.

GRACE: What is your question, love?

HEIDI: I am wondering about Ronald Cummings. Has he been informed of all of this that`s been going on? And will this make any difference? I know that he`s still guilty of drug charges. But is this going to make any difference in the coming days with his trial for drugs?

GRACE: Out to Marlaina Schiavo, our producer that`s been on the story from the very beginning.

Marlaina, what do we know about Ronald Cummings being informed of what`s going on, Teresa Neves, his mother? What do we know?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: We know that Ronald was informed along with his mother and his family today. They took him in handcuffs to inform him of what`s going on. And also in terms of that drug question, no, these are completely separate cases. So whatever happens here is not going to affect his drug charges.

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Out to Allison in Florida, hi, Allison.

ALLISON, CALLER FROM FLORIDA: Hi, Nancy. Thank you for taking my call. I love your show.

GRACE: Thank you. Allison, can you believe this turn of events this long after Haleigh goes missing? I mean, we never gave up. We never gave up. But if it`s true, it is not of course the outcome that we wanted.

ALLISON: Right. And you never gave up either. My question is we go boating on the St. John`s River all the time. What are the chances of finding her? There are lots of alligators in that water.

GRACE: You know, that`s a good point. I want to go back to Tracy Sargent. And she`s got Cinco with her.

Tracy, first of all, show the viewers what the dog alerted on when he alerted earlier.

TRACY SARGENT, K9 HANDLER, SEARCH, RESCUE & RECOVERY SPECIALIST: Yes. This is a human jawbone. And this is what I wanted to show the viewers, what the dog responded, in this case, alerted to.

As the doctor mentioned, the last phase of decomposition is skeletal remains. And as we`ve seen video of the search operations down in Florida, the investigators are certainly going to be looking for skeletal remains and any suspicious items.

And the dogs can help with that. And in this case because they have a really good, accurate area that the dogs can concentrate on, even after this length of time and even under water, the dogs can alert to human remains scents.

GRACE: And how old is that jawbone that Cinco hit on?

SARGENT: This is a jawbone that`s been dead for over approximately 40 years.

GRACE: If Cinco can hit on a 40-year-old jawbone, certainly dogs, cadaver dogs would be able to find a child`s remains one year later. And I want to remind you that cadaver dogs are accurate under water.

I want to go back to Art Harris.

Art Harris, all this business that -- well, you know, wait a minute. Hold on, Art. Let`s take a listen back to what Daniel Horowitz just said. Horowitz and Giudice. Put them up with Art.

Horowitz. Why is it that these are the only people that seem to know where the body allegedly is, and you`re saying they had nothing to do with it?

HOROWITZ: I`m saying that Misty is typically like a battered woman. You know how battered women will be with an abusive husband, the children will be abused, they will remain silent because they`re turned off.

I`m saying that Misty is like that. Abused from childhood, she has no feelings. It doesn`t mean she`s blameless morally. But she needs compassion, too. We have to look at the big picture and --

GRACE: You`re making my chest hurt. Because, Ray Giudice, there is no evidence that she is an abused woman. None.

GIUIDICE: I agree, but let me also say --

GRACE: She`s a junkie.

GIUIDICE: Why has she sat on this for a year? It doesn`t make sense to me.

GRACE: Because if incriminates her, Art Harris.

GIUIDICE: Not on a murder case.

HARRIS: Nancy, it incriminates her --

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: But also it incriminates her brother. That`s who she was trying to protect by saying he left and Joe went out by himself. Now we know --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Using underwater sonar devices and high visibility cameras, a team of divers searched the murky St. John`s River for clues in Haleigh Cumming`s disappearance.

Locals say the river bottom shifts and anything down below could be buried three to five feet deep in sediment. A river that may hold the clues to finding this 6-year-old girl.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: As we go to air into the night searchers are combing the St. John River. They have got out spotlights, they`ve got cadaver dogs, search teams. They had helicopters when it was still daylight.

Something or someone has led them to the St. John`s River, in a densely wooded areas, just two miles south of where Haleigh went missing out of her own home.

Think about it. I came to work tonight like Ronald Cummings did. Think about going home from work, all of you working mothers and fathers, and finding your child is gone. That is what happened to Ronald Cummings.

Is it culminating tonight there at the St. John`s River?

Out to the lines, Allison in Florida. Hi, Allison. Excuse me. Elisa, Tennessee. Hi Elisa.

ELISA, CALLER FROM TENNESSEE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?

GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?

ELISA: Nancy, my question is, could Misty be held liable if, in fact, she was so high on pills that she actually didn`t remember?

GRACE: Hold on. Elisa, stay with me. I have turned a back flip trying to figure out every scenario under which she didn`t know what happened.

Elisa, here`s the bottom line. Just this past week she took another polygraph and flunked. So if she were telling truth about I took pills, I passed out, I don`t remember, she would not have flunked four polygraphs.

She is lying. Not only that, a voice stress test and would not allow herself to go under hypnosis.

Everyone, right now you`re seeing a live search that`s ongoing for the body of Haleigh Cummings. Let`s keep her family in our prayers.

Let`s stop and remember Marine Lance Corporal Juan Garcia-Schill, Grants Pass, Oregon, killed Iraq. From a family of Marines, awarded the Purple Heart, a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, loved his Mexican heritage, the Japanese culture and soccer.

Dreamed of being a schoolteacher. Buried next to his great-grandparents. Leaves behind parents Manuel and Brenda, two sisters, one brother, grandparents Rick and Beverly.

Juan Garcia-Schill, American hero.

Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. See you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And I pray that at that time we have news of little Haleigh.

Good night, friend.

END

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/13/ng.01.html

[Sassycat]

http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/14/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Cops Bring Misty to Haleigh Search Site

Aired April 14, 2010 - 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old girl tucked into bed. Five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. Last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who goes on to flunk four polygraphs and a voice stress test. Little Haleigh`s own father, Ronald Cummings, and baby-sitter-turned-stepmother Misty Croslin both handcuffed, arrested, booked. Charges, drug trafficking.

In the last 24, after something or somebody leads search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters to comb the St. John`s River into the night last night, bombshell tonight. Misty Croslin rousted out of her private jail cell yet again, but this time taken in cuffs down to the dock of the St. John`s. We have the video. As she stands there in handcuffs, she motions out to the water, pointing out a specific spot to police.

As the search for 5-year-old Haleigh goes on, a human ID crime lab vehicle just arrives on the scene. Family members gathering at the Putnam County jail. Is there finally a break in the search for Haleigh Cummings? Has the 5-year-old girl`s body been found? Did Misty Croslin finally crack?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news. Misty Croslin now appears to be at the search site where law enforcement is searching for Haleigh, the woman now at the site now wearing a blue jumpsuit and handcuffs, reportedly motioning to investigators at the dock.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dive teams went back into the water. They have resumed the search this morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re going to follow this thing through, and we`re going to work tirelessly. That`s what we`re doing again today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does law enforcement think this is a credible tip?

GRACE: Sources telling us this has officially turned into a homicide investigation.

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: Misty, don`t be lying about nothing because that`s -- all it`s going to do is bury you deeper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Among the people police have interviewed is Croslin`s 20-year-old cousin, Joe Overstreet, who lives in Tennessee.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... allegedly in the area, possibly in the trailer where all this allegedly took place.

JOE OVERSTREET, MISTY`S COUSIN: I can`t imagine what they`re going through. I didn`t do it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You didn`t do it?

OVERSTREET: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know who did it?

OVERSTREET: If I knew who did, I would straight call the police and tell the cops who did it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sean Cergo (ph), criminal defense lawyer in Nashville, believes at this point that he`s being framed by people whose stories keep changing.

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: We`re all going to prison, Tim, unless I can come out and tell them something.

TIMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: Huh?

MISTY CROSLIN: I said unless I come out and tell them something. That`s the only way I`m not going.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: I hate this junk. I`m hoping this dude will still get me out. I can give him some publicity. I`ll do whatever he wants, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) make a story up. I don`t care.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was the family told yesterday at the jail the very same time this search was going on just miles away?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were seen in the vicinity coming out in tears.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Teresa, can we get a comment from you, ma`am?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How long is this going to continue, you know, the search over there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as it takes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Misty Croslin rousted out yet again from her private jail cell and taken in handcuffs down to the dock of the St. John`s River. We have the video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news. Misty Croslin appears to be at the site of the search for Haleigh, wearing handcuffs and flanked by investigators. Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We received a tip yesterday that there was possibly some physical evidence in the Haleigh Cummings investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do not know if that means they`re looking for Haleigh`s body or maybe something just related to this case. It could be a weapon. It really could be anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where did that information come from?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty Croslin, her brother, Tommy, they`re both in jail on unrelated prescription drug charges, but Misty was the last person to see Haleigh.

MISTY CROSLIN: They`re not going to put me away for something I didn`t do, and I didn`t have anything to do with Haleigh. And if I knew who did, I would tell them. I`ve told them everything that I can tell them, so they need to leave me alone about that.

HANK CROSLIN: I don`t know if she knows anything or not, but...

TOMMY CROSLIN: If she does, she needs to go ahead and tell the truth, man, and don`t be making up these stories.

HANK CROSLIN: I told her that, don`t talk to nobody but her lawyer and just tell them the truth and get it over with. Don`t be making up...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are going straight to the scene. Standing by right now is Natisha Lance. Natisha, you are on the air. What`s happening?

NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, there has been a file of cars, police cars mixed with unidentified -- unmarked police cars that are now filing through. The FDLE command post, mobile command post, also left the area. And it looks as if they are wrapping up their search for today down at the dock for any evidence of Haleigh Cummings.

GRACE: OK. Natisha, why are all the police cars coming to the scene?

LANCE: No, they are leaving the scene at this point, Nancy. They`ve been...

GRACE: They`re leaving the scene?

LANCE: Yes.

GRACE: OK. Natisha, what can you tell me about what we thought was an ice chest being pulled out of the river last night?

LANCE: What I can tell you, Nancy, is that we were able to get a shot of this area across from where they are. We went to a neighbor. We were able to sit on their dock and see them putting down a tub into the water, then dragging the tub up and then sifting through whatever they were coming up with from that tub. What we were told last night from investigators is that there was no cooler that they found. However, it did appear from different photographs that there was a cooler that was pulled out of the water yesterday afternoon during their search.

GRACE: OK. To you, Marlaina Schiavo. Misty Croslin taken back out of her private jail cell today, rousted out in cuffs and prison blues, taken down to the dock. And I can see her. There she is, between police investigators in plain clothes. And at several junctures, she points out to the water with the cuffs, like she`s showing a specific spot. What happened?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Misty was taken out for a second day in a row, Nancy, and this means that she is telling police what she knows. Now, we know that all along, she`s saying she didn`t know anything. And now it looks like, from what she told investigators yesterday and what she was showing them today, she is pointing out what may have happened that night that Haleigh went missing.

GRACE: Back to Natisha Lance standing by there in Satsuma, Florida, at what we believe is going to be officially designated as a crime scene.

Everyone, Natisha is standing by at the St. John`s River. It`s about three to five miles south of where Haleigh was last seen alive, her own home. In the last 24 hours, there has been a massive search. Something or somebody tipped of police, scuba divers, cadaver dogs, helicopter search teams combing the murky waters of the St. John`s River into the night last night, resuming this morning when a human identification crime lab vehicle showed up on the scene.

Natisha, what if anything did they take away?

LANCE: Well, Nancy, what they are telling us today as of 4:00 o`clock this afternoon is that they have not found anything of evidentiary value. However, there are...

GRACE: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! What do you mean, not anything of evidentiary value? They`re not saying today -- last night, they said -- police said, We did not find Haleigh Cummings. Today they`re saying, We didn`t find anything of evidentiary value. Why the change-up, Natisha?

LANCE: You`re absolutely right, Nancy. There does seem to be some terse (ph) in words there. Last night, they were saying they did not find Haleigh Cummings, and today they are saying they did not find anything of evidentiary value. So we don`t know exactly what is going on.

However, there were divers who were in the water all day today sifting through that area. And as Marlaina pointed out, Misty Croslin also appeared to be on the scene today in handcuffs, pointing out something for investigators. So there does continue to be fluid movement at this crime scene, just as you said earlier.

GRACE: Back to Jean Casarez, who has been joining us throughout this search. Everyone, the search went on through the night last night, resuming this morning. Jean Casarez, what more can you tell me? Misty Croslin down there on the docks, motioning to police where they should look out in the water. Police are dredging the bottom of that river.

Jean Casarez, what we were told and what appeared to be a blue ice bucket last night is actually a device that they use to dredge the bottom of a river in a particular spot, pull up the sand, and then you sift through it for human bones or evidence.

JEAN CASAREZ, IN SESSION: Something they believe is so credible, they have taken all these resources. But Nancy, let me take you from Florida to Tennessee. I confirmed with the attorney for Joe Overstreet, that is, cousin Joe -- his name is Sean Cergo. He confirmed to me that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement left Florida yesterday, they flew and arrived in Nashville late yesterday, and at midnight had an interview session with Joe Overstreet. It was short. They asked him questions. He answered them.

FDLE flew back to Florida, and Joe Overstreet is saying today publicly, I had nothing to do with the disappearance. Nothing. If so, I would have gone to the police.

GRACE: OK, I`ve got two theories. Back to Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer. She`s been on the case from the very beginning, knows it like the back of her hand. Ellie, think back. At the very beginning, cousin Joe was in town the night Haleigh went missing. He hightailed it out of town. He`s been in Tennessee ever since.

JOSTAD: Right.

GRACE: Now, police could either arrest him if they thought he was the perp -- but they haven`t -- or they could be waiting until they possibly, theoretically find Haleigh`s body and see if he runs. Because nothing looks more incriminating to a jury than somebody running, OK? So it could be either of those two things.

But it speaks volumes to me, Ellie, that they didn`t bring Joe down, they didn`t bring Tommy Croslin out of the jailhouse that we know of, they brought Misty Croslin down to the docks to show police a specific spot in the St. John`s River.

JOSTAD: Right. That`s right, Nancy. And remember, the whole cousin Joe was involved somehow -- that story originated with Misty Croslin. She was telling media and people that about nine days after Haleigh went missing. So this whole Joe Overstreet involvement started with Misty`s allegations.

GRACE: Everyone, the search is going on as we speak. We are live in Satsuma, there on the banks of the St. John`s River as the search for the body of this 5-year-old little girl goes on. What happened to 5-year-old Haleigh?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do believe that she`s holding something. I`m not sure what it is or, you know, how it can help. But I think that she`s holding something back, that she knows something. And I don`t know -- I know they`ve spoken to her. I do not know if this new lead has anything to do with her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do have a search going on at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... a search...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are conducting a search.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... search for Haleigh.

MISTY CROSLIN: If I had something to do with it or knew where she was...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s called accessory after the fact...

MISTY CROSLIN: ... we wouldn`t be sitting here today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... punishable by life.

HANK CROSLIN: Regardless of what the outcome is, I want to know where Haleigh`s at.

GRACE: The St. John`s River...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s the St. John`s River.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... St. John`s River...

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t want no one to stop looking for Haleigh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At least four, five sheriff`s office and law enforcement boats...

GRACE: Cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters, search teams...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was more divers being brought out by boat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re just following up on leads.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... just scouring that particular part of the river.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They haven`t done a search this extensive since she first went missing.

GRACE: If the scenario is true, she has not come forward with the truth because she was part of it...

MISTY CROSLIN: They got me where they want me.

GRACE: ... part and parcel!

MISTY CROSLIN: I never thought -- ever thought this would ever be, like, something to even think about happening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) out there to rule it in or out.

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: Well, of course I want to know if she knows anything.

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is!

I`m not hiding anything.

I don`t...

There`s nothing to break me on.

There`s nothing!

That`s all I know.

HANK CROSLIN: Think she can come home?

MISTY CROSLIN: Of course, Dad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: After all that, as we go to air, Misty Croslin rousted out of her private jail cell yet again and taken down to the docks. There she is -- we`re showing you the video -- the docks of the St. John`s River, less than five miles south of where she was last seen alive, where Haleigh was last seen alive. She`s pointing something out in some of the video with her handcuffs on, out to a spot in the water, motioning to police where they should look, apparently. This after months of declaring she knew nothing about the disappearance of this helpless, defenseless 5-year-old little girl.

We are taking your calls live. Out to Sheila, Illinois. Hi, dear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, darling. How are you tonight?

GRACE: Well, I tell you what. It`s either that, as it looks right now, Sheila, that she had a hand in the murder of this child or that she stood there and let the child be taken away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I agree -- I can`t agree with you more. It`s just -- I just -- there`s no words...

GRACE: I`m just disgusted. I`m disgusted. A 5-year-old little girl, can you imagine, looking up at Misty Croslin for help, for protection, for anything. Anything!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And isn`t it time that we bring this case to a close.

GRACE: It really is, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, isn`t bringing Misty to the river -- isn`t that just giving Misty just a little bit too much attention at this point?

GRACE: That`s a good question. Unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight, Paul Batista, defense attorney and author of "Death`s Witness" out of New York, and Penny Douglas Furr, defense attorney out of Atlanta. What about it, Paul?

PAUL BATISTA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, the police are not devoting attention to her. The only reason we`re seeing her, Nancy, is that there are helicopters floating above her head. She`s not -- they`re not devoting the attention to her. She clearly has flipped. She clearly, Nancy, has significant information. The police have brought her to the river to show where she saw this child go into the river. That`s pretty simple.

GRACE: What about it, Penny?

PENNY DOUGLAS FURR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, I would ask if her attorneys have cut some kind of deal for her, if they`ve worked out some arrangement that if she can help them locate the body that she will escape the Florida death penalty.

GRACE: That`s a very good insight, Penny.

I want to go back out to Marlaina Schiavo, our producer, who`s also been on the story from the very beginning. Marlaina, tell me what you can about what we know about police activities in the last 48 hours. Who have they been questioning? What have they been doing?

SCHIAVO: Nancy, they took Misty from her current jail and they questioned her. We also know that they met with family members, Haleigh`s family members...

GRACE: Marlaina! Marlaina! Marlaina!

SCHIAVO: Yes.

GRACE: Rule number one. Who, what, when, why, where. Took her out of what jail when and took her where?

SCHIAVO: Yesterday. The current jail she`s in, St. John`s County. Putnam County officials took her out, took her to Putnam County, and questioned her. They also took Haleigh`s family members down to Putnam and gathered them and had a private meeting and won`t release those details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... divers near the Shell Harbor boat ramp on the St. John`s River.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw probably anywhere, like, say, between 12 to 15 divers just searching in front of the dock area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see three divers peering under the water`s surface.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was more divers being brought out by boat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is day two for Florida investigators searching a very murky river.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Deputies say they`ve interviewed a cousin of Misty`s who was visiting from Tennessee before Haleigh`s disappearance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re looking for any evidence that would tell them what happened to Haleigh Cummings.

HANK CROSLIN: I think they need to go get Joe and lock him up. If they think he had something to do with it, they need to go get him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This investigation today may take a long time.

HANK CROSLIN: Got to come to an end.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) extensive.

HANK CROSLIN: The truth got to come out. We got to find out where she`s at and let her come home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Out to Heather in Kentucky. Hi, Heather.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I`m just -- I hate to say it this way, but I`m starting to think maybe the rumors of the partying and maybe Haleigh getting a hold of Oxycontin might have really happened. But my question is, if they was to find her in that river after so long, will they still be able to find that in her system?

GRACE: Let`s go straight out to Dr. David M. Posey, medical examiner, forensic pathologist at the Glen Oaks Pathology Medical Group joining us out of LA. Dr. Posey, I know you heard the caller`s question, Heather in Kentucky. What`s the answer?

DR. DAVID M. POSEY, MEDICAL EXAMINER/FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Right. Yes. It depends on how much of the body is left. This length of time, I would think, we`re going to have most of the body gone. I think it`ll be down to bones. And I would say we`re not going to find anything...

GRACE: Dr. Posey. Dr. Posey, it`s been over a year. Wouldn`t she be completely skeletonized by this point?

POSEY: You know, there`s a lot of variables here. We don`t know how deep she is. We don`t know where the body is. I agree with you, Nancy, I think she would be completely skeletonized. I don`t think there`s going to be anything left. You need to have some kind of body fluid...

GRACE: Doctor, I can hardly stand to look at this little girl`s face -- there she was sleeping -- and say the words "completely skeletonized." Doctor, if she had been put in a container such as an ice chest, would there be a possibility of soft tissue, and from that soft tissue, could you derive Oxycontin traces?

POSEY: There`s a possibility. If she was in an ice chest and the ice chest was sealed such that no liquid could get in there, there would possibly be some fluids, especially if she was buried in the river or in a dirt grave. There may be some fluid left, and you`d be able...

GRACE: Got it.

POSEY: ... to extract from that and find if there`s something there. But it is -- I agree with you, Nancy, it`s heart-wrenching.

GRACE: But I don`t buy into that party theory or somebody at that party would have cracked by now.

To Heather Walsh-Haney, forensic anthropologist out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Doctor, thank you for being with us. Doctor, what do you expect the condition of the remains to be in if they have been under water, and what can we learn from them?

HEATHER WALSH-HANEY, FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST (via telephone): Well, Nancy, having worked in Florida over 15 years, I would -- and in that area particularly with the St. John`s River, if the responders were lucky enough to find Haleigh`s remains, at this point I would expect them to be completely skeletonized.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Nearly two days of searching.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Breaking news. Misty Croslin appears to be at the site of the search for Haleigh, wearing handcuffs and flanked by investigators. Why?

MISTY CROSLIN, BABYSITTER/LAST SAW HALEIGH CUMMINGS: I don`t know where she is.

JEAN CASAREZ, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": Misty was the last person to see Haleigh.

M. CROSLIN: If I had something to do with it or knew where she was we wouldn`t be sitting here today. We would have her.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The woman appearing to be Croslin surrounded by cops.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Among the people police interviewed is Croslin`s 20-year-old cousin Joe Overstreet.

CASAREZ: Overstreet is distraught over this, that he doesn`t know where to turn. They want to get out of jail --

HANK CROSLIN, FATHER OF MISTY CROSLIN: If I wasn`t in trouble I would put a pistol in Joe`s mouth and make him tell me something.

JOE OVERSTREET, MISTY CROSLIN`S COUSIN: I didn`t do it.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You didn`t do it?

OVERSTREET: No.

CASAREZ: But believe that those in jail right now at any cost will say anything and pin this on anyone to get themselves out of jail.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S BROTHER: I don`t see Joe doing nothing like that but he is a little (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out there. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did he have any type of contact with Haleigh? Did he see her? Did he talk to her during that time of vacation?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only in passing.

H. CROSLIN: I don`t understand why he would -- why anybody could hurt a little baby.

OVERSTREET: If I knew who did I would straight call the police and tell the cops who did it.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Straight back down to the St. John`s River, everyone. The search ongoing. Standing by, Natisha Lance.

Natisha, there is movement. What`s happening?

NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, there was a deputy who was right behind me. There were cones that were preventing the media from going any further past that point.

That deputy has now moved further back, and we can only assume that he is closer to the water`s edge where the searching was taking place earlier today. We don`t know exactly what is going on in that area, but we can only assume that there is continuous searching going on back there.

GRACE: So contrary to what we thought at the beginning of the show tonight, everybody`s not leaving, they`re still working through the night.

Listen, I`m just telling you, this is not a bogus tip.

Out to Lou Palumbo, former Nassau County police investigator, now private investigator.

Lou, this is not all happening on a bogus tip. They`d have already packed up and left yesterday instead of working through the night. They`ve got something.

LOU PALUMBO, FMR. NASSAU COUNTY POLICE INVESTIGATOR, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: I agree 100 percent with you. I think that this young lady, Misty Croslin, for whatever reason has decided to come forth with information regarding how this child was disposed of.

It`s part of the deal-making. I think the cousin has knowledge of what happened here. And I think we`re going to see this thing come to an end very shortly. I mean, just by virtue of the fact she`s standing there pretty much implies that she`s provided information to this law enforcement agency to direct them to where this child was disposed.

GRACE: Everyone --

PALUMBO: The next part of it`s going to come down to charging her and finding out who else was complicit in this crime.

GRACE: Everyone, right now the search is going on. Police have not left. There are scuba divers, cadaver dogs. Earlier helicopter search teams. Something or somebody has led police, who then brought out Misty Croslin down to the docks to find the body of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings.

I want to go now to Michael Gast, a special guest joining me out of Miami, founder and trainer of the National Academy of Police Diving.

Mr. Gast, thank you for being with us. After a couple of hundred dives myself the little bit I know about lake and river diving is that especially unless there`s white water you`re going to have very murky water. What do you think?

MICHAEL GAST, FOUNDER, TRAINER, NATIONAL ACADEMY OF POLICE DIVING: Well, that`s correct. The deeper the water is the less murk you may have. It depends on how fast the water flows.

GRACE: How do you go about a search like this? They`re actually having to dredge the bottom of the river with a box to see what -- and then pull it up and sift through. See them taking out tons -- they`re just taking out a great deal of sand and sludge off the bottom.

GAST: Well, that`s because of the flow of the river. The sediment is being redistributed daily, and it builds up. If you have a lot of rain, it builds up more. If you have less rain it builds up less. But they would have to get down to about where the bottom would have been 10 months ago or 14 months ago.

GRACE: Mr. Gast, it`s a lazy river. It`s only traveling at 1/3 of a mile per hour. And it`s about 30 feet deep, as I recall.

GAST: So that would have a little bit of disposition but not a whole lot. Maybe, you know, a few inches. But it only takes a few inches to hide bones.

GRACE: That`s true. That`s true. How murky would the water be in 30 feet?

GAST: That would depend, again, you know, what part of the river you`re talking about, whether you`re out toward the middle or the sides where it runs a little faster. It varies. It depends on the sediments that`s in the river, what part of the St. John`s you`re in.

Some parts of the St. John`s you`ve got 10, 15-foot visibility. Other parts you have less than a foot.

GRACE: I`m hearing in my ear we are now being joined by bounty hunter out of Sacramento, Leonard Padilla.

Leonard, what do you make of these developments?

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER, OFFERED TO BAIL MISTY CROSLIN OUT OF JAIL: Well, basically, if we go back to when Misty wrote that letter and then her sister-in-law in Massachusetts forwarded it to me over the weekend, I looked at and I thought to myself --

GRACE: Which letter are you talking about? Which letter are you talking about?

PADILLA: It`s a letter that Misty wrote to her relatives, including her brother Timmy, up in Massachusetts. Where she claims that -- excuse me?

GRACE: I`ve got it right here in my hand. Go ahead.

PADILLA: OK. Where she claims that Joe and Tommy came to the house and that Tommy left and that Joe took the child.

I`ve got to tell you this. Joe didn`t harm that child. The child was dead by the time Tommy and Joe showed up. Speculatively speaking, she had called them to come help her dispose of the body.

Tommy himself had lied to his wife and all of his relatives throughout the whole ordeal until Monday morning when he decided to fess up.

Steve Brown, the investigator working for his attorney, basically sat with him and got a statement from him and subsequently his wife threatened him with divorce and basically confirmed that Tommy had been there.

Law enforcement also in Satsuma actually went to the house where Tommy and his wife had been living with their two -- with their three children and were looking for a yellow rope. The type of rope that you would tie something up with if you were to throw them in the water and weight it down with a brick.

So it all aims toward the fact that the child died somehow. But I don`t think that Joe was responsible for the death nor Tommy. They were responsible for helping her get rid of the body.

I also think Misty possibly might not have caused the child`s death other than through negligence of pills or something laying around. So I think in the next 48 hours we`re going to see a lot of revelations that are going to bring to the surface the truth behind this whole ordeal.

GRACE: What do you make, Leonard Padilla -- everybody, joining us by Skype from Sacramento the bounty hunter who offered to bond Croslin out in exchange for her coming clean about what happened to little Haleigh.

What do you think about the fact that it`s not cousin Joe, it`s not brother Timmy or brother Tommy out there on the docks showing the cops where to look? It is Misty Croslin.

To me that shoots your theory down that they disposed of the body. She had to be there too, Padilla. She`s showing cops where to look.

PADILLA: Not necessarily. I think when you get into a circle of youngsters like Misty and Tommy and Joe and several other relatives there`s going to be loose talk amongst themselves regarding the body being dumped.

And the situation is such that that particular van was being driven on that evening, it had been borrowed from Tommy`s wife. It was being driven by Tim and his wife, who were visiting their father.

However, if you look back in the past TV reports, it`s -- Timmy wife states that the van in the morning was at a different place than where she had parked it that night. So the van was definitely used and Joe had use of the van.

GRACE: I remember that.

Everyone, the search is ongoing right now. Who cracked? Who cracked? Is Haleigh Cummings at the bottom of the St. John`s river? Did she die at the hands of Misty Croslin? What scenario could possibly have happened?

I can see one thing. They don`t have Ronald Cummings out there.

Out to the lines. Anita, Pennsylvania, hi, Anita.

ANITA, CALLER FROM PENNSYLVANIA: Hi, Nancy. Thank you for taking my call.

GRACE: Yes, ma`am.

ANITA: My question is does Ronald know everything that`s going on?

GRACE: Good question. What about it, Ellie?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Ronald Cummings is one of the family members that was brought to the Putnam County Sheriff`s Office yesterday. There was a little bit of video of him leaving. He was still in his jail outfit, still in the handcuffs.

But he was part of this confidential family meeting where investigators supposedly told the family what was going on and they won`t reveal what details they gave to the family at that secret meeting yesterday.

GRACE: As we go to break, everyone, on a happy note, happy birthday - - first birthday to Florida tiny crimefighter Alexis Cameron. Favorite toy, Elmo. Favorite word, daddy. But she loves mommy too.

Alexis, father Rob and mother Gina never miss a show. What a beautiful, beautiful child. And God bless you for taking such good care of her.

Happy birthday, beautiful Alexis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Major developments in this case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are conducting a search of the waterway.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: We were able to speak with Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy. We asked him if they`d found Haleigh Cummings.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you found Haleigh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we have not found Haleigh.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He did not hesitate. He said no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We received a tip yesterday that there was possibly some physical evidence in the Haleigh Cummings investigation.

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FMR. DC POLICE DETECTIVE; FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: The big question is where did this tip come from?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sheriff`s office brought together the family, Ronald Cummings, who is here at Putnam County jail. The mother, Crystal Sheffield, Haleigh`s mother. The two grandmothers of Haleigh had a conversation with investigators.

Misty Croslin-Cummings was actually removed from a jail in the next county over. Detectives went and picked her up and brought her out and questioned her.

CASAREZ: Combine it with some of those jailhouse phone calls --

M. CROSLIN: This is -- you know, it`s so hard to talk.

CHELSEA CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S SISTER-IN-LAW: I know.

M. CROSLIN: Yes.

C. CROSLIN: You know --

M. CROSLIN: But it`s going to hurt two people. It`s going to hurt two people.

CASAREZ: Another phone conversation she implicates that the person that is responsible is walking the streets free and we`re behind bars.

M. CROSLIN: You think, Chelsea, use your head. And you`ll know.

TERESA NEVES, GRANDMOTHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: They called us in to tell us that they were going to be doing a search. That the search was from a lead that they had gotten. It`s just a couple --

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: That is Haleigh`s paternal grandmother, Teresa Neves, who has been with us many, many times in the search for her granddaughter Haleigh. Just then she was on NBC`s "Today Show" talking about the search for Haleigh.

Liz, if you could roll back the video of them leaving the jail. Look. She`s crying. Teresa Neves and her son, Ronald Cummings, Haleigh`s father, have been with us on many, many occasions, begging for help in trying to find Haleigh.

And I have gone on the record many times, stating that neither of them could possibly be involved in her disappearance. And now most likely her death.

The search is ongoing there at the St. John`s River tonight.

Jean Casarez, what more do you know?

CASAREZ: I spoke with Joe Overstreet`s lawyer in Tennessee. One thing he told me that when he met with the FDLE last night -- Florida Department of Law Enforcement -- he said they were so professional.

He said they came in, they had their questions, they knew what they wanted to ask, they were done with it, and they left. It was just -- I`m summarizing -- as if there were puzzle pieces that they needed to get, information they needed to get to continue with the conclusion of this investigation.

GRACE: To Wendy Walsh, Dr. Wendy Walsh, psychologist and expert on momlogic.com. Weigh in, Wendy.

DR. WENDY WALSH, PH.D., PSYCHOLOGIST; EXPERT ON MOMLOGIC.COM: Well, I`ve got to say, I have a big parenting tip for parents out there if you`re raising small children. Don`t choose the career of drug dealer. OK?

Maybe there were drugs lying around. Maybe there were disputes over deliveries of drugs. We hear about a potential dispute over a missing weapon.

All this -- nothing should be near the environment of children that`s going on. So I think clearly Haleigh is broken. The unconscious can only hold those secrets for so long. They come out in all kinds of ways.

I`m sorry, not Haleigh. Misty has broken. And I think she`s finally done a deal and we`re going to have some answers soon, Nancy.

GRACE: You know, to Ellie Jostad, I`m listening to Wendy Walsh. She`s got an excellent point. But I just can`t believe that they have done a deal, so to speak, with Misty Croslin.

I mean, this is a little defenseless girl who was killed in the night. I just don`t see them giving up on the death penalty, although -- how old was Croslin at the time of the incident?

JOSTAD: Well, she was 17 at the time of the incident, Nancy.

GRACE: Well, she can`t get the death penalty anyway.

JOSTAD: Right. Right. But Nancy, you`ll remember back on what would have been Haleigh`s sixth birthday, investigators put out a press release and they said that they still believe that the key to what happened to Haleigh lies with Misty, that she had failed to provide an accurate account of what happened that night, that physical evidence at the scene did not match her account, and they said she has failed to give them anything but a sketchy story about went on in that house.

GRACE: Jean Casarez, what is in this letter? I`ve got it here, but I want you to tell the viewers about this letter that she writes -- Misty Croslin writes, talking about how her life was threatened.

CASAREZ: Well, she talks about that cousin Joe put a knife to her throat and threatened her if she would say anything to anybody. And this is what Cousin Joe is worried about now. Not the truth of the matter but the fact that he believes those in Florida that want to benefit, to get out of jail, are going to lie and say anything to implicate him.

And Nancy, I want you to look at the posture of the detectives that are surrounding Misty Croslin out there. Look at their posture. One thought is that they are pressuring her, that they are really trying to get information from her by taking her out there.

GRACE: Look at the investigators, the detectives out there wading through the water. They have been working like dogs, trying to crack this case. Always knowing the answer was right under their noses.

To Leslie, Indiana, hi, Leslie.

LESLIE, CALLER FROM INDIANA: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?

LESLIE: My question is, is if Tommy Croslin is not more involved than what he`s saying, how does he know anything about the St. John`s River?

GRACE: You know, Leslie, I think he is involved. I think that is why he is behind bars. What about it, Natisha?

LANCE: Well, Nancy, this also goes back to the letter that Jean was just talking about. In that letter Misty also indicates that she believes Tommy knows more about what happened that night.

GRACE: Out to the lines, Carla, Missouri. Hi, Carla.

CARLA, CALLER FROM MISSOURI: Thank you, Nancy, for taking my call. My question is even though the box has been out for a while, will they be able to lift prints.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: The family was all called to the sheriff`s office and some of them were seen very, very sad after they met with the sheriff. What they were told it could not have been good news.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Florida investigators searching a murky river for signs of Haleigh Cummings and among the people police interviewed yesterday is Croslin`s 20-year-old cousin, Joe Overstreet.

OVERSTREET: I didn`t do it.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You didn`t do it.

OVERSTREET: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He might be just be the fall guy. Maybe he`s convenient. He`s out of the area. He`s not one of them. So let`s pin it on him.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Back out to Leslie in Indiana`s question asking, could there be fingerprints on the box.

Excuse me, was it Carla`s question or -- Carla in Missouri`s question. There could be still be fingerprints on the box even though it`s been submerged if there even is a box. Yes, fingerprints can survive water.

Back out to the lines. Rachel, Pennsylvania, hi, Rachel.

RACHEL, CALLER FROM PENNSYLVANIA: Hi, Nancy. Thanks for taking my call.

GRACE: Yes, ma`am.

RACHEL: My question is, in the beginning of the week they said that the person of interest was in custody. Well, that would not mean Cousin Joe because he`s not in custody.

GRACE: Rachel, I`ve already thought about that. Today they came out -- police came out and issued a statement stating that rumors a suspect was in custody were false.

Now what do we believe? What they said at the beginning or what they said today? But I can tell you something. They have something in the water. I don`t care what they`re saying. They haven`t found anything of evidentiary value. BS. Because you don`t have cops working through the night with lights and scuba divers, search teams, cadaver dogs.

You come back the next day, you bring Misty Croslin out there in her handcuffs to points out a specific spot in the water. No, they`ve got something.

What do you think, Jean Casarez?

CASAREZ: You`re exactly right. And I think what is so interesting is that it is Misty and it is the one that we just heard Ellie say in the press release months ago. They said they believe Misty is not coming forward with information. And she is the one that they are standing right on right now waiting to hear what she has to say at the water`s edge.

GRACE: Natisha Lance, have they packed up and left yet?

LANCE: Nancy, there have been a few cars that have left, but there are still cars that are back there. So once we figure everything out, we are trying to find out at this point what is going on.

GRACE: So bottom line, they`re still there working into the night. All I can say tonight is, God bless little Haleigh. May she finally be put to rest. Our hearts go out to Teresa and Ronald Cummings tonight.

Let`s stop and remember Marine Corporal Matthew Zindars, 21, Watertown, Wisconsin, killed Iraq on a second tour. Awarded the Purple Heart, Unit Combat Action medal, Unit National Defense medal.

Lost his life weeks after promotion to corporal. With a smile that lit up a room. Loved outdoors, football, snowboarding, rock climbing. Dreamed the studying journalism at the University of Wisconsin.

Leaves behind grieving parents Ken and Lynn, sisters Tracy and Jennifer, brother Mark.

Matthew Zindars, America hero.

Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. And tonight we are praying for little Haleigh. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern, and until then, good night, friend.

END

http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/14/ng.01.html

[Sassycat]

http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/15/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Sheriff Says Haleigh Investigation Now Homicide

Aired April 15, 2010 - 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. The last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who goes on to flunk four -- one, two, three, four -- polygraphs and a voice stress test. Little Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and baby-sitter-turned-stepmother Misty Croslin both handcuffed, booked. Charges, drug trafficking.

Something or somebody leads search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters to comb the St. John`s River into the night. Croslin roused rousted out of her private jail cell yet again, taken in cuffs down to the docks of the St. John`s. We have the video, Croslin standing there in handcuffs, motioning out to the water, pointing out a specific spot to police. As the search for 5-year-old Haleigh goes on, a human ID crime lab vehicle arrives on the scene, family gathers at the Putnam County jail.

Bombshell tonight. Police announce 5-year-old Haleigh likely dead, evidence pulled from the muddy waters of the St. John`s has been discovered and dredged, an arrest on homicide imminent as the search for little Haleigh`s entire body and a murder weapon goes on. Is there finally a break in the search for Haleigh? Have the 5-year-old girl`s remains been found. Did Misty Croslin finally crack?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Items have been recovered at the search site.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Searching a murky river...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do have a search going on...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... for any sign of Haleigh Cummings.

JEFF HARDY, PUTNAM COUNTY SHERIFF: Information has been obtained by investigators that lead them to believe that Haleigh Cummings is most likely deceased.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty Croslin also appeared to be on the scene...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We really would not care who it implicates.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... in handcuffs, pointing out something for investigators.

HARDY: At this point, I`m comfortable to go ahead and say I`m going to call it a homicide.

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: If somebody has something to do with it, let them fry. So be it.

GRACE: They didn`t bring Joe down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You didn`t do it.

JOE OVERSTREET, MISTY`S COUSIN: No.

GRACE: They didn`t bring Tommy Croslin out of the jailhouse, that we know of.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: I said, I can`t help you find her body. I don`t know where she is.

GRACE: They brought Misty Croslin down to the docks to show police a specific spot in the St. John`s River.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All along, she`s saying she didn`t know anything.

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: I don`t know where she is!

I`m not hiding anything.

I don`t.

There`s nothing to break me of.

There`s nothing!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And now she is pointing out what may have happened that night that Haleigh went missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just by virtue of the fact she`s standing there pretty much implies that she`s provided information to this law enforcement agency to where this child was disposed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think Misty has any involvement in this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think Misty did, but I`m not going to say that she didn`t.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. I`m just receiving in my hand information -- sources are now saying police know what the murder weapon is, OK? So that gets rid of all speculation that this was just an accidental death, sources now saying -- unnamed sources saying police know what the murder weapon is, the murder weapon that killed 5-year-old little Haleigh Cummings. Police announcing in the last hours the 5-year-old little girl, defenseless in her own home, is likely dead, an arrest on homicide imminent as the search for little Haleigh`s entire body and a murder weapon goes on. Did Misty Croslin finally crack?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Told people it`s going to be just a matter of time.

GRACE: Who cracked?

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m not hiding anything.

GRACE: Who cracked?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she`s come to realize that, you know, she`s in trouble.

GRACE: Is Haleigh Cummings at the bottom of the St. John`s River?

HARDY: ... divers in this water every day. They have searched in zero-zero conditions using their bare hands.

GRACE: Did she die at the hands of Misty Croslin?

MISTY CROSLIN: I didn`t do anything with -- to that little girl. I would never hurt her.

GRACE: What scenario could have possibly have happened?

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: I think they need to go get Joe and lock him up.

TOMMY CROSLIN: Put him in jail.

I don`t know why she`s making up (INAUDIBLE). She probably knows something.

MISTY CROSLIN: That`s all I know!

HARDY: The investigative team has identified persons of interest in this case.

MISTY CROSLIN: Everybody`s, like, Famous Misty Croslin!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The police have brought her to the river to show where she saw this child go into the river.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: You better be honest with him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are helicopters floating above her head.

MISTY CROSLIN: They`re going to know. They`re going to know. I just got to wait until I can -- my lawyer is ready.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The key to what happened to Haleigh lies with Misty.

LISA CROSLIN: If you knew anything, you`d have done told him -- I mean, why would you set there if you knew something?

MISTY CROSLIN: It`s going to hurt two people.

CHELSEA CROSLIN, TOMMY CROSLIN`S WIFE: That we care about?

MISTY CROSLIN: Kind of. Or one, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are hearing information right now that police are now -- our sources are saying police do know the murder weapon for which they are looking. That should end all speculation that this was an accidental death, this little girl was -- took a pill by accident and died. That scenario has been floated many, many times. We are taking your calls live.

Joining us out of Satsuma, Florida, Natisha Lance. Natisha, you`re on the scene. What`s happening?

NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, big news coming out of Satsuma today. As you just said, police announce that Haleigh Cummings is likely deceased. They also went on to say that officially, this is a homicide investigation. They also said that there are persons of interest in this case. However, they are not naming those persons of interest. And they also said that although there have been reports out there that an arrest is imminent, they say that they are hopeful that an arrest will come sometime soon. Then they were also asked, is Misty Croslin still the key to this investigation, and to that, Nancy, they said, Absolutely.

GRACE: OK, let`s talk about what police have said in the last hours in their official presser, their press release. Back to you, Natisha Lance. I notice that they keep saying -- and I`ve gotten the release verbatim here in my hand, Natisha. They say that rumors have spread a suspect has been taken into custody as a result of this investigation. That is not true.

Now, clearly, Misty Croslin, Ronald Cummings and brother Tommy are all behind bars as a result of a drug investigation. Clearly, this does not address them. It says nobody`s in custody as a result of this investigation, the dredging of the river. So it could very well be one of them, although I still say it`s not Ronald Cummings. What about it, Natisha?

LANCE: You`re absolutely right, Nancy. And I don`t think it was any coincidence that it was written in the manner in which it was written. They also, Nancy, talked about the tip that led them to the St. John`s River. A question was posed to them, What did that tip come from inside the jail? They did not answer that question. However, there is still speculation that that tip came from either Misty Croslin or Tommy Croslin.

GRACE: Jean Casarez joining us, legal correspondent, In Session. Jean, what can you tell me?

JEAN CASAREZ, IN SESSION: Well, let me respond to what Natisha just said. What we did learn tonight is that they said that people are starting to cooperate, people are starting to talk. They`ve got a lot of time to sit and think. So that tells us right there it`s Misty or Tommy that gave this tip.

But I think one of the most amazing things that came out of this press conference today that we have never heard before is when posed with the question, Could Haleigh Cummings have been murdered right there at the water, the response was, That is a reasonable conclusion.

GRACE: Which would explain the lack of any blood or DNA evidence there in the home where she was last seen alive. We are taking your calls live.

But joining me right now is a very special guest joining us tonight in a primetime exclusive. With us tonight is Misty Croslin`s grandmother. It is also Joe Overstreet`s grandmother. It is Ms. Flora Hollars joining us out of West Nashville, Tennessee. Ms. Hollars, thank you for being with us.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY`S AND JOE`S GRANDMOTHER: You`re very much welcome.

GRACE: Number one, Ms. Hollars, let me tell you that not only myself but my staff have become very attached to little Haleigh and have been praying for her and thinking of her ever since we learned that she had disappeared, and our thoughts have been with you and the family.

HOLLARS: I pray for her every night.

GRACE: Ms. Hollars, tell me about Joe Overstreet. Repeatedly, Misty Croslin has referred to him as being responsible for Haleigh`s disappearance. You have been around him from this -- throughout this entire time. How has his behavior changed since he came back from Florida when Haleigh disappeared?

HOLLARS: His reactions are completely different than it was before he went down there. He`s not the same kid that he was when we went down there. He has a different attitude toward life and all. He just don`t care.

GRACE: Ms. Hollars, how does he react when you come into the room wearing a Haleigh T-shirt?

HOLLARS: Well, it`s my daughter that normally comes into the room wearing one, and he`ll normally turn around and walk out.

GRACE: Has he ever talked to you about the night Haleigh went missing?

HOLLARS: No, ma`am.

GRACE: Have you asked him?

HOLLARS: Not really.

GRACE: Why?

HOLLARS: He just throws his hands up and says, "F" it, and then he`ll get up and walk away.

GRACE: Did Tommy Croslin call you from behind bars? And if so, what did he say?

HOLLARS: He told me he was crying. And he says, Nanny, I`ve got to break down. I`ve got to tell somebody. And I told him, I says, Tommy, I know in my heart exactly what you`re fixing to say. He says, Nanny, what do you mean? I said, Are you going to tell me that Joe did this? He says, Yes, Nanny, Joe did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARDY: We`re hoping to make an arrest in this case. Let`s be real about this, OK? Number one, you know, this case has been going on for 14 months. People are finally starting to talk. Where that`s going to lead us, I don`t know, but we`re going to follow it to the end. And we`re -- yes, we`re trying to make an arrest. We`re trying to bring somebody to justice for this little girl right here and her family. And that`s what this is all about here today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think Haleigh died in this area?

HARDY: It`s our belief that this -- that that`s a very real possibility. We are working on building a case. That`s what we`ve been doing for the last 14 months.

CUMMINGS: I know somebody took my little girl!

HARDY: I`m comfortable to go ahead and say that I`m going to call it a homicide.

CUMMINGS: Some sorry piece of trash that will be wasted when it`s all over!

HARDY: Haleigh Cummings is most likely deceased.

CUMMINGS: If I find whoever has my daughter before you all do, I`m killing him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want whoever took her to let her go.

CUMMINGS: I don`t care. I`ll spend the rest of my life in prison. I`m telling you, you can put it on record and I don`t care.

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD, HALEIGH`S MOTHER: I just want my baby home.

HARDY: The investigative team has identified persons of interest in this case.

MISTY CROSLIN: What do they mean, that our life is going to be more than hell now than it was for this whole year?

HANK CROSLIN: For the next few weeks, because they`re going to wrap it up in the next few weeks.

MISTY CROSLIN: Well, I hope they do.

TOMMY CROSLIN: Leave me alone. I got nothing to say to you lying people.

HANK CROSLIN: I know for a fact Tommy -- Tommy ain`t got the heart. Tommy, he -- I don`t give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) what anybody says. Tommy had nothing to do with that (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

TOMMY CROSLIN: If I knew something, you`d know a long time ago. Leave me alone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joe Overstreet has been a person who Misty Croslin and it appears her brother have been pointing the finger at for possibly the death of Haleigh Cummings.

OVERSTREET: I lost a lot of (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Overstreet absolutely steadfastly, categorically denies any responsibility for Haleigh`s disappearance.

HANK CROSLIN: If I find out somebody did hurt Haleigh, I`d be the first one to put a bullet in them, I don`t give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) if it`s my son or who.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Joining us tonight is a very special guest, a guest who has been through hell. With us is Flora Hollars. That`s Misty Croslin and Joe Overstreet`s grandmother.

Ms. Hollars, you have heard now three different versions of what happened the night Haleigh went missing. What is the most recent version you have been told?

HOLLARS: What I was told by Misty this morning was that Tommy and Joe took Haleigh and wrapped a yellow rope around her and carried her to the dock and tied a brick around the bottom -- the other end of the rope and throwed her into the river. Now, that come from Misty`s mouth into my ear.

GRACE: This morning?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am.

GRACE: Could I ask you why they would have done that? Joe Overstreet and Tommy Croslin, why they would have done that? Had they allegedly molested Haleigh?

HOLLARS: That I don`t know.

GRACE: Why would they just throw her in the water?

HOLLARS: I don`t know. (INAUDIBLE) continue to talk to Misty, she`s going to tell me.

GRACE: OK. What is the second version you were told about Haleigh`s death?

HOLLARS: I was told that Misty had knocked her in the head and killed her and that Joe and Tommy got rid of her.

GRACE: Knocked her in the head with what, a cinderblock?

HOLLARS: No, just a piece of wood or something, is the way that it was put to me. But I didn`t believe that when I heard it.

GRACE: Who told you that?

HOLLARS: It come from one of them in Florida, is all I can say.

GRACE: Did they say why Misty would have struck 5-year-old Haleigh?

HOLLARS: No, they didn`t.

GRACE: OK. Ms. Hollars...

HOLLARS: (INAUDIBLE) overdose.

GRACE: What was the first story you were told about Haleigh`s death?

HOLLARS: First thing that I was told was that Joe had killed her. That was the first words that I was told.

GRACE: Why was -- why did he kill her in the first version?

HOLLARS: That I don`t have any idea. I don`t even know whether she was dead when she hit the water or not.

GRACE: Who told you the first version?

HOLLARS: Oh, that may have came from Misty. I`m not sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARDY: People have started to cooperate. That`s why I`ve told people it`s just going to be a matter of time. And we`re going to accept any cooperation that we can get. So again, it`s a good thing. People are starting to talk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARDY: Information has been obtained by investigators that lead them to believe that Haleigh Cummings is most likely deceased. I`m going to call it a homicide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators searching for a missing Florida girl are back at it at the St. John`s River in Satsuma, Florida, today, the third straight day that divers have gone looking for signs of Haleigh Cummings.

MISTY CROSLIN: We told them every...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Before we go to the lines, I want to go back to Ms. Flora Hollars, joining us tonight in a primetime exclusive. This is Misty Croslin and Joe Overstreet`s grandmother. Ms. Hollars, again, thank you for being with us.

HOLLARS: You`re welcome.

GRACE: And my question regarding the three versions you`ve been told -- who knows if any of them are true -- that you were told in each of these scenarios, where was Croslin? In the first scenario, the one that Croslin told you this morning, where was Croslin when everything happened?

HOLLARS: She didn`t tell me that.

GRACE: She just said that Joe Overstreet killed Misty -- killed Haleigh?

HOLLARS: He and Tommy -- she said Joe Overstreet and Tommy wrapped the rope around Haleigh and carried her to the dock at the St. John`s River and put a block around the other end of the rope and throwed her in the river.

GRACE: But what, Ms. Hollars, could be their possible motivation for killing a 5-year-old girl?

HOLLARS: That`s something that I don`t know! There`s three grandkids of mine that`s involved in this, and I don`t know why! But I`d sure like to know why. They have no remorse or something. But nobody decided to say anything until I broke Tommy on the phone Sunday. And yes, I`m the one that called the detectives. And yes, I`m the one that sent them to the river!

GRACE: Well, God bless you. God bless you for finally bringing some peace to this case. I pray to God in heaven that it does. Ms. Hollars...

HOLLARS: I hope so.

GRACE: Ms. Hollars, when Joe -- excuse me -- when Tommy Croslin calls you from the jail crying, what did he say happened?

HOLLARS: He was crying. And I told him, I said, You failed your lie detector test, didn`t you, Tommy? He says, Yes, I did. And I told him, I says, Now it`s time for it to come to a head. I want to know right now. In my heart, I already know. I said, Did Joe do this? He says, Yes, Nanny, Joe did. But he never implicated himself at that time. Misty`s the one that implicated Joe and Tommy.

GRACE: Did Tommy Croslin...

HOLLARS: Misty is coming clean.

GRACE: Did Tommy Croslin tell you what happened, other than he just killed her?

HOLLARS: That`s all he said.

GRACE: I want to remind everyone that according to police, none of the three -- Croslin, Tommy Croslin or Joe Overstreet -- are persons of interest or suspects in Haleigh`s disappearance.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF HARDY, PUTNAM COUNTY SHERIFF: Items have been recovered at the search site. Haleigh Cummings is most likely deceased. And I`m going to call it a homicide.

We`re hoping to make an arrest in this case.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They have not named any suspects in the 5- year-old`s disappearance.

HARDY: However, the investigative team has identified --

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HOST: We are taking your calls, live out to Linda, Virginia.

Hi, Linda.

LINDA, CALLER FROM VIRGINIA: Hi, Nancy. I just got a couple of things I want to say. First of all, I honestly believe that God puts angels here on earth and I do believe you`re one of them.

You keep these cases alive, Nancy. And we thank you for it. You give a voice to those who can no longer speak. And thank you.

GRACE: Linda, I promise you, the angels in heaven are crying right now that you compared me to them. But thank you. I`m going to take it and just run with it because I`ve never gotten that kind of compliment before. Thank you.

What`s your question, dear?

LINDA: Well, my question is -- there`s another thing, too. By the way, the twins look just like you. I just thought I`d say that.

(LAUGHTER)

GRACE: Now that`s a big compliment. Because I think Lucy and John David are the most beautiful things I have ever seen in the world.

LINDA: And they really are. Here`s my question, Nancy. Maybe your years as a prosecutor, you know, and the psychologist, psychiatrist and all that you had on the show.

Nancy, it seems more and more to me that these beautiful little children, that these heinous acts are committed. Why is it these monsters have the children -- their remains left so close to their homes? It appears that way to me.

GRACE: To Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, author of "Dealbreakers." If you take a look at it, I mean, think about what she`s saying. You have Caylee Anthony, 15 houses from the Anthony home. You have Haleigh Cummings, apparently -- although her entire body has not yet been found -- a few miles south of the home there in the St. John`s River.

I mean, it even applies to adults. There you have Scott Peterson throwing his wife in the water where he always goes fishing in the San Francisco Bay. Why?

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": And most children who are murdered are disposed of within a quarter mile of the family home. And most victims are victimized in or around their home.

And I think it`s because that these monsters, as Linda called them, these perpetrators, they have so much hatefulness and rage towards the child that that`s all they can think of. They don`t have big-picture thinking. They don`t think that what they`re doing is wrong or that they`ll be caught or anyone will ever discover them.

They`re just in the moment with the child. And I`ll tell you what. The person who has the most motivation towards murder is Misty Cummings. She is the noncustodial caretaker. And when a noncustodial caretaker murders a child, usually it is to get back at the other parent.

It is a revenge sort of thing. And I don`t think she wanted to take care of this child. I think she was envious towards this child. She did not want to take on the responsibilities of motherhood.

And remember when the drug bust went down. Who was the ringleader? It was Misty. Misty was the ringleader. So it would make sense that she might be the ringleader in this scenario, even if all three were involved.

GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight, Eleanor Odom, felony prosecutor. Her specialty is crimes on women and children. Renee Rockwell, defense owner, Atlanta. Peter Odom, defense attorney, Atlanta.

Weigh in, Eleanor.

ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: Nancy, this is a perfect case for the death penalty because you`ve got at least two people if Ronald and Tommy Croslin are found --

GRACE: Not Ronald.

E. ODOM: I mean, Joe, sorry.

GRACE: Joe Overstreet and Tommy Croslin.

E. ODOM: If those two actually did what the grandmother said, then that is death penalty material, and I think if they find some good evidence, the state should go for it.

GRACE: And of course, Renee Rockwell, Misty Croslin -- would have been under 18 at the time of the incident. Under our U.S. Supreme Court rulings, she cannot face the death penalty.

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That`s right. But I would be curious to know how old the other two are. And Nancy, what the grandmother just said and what it`s all going to boil down to was -- if this is what happened, was the child alive when she was thrown over with the brick and the rope?

It`s incredible. And I agree with Eleanor. Death penalty.

GRACE: OK. I don`t think it all hinges on whether she was alive when she hit the water. If that`s true.

To you, Peter Odom, if this child were molested and then murdered because I can`t think of any other reason that they would want to kill this little girl. All right? Other than Misty Croslin rage. And again the three have not been named official suspects or persons of interest.

Weigh in, Odom.

PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Frankly, Nancy, what`s being described is unfathomable no matter who you are. What puts the rink in the mist is, as you noted, if Misty Croslin cannot be put to death because of the United States Supreme Court scriptures, it`s going to make it very difficult for a jury to put accomplices to death, even if they are otherwise eligible.

GRACE: Yes, I don`t think they`re going to have a problem.

Our to Marlaina Schiavo, what else can you tell me?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, the cops all said that Misty knows that she is in trouble, so -- and Robert Fields, her attorney, is saying that he thinks that now that she`s cooperating, the focus has shifted, which doesn`t really make much sense now that we`ve heard what her grandmother had to say tonight.

GRACE: Elizabeth, please put that shot of Misty Croslin out on the docks and her handcuffs motioning to police where they should look out in the water.

I`ve only got one problem in the picture. Where`s her lawyer? What about it, Eleanor Odom?

E. ODOM: Well, she certainly has every right to have a lawyer there, especially if the cops are questioning her. So that is a concern for this. Whatever she says, you might want to use that in a potential trial down the road. So you want any statement to be taken by the letter of the law.

GRACE: But the way around that is if she went voluntarily, Eleanor.

E. ODOM: And let`s hope that she did go voluntarily and that they have it on tape, and that she signed any waiver of her rights.

GRACE: Back to you, Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, "In Session." The police are wording all their releases very, very carefully. For instance, saying there`s nobody in custody as it relates to this investigation. The homicide investigation. That doesn`t apply to anybody in jail, for instance, on drug trafficking which will be Misty Croslin and Tommy Croslin.

JEAN CASAREZ, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": You`re exactly right. It`s a play on words. You know I`ve been analyzing and thinking about what grandmother is saying tonight.

And Nancy, do you realize that when Misty told grandma an account, it didn`t involve her at all. When Tommy told an account, it didn`t involve him at all. So no one is confessing their own behavior in all of this. They`re all attributing it to others in the group.

GRACE: We are taking your calls live with us tonight is Misty Croslin and Joe Overstreet`s grandmother, Miss Flora Hollars.

Straight out to the lines, Karen in Ohio. Hi, Karen.

KAREN, CALLER FROM OHIO: Hi, Nancy. I`m so happy to finally talk to you.

GRACE: Well, thank you for calling in. What is your question, dear?

KAREN: Well, first, I want to say I have to agree with Linda that you are truly an angel. I watch you every night and your babies are gorgeous.

GRACE: Thank you. When I leave this anchor chair, the first thing I do is go home and check on them. And to think that Ronald Cummings left his baby there -- two of them -- just like me, he comes home and one is gone.

And for all this time, Misty Croslin didn`t say a word, denied everything. While this child`s remains were soaking into the mud at the bottom of the St. John`s River according to reports.

What is your question, Karen in Ohio?

KAREN: My question is, if she was thrown into the water with all of the alligators -- if she were to be eaten, would there be any remains left after she was digested?

GRACE: Out to Heather Walsh-Haney, forensic anthropologist at Florida Gulf Coast University. The reality is that she would have drowned in just a few moments, but would there be fragments of bones? Could there be portions of bones in your estimation?

HEATHER WALSH-HANEY, PH.D., FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST (via phone): In my estimation, if we`re talking about her being submerged in the water, buried by the sediment of the river, yes, we can get some of those 300 odd bones that would be skeletonized. We could hopefully recover them.

But the St. John`s River does have alligators. And it`s been my experience that when alligators are involved, if you don`t know specifically what alligator took the human or the body part, you`re not going to recover anything.

GRACE: But even if they recover, for instance, a cinder block with yellow rope or Haleigh`s clothes she was wearing that evening -- hold on.

Marlaina Schiavo, speaking of the clothes she was wearing that evening, remember, Misty Croslin first says she was wearing X outfit, but then that outfit was found near the laundry?

SCHIAVO: Yes, she said she was wearing a pink shirt, but then later on, they saw this same pink shirt that she described in the laundry pile. But also about that cinder block, Nancy, if you recall, she said that the backdoor was propped open with a cinder block and then they -- the investigators were looking for that same cinder block at that time.

GRACE: It`s amazing how bits of the truth are woven into that story.

Everybody, we are taking your calls live. And as we go to break on a happy note, a very special birthday to the number one fan of our show, a Navy veteran. He served time in the World War, giving up a college basketball scholarship to serve our country, even lying about his age to join the Navy, ending up on the other side of the world at just 17.

A railroad man for over 40 years. He and his wife -- my mother -- put us all through college, put braces on our teeth, took us to Sunday school, and taught us how to dance.

Happy birthday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARDY: At this point, I`m comfortable to go ahead and say I`m going to call it a homicide.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Searchers are working around the clock at a Florida river just five miles from where she was last seen.

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: It`s hard to believe that she don`t know more, but it`s hard to believe that if she did know more she ain`t already talking.

MISTY CROSLIN, FORMER STEPMOM/BABYSITTER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: I`m trying to do everything to find her, you know? I`m answering any questions I have to. I don`t know where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It`s going to be just a matter of time. People are starting to talk.

CROSLIN: I`ll do anything to get her back.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Misty Croslin was baby-sitting Haleigh the night she disappeared.

CROSLIN: I would have woke up if I heard any noise. And then I didn`t hear anything at all.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She`s been in custody on unrelated drug charges.

CUMMINGS: I want to get to the bomb of what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And she was moved from one jail to Putnam County where this search takes place.

CUMMINGS: One way or another, I want my daughter to come home.

HARDY: The investigative team has identified persons of interest in this case.

CROSLIN: I didn`t do anything with that little girl.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Croslin was briefly married to Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings.

CUMMINGS: I had nothing to do with this.

CASAREZ: They interviewed Joe Overstreet.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: This is Misty`s cousin.

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FMR. DC POLICE DETECTIVE; FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: Is Joe Overstreet involved in this?

JOE OVERSTREET, MISTY CROSLIN`S COUSIN: I didn`t do it.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You didn`t do it?

OVERSTREET: No.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Out to Michael Sapraicone -- Michael Sapraicone, former NYPD detective, president of Squad Security Inc., joining us out of New York.

All these three stories have the same common denominator, the same three individuals. But of course, they`re all pointing the finger at each other. Weigh in.

MICHAEL SAPRAICONE, FMR. NYPD DETECTIVE, PRESIDENT OF SQUAD SECURITY INC.: Yes, without a doubt. But I think if you think about this, Nancy, about a year or so ago, 14 months ago, we talked about this. We always looked at Overstreet as a possible suspect in the case.

I mean, it was a conflict about they way the door was when Cummings came home. Cummings said the door was open with a cinder block. Misty had said no, the door was locked when she woke up and that was an interesting point.

So we`ve always had the same characters, a whole list of -- the same list of suspects. I think there was a problem with Overstreet and a problem with Cummings.

Listen, there were some issues about them having a fight prior to this. So you`re right, you have the same people. And of course, people are going to point the finger at everybody else here.

GRACE: To Dr. Michael Bell, chief medical examiner, Palm Beach County, joining us out of Miami.

Dr. Bell, thank you for being with us. How would you -- especially in light of the fact that you were joining us out of Florida which is full, covered in swampland, how would you answer Karen in Ohio`s question regarding alligators?

DR. MICHAEL BELL, M.D., PALM BEACH COUNTY CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER: Well, whether there are alligators or fish, crabs or the other creatures that reside in the river, if the body is exposed to that, the animals are likely to devour both the soft tissues and the bones, which makes the possibility of recovering an intact body, intact skeleton very remote.

GRACE: Are you telling me that over 300 bones, out of over 300 bones, and I`ve got to find a single one if alligators were involved?

Well, Dr. Bell, I`m not buying that.

BELL: You don`t have to buy it, but still it`s likely true. I think it`s going to be very difficult to recover any bones.

GRACE: So you think an alligator would eat the entire body? There wouldn`t be a toe? A finger? A jawbone? Anything left?

BELL: There might be, but you have to remember that with this time and decomposition, any bones that weren`t eaten by the alligator are likely scattered throughout the river bed.

GRACE: That`s a good point, Dr. Bell.

Also joining us to night, our chief editorial producer, Ellie Jostad.

Ellie, to you, weigh in.

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE CHIEF EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, to go up to what Dr. Bell just said, here`s what they`re up against in that water. They`ve got a 20-foot drop right just a couple of feet from the shore. They`ve got murky, muddy -- they described it as a viscous mud on the bottom of this river.

The divers are trying to go through it by hand. They don`t know how - - how deep in the mud any piece of evidence could be. There`s zero visibility. They`re trying to use special goggles to see better in the water. But this is an uphill battle in that search.

GRACE: Ellie, all of these stories, these stories that we are hearing, not only from Miss Flora Hollars, but other sources.

JOSTAD: Yes.

GRACE: Other unnamed sources. She`s not the only one saying this. Other people are confirming what she is telling us tonight. They all boil down to the same three people and in every scenario, Misty Croslin is in the center of it.

JOSTAD: Right. And there`s this alleged letter obtained by Leonard Padilla. He said they got it from one of Misty Croslin`s relatives. In this letter, Misty Croslin wrote from jail that she was there that night, Tommy was there that night, Joe was there that night.

She says she doesn`t think that Tommy did anything, she`s not sure what Joe did, but she describes them as being very intoxicated. Those aren`t the words she used. But she says she doesn`t know exactly what happened but that all three of them were there.

GRACE: All three of them there. To me, Eleanor Odom, that makes them all party to the crime of whatever happened to that little girl. And you`ve got to think, Eleanor, come on, if you don`t know a horse, look at the track record.

Why would they kill this little girl with a cinder block and rope if those accounts are true?

E. ODOM: Exactly. What reason would they have, Nancy? They must have done something to the little girl, injured her in some way, for them to just toss her body aside like trash.

GRACE: To Jackie in Tennessee. Hi, Jackie. What`s your question, dear?

JACKIE, CALLER FROM TENNESSEE: Is that me?

GRACE: Yes, dear.

JACKIE: OK. It`s Cathy in Texas.

Nancy, first off, the other girls are great. You`re an angel. And I read your -- from your first book (INAUDIBLE) and your TV show, you`re the greatest thing in the world.

As a former officer, I want to know, why would -- was Luminol ever sprayed in the house? Has it been sprayed out of the house?

GRACE: Good question. Marlaina Schiavo, you`ve been in the house. Did they use Luminol?

SCHIAVO: They didn`t give us that information if they did, Nancy.

GRACE: I guarantee you, they used Luminol. And what that tells me was the murder did not take place there unless it was a suffocation.

As we go to break, I was approached this past Sunday and asked for you and your thoughts and prayers for Mary Claire Blackshaw. A young mother in the fight of a lifetime battling bone cancer.

Mary Claire, we are all joining together tonight, and we are praying. Now you stay strong.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARDY: As far as the cooperation goes from who`s cooperating and what plea bargains, I`m not here to talk about any of that. I don`t know of any plea bargain that`s been offered to anybody. Just so you know.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Back to the scene there in Satsuma, Natisha Lance joining us.

Natisha, what`s the latest?

NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: The latest, Nancy, one of the things that Marlaina mentioned is the search around the Cummings home initially.

If you recall, Nancy, they tracked Haleigh Cummings` scent all the way to the edge of the water, so one of the theories that has been played with down here at the scene is that possibly a boat was used in order to get Haleigh Cummings over to this area that has been searched recently.

GRACE: Then why, I`m wondering, the dock? The dock? Why would they bring Misty Croslin out to the edge of the dock as she`s pointing out if that were not the spot they used, allegedly -- according to reports, no suspect, no persons of interest -- to throw the child into the water.

Back to our special guest tonight, Flora Hollars. This is Misty Croslin`s and Joe Overstreet`s grandmother. Miss Hollars is joining us out of West Nashville, Tennessee.

Miss Hollars, have police spoken to you? Of course they have because you called them and told them.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY CROSLIN AND JOE OVERSTREET`S GRANDMOTHER: I`ve talked to the police in Florida. I`m the one that told the police in Florida where to look at.

GRACE: Miss Hollars, in any -- in any of these scenarios did anybody ever tell Ronald Cummings what happened to his daughter?

HOLLARS: Not that I know of. I don`t think they have. Well, maybe his mom and them the other day when they was at the jail because I`ve talked to them, too.

GRACE: What did they have to say about all of this? Did they believe it?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am, they did.

GRACE: Are you still in touch with Misty Croslin, or has the jail cut off her phone access?

HOLLARS: They had cut off my phone access, but they put it back on again this morning so she could call. That`s how I got the information this morning.

GRACE: I see the photo behind you of you and Misty Croslin. Do you think she could have had anything to do with this?

HOLLARS: No, ma`am, I really don`t think she could. Misty`s too good with kids. Misty loves kids. She`s had an opportunity to hurt them all and she`s kept every one of them. I don`t believe Misty had any involvement whatsoever.

GRACE: With us is Flora Hollars.

Let`s stop and remember Army Specialist Zachary Clouser, 19, Dover, Pennsylvania, killed Iraq. Awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation medal. Remembered as the glue that held his friends together. A member of several local car clubs.

Loved outdoors, hunting, dreamed of college and a career in computers. Leaves behind parents, Deborah and Kevin, four brothers, two sisters.

Zachary Clouser, American hero.

Thanks to our guests but especially to you, and a special good night from Georgia and Ohio friends, Anita, Virginia, Melissa and Teresa.

What a beautiful bunch.

Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And tonight our prayers with little 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings and her mother and father.

Until tomorrow night, good night, friend.

END

http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/15/ng.01.html

[Sassycat]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/16/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Two Cinder Blocks Pulled from River in Search for Haleigh

Aired April 16, 2010 - 20:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: We begin tonight with breaking news in the homicide of 5-year-old Florida girl Haleigh Cummings. As police announce Haleigh is dead, investigators pull items for testing from the St. John`s River. Multiple persons of interest identified and major developments are emerging tonight.

After Misty Croslin`s grandmother appears on this show last night, insisting Misty Croslin, Tommy Croslin and their cousin Joe are all involved in Haleigh`s death, WFXT (SIC) reporting two cinderblocks have been pulled from the St. John`s River. Croslin`s grandmother laying out multiple versions she says the Croslins told her about the night Haleigh vanishes, all of them ending in the little girl`s brutal death, one of them that a rope attached with a brick was placed around Haleigh`s neck, then she`s thrown into the river.

After we see Misty Croslin on video in handcuffs standing on the dock of the St. John`s River with investigators, we now learn she wasn`t the only one at the river with cops, Tommy Croslin also bringing investigators to the very same location where dive teams have been searching for a murder weapon. Is there finally a break in the search for Haleigh? And have the 5-year-old little girl`s remains been found?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Items have been recovered at the search site.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sources telling CNN affiliate WJXT that two cinderblocks have been taken out of the St. John`s River. Forensic testing now taking place.

JEFF HARDY, PUTNAM COUNTY SHERIFF: I`m not going to discuss the particular items that I`ve taken for analysis.

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: The cops said there was a whole bunch of bricks about 50 feet away, but I`d never seen any bricks at all.

HARDY: People are starting to talk.

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is!

HARDY: People are starting to cooperate.

MISTY CROSLIN: There`s nothing to break me on.

HARDY: I think she`s come to realize that, you know, she`s in trouble.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: I see the smile.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It hurts so many lives.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY`S AND JOE`S GRANDMOTHER: First thing that I was told was that Joe had killed her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know what to believe anymore.

GRACE: What is the second version?

HOLLARS: I was told that Misty had knocked her in the head and killed her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do not believe anything.

GRACE: Who knows if any of them are true? The three have not been named official suspects or persons of interest.

MISTY CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE) I`ll take a polygraph.

(INAUDIBLE) a polygraph.

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: I don`t know anything about her flunking a polygraph.

GRACE: I mean, royally flunked it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He tried to make an arrest.

HOLLARS: I told her, Baby, don`t cry. This is something you should have said a long time ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re trying to bring somebody to justice.

HOLLARS: She says that, Nanny, I was scared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This little girl right here and her family...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bring her back.

CUMMINGS: Somebody took my little girl!

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD, HALEIGH`S MOTHER: I just want our baby to come home.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m not going to be in this jail forever, Ma.

LISA CROSLIN: I know, baby.

MISTY CROSLIN: They`re not going to keep me locked up forever, I`m telling you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Good evening. I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network In Session on the truTV network, in for Nancy Grace. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. Major developments tonight in the homicide of 5-year- old Florida girl Haleigh Cummings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN affiliate WJXT reporting their sources claim cops have pulled two cinderblocks from the St. John`s River.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you recall, she said that the back door was propped open with a cinderblock.

MISTY CROSLIN: There was a brick, like, a cinderblock, that was holding the screen door open.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The investigators were looking for that same cinderblock at that time.

HOLLARS: ... wrapped a yellow rope around her and carried her to the dock and tied a brick around the bottom of the -- the end of the rope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cinderblocks, along with other evidence, have been sent to be tested. Law enforcement refuses to comment.

GRACE: It`s amazing how bits of the truth are woven into that story.

HARDY: And that`s what this is all about here today.

Haleigh Cummings is most likely deceased.

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: Only one that knows is the people that were there.

HARDY: I`m going to call it a homicide.

HANK CROSLIN: You think she can come home?

MISTY CROSLIN: Of course, Dad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a huge river, and we believe that she could potentially have been put in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s hard to hear somebody tell you that your child or your grandchild is dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The investigative team has identified persons of interest in this case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve always had the same characters, the same list of suspects.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m just going to say several.

HOLLARS: They have no remorse or something!

HARDY: I will not be mentioning any names at this time.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m not hiding anything.

JOE OVERSTREET, MISTY`S COUSIN: I didn`t do it.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: I don`t know where she is.

GRACE: I want to remind everyone that according to police, none of the three are persons of interest or suspects.

HANK CROSLIN: I want them to find Haleigh, too, and find out who did this to Haleigh. I don`t care who it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Let`s go straight out to Ellie Jostad, producer for NANCY GRACE. Ellie, there is some major news coming out of Florida tonight. What is it?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Right. That`s right, Jean. Our affiliate, WJXT -- that`s our affiliate down in Jacksonville, Florida -- is reporting that two cinderblocks have been pulled during that massive search in the St. John`s River, that search going on for the better part of this week.

Now, the significance of cinderblocks would be, we heard last night from Flora Hollars. This is the grandmother of both Misty Croslin, her brother Tommy Croslin, as well as his cousin, Joe Overstreet. And the grandmother laid out a scenario that she says she`s heard from her relatives in Florida that Haleigh`s body was tied with a rope, the other end, a cinderblock attached, and that she was thrown in that river. So if cinderblocks have been found -- and authorities will not comment on anything found at this point -- that could be a major development.

CASAREZ: Now, Ellie, we do know that there was an anthropologist at the scene...

JOSTAD: That`s right.

CASAREZ: ... that was going through what was found in the river. Some was discarded, some was sent on for testing. Do we know if those cinderblocks were moved on for further testing?

JOSTAD: Well, we do not know that, as far as what authorities are telling us. However, WJXT is reporting that their sources say those items have been sent for testing, that those cinderblocks have been sent for testing. So -- and we`ve also heard, as you know, that there was a cinderblock propping open the door in that house that night. We`ve also heard there was a pile of cinderblocks nearby the home where Haleigh went missing. So if cinderblocks are found in that river, perhaps we can get a match to cinderblocks found back at the home.

CASAREZ: All right. To Natisha Lance, NANCY GRACE producer, standing by live in Satsuma, Florida. Natisha, I know that you have spoken personally with Flora Hollars. She was on this show last night. When you spoke with Flora Hollars, Grandma, about the cinderblock, what more did she tell you? How did she describe it?

NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Jean, just as she described it on the show, the same scenario that she gave. And she said there were three different scenarios. But specifically, the one with the cinderblock, she said that Haleigh was thrown into the river with a rope tied to a cinderblock. She did not even know if she was dead before she hit the water.

CASAREZ: To Marlaina Schiavo. You have been on this case from the very beginning. You have been in the home in Florida. You first talked to us about this case, talking about cinderblocks, Marlaina. It has been a recurring theme from the beginning of this case. Talk to us about that.

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Jean, as Ellie was saying earlier, that, you know, Misty, when she first told the story about the night Haleigh went missing, she said the back door was propped open with a cinderblock. But Jean, what`s interesting about that scenario is that Ronald Cummings has also said that they never used that back door. He said it was always locked.

So putting together the pieces of what we`re finding out now, between the cinderblock and the possible murder scenes, or crime scenes, rather, someone from the inside would have had to open the door from the inside, unlock it, and then prop the door open.

CASAREZ: Especially if a little girl had to be carried out. Marlaina, also, wasn`t there cinderblocks in the vicinity of the home we heard about early on?

SCHIAVO: Yes, there were. There were cinderblocks. There were a pile in one area. Plus, when we were down there, there were also just random cinderblocks sort of everywhere. So if someone wanted access to cinderblocks, they definitely could find them around Ronald Cummings`s home.

CASAREZ: All right. We`ve got a very special guest tonight. It is a member of the Croslin family. It is a primetime exclusive. We`ve heard about her a lot, but we`ve never heard from her. And we do tonight. I would like to welcome from Boston, Massachusetts, Chelsea Croslin tonight. She is the sister-in-law of Misty Croslin. Chelsea, thanks so much for joining us.

CHELSEA CROSLIN, MISTY`S SISTER-IN-LAW: Thank you.

CASAREZ: You lived in Satsuma when this all happened. And I first want to ask you, since we`ve never heard from you, what was it like when Haleigh went missing over a year ago?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: It was the worst thing I`ve ever been through in my entire life.

CASAREZ: How did you find out?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: Misty called me that morning, about 4:00, and told me that Haleigh was missing. And from there, everything happened.

CASAREZ: You know, last night, Flora Hollars, Grandma, came on, and she said a lot of things. In a nutshell, she said that Misty, Tommy and Joe have committed terrible, terrible crimes. First I want to know your reaction to all of that.

CHELSEA CROSLIN: I`ve always from day one believed that Joe did have some sort of part in Haleigh`s disappearance, just from the different things, from the van being moved, the scratch. I don`t believe that Tommy and Misty could do anything to harm a child.

CASAREZ: You were sent a letter from Misty in jail. We received a copy of that letter. And that letter that Misty wrote says to you, "He put me up with a knife, and he said that if he would come back and he`d kill me. He told me at the house he would kill me, so I didn`t know what to do." Who`s Misty talking about right there?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: She`s talking about Joe.

CASAREZ: Describe for me what she wrote in this letter in detail. It`s a little hard to read. But tell us all.

CHELSEA CROSLIN: The letter basically states that she -- Joe came in to steal the gun. She didn`t know the gun was gone. When she looked for the gun, the gun wasn`t there. Joe freaked out and took Haleigh. She said that she had seen Tommy in the back door, and when she looked back again, he was gone. So she said that she didn`t know what, you know, Tommy -- part Tommy might -- I don`t believe Tommy had a part in it, just she was implicating that maybe Tommy had known that Joe was there.

CASAREZ: We`re going to talk to Joe`s attorney in just a minute. But Chelsea, what would be the motive to do that? Why?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: I don`t see why anybody in the world would have motive to hurt a child.

CASAREZ: But you must have talked to people. What do people believe the motive for anyone to do something like that?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: I don`t know Joe. And as far as I know, I`ve been told Joe is -- is crazy. So I don`t know what he could do.

CASAREZ: And we want to say that cousin Joe is not a suspect in this case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: Those three grandkids of mine is involved in this, and I don`t know why, but I`d sure like to know why. They have no remorse or something. But nobody decided to say anything until I broke Tommy on the phone Sunday. And yes, I`m the one that called the detectives. And yes, I`m the one that sent them to the river.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN affiliate WJXT reporting their sources claim cops have pulled two cinderblocks from the St. John`s River.

HARDY: Information has been obtained by investigators that lead them to believe that Haleigh Cummings is most likely deceased.

And I`m going to call it a homicide.

MISTY CROSLIN: We`ve told them everything that we know, but they don`t want to listen. They don`t want to listen, Daddy, I`m telling you!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joe Overstreet is distraught over this, that he doesn`t know where to turn, and he knows he didn`t have anything to do with the disappearance of Haleigh Cummings, but believes at this point that he`s being framed by people whose stories keep changing.

MISTY CROSLIN: They say, It`s not enough, It`s not enough. They want more. There is no more! I tell them and tell them and tell them, and they just don`t listen!

HOLLARS: I was told that Misty had knocked her in the head and killed her and that Joe and Tommy got rid of her.

GRACE: According to police, none of the three are persons of interest or suspects in Haleigh`s disappearance.

TOMMY CROSLIN: If I knew something, you`d know a long time ago. Leave me alone.

MISTY CROSLIN: I just can`t stand it, man! It drives me crazy, man! I hate they`re calling me a liar. I`m not a liar. I`m telling you the truth, so leave me alone!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sheriff has told us, though, that they`re going to do and work as long as it takes to find this physical evidence, which they believe is still there.

HARDY: This case has been going on for 14 months. People are finally starting to talk. Where that`s going to lead us, I don`t know. But we`re going to follow it to the end. And yes, we`re trying to make an arrest. We`re trying to bring somebody to justice for this little girl right here and her family. And that`s what this is all about here today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network In Session, in for Nancy Grace tonight. You know, law enforcement had said on the record that they were looking for physical evidence in the St. John`s River, and our affiliate WJXT is reporting tonight that two cinderblocks were pulled from the river. They have been sent now for testing.

I want to go back out to Chelsea Croslin, who is with us tonight, the sister-in-law of Misty. Chelsea, you had mentioned before we went to break about a van. And I remember you talking to law enforcement early on about a van. You were using a van at that time in Florida, and that night, it was borrowed by someone. Is that right?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: Yes, it is. It was my sister-in-law`s van.

CASAREZ: And who borrowed it that night?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: Well, I borrowed it from my sister-in-law. And when I woke up the next day, the van was parked in a different spot than I had parked it. So I assumed that the van had been taken from the home that night.

CASAREZ: Do you know who drove it?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: If anybody drove it, it had to have been Joe.

CASAREZ: Why?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: Because my husband was sleeping next to me. He had just been in a car accident and he was on medication. He was asleep hours before I was.

CASAREZ: What about Tommy? Why couldn`t Tommy have taken the van?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: Because Tommy lived at least three miles from where my house was. And it was Tommy`s van, but he lent it to us that night. Joe would have had to have taken the van from my house to go back to that neighborhood. Tommy lived right next to where Misty and Haleigh did, about six houses apart.

CASAREZ: OK. All right, I want to bring in a special guest right now exclusively with us out of New Orleans, Louisiana, Mr. Shawn Sirgo. He is the attorney representing cousin Joe Overstreet, Misty Croslin and Tommy`s cousin.

Mr. Sirgo, thank you for joining us. You know, so much has been said in the last 24 hours directed solely at your client, Joe. First of all, I want your reaction on what Grandma said, Flora Hollars said, last night.

SHAWN SIRGO, ATTORNEY FOR JOE OVERSTREET: I really don`t have a reaction to what she said because it -- it`s hearsay. You have to understand, as attorneys, we`re trained to take evidence and look at its feasibility, its reliability. Can it stand the test? And law enforcement hasn`t tested this, to the best of my knowledge. So it`s just a statement being made by someone. And so until it`s substantiated, until it`s brought forward as evidence, then I really don`t have any reason to want to address it to any degree.

CASAREZ: All right. She said that your client committed murder. Those were her words.

SIRGO: Well, that would be surprising if she wasn`t in the area at the time an alleged murder happened. And it would also be surprising because no one else has said that -- has -- Joe has never admitted that he committed a murder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: Misty`s too good with kids. Misty loves kids. She`s had an opportunity to hurt them all, and she`s kept every one of them. I don`t believe Misty had any involvement whatsoever!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Law enforcement retrieved two cinderblocks from the St. John`s River, according to CNN affiliate WJXT, citing sources.

911 OPERATOR: 911. What`s your emergency?

MISTY CROSLIN: I just woke up and our back door was wide open, and we can`t find our daughter.

GRACE: What is her story about what happened that night?

CUMMINGS: She put Haleigh to bed, done some laundry, went to bed, and woke up to the door propped open.

GRACE: Has he ever talked to you about the night Haleigh went missing?

HOLLARS: No, ma`am.

GRACE: Have you asked him?

HOLLARS: Not really.

GRACE: Why?

HOLLARS: He just throws his hands up and says "F" it, and then he`ll get up and walk away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network In Session, in for Nancy Grace tonight. We are also learning that it was actually Tommy that took investigators very early in the week, on Monday, initially to that river`s edge. And we also have with us tonight Terry Shoemaker. We`re going to talk to him in just a second. He`s the attorney for Ronald Cummings. He just returned from the jail talking to Ronald tonight.

SIRGO: I want to go to a caller. Linda in Maryland. Hi, Linda.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Jean.

CASAREZ: Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks for taking my call.

CASAREZ: Sure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really admire your fair and unbiased reporting. I`ve got two quick questions.

CASAREZ: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Number one, did Joe ever take a polygraph? And number two, don`t you think they must have other credible sources beyond the grandmother? Because she just gets her information from Misty and Tommy.

CASAREZ: It`s a very good question. Let`s go to Shawn Sirgo. We`ve got the attorney right here. He is the attorney for cousin Joe Overstreet. Has Joe ever taken a polygraph, to your knowledge?

SIRGO: I have no knowledge that it`s viable (ph) to either acknowledge that he did or deny that he did. Our involvement in this case has been turned around a little bit. Initially, and even up until the last time we were interviewed by Florida enforcement, we were just being interviewed and being asked questions. The attack on Joseph by non-law enforcement, non-official entities has prompted us to respond to media`s requests to give some type of accounting for our position on this.

CASAREZ: Where was Joe that night? Where was Joe? I mean, was he driving around? Was he sleeping? Where was he? This happened very late at night.

SIRGO: He was sleeping, and he was woken up by the same phone call at approximately 4:00 AM. And from that point, he went to the hospital to see his relative who had been in an accident, and then after that went, you know, with the rest of the family to the sheriff`s department, if I`m not mistaken, to discuss what was going on. They all went out and put flyers out, you know, trying to help find the missing child.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sources telling CNN affiliate WJXT that two cinder blocks have been taken out of the St. Johns River. Cops refuse to comment.

JEFF HARDY, PUTNAM COUNTY SHERIFF: Haleigh Cummings is most likely deceased.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY CROSLIN AND JOE OVERSTREET`S GRANDMOTHER: Those three grandkids of mine is involved in this, and I don`t know why.

HARDY: I`m going to call it a homicide.

HOLLARS: They have no remorse or something.

HARDY: We`re hoping to make an arrest in this case.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They`ve not named any suspects in the 5-year-old`s disappearance.

HARDY: However, the investigative team has identified persons of interest.

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: Please, all we want is my child. That`s it.

JOE OVERSTREET, MISTY CROSLIN`S COUSIN: Sorry.

CUMMINGS: I just want my daughter back.

OVERSTREET: I can`t imagine what they`re going through. I didn`t do it.

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S FATHER: If they think Joe had something to do with it, go get his (EXPLETIVE DELETED) punk (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and put him in jail.

JEAN CASAREZ, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": But Misty was the last person to see Haleigh.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you think Misty has any I involvement in this?

HOLLARS: I don`t think Misty did.

MISTY CROSLIN, FORMER STEPMOM/BABYSITTER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: I didn`t do anything to that little girl. I would never hurt her.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Misty Croslin taken down to the dock of the St. Johns.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S MOTHER: Don`t cry, baby. She knows you loved her.

GRACE: Pointing out a specific spot to police.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Florida authorities flew to Tennessee to question Croslin`s cousin, Joe Overstreet, for the third time.

H. CROSLIN: We told them that in the beginning. Tommy even told them that they thought -- he thought maybe Joe whatever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s being attacked.

CASAREZ: We know what he`s talking about. He`s talking about Misty Croslin, her brother Tommy. They`re both in jail.

M. CROSLIN: You know, me and Tommy sitting in jail and (EXPLETIVE DELETED) he`s just out doing whatever he wants.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Overstreet was in the area when Haleigh was reported missing.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did he see Haleigh on February 9th or 10th?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He saw her at some point. At some point he saw her.

OVERSTREET: Sorry. I didn`t do it.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You didn`t do it?

OVERSTREET: No.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network "In Session," in for Nancy Grace tonight.

CNN affiliate WJXT in Florida is reporting that two cinder blocks were pulled out of the St. Johns River. They are now being tested. They are also reporting that -- they are wondering if this could be the murder weapon. And this just comes a day after the grandmother of Misty and Tommy said a cinder block was involved in throwing the body of little Haleigh Cummings into the St. Johns River.

I want to go right now to the attorney for Ronald Cummings. Terry Shoemaker is joining us out of St. Augustine, Florida.

Mr. Shoemaker, thank you for joining us. I know that you have just visited Ronald Cummings today, your client, the father of Haleigh. How is he doing?

TERRY SHOEMAKER, ATTORNEY FOR RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER, JUST MET WITH RON IN JAIL: Considering, he`s holding up quite well. You know, he`s shocked by all the latest news, and he`s anxious to finally have an end to this and find out exactly what happened. But overall, he`s doing pretty well.

CASAREZ: Can you tell us procedurally, earlier in the week we know they called the family to the jail. We know that Ronald was taken somewhere. Can you -- procedurally, what happened to Ronald early this week when authorities came there?

SHOEMAKER: Well, originally, it probably would have been around Wednesday I think he was taken out of his cell and he had been in his cell on his own ever since he was arrested. He was taken over to the sheriff`s office.

They talked to him about what had transpired and the fact that there were some new tips that they were searching. He was then put back -- he has to be put back into general population at that time. He has been in general population ever since then.

And then last night one of the homicide detectives again came over and talked to him, gave him an update on what was going on and what they had found and what they were hoping to find.

CASAREZ: So you`re saying that he was taken from protective custody being alone, which he has been from the beginning, into general population?

SHOEMAKER: Yes. And -- yes, ma`am. And actually, that was Ronald`s request. He didn`t feel as though he was in any danger, and he didn`t think that he actually needed to be in any protective custody. And he asked to be put -- or placed back -- or into general population.

CASAREZ: Was he united -- was he united with his family on Wednesday when he was told things by authorities, or was he told by himself?

SHOEMAKER: That I`m not sure. I didn`t ask him if he was in the same room with his mother, and everyone else that was involved with that. His sister was there as well. So I can`t answer that.

CASAREZ: All right. All right. I want to go out to a caller right now. Jan in Maryland, hi, Jan.

JAN, CALLER FROM MARYLAND: Hello. How are you?

CASAREZ: I`m fine. Good evening. What`s your question?

JAN: I have a quick question. When Haleigh first went missing, you said that Misty was -- the little girl was asleep and she was doing her wash, her bed clothes. Did they ever check that for DNA?

CASAREZ: OK. All right. You know let`s go first of all to Chelsea Croslin, since we have her with us, who lived in Satsuma, was right there when it all happened.

Chelsea, what was the first story that you heard from Misty about what happened that night?

CHELSEA CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S SISTER-IN-LAW: Well, in the very beginning Misty told us that she didn`t know what happened and that she woke up and Haleigh was gone. She never gave us a story until I heard the story about Joe.

CASAREZ: She never gave you a story for all of those months.

All right, I want to go to Pat Brown, criminal profiler and author from Washington, D.C. tonight.

You know, the caller is talking about DNA, DNA of the clothes. You can touch on that, but I want to talk about the cinder blocks also. Can they test them for DNA?

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, they`re not going to find anything. They`ve been sitting under that water forever. But the cinder blocks are an incredibly great piece of this puzzle and tells us a lot about where the crime scene went down.

Now we`re hearing about Joe. He`s in the house, and he supposedly doesn`t find a gun so, he steals Haleigh and runs away with her. And that`s ridiculous because he`s certainly -- if he did something to her -- is not going to come back to the house to get some cinder blocks then to take her down to the dock.

So those cinder blocks that are coming from the house prove that the crime actually went down in the house.

And the second thing I want to point out is we`re talking about the door being propped open so somebody can carry a body out. Well, that`s just ridiculous. It`s just a little teeny child and any parent can carry a child, open up a screen door and walk through it.

And if you have two people someone can hold the door up while the other one goes through. That cinder block was set up there to stage the crime to make it look like a stranger came in and kidnapped the child.

CASAREZ: You know, with all these people failing so many polygraphs, and we`ve heard that, why do you think authorities are taking this tip seriously?

BROWN: Well, they`ve learned -- they`ve gotten some good information. Obviously, the cinder blocks. So now they know who`s involved in the crime. They know Misty, since she was in the house, had to be involved in the crime. That`s the number one thing they want to know right there.

And then we`re going to look back at all the behaviors. We see one of the interesting things about Misty is that night when she said that the door was open -- can you imagine you wake up in the night and you see the door`s open and you`re not even scared?

You`re not running around freaking out, you`re not calling Ron right away, saying oh, my god, somebody is in the house. She is not even scared. Ron comes home, and he doesn`t even seem to -- he seems to know Haleigh is already dead. He doesn`t have any behaviors that show that he believes she`s alive.

I believe he knew already what was going on. So that`s I think why police are bringing him in to talk to him, to update him. They`re letting him know, we`ve got more information, people are starting to talk now, Ron. They`re starting to talk now, Ron.

CASAREZ: To Terry Shoemaker, Ronald Cummings` lawyer, you know, I remember Ronald being hysterical on that 911 phone call. And tell me if I`m wrong. But that phone call wasn`t made until he got home. And we heard Misty`s voice. But didn`t he force her to make that call?

SHOEMAKER: Yes. She didn`t make any calls until either she saw him pulling in the driveway or until he actually started coming in the house. And he confronted her and started asking her what was going on.

CASAREZ: Right. That`s what I thought.

Kalan in Canada. Hi, Kalan from Canada. Your question.

KALAN, CALLER FROM CANADA: Hi, Jean.

CASAREZ: Hi.

KALAN: Thanks for taking my call.

CASAREZ: Mm-hmm.

KALAN: I just want to say my boyfriend Richard and I have been following the story from the very beginning and our thoughts and prayers go out to Ronald Cummings and his family right now.

But with that being said, in light of all the recent events, has Ronald Cummings made any direct statements in regards to the Croslin family involvement?

And question two. Are they going to re-polygraph Misty and Tommy to get to the actual facts of who actually killed Haleigh?

CASAREZ: All right. A lot of that is probably attorney-client privilege. So I`m going to go to Natisha Lance out there in Satsuma, Florida.

What do we know about Ronald Cummings and what he has said about the involvement of Misty, Tommy or Joe?

NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: What we know, Jean, is that he has said that he believed Misty`s story all this time. He hasn`t said much about Joe or Tommy at this point that we know of. And as far as the polygraphs are concerned, we know that Tommy Croslin, according to his attorney, took a polygraph back on April 8th.

We don`t know the results of that polygraph test. But as far as Joe Overstreet and taking the polygraph test, that has not been determined as of yet.

CASAREZ: All right. Chelsea Croslin, sister-in-law of Misty, you knew Haleigh. Tell us about Haleigh Cummings.

C. CROSLIN: Haleigh`s a very happy, spunky, outgoing little girl. She always had a smile on her face and could put one on anybody`s face that came near her.

CASAREZ: Do you remember the last time you saw her?

C. CROSLIN: Yes, I do.

CASAREZ: What did she say to you?

C. CROSLIN: I didn`t get to talk to her. She come running off the school bus with a big smile on her face, and Ronald had his windows rolled up on his car. My daughter was waving out the window. Yelling "Hi, Haleigh." and Haleigh looked back and blew us a kiss, and she leaned up against the car, and then she got in the car and they drove away. And I never seen her again.

CASAREZ: Chelsea, has the body been found of Haleigh Cummings?

C. CROSLIN: Not -- not that I know of. No one`s told me that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

H. CROSLIN: I guess the world just wants to know.

M. CROSLIN: I know.

H. CROSLIN: Hell, I want to know.

M. CROSLIN: I know.

H. CROSLIN: I want you and your brother out of this mess.

M. CROSLIN: Me too. I want out of here, dad.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is this going from a missing person`s case to a homicide investigation?

HARDY: That is a decision that will be made later. At this point I`m comfortable to go ahead and say that I`m going to call it a homicide.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Miss Teresa, can we get a comment from you, ma`am?

CUMMINGS: I just want my daughter back. That`s it. That`s all I want.

M. CROSLIN: I don`t want no one take her. I don`t know where she is.

HARDY: I think she`s come to realize that, you know, she`s in trouble.

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FMR. DC POLICE DETECTIVE; FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: She is the one that holds the key information to finding out what happened to this beautiful little girl.

HARDY: People are starting to talk.

M. CROSLIN: It`s so hard to talk. It`s going to hurt two people. Use your head and you`ll know.

H. CROSLIN: They`re trying to destroy her right now. She`s just an 18- year-old girl. Give her a break.

CUMMINGS: All I want is my child. That`s it. I just want my daughter back. That`s all.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you found Haleigh?

HARDY: No, we have not found Haleigh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Show me. You know. Just show me. Don`t tell me, show me. If you can`t show me, you know, why do I believe it?

GRACE: Miss Hollars, you have heard now three different versions of what happened the night Haleigh went missing. What is the most recent version you have been told?

HOLLARS: I was told by Misty was that Tommy and Joe took Haleigh and wrapped a yellow rope around her and carried her to the dock and put -- tied a brick around the bottom of the other end of the rope and throwed (sic) her into the river.

That come from Misty`s mouth into my ear.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Jean Casarez of the legal network "In Session" in for Nancy Grace. Let`s go to the lawyers. Doug Burns, defense lawyer extraordinaire out of New York, and Tamara Holder, defense attorney extraordinaire that I met last week out of Chicago.

Thanks so much for joining us, both of you.

First of all, Doug Burns. Misty Croslin. If someone in fact put a knife to her neck and threatened her that they would kill her and her family if she ever told anything, how can that be used ultimately in a trial as a defense when Misty is the defendant?

DOUG BURNS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, that`s a very interesting point, actually. Because that would go at least to some measure in explaining why what has taken place here has taken place.

Jean, this has been a case from day one where law enforcement knows that basically every single word out of everybody`s mouth has not been truthful. And that`s why tonight the report that you`re making about the cinder blocks really is, as Pat Brown said, a very, very significant breakthrough in this case.

It`s like in the Scott Peterson case when forensic evidence started emerging. And this is going to be, in my opinion, the turning point. But back to your original question, that`s very interesting. She could raise that.

CASAREZ: To Tamara Holder, defense attorney out of Chicago. If Tommy is the one that took them to that pier, that boat dock, how will that help him in the end?

TAMARA HOLDER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, you know, I don`t know if he took them or if the law enforcement actually took him or because he -- Misty also ended up there. So I don`t know where they`re going. But it looks like the investigators are doing this very methodically.

Over 14 months they`re -- you know, trying to figure out piecemeal, this is a puzzle to them, very, very slowly, take me every single step of the way where you were that night. And maybe that`s why they`re taking them there.

CASAREZ: To Heather Walsh-Haney, forensic anthropologist, Florida Gulf Coast University, how long does it take to forensically test cinder blocks and other evidence?

HEATHER WALSH-HANEY, PH.D., FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST: Well, my specialty is studying bones, but it would depend on how busy the laboratory is and what -- how they`re going to tight cinder blocks to those that are in the home.

It can take anywhere from weeks to months to start to acquire all of those lines of data linking the perpetrators to the crime and the perpetrators to the victim.

CASAREZ: All right. To Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist out of New York. We`ve heard so much about Cousin Joe. We haven`t seen one shred of evidence. But everybody`s pointing fingers. What can that do to somebody, if it`s false, for the rest of their life?

Well, it can certainly violate any sense of family, trust, and closeness that this guy ever had. And can even make somebody suspicious and paranoid for the rest of their lives.

CASAREZ: Thank you so much, Patricia Saunders. Thank you to all of our guests.

And tonight, "CNN Heroes."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WYNONA WARD, PROTECTING THE POWERLESS: When I was growing up on a rural back road, family violence was an accepted way of life.

This is my mother. And I`m the baby here. And my father and my brother Richard and my sister Pauline.

My father would commonly abuse all of us. He raped me and beat my mother and my other siblings. When the neighbors heard screaming coming from our home, they just turned their heads.

For domestic violence victims in rural areas it can be very devastating. They`re out there on these back roads with no access to in-town services. Many of them do not have telephones. Some of them do not have driver`s license or an automobile. So we go to them.

My name is Wynona Ward. The turning point for me was when a child in my family revealed that she had been abused by my father and my brother. I just said this has to stop. When I graduated from law school, I was 48 years old.

Good morning, my dear.

I go to people`s homes, give them in-home consultations, provide them with free legal services and transportation to and from court hearings.

I don`t want children to have to go through what I did as a child. I want to see my clients become empowered. I can understand them, and they know that I will be there to protect them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CASAREZ: And now a look back at the stories making the headlines this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAT LALAMA, GUEST HOST: A shocking story. A Hollywood couple, loved, apparently, adored, particularly the victim.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He`s a former "Survivor" producer. Now he`s a huge suspect in his wife`s murder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He says he last saw her when she went shopping on Monday. He reports her missing on Tuesday. On Thursday, her body is found about 70, 80 yards from a resort in a sewer.

LALAMA: The mother`s body found dumped.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re on vacation down there with their two kids.

LALAMA: We understand, strangulation?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He reports her missing.

LALAMA: We understand there was a big blow to her head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is now a suspect.

LALAMA: Talk of an affair.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody, you know, is in shock.

HARDY: We do have a search going on at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A search --

HARDY: We`re conducting a search --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A search for Haleigh.

M. CROSLIN: If I have something to do with it, I knew where she was.

CASAREZ: Called accessory after the fact.

M. CROSLIN: We wouldn`t be sitting here today.

CASAREZ: Punishable by life.

H. CROSLIN: I want to know where Haleigh`s at.

CASAREZ: The St. Johns River.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Putnam County Sheriff`s deputies acting on a tip began searching this lake for clues that could lead them to Haleigh Cummings. Misty Croslin is being questioned by Putnam County authorities.

GRACE: Cadaver gods, scuba divers, helicopter, search teams.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was more divers being bought out by boat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re following up on leads.

HARDY: Information has been obtained by investigators that lead them to believe that Haleigh Cummings is most likely deceased.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Misty Croslin also appeared to be on the scene.

TERESA NEVES, HALEIGH CUMMINGS` MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER: Really does not care who was looking.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: In handcuffs, pointing out something for investigators.

HARDY: At this point, I`m comfortable to go ahead and say I`m going to call it a homicide.

CUMMINGS: If somebody had something to do with it, let them fry.

GRACE: Misty Croslin down to the docks to show police a specific spot in the St. Johns River.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s in trouble.

GRACE: With us is Flora Hollars. Miss Hollars is Misty Croslin and Joe Overstreet`s grandmother.

You have heard now three different versions of what happened the night Haleigh went missing.

HOLLARS: She said Joe Overstreet and Tommy wrapped the rope around Haleigh and carried her to the dock at the St. Johns River and put a block around the other end of the rope and throwed her in the river.

They have no remorse or something, but nobody said anything until I broke Tommy on the phone (INAUDIBLE). And yes, I`m the one that called detectives and yes, I`m the one that sent them to the river.

GRACE: According to police, none of the three, Croslin, Tommy Croslin, or Joe Overstreet are persons of interest or suspects.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Tonight, let us to stop to remember, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey Chaney, 35 years old, from Omaha, Nebraska, killed Iraq.

He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He also served the Secret Service, climbed Mt. Rainier, and ran the Portland marathon. He loved boating and diving and snowboarding and motorcycle riding.

He leaves behind his parents, Connie and Larry, two brothers, one sister, and children Cameron and Brianna.

Jeffrey Chaney, an American hero.

Thank you so much to all of our guests and to you at home for being with us tonight. See you tomorrow, 8:00 sharp, Eastern. Until then, good night, everybody.

END

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/16/ng.01.html

[Sassycat]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/19/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Police Tell Haleigh`s Father to Plan Funeral

Aired April 19, 2010 - 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. The last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who goes on to flunk four -- that`s four -- one, two, three, four -- polygraphs and a voice stress test.

Little Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and baby-sitter-turned- stepmother Misty Croslin both handcuffed and booked. Charges, drug trafficking. Something or somebody leads search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters to comb the St. John`s River. Croslin rousted out of a private jail cell yet again, taken in cuffs down to the dock. We have the video, Croslin standing there in handcuffs, motioning out to the water, pointing out a specific spot to police.

As the search for 5-year-old Haleigh goes on, a human ID crime lab vehicle arrives on the scene. Family gathering at the Putnam County jail. Police announcing 5-year-old Haleigh likely dead, evidence pulled from the muddy waters of the St. John`s discovered and dredged, an arrest on homicide imminent.

As the search for little Haleigh`s entire body and the murder weapon goes on, bombshell tonight. Mystery evidence leads police to inform Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, to commence plans for a funeral for the 5-year-old little girl. After Croslin`s own grandmother appears live with us, describing chilling scenarios of the child`s brutal murder, reports police, in fact, pulled two cinderblocks from the St. John`s and seize yellow rope from Croslin`s home, both implicated in the alleged murder, corroborating Grandma`s story the child was ruthlessly tied to a brick, then thrown into the muddy waters dead or alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this point, I`m going to call it a homicide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) reports police telling Ronald Cummings and his family to start making funeral arrangements for Haleigh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re hoping to make an arrest in this case. People are finally starting to talk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has Haleigh officially been found?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: WJXT is reporting that two cinderblocks have been pulled during that massive search in the St. John`s River.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without a body, the case against Haleigh`s killer may have to be built entirely on circumstantial evidence.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty, when she first told the story about the night Haleigh went missing, she said the back door was propped open with a cinderblock.

911 OPERATOR: You said your back door was wide open?

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: Yes, with a brick. They put the brick on the floor.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY`S AND JOE`S GRANDMOTHER: First thing that I was told was that Joe had killed her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s so many people talking...

HOLLARS: I don`t even know whether she was dead when she hit the water or not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... and so few who know what they`re talking about.

HOLLARS: What I was told by Misty was that Tommy and Joe took Haleigh and wrapped a yellow rope around her and carried her to the dock and put -- tied a brick around the bottom of -- or the other end of the rope and throwed her into the river.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Artharris.com reporting investigators have found a piece of yellow rope from inside brother Tommy Croslin`s home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re trying to bring somebody to justice for this little girl right here and her family. That`s what this is all about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They kind of told them the direction that the investigation was heading at that point.

GRACE: His attorney says they told Cummings and his family to plan to make funeral arrangements.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, and you can understand why Ronald would be shocked at that. And he`s hoping that it ends but still hoping that, you know, maybe they`re wrong, maybe something else happened and (INAUDIBLE) is another (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Mystery evidence leads police to inform Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, to commence plans for a funeral for the 5-year-old little girl. This as reports police pull two cinderblocks from the St. John`s and go on to seize yellow rope from Croslin`s home, both implicated in the alleged murder, corroborating Grandma`s story the little child was ruthlessly tied to the cinderblock, thrown into the muddy waters of the St. John`s River dead or alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has evidence been found that may close the case on who killed Haleigh Cummings?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Divers removed two cinderblocks, which are being examined to see if they are connected to the disappearance and the murder of Haleigh Cummings.

HOLLARS: I was told that Misty had knocked her in the head and killed her and that Joe and Tommy got rid of her.

GRACE: Knocked her in the head with what, a cinderblock?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... probably family members who are playing both sides of the fence. They`re getting an attention that they otherwise would not have gotten but for this tragedy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Artharris.com reporting law enforcement has found a yellow rope inside brother Tommy Croslin`s home. Harris`s sources say it could be the possible murder weapon.

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: Please, all we want is my child. That`s it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s still hoping that if Misty did know something, that she was forced to do, threatened into doing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That letter that Misty wrote says to you, "He put me up with a knife, and he said that if he would come back and he`d kill me." Who`s Misty talking about right there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s talking about Joe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Outside of law enforcement, no one has facts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ronald Cummings`s attorney says Haleigh`s family has been told to start making funeral arrangements for the 5-year-old little girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will follow this case to the end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Art Harris, investigative journalist at Artharris.com. Tell me about the two cinderblocks and the yellow rope.

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Nancy, I can tell you that there are reports of two cinderblocks retrieved from the river, have been sent off to be examined at the crime lab. And my sources telling me police have obtained yellow rope from Tommy Croslin`s home, where he lived with his parents, his wife and three children, his wife giving permission last week to go and get the rope, search the house. They have that, and they are now analyzing that, Nancy.

GRACE: And to you, Marlaina Schiavo. I understand that police have gone and they have informed Ronald Cummings behind bars that he and his family should commence plans for a funeral. Do they have a body? Do they have part of a body? What do they have other than the two cinderblocks and the yellow rope?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, they have evidence that they are analyzing right now as we speak. And we already know that this is now a homicide investigation. And they told the family it`s time, they have enough evidence that they can start making funeral arrangements for little Haleigh. And at this point, all it comes down to is, where will the funeral be?

GRACE: Marlaina, you were cut off in my ear. Explain to me, what do they have again besides the two cinderblocks and the yellow rope?

SCHIAVO: Nancy, police won`t confirm what they do or do not have. All we know is that they have evidence that has turned this into a homicide investigation, formerly a missing person investigation, and they have told the family that they can start making funeral arrangements. And that speaks volumes.

GRACE: Joining us tonight is a special guest. This is the attorney for Ronald Cummings, Haleigh`s father. He has met with Ron Cummings behind bars. With us Terry Shoemaker, attorney, joining us out of St. Augustine, Florida.

Terry, what can you -- welcome. And what can you tell us about police meeting with Ronald Cummings, Haleigh`s father, behind bars and telling them, advising them, informing them to start plans for a funeral? I mean, they can`t bury two cinderblocks and some yellow rope.

TERRY SHOEMAKER, ATTORNEY FOR RONALD CUMMINGS: Right. It was last Tuesday they brought the family members into the sheriff`s office, not only Ronald but Ronald`s mother. And also, Crystal Sheffield was brought into the same location. I don`t know if they all met together or not, but they all discussed what turns had taken place in the investigation. They told them that it was now a homicide investigation and no longer a missing persons, and that they would have enough to go forward if they wanted to make funeral arrangements.

GRACE: What do you mean, enough what to go forward with funeral arrangements? Enough what? They`re not going to put a cinderblock in a child -- a little girl`s white coffin. So what do they have, Mr. Shoemaker? Don`t beat around the bush with me!

SHOEMAKER: They are being very tight-lipped on any evidence that they have. They have not informed me of anything they have. They have not specifically informed Ronald of anything they have. They`ve just stated that it`s a homicide investigation and that they need to start looking towards the future in that manner.

GRACE: Now, wait a minute. Mr. Shoemaker, I`ve carefully studied your reputation as an attorney, and it is sterling. And I hear you parsing words with me, all right? I hear you say...

SHOEMAKER: Not at all.

GRACE: ... it`s a homicide investigation and they should start planning for a funeral. But earlier, you said police said it is now a homicide investigation and they`ve got enough to have a funeral. Enough what to have a funeral? Do you know whether they have found a portion or any part of this 5-year-old child`s body, Mr. Shoemaker?

SHOEMAKER: I do not know that. They have not relayed any information to me whether or not they`ve found any part of Haleigh or any part of any evidence that would lead them to believe that they have found Haleigh. They`ve just said that it`s now a homicide investigation and that they can move forward with any plans that they might want to make.

GRACE: Now, why did you tell me earlier police said they`ve got enough for a funeral?

SHOEMAKER: Because of the fact that it`s a homicide investigation. It`s been 14 months now since Haleigh went missing, and they believe that it`s probably time for the family to start moving forward and not keeping out hope that they`ll find Haleigh alive.

GRACE: Mr. Shoemaker, I know for a fact, having studied your record, that you well know the difference between a memorial, such as what was held in the case of little Caylee -- her body was never buried, that we know of. That was a memorial service. There`s a difference between a memorial and a funeral. You said funeral. That means the burial of remains. Did you not say funeral?

SHOEMAKER: No. I did say funeral...

GRACE: You did say funeral.

SHOEMAKER: ... yes, Nancy. But no one`s ever said anything about finding any body or any remnants from what they think might be Haleigh.

GRACE: OK. Mr. Shoemaker, what can you tell me about Ronald Cummings, who -- I`m going out on a limb here -- I`ve maintained from the very beginning had no part in his daughter`s disappearance?

SHOEMAKER: Absolutely. He had nothing to do whatsoever...

GRACE: How is he doing with this news? He`s behind bars.

SHOEMAKER: He`s shocked. You know, he`s been holding out hope, thinking that possibly some day -- you know, there`s been so many rumors and so many different leads that Haleigh`s been seen. And he`s hoping that maybe some day, she would come home. But I believe at this point, he`s obviously -- he`s got a hold of the truth and he understands that most likely, Haleigh is not coming home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Has he ever talked to you about the night Haleigh went missing?

HOLLARS: No, ma`am.

GRACE: Have you asked him?

HOLLARS: Not really.

GRACE: Why?

HOLLARS: He just throws his hands up and says "F" it, and then he`ll get up and walk away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Items have been recovered at the search site.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... the cinderblocks...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... cinderblocks...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... those cinderblocks...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not going to discuss the particular items that I`ve taken for analysis.

MISTY CROSLIN: I didn`t do anything with that little girl!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will not be mentioning any names at this time.

HOLLARS: I was told by Misty...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... Misty...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... Misty...

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD, HALEIGH MOTHER: She was the last one to see our daughter.

HOLLARS: She says, Nanny, I`m telling you everything I know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a huge river.

HOLLARS: ... tied Haleigh up with a yellow rope...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She could have potentially been put in.

HOLLARS: ... and tied a brick or block to the rope...

MISTY CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE) a brick, like, there`s a brick on the floor.

HOLLARS: ... and dropped her into the St. John`s River.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`ve never seen any bricks at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Haleigh Cummings is most likely deceased.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only one that knows is the people that were there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) not anger.

CUMMINGS: How the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) can you let my daughter get stole (EXPLETIVE DELETED)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s disappointment that she didn`t feel as though she could come forward and tell him, you know, what may have happened that night, if she, in fact, knew.

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is. I`m not hiding anything. I don`t...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Haleigh looked back and blew us a kiss and she leaned up against the car and then she got in the car and they drove away, and I never seen her again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Back to Art Harris with Artharris.com, investigative journalist. What can you tell me about Tommy Croslin`s van -- what, if anything, was found in the van -- because I remember way back when, when Haleigh went missing, the wife of Tommy Croslin said the van was in a different spot the following morning than it was the night Haleigh went missing.

HARRIS: That`s right, Nancy. The van was borrowed by Chelsea Croslin and Tommy`s brother, Timmy. That`s where Joe was spending the night. The next morning, Chelsea Croslin has told me that she got up, the keys were in a different spot and the van was in a different spot. Joe normally slept in boxer shorts. That night, he got up in the morning with clothes on. This is something that they have used to justify blaming cousin Joe as the culprit.

Taking the van further, Nancy, I can tell you what was not in the van. Tommy has told investigators, my sources tell me, that he had two types of rope in the van, yellow propylene rope and cotton rope. When it came back that night, it was gone.

GRACE: We are taking your calls. To Danielle in New York. Hi, Danielle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Nancy.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is, a while back, Leonard Padilla had offered to get Misty Croslin out of jail if she told him where Haleigh may be found or somehow gives him information of where they can get her. And she never came out with this story until now, and that doesn`t make any sense.

GRACE: It makes absolutely no sense. I`m going to go to that man that promised to bail her out if she would help find little Haleigh, who is now offering to bail out Ronald Cummings if he promises not to go on a vendetta regarding the death of his daughter. To Leonard Padilla, bounty hunter, joining us from Sacramento, California.

You know what, Leonard? I do not believe one thing that Misty Croslin says. Notice that she is blaming Joe and Tommy Croslin -- Tommy -- Joe Overstreet, Tommy Croslin. Tommy Croslin is blaming Joe Overstreet. Joe Overstreet`s saying, I wasn`t there. All three are pointing the finger at each other.

And listen, Padilla, no offense, but if this were the truth that Misty`s telling now, she would have told you this to get out of jail a while back. Something has changed.

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: No. The truth is still within Misty. She has not told the truth. I do believe that she contacted either Timmy or Tommy or Overstreet, the cousin. And I do believe that the van was driven to her house. I do believe that Tommy, who has told law enforcement that he was there and took them out to where they put the body in the river -- in other words, I have a lot of belief in that, but I believe the body was already -- the child was already deceased.

The only person at this stage of the game that knows what caused the demise of the child, obviously, is Misty. And Misty is being very coy about answering the questions, other than trying to blame Joe Overstreet. Joe Overstreet did not harm that child. He did not kill that child. He probably wasn`t even where the -- there when the body was dumped in the river.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: First thing that I was told was that Joe had killed her. That was the first words that I was told.

GRACE: Why was -- why did he kill her in the first version?

HOLLARS: That I don`t have any idea. I don`t even know whether she was dead when she hit the water or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

MISTY CROSLIN: Dad, there`s nothing!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were willing to go ahead and take the effort and the time to go look for that needle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who was with her, the last person with her? She was.

MISTY CROSLIN: She was gone, and the back door was wide open.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is the one that holds the key information to finding out what happened to this beautiful little girl.

MISTY CROSLIN: It was about 10:00 o`clock. We were -- she was sleeping.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She didn`t make any calls until either she saw him pulling in the driveway or until he actually started coming in the house and he confronted her.

CUMMINGS: I just (INAUDIBLE) my 5-year-old daughter is gone!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) Baby, don`t cry. This is something you should have said a long time ago.

HOLLARS: First thing that I was told was that Joe had killed her. That was the first words that I was told.

GRACE: Why was -- why did he kill her in the first version?

HOLLARS: That I don`t have any idea. I don`t even know whether she was dead when she hit the water or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Joining us now, Shawn Sirgo. This is attorney for Joe Overstreet. This is Misty Croslin, the baby sitter- turned-stepmother`s, cousin, who is now living in Tennessee. He left town the night Haleigh goes missing. But oh, isn`t it convenient for both Misty Croslin and brother Tommy Croslin to point the finger at cousin Joe Overstreet?

Mr. Sirgo, thank you for being with us.

SHAWN SIRGO, ATTORNEY FOR JOE OVERSTREET: Good evening.

GRACE: Sir, what can you tell me about Joe Overstreet, your client, leaving town the night Haleigh goes missing?

SIRGO: Joseph went to Florida with a friend. They had a scheduled day they were going to arrive. They had a scheduled day they were going to leave. Joe was a passenger in someone else`s car. He only left because that was the day that they had originally planned to leave. It wasn`t that he was leaving for any other reason.

GRACE: Did they leave late in the night? Didn`t they leave late in the night?

SIRGO: They left late. Joe was out putting flyers out, trying to help the family locate Haleigh, so he was assisting in the initial search in the morning. But when his ride left, he left with it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know what to believe anymore.

MISTY CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE) they told me I was taking a polygraph.

(INAUDIBLE) take a polygraph.

CUMMINGS: I don`t know anything about her flunking a polygraph.

GRACE: I mean royally flunked it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just show me. Don`t tell me, show me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Misty has been deceptive. Her stories don`t make sense. The key to this case lies with her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The police have always said that, you know, first if you divorced Misty, you know, we`ll find something out. You know she`ll crack.

MISTY CROSLIN, FORMER STEPMOM/BABYSITTER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: I don`t want a divorce, but hey, that`s what he wants. So whatever. Not going to fight him.

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: She didn`t give two (EXPLETIVE DELETED) about her brother, her mama, her daddy, nobody. When I talked about you, being locked up, she started pouring them. And they were real.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They told him, you know, if Misty got in trouble, if Misty was in jail, we could probably get her to crack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Hey do me a favor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground

(CROSSTALK)

CUMMINGS: They went to the jail and was talking to her, and Jason said, man, I`ve never seen her cry real tears. You know, she always has to jerk a tear out. Jason said no, man, this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) was like pouring.

And you know when it started? And I said when? He said when we started talking about you being locked up and losing Junior.

TERESA NEVES, HALEIGH CUMMINGS` MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER: We would love to have a break in this case, and we really would not care who it implicates as long as it brings Haleigh back to us.

M. CROSLIN: When Haleigh`s found I will be let out of jail because that`s the only reason they`re keeping me in here, the only reason they set me up.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY CROSLIN AND JOE OVERSTREET`S GRANDMOTHER: First thing that I was told was that Joe had killed her. That was the first words that I was told.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Why did he kill her in the first version?

HOLLARS: That I don`t have any idea.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Out to Lynn in Kentucky. Hi, Lynn.

LYNN, CALLER FROM KENTUCKY: Hi, Nancy. I just want to let you know you`ve made your place in heaven. Also --

GRACE: You know I`m going to tell my twins that when they turn 16 and they`re hating on me.

What`s your question, love?

LYNN: My question is I have a theory.

GRACE: OK.

LYNN: There`s always truth in lies. And they said that the child OD`ed. I believe that. I believe that she did it at home.

My question is did Ronald Cummings talk to Misty prior to when he couldn`t find her? Because I`m wondering if he is involved in this.

GRACE: Are you talking about Ronald Cummings?

LYNN: Yes.

GRACE: What do you mean did he talk to Misty -- remember, everyone was trying call the house, and nobody was picking up?

LYNN: Right.

GRACE: Straight back to Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer.

Ellie, what can you tell me about that? That evening she went missing, remember everybody, including Ronald Cummings, was trying to reach Misty Croslin, and she refused to answer the phone.

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Right. That`s right, Nancy. And also, Ronald has said in the past that after he dropped Haleigh off for school that day he dropped her back at the house, he said good-bye to her, he said good-bye to Misty.

So he at least talked to her then and then went to work. And it`s not clear if they actually spoke the rest of the night or he was just trying to call her and never was able to.

GRACE: What do you know about it, Art Harris?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, WWW.ARTHARRIS.COM: Nancy, I can tell you my sources say Ronald tried to call Misty nine times that night, she did not pick up the phone.

I can also tell you that at 6:00 p.m. Tommy has said he stopped by the trailer to smoke a joint with Misty. She prepared the kids dinner, then the grandmother dropped some clothes by, that`s their story, and that was it. We don`t know anything after that.

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Out to Jenna, Ohio. Hi, Jenna.

JENNA, CALLER FROM OHIO: Hi, Nancy. I just think you`re amazing.

GRACE: Bless you. What do you think about this case?

JENNA: My question is if the whole family had known the whole time what had happened -- I mean not only that she was dead but intricate details like bricks and yellow ropes -- why are they just coming forward now? Why wait so long to get justice for Haleigh?

GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight, famed attorney out of the San Francisco jurisdiction, John Burris. Also with us, Anne Bremner, high-profile lawyer out of Seattle.

Anne, it seems to me that they did not give the story, they were not forthcoming before now because it did not benefit them until now.

ANNE BREMNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, that appears to be the case. And they should have come forward with the information. It`s so -- I keep thinking of that line from Benjamin Franklin --

GRACE: Oh, no. Not another quote.

BREMNER: No, I haven`t done it in a long time, Nancy. But you know, three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead. And I look at this time thinking why is this all coming out now? You know what is all this new information?

And frankly, if there`s circumstantial evidence out there, what we`re really hearing is just a lot of talking amongst all of these folks, all within the family.

GRACE: Also with us tonight, the attorney for Ronald Cummings, Haleigh`s father, Terry Shoemaker, from St. Augustine, Florida. Also with us, a very special guest, Shawn Sirgo, attorney for Joe Overstreet, now implicated, not a formal person of interest, not a suspect, only implicated by two jailhouse rats, Misty Croslin and her brother Tommy Croslin.

I want to go to you, Terry Shoemaker. It seems to me that one of the -- people don`t talk because they`re implicated. But now a story has been cooked up by Croslin where the finger`s pointed at everybody else.

TERRY SHOEMAKER, ATTORNEY FOR RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER, JUST MET WITH RON IN JAIL: Well, absolutely. I mean, you know that Misty hasn`t been forthright right from the beginning of this whole case and as soon as she gets in trouble and as soon as she`s looking at -- you know a lengthy period of prison she starts pointing the finger at everybody she can. Except for herself.

GRACE: Shawn Sirgo?

SHAWN SIRGO, ATTORNEY FOR JOE OVERSTREET, MISTY CROSLIN`S COUSIN, JUST QUESTIONED BY HALEIGH INVESTIGATORS: Yes.

GRACE: Weigh in.

SIRGO: Thank you. I don`t speculate on what other people say. My sole responsibility --

GRACE: OK. So you`ve never argued to a jury why someone says a certain thing, why for instance a co-defendant may implicate your client? You`ve never discussed that in front of a jury based on the evidence, you can`t make a deduction?

SIRGO: We`re officers of the court. And I`m not going to weigh in on speculation or guess -- guessing when the police have an ongoing investigation.

I just know that my client, Joseph, is innocent. He had nothing to do with this. And he`s being thrown under the rug by people who may and possibly do have something to hide. I`m here for Joseph. I don`t care what they do.

GRACE: Mr. Sirgo, your client, Joe Overstreet, does he have a juvenile criminal record? And if so, what is it for?

SIRGO: Let me explain the parameters that we have to live within that the average person understand. We are officers of the court we --

GRACE: You already said that.

SIRGO: That`s right. And I`ll say it again. Anything that has to do with a juvenile is protected, whether it`s civil or criminal --

GRACE: So you`re denying he has a record?

SIRGO: I -- ma`am, I`m explaining to you that I cannot tell you one way or the other because by court order and rules we cannot discuss anything to do with a juvenile in a court case.

GRACE: Actually, that`s not the law. Actually, what the law is that the court or the district attorney or the prosecution or the cops, the police, they cannot divulge it. Your client or you could divulge it.

Nothing bars you or your client from divulging his juvenile record. So don`t try to pull that over on me, Mr. Sirgo.

SIRGO: Ma`am, you`re wrong. If I have things under seal, as you know, I would not be able to discuss them. So since you`re not in Tennessee and you don`t know the cases I`ve been involved in, you have no knowledge of why I`m taking the stand I`m taking. You`re speculating.

GRACE: You tried to tell me what the law was, and that`s not the law.

Burris? When a juvenile has a record --

JOHN BURRIS, DEFENSE LAWYER: Well, clearly --

GRACE: When a juvenile has a juvenile record, isn`t it true that the juvenile can allow his attorney to discuss the record?

BURRIS: Well, the record is sealed. And I don`t --

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: I know the record is sealed.

BURRIS: I don`t think that a juvenile as a juvenile can unseal or talk about his record --

GRACE: I didn`t ask for it to be unsealed.

BURRIS: Well, OK. I don`t --

GRACE: A juvenile or a defendant can easily discuss --

BURRIS: Anyone can talk about their record. Anybody can talk about their record at any point in time. There`s no rule that says --

GRACE: Exactly. Anne Bremner?

BURRIS: -- you have a record, you can`t talk about it. You simply --

GRACE: Anne Bremner, what about it?

BREMNER: You`re right on, Nancy. You`re absolutely right.

GRACE: OK. Back to the calls. Sherry, Arizona, hi, Sherry.

SHERRY, CALLER FROM ARIZONA: Hi.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?

SHERRY: I was wondering, weren`t the calls to the jail or from the jail recorded?

GRACE: They very often are. And not only that, in Florida they often are video recording. That`s how we`ve gotten so much of this evidence. Video-recording the call.

But interesting you should ask that, Sherry in Arizona, because the particular phone calls -- remember grandma comes on with us last week, Miss Hollars, Flora Hollars, and describes these phone calls from various bars, Tommy Croslin, Misty Croslin, but those particular phone calls have not been released.

You`re very astute.

We`re taking your calls live. The family of Haleigh Cummings now advised it`s time to commence planning a funeral.

Very quickly, everyone, on a happy note. Happy 75th anniversary to Fincher`s Barbecue in Macon, Georgia. In business since 1935 by Doug Duventure. He turned down a college scholarship to support his family in the depression. Fincher`s mother teaching him how to barbecue and coming up with the secret recipe for their award-winning barbecue sauce.

Georgia loves Fincher`s so much even NASA astronaut Sonny Carter took it into space. Their specialty, the pig. Family owned, operated, Fincher`s Barbecue, now third generation. Their dream, to go mainstream and sell their secret sauce at grocery stores across the country.

Fincher`s, happy anniversary.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S FATHER: They just want to know where she`s at and what happened.

M. CROSLIN: Well, I can`t tell them that. If I could, I would.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Jacksonville area affiliates reporting two cinder blocks were among the items pulled from the St. Johns River.

M. CROSLIN: I didn`t even do anything wrong, and they got me in here. I didn`t do nothing wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is the brick?

M. CROSLIN: It`s on the back door, on the stairs, we have like a walkway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Uh-huh. And there was a brick laying there?

M. CROSLIN: Yes. It`s still there.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Hollars makes it clear Misty wasn`t involved, but she says she knows what happened.

HOLLARS: Tied Haleigh up with a yellow rope and tied a brick or block to the rope and dropped her into the St. Johns River.

SIRGO: It`s hearsay. Just a statement being made by someone.

HOLLARS: I know that statistics say, you know, that chances are that she`s dead.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police announced that Haleigh Cummings is likely deceased.

HOLLARS: I`ll just have to continue to believe till they prove to me.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Officially, this is a homicide investigation.

CHELSEA CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S SISTER-IN-LAW: I don`t believe that Tommy and Misty could do anything to harm a child.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S BROTHER: The truth will come out, and you know then they`ll know that they were (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with the wrong people. They weren`t doing their jobs right.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is Misty Croslin still the key to this investigation? Absolutely.

JEFF HARDY, PUTNAM COUNTY SHERIFF: She`s in trouble.

T. CROSLIN: If she don`t know nothing, she can`t tell them nothing. She don`t know where the kid is, how can she tell them where she is?

HOLLARS: First thing that I was told was that Joe had killed her. That was the first words that I was told.

GRACE: Why did he kill her in the first version?

HOLLARS: That I don`t have any idea. I don`t even know if she was dead when she hit the water or not.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. To Sergeant Scott Haines, sheriff`s officer, Santa Rosa County, Florida.

Sergeant, thank you for being with us.

Sergeant, at this juncture would the cops tell a family to start planning the funeral without a body? For a funeral you`ve got to have some semblance of a body. You`ve got to have some remains for a funeral. They didn`t say memorial. They said funeral.

SGT. SCOTT HAINES, SHERIFF`S OFFICER, SANTA ROSA COUNTY, FLORIDA: In any cases that we`ve ever worked we have never done that. That statement alone does lead me to believe that they do have at least some portion of a body or something that was found to believe that Haleigh was in that water.

That would be very odd for them to make a statement like that to a family and cruel to make a statement like that to a family if in fact they did not have proof that there was actually a homicide and they need to plan a funeral for a body.

GRACE: Dr. Joshua Perper is with us tonight, chief medical examiner, Broward County, author of "When to Call the Doctor."

Dr. Perper, what do you make of it? Telling the family to plan the baby`s funeral.

DR. PERPER, CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, BROWARD COUNTY, AUTHOR OF "WHEN TO CALL THE DOCTOR": I never heard in my quite long career that the police would do such a thing or law enforcement would inform a family to prepare for a burial before a body or parts of the body of the deceased were found.

So if they did not misspoke, then definitely they have to have some -- recovered some part of the body or some bones which they should have verified that it belongs to the deceased. Otherwise, it`s totally improper.

GRACE: Dr. Perper, a van, a mobile unit, came to the banks of the St. Johns River in the past days that was a human identification crime lab vehicle. What does that say to you, Doctor?

PERPER: Well, it doesn`t say much unless they found inside the vehicle something which they can connect to the victim. In other words, there are ways in what`s called DNA amplification that extremely tiny amount of tissue can be checked for DNA from residue left.

But there`s no such information. So unless the vehicle can be linked in some fashion to evidence to the lost -- the missing child, then there`s no evidence there to prove anything.

GRACE: Well, in my mind they have a human ID crime lab mobile vehicle come to the scene. They tell Ronald Cummings commence planning a funeral, not a memorial. I don`t know what they found. But that says to me that they have found part of Haleigh`s remains.

To Dr. Janet Taylor, not only a psychiatrist but medical doctor as well.

Dr. Taylor, this would be playing so loose and fast with Ronald Cummings if they have not found Haleigh`s body or a portion thereof.

DR. JANET TAYLOR, PSYCHIATRIST: Well, it certainly sounds like they have something. They`re getting him ready for closure, getting the family ready for closure, but also putting pressure on anybody who knows something to say look, we have evidence, you`d better spill the beans.

GRACE: Back to Art Harris, investigative journalist.

Art, what do you think they`ve got at this point, and what are your sources telling you?

HARRIS: Nancy, I can tell you that they have been dredging that river through the silt, through the mud, with that giant tub we`ve seen, the white and blue tub, and they`ve been transporting that and having it analyzed.

They`ve been looking for a piece of a skeleton -- skeletal remains. They have been told that deer carcasses were dumped in the river by Joe and Tommy, and they have actually found deer bones in another location where they used to go. And they found deer bones here.

I have not confirmed that they have found any skeletal remains of Haleigh.

GRACE: To Terry Shoemaker, attorney for Ronald Cummings. Shoemaker joining us out of St. Augustine, Florida.

Mr. Shoemaker, let`s just take a look at this scenario. You have Misty Croslin down there on the docks pointing with her handcuffs out to a spot in the water. Now how would she know anything if she were not there when the body was dumped?

Not only that, conveniently after all this time she suddenly has an epiphany. You know, like on the road to Damascus, suddenly a light strikes her and she has a story to tell cops which doesn`t implicate her. Why?

SHOEMAKER: I wish I could answer that, Nancy. I obviously haven`t had any conversations with Misty or Mr. Fields regarding anything that she`s done. So, you know, I can only think that maybe she -- it`s time to come clean or she`s thinking of some other things.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: First thing that I was told was that Joe had killed her. That was the first words that I was told.

GRACE: Why did he kill her in the first version?

HOLLARS: That I don`t have any idea. I don`t even know whether she was dead when she hit the water or not.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: To Ellie Jostad, who lead the cops to the river once and for all?

JOSTAD: Well, Tommy Croslin`s lawyer is denying these reports that he made any sort of confession or spilled his guts to his grandmother. He did release the timeline of what he says happened. He say Tommy got those results from his polygraph. They discussed them. Then the next night Tommy`s wife --

GRACE: You mean the polygraph he flunked?

JOSTAD: Well, yes. He`s reportedly flunked, although the attorney didn`t address that in his press release. But he said that Tommy said then he wanted to meet. A couple of days later they met, they talked, they brought in law enforcement. After a two-hour interview, he led them all to the river.

GRACE: And then, of course, that`s followed by Misty Croslin down at the river, the only ones we haven`t seen there is Joe Overstreet. He`s in Tennessee, not under arrest, and Ronald Cummings.

We`re taking your calls. Katie in Florida, hi, Katie.

KATIE, CALLER FROM FLORIDA: Hi, Nancy. It is a pleasure to speak with you. I --

GRACE: Likewise.

KATIE: -- and I love your twins. They`re getting so big.

GRACE: 2 1/2.

KATIE: I know it. But --

GRACE: What`s your question, love?

KATIE: My question is, if Haleigh Cummings is pulled from the river - - my question is, if the examiners will be able to decide whether or not she actually sustained a blow to the head as the grandmother mentioned at the last show?

GRACE: Only if they have dredged up her skull and then only if it made such an impact that it cracked or dented the skull.

Final word, Art Harris?

HARRIS: Nancy, I can tell you that we are getting close to a resolution I`m told with all the bits and pieces coming together. Law enforcement says stay tuned.

GRACE: John Burris, very quickly. everyone is starting to rat on each other. When will it finally end? In an indictment?

BURRIS: Certainly there`s going to be an arrest real soon. I mean I`m very troubled by these two people going to the lake -- going to the river. Obviously they went to the river, there must have been something they know about it. So one or both of them are going to get charged I would think very soon.

GRACE: What about it, Anne Bremner?

BREMNER: Absolutely agree. Anyone that excuses himself accuses himself. Remember that you rap -- sorry, pointing one finger way you got three pointing back at yourself, as you always say, Nancy, so there`s going to be indictments.

GRACE: Thank you, attorneys.

Let`s stop and remember Army Sergeant James Collins, Jr., 35, Rochester Hills, Michigan, killed Iraq. A Lake Superior State grad, also served Marines. Awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Combat Action badge, Humanitarian Service medal, Armed Forces Reserve medal.

A unit mechanic, took pride in his work. Loved the Red Wings, hunting, photography. Leaves behind grieving parents Jim and Marilyn, sister Jo Anna, window Amy, son Dolfin (ph).

James Collins, Jr., American hero.

Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. Tonight, God bless little Haleigh.

Everyone, we`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

END

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/19/ng.01.html

[Sassycat]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/20/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Misty Reportedly Shown Bones Believed to be Haleigh`s

Aired April 20, 2010 - 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. The last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who goes on to flunk four -- one, two, three, four -- polygraphs and a voice stress test. Little Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and baby-sitter-turned-stepmother Misty Croslin both handcuffed and booked. Charges, drug trafficking.

Something or somebody leads search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters to comb the St. John`s River. Croslin rousted out of a private jail cell, taken in handcuffs down to the docks. We have the video, Croslin standing there in handcuffs, motioning out to the water, pointing out a specific spot to police.

Police announcing 5-year-old Haleigh likely dead. Evidence, including two cinderblocks, pulled from the muddy waters of the St. John`s River, discovered and dredged. An arrest on homicide imminent.

As the search for little Haleigh`s entire body and the murder weapon goes on, bombshell tonight. In the last hours, father Ronald Cummings and bio mom Crystal Sheffield meet to determine whether to have little Haleigh officially declared dead. This although police refuse to announce human remains found. They go tell Haleigh`s father behind closed doors to commence plans for the funeral.

After Croslin`s own grandmother appears live with us, describing chilling scenarios of murder, in the last hour, she announces, Croslin`s own grandmother, that she believes all three -- Misty Croslin, brother Tommy Croslin, cousin Joe Overstreet -- are responsible, all responsible for the 5-year-old girl`s death.

And tonight, we learn two types of rope missing from Croslin`s van the morn after Haleigh vanishes, corroborating Grandma`s story the child was ruthlessly tied to a brick, then thrown into the muddy waters dead or alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has evidence been found that may close the case on who killed Haleigh Cummings?

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: I would like to tell my daughter, Baby, I love you.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY`S AND JOE`S GRANDMOTHER: Those three grandkids of mine is involved in this, and I don`t know why!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

CUMMINGS: We will find you. I love you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators searched the St. John`s River for three days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Divers removed two cinderblocks, which are being examined.

911 OPERATOR: You said your back door was wide open?

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: Yes, it was brick, like, a brick on the floor. Like, when I went to sleep, it was not like that.

911 OPERATOR: OK. The back door -- listen to me. Your back door was wide open. What are you talking about a brick?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes.

911 OPERATOR: What -- what is the brick?

MISTY CROSLIN: It`s on the back door, on the stairs. Like, we have, like, a walkway.

911 OPERATOR: And there was a brick laying there?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes. It`s still there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think Misty has any involvement in this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think Misty did, but...

HOLLARS: I`m beginning to think that she`s involved, too, because she was pointing a spot out on the river on the TV.

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is!

CUMMINGS: If I find whoever has my daughter before y`all do, I`m killing him!

HOLLARS: First thing that I was told was that Joe had killed her.

From what Tommy told me, Joe stated to him that if he opened his mouth and said anything, that he would bring a gun back down there and kill his whole family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s hearsay, just a statement being made by someone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you have co-conspirators involved in a case, which apparently you have here, typically, one of them will come forward and tell the whole story in order to get a better deal from the government.

HOLLARS: Misty stated that he had put a knife to her throat that night, which I know Joe does have knives and I know Joe does have guns.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Outside of law enforcement, no one has facts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ronald Cummings`s attorney says Haleigh`s family has been told to start making funeral arrangements for the 5-year-old little girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are starting to cooperate. That`s why I`ve told people it`s going to be just a matter of time.

GRACE: Do you know where the cinderblock came from that was propping the door open?

CUMMINGS: Don`t have a clue. I don`t mess with none of that, so I don`t know. I rarely, rarely am in the back yard at all, unless I`m washing my car. So it could have came from around my shed. I`m renting. I don`t know if the previous renters had it or what. But I`ve never seen it, I don`t believe.

GRACE: So to your knowledge, you`ve never seen it.

CUMMINGS: Not that I believe. I mean, I may be mistaken and have seen it before, but I know it wasn`t where it`s at now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And breaking news tonight, live, Ohio. A young church mom of a 1-year-old baby girl vanishes while shopping at a busy outdoor mall. Tonight, where is the young church mom, mother of one Tiffany Tehan?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Law enforcement searching for 31-year-old missing Ohio mom Tiffany Tehan. Friends and family fear she may be in danger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police hope anyone can lead them to the man in these pictures, who they`re calling a person of interest in the Tiffany Tehan case. It`s from a convenience store in East Dayton.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tiffany went shopping Saturday morning around 9:00 o`clock to look for clothes for her 1-year-old daughter. But around 11:00 AM, Tiffany vanishes. Her husband tries to contact her multiple times without success. Then he calls police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re in the same place, and it is on more than one occasion. It appears that this individual may have information that may be helpful to us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just hours later, Tiffany`s green Ford Explorer found abandoned in a local park, the doors locked and vehicle keys still inside -- Tiffany the daughter of a pastor and a loved member of her church, where she volunteers in the children`s ministry. Just how does a mother vanish?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. In the last hours, father Ronald Cummings and bio mom Crystal Sheffield meet to determine whether to declare little Haleigh officially dead. This although police refuse to announce human remains found. They meet with father Ronald Cummings behind closed doors and advise him to commence plans for his 5-year-old little girl`s funeral.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If she had nothing to do with it, how would she be able to help detectives and say, Well, here`s where they did what?

HOLLARS: That`s why I`m wondering, was she in that van, too?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you`re thinking that maybe Misty had something to do with it that night and was there when Haleigh`s body was thrown into the river?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am, I do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. So now, in fact, your story is implicating potentially three people -- Joe, the cousin in Tennessee who says he had nothing to do with this, Tommy Croslin, who`s behind bars on drug charges, and your other granddaughter, Misty. You`re saying all three, all three of your grandkids were involved in this?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am, I think they were. I really do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you think that?

HOLLARS: It`s just the way that they act. Joe, ever since he came back from Florida, he`s not been the same child. And every time I talk to Tommy and I talk to Misty, they`re not the same people that I`ve talked to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are starting to talk.

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are starting to cooperate.

MISTY CROSLIN: There`s nothing to break me on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she`s come to realize that, you know, she`s in trouble.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: I see the smile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are reports two of cinderblocks retrieved from the river.

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes, it was brick, like, a brick on the floor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And my sources are telling me police have obtained yellow rope from Tommy Croslin`s home.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: I said, I can`t help you find her body. I don`t know where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They told the family it`s time, they have enough evidence that they can start making funeral arrangements for little Haleigh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bring her back.

CUMMINGS: I know somebody took my little girl!

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD, HALEIGH`S MOTHER: I just want our baby to come home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They brought the family members into the sheriff`s office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s not as strong at home as he is on TV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They told them that it was now a homicide investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was the worst thing I`ve ever been through in my entire life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: I am hearing in my ear we have breaking news right now. Let`s go to Art Harris, investigative journalist at Artharris.com. Art, what is it?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Nancy, sources are telling me that Misty Croslin has been shown bones at the crime scene on the river in Satsuma, Florida. She was taken to the crime scene, to the river, and detectives showed her what they had found. The bones have been sent to the crime lab to be analyzed, Nancy, and compared with DNA from Haleigh Cummings.

GRACE: OK, repeat. Misty Croslin was taken by police down to the St. John`s River, and...

HARRIS: That`s right.

GRACE: ... at that time was shown bones. Haleigh Cummings, 5-year- old Haleigh Cummings`s bones?

HARRIS: Well, what I`m saying is she was shown bones that my sources believe were Haleigh`s. And she told this to cousin Tommy on a ride back to the St. John`s County jail, where they`re both being held on drug charges. As amazing as it seems, they were allowed to ride together in the police car.

GRACE: Art, it`s not that amazing. Cops put people together in the back seat all the time, hoping they`ll start talking and the cops can hear them.

HARRIS: That`s what they did, Nancy. And apparently, this is what erupted, and Misty Croslin told her brother that she had been shown bones at the crime scene. I don`t know what his response was. But this is considered a major break in the case.

GRACE: OK. Art Harris, where did the bones come from? Do we know?

HARRIS: Nancy, I don`t know that. I know that bones have been found in the river. This is an area where Tommy has gone before to go hunting and thrown deer carcasses into that river. Divers have found deer bones in the river. I have not confirmed that the bones, the human bones, if any, were found in the river.

GRACE: But you know that they showed Haleigh`s bones to Misty Croslin after bringing her down. And what do they hope to gain by showing her that, to get a confession?

HARRIS: Nancy, I think in any situation like this, they hope to shock her into some sort of revelation, into some sort of evidence or some sort of piece of information they can compare to what she`s said before or use it to refute what others have told them in the case that will bring it one step closer to a conclusion and an arrest.

GRACE: Art Harris, investigative journalist, breaking the news tonight that Misty Croslin, the baby-sitter-turned-stepmother, the last one known to be with Haleigh, the 5-year-old little Satsuma girl, alive has been shown purported bones belonging to Haleigh.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: I don`t know what to believe anymore.

MISTY CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE) They told me I was taking a polygraph.

(INAUDIBLE) take a polygraph.

CUMMINGS: I don`t know anything about her flunking a polygraph.

GRACE: I mean, royally flunked it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just show me. Don`t tell me, show me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have evidence that they are analyzing right now as we speak.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cinderblocks...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... cinderblocks...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... those cinderblocks...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re being very tight-lipped on any evidence that they have.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not going to discuss the particular items that I`ve taken for analysis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They told them that they would have enough to go forward, if they wanted to make funeral arrangements.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Haleigh Cummings is most likely deceased.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s hard to hear somebody tell you that your child or your grandchild is dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m going to call it a homicide.

HOLLARS: They have no remorse or something!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The investigative team has identified persons of interest.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m not hiding anything.

JOE OVERSTREET, MISTY`S COUSIN: I didn`t do it.

TOMMY CROSLIN: And I had nothing to do with none of that crap.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will not be mentioning any names at this time.

GRACE: She is blaming Joe and Tommy. Tommy Croslin is blaming Joe Overstreet. Joe Overstreet`s saying, I wasn`t there. All three are pointing the finger at each other.

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: The only person at this stage of the game that knows what caused the demise of the child, obviously, is Misty.

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: I want them to find Haleigh, too, and find out who did this to Haleigh. I don`t care who it is.

CUMMINGS: If I find whoever has my daughter before y`all do, I`m killing them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We really would not care who it implicates.

CUMMINGS: Let them fry. So be it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think Misty has any involvement in this?

HOLLARS: I don`t think Misty did, but I`m not going to say that she didn`t.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If she had nothing to do with it, how would she be able to help detectives and say, Well, here`s where they did what?

HOLLARS: That`s why I`m wondering was she in that van, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight back out to Art Harris, breaking the story that Misty Croslin, baby-sitter-turned-stepmother, taken down to the docks of the St. John`s River and shown bones purported to be Haleigh`s, little 5-year-old Haleigh`s bones. She`s then put in the back of the police car with Tommy Croslin.

Art Harris, what can you tell me about DNA?

HARRIS: I can tell you, Nancy, that the bones that were taken from the river and shown to Misty Croslin will be compared to DNA from Haleigh. Now, the parents of Haleigh Cummings, Ron and Crystal, had parked (ph) that DNA, had saved it for just such a tragic eventuality. A lot of parents do have DNA of their children. And the crime lab now has Haleigh`s DNA. They`ll be comparing it to these bones.

GRACE: Do you know, Art, whether the two parents individually gave their own DNA?

HARRIS: I`m sure they would have volunteered it, if they...

GRACE: But they had Haleigh`s DNA that they gave. It could be anything, a toothbrush, a hair strand with a root, or they could even try mitochondrial DNA. Art Harris reporting that Haleigh`s DNA and the parents` DNA now at the crime lab in order to compare to bones found in the river.

Joining me right now is a special guest. This is Misty Croslin`s grandmother, Ms. Flora Hollars, who was kind enough to join us last week. Ms. Hollars, thank you for being with us.

Do I have Ms. Hollars with me? Ms. Hollars, can you hear me? Liz, see if you can get Ms. Hollars`s satellite connected back up.

I want to go straight out to Marlaina Schiavo. What more can you tell me, Marlaina? She`s joining us there in Florida.

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, with what Art is saying about Misty being down by the river and these bones -- you have to remember, there was a van from the University of Florida, from the human identification lab, that was down by that river during that search for an hour-and-a-half. Why was it there? Could have something to do with what Art is saying. But there is a lot of buzz down here about bones and remains. I asked lead detectives today. They`re still denying that they found any human remains, Nancy. But the question is still on the table.

GRACE: Jean Casarez, weigh in.

JEAN CASAREZ, "IN SESSION": The forensic lab that was on scene, I think it`s very relevant. Let`s look at the facts. Law enforcement has told us that forensic anthropologist and lab was on scene to look at what was being taken out of the water. Nancy, we know forensic anthropologists deal in bones, so they can determine on site if something is relevant or not relevant, human bone or animal bone. And they decided some things would go on for further testing. That tells a lot right there.

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. To Wanda in Florida. Hi, Wanda.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was wondering, the night that Haleigh was missing and Misty was supposed to be doing the laundry, washing sheets -- and I was wondering if she was washing away evidence.

GRACE: Good question. What do we know, Marlaina?

SCHIAVO: Well, Nancy, after she said that -- that was one of the inconsistencies in her stories because they went back and realized there was no detergent in the house, so she couldn`t even have been doing laundry in the first place.

GRACE: Let`s try Ms. Flora Hollars again, Misty Croslin`s grandmother, joining us from Nashville, Tennessee. Ms. Hollars, thank you for being with us. What do you make of this new breaking evidence that your granddaughter, Misty Croslin, was taken down to the riverbank and shown bones belonging to Haleigh?

HOLLARS: I was just told that a little while ago. I hadn`t heard anything about it until a few minutes ago.

GRACE: What do you make of it?

HOLLARS: That she knows something.

GRACE: Earlier, in just the last hour, you have advised that you believe all three, Misty Croslin, Tommy Croslin, and Joe Overstreet, are involved in some way in little Haleigh`s death. Why do you say that?

HOLLARS: Because of their actions and the way they talk. I`m sorry, but I hate to say it. They`re my grandkids. But that little girl`s got grandparents, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s our belief that this -- that that`s a very real possibility. We are working on building a case. That`s what we`ve been doing for the last 14 months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Do you know where the cinderblock came from that was propping the door open?

CUMMINGS: Don`t have a clue. I don`t mess with none of that, so I don`t know. I rarely, rarely am in the back yard at all, unless I`m washing...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: I want to go straight back out to Art Harris. Art, Misty Croslin taken down to the docks of the St. John, shown bones. Do we know what her reaction was?

HARRIS: I don`t know her reaction, Nancy. But I know that she was excited enough about it to talk to her brother, Tommy Croslin, on their trip together back to the St. John`s County jail, where they are both held and being charged with drug trafficking.

GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait! Back it up! Back it up! "Excited" -- do you mean surprised, shocked, afraid, what? What do you mean "excited"?

HARRIS: An emotional discussion. I don`t have...

GRACE: Emotional -- "excited" would be the words to use when you see a child`s body -- bones from her body. What about it? Joining me crime analyst, the director of the cold case squad, Pine Lake PD, Sheryl McCollum.

SHERYL MCCOLLUM, CRIME ANALYST: Excellent police work, Nancy, is what you are seeing. They have taken their time for the last 14 months. They`re letting these folks talk. They`re letting them talk to each other. We`ve all heard the tapes. Of course, they`re going to put them in the car with each other.

GRACE: What do you make of them taking her down and showing her the bones?

MCCOLLUM: Outstanding! You show her those bones. If they...

GRACE: And let her know.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: It`s over!

MCCOLLUM: Absolutely. And let`s say she has the reaction. Put her in the car with Tommy. And of course, they`re going to have a discussion about it because they are busted.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Alex Sanchez, defense attorney, New York, Raymond Giudice, defense attorney, Atlanta. Ray Giudice, what about it?

RAYMOND GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I agree with Sheryl, this is some good police work. They were very patient for the last 14 months. They haven`t quite sewed this up together...

GRACE: All you can say is, I agree with Sheryl?

GIUDICE: Yes, but there`s one...

GRACE: I will give you a moment to recoup. What about it, Sanchez?

ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I find it very peculiar that the police would show her the bones. And it raises a question in my mind whether or not they staged that event just for the purposes of trying to provoke her to make a statement.

GRACE: Well, according to you, Haleigh`s not really missing, she`s on a vacation in the Riviera!

SANCHEZ: No. No. I don`t know what happened to her exactly. But for the police to show them the bones -- she could contaminate the bones. That`s not proper police procedure, and you know it, Nancy!

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF HARDY, PUTNAM COUNTY SHERIFF: At this point I`m comfortable to go ahead and say that I`m going to call it a homicide.

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: If somebody had something to do with it, let them fry. So be it.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: What, Miss Hollars, could be their possible motivation for killing a 5-year-old girl?

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY CROSLIN AND JOE OVERSTREET`S GRANDMOTHER: It`s something -- I don`t know. Those three grandkids of mine is involved in this and I don`t know why. But I sure would like to know why.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sources telling CNN affiliate WJXT that two cinder blocks have been taken out of the St. Johns River. Forensic testing now taking place.

HARDY: I`m not going to discuss the particular items that I`ve taken for analysis.

MISTY CROSLIN, FORMER STEPMOM/BABYSITTER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: The cops said there was a whole bunch of bricks about 50 feet away. But I`ve never seen any bricks at all.

HARDY: I think she`s come to realize that, you know, she`s in trouble.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: For those of you just joining us -- straight out to Art Harris, investigative journalist, with breaking news.

Art.

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, WWW.ARTHARRIS.COM: Nancy, sources are telling me that Misty Croslin has been taken to the crime scene, the St. Johns River, and shown bones by detectives, bones purportedly belonging to Haleigh Cummings.

GRACE: And what was Cummings -- well, when she saw the bones belonging to Haleigh Cummings, what was Misty Croslin`s response?

HARRIS: Nancy, I don`t have her reaction. I know, though, that she discussed the bones with her brother Tommy Croslin on their trip back to the St. Johns County jail together.

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Now back to the lawyers, Alex Sanchez, defense attorney, New York. Raymond Giudice, defense attorney, Atlanta.

Ray, anything wrong with putting those two in the back of a squad car and driving them back to the jail?

RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, you can cry as a defense lawyer that it`s bad and it`s wrong. But it ain`t. And that testimony, if it`s tape-recorded, or the officer`s impression of the hearsay expression as an excited utterance is going to come into evidence.

What I`m getting at is, the defense teams better know right now the quality of the evidence against them. The only thing that`s keeping the prosecution from an indictment is they want that positive DNA before they present it to a grand jury, and I bet that`ll happen within 30 days.

GRACE: OK. Ray, back it up one more time.

GIUDICE: OK.

GRACE: They show Croslin the bones.

GIUDICE: That`s right.

GRACE: They put her in the car with brother Tommy Croslin. First time they`ve probably been physically together since they were arrested.

GIUDICE: And her response --

GRACE: Right after she sees the bones, what happens?

GIUDICE: And her responses in those conversations are not forced by law enforcement. They don`t need to be Mirandized. Just as Casey Anthony`s reaction in the nursing area when they told her her child had been found.

That is going to be a problem for the defense. Don`t worry about contamination. When that DNA links those bones up -- if it does, to this child, case over.

GRACE: You mentioned excited utterance. For those of us that may not know what you`re talking about explain in a nutshell, Giudice.

GIUDICE: That`s an exception under the law to hearsay coming into court. An excited utterance means it was -- the statement was made in such a heat of passion, such an excited utterance, no thought to be given to giving a false statement. That comes into evidence.

GRACE: Weigh in, Alex Sanchez.

ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I think it`s very clear from what I`ve heard so far that both Misty Croslin and Tommy Croslin have thrown their lot with the police.

Their lawyers and the police are cooperating. So any statements they`re making at this point can be used for investigative purposes and can be used against them at a later date.

GRACE: But it seems to me that these two are stewing in the same pot, Alex Sanchez, and that they are colluding to blame Joe Overstreet. And I`m not saying he`s not involved.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

GRACE: But it seems to me that they`re all part and parcel of what happened to 5-year-old Haleigh.

SANCHEZ: I don`t think the police trust -- even though Misty and Tommy are cooperating with the police, I don`t think the police trust everything she`s saying or what Tommy`s saying. So they`re keeping a careful eye on them, and that`s why they`re engaged in putting them in the police car and hoping that they make some type of more inculpatory type statements.

GRACE: With us tonight, Alex Sanchez, defense attorney, New York, Raymond Giudice, defense attorney, Atlanta.

Out to Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer. What more can you tell me, Ellie?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, we know that all three of these people -- Misty Croslin, her brother Tommy Croslin, their cousin Joe Overstreet -- we know that all three of them are telling different versions about what happened that night.

But the only person who doesn`t place himself at the scene is Joe Overstreet. He continues to insist that he was not in the trailer that night, that he was in fact asleep over at another relative`s house, and that he got a call in the middle of the night letting him know Haleigh was missing. He does not say he was there.

GRACE: Joining me right now, special guest, the president and founder of KlaasKids Foundation, Marc Klaas. Joining us from San Francisco.

Marc, what do you make of it?

MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT & FOUNDER, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Well, I think we have to wait until the DNA evidence comes back from the lab, and then we`ll know several things.

First of all, we`ll know whether or not -- well, if it does come back positive, we`ll know that the little girl Haleigh is dead. And they can start preparing for a funeral. And her parents with start dealing with that.

And they`ll be able to put together this murder investigation. And if I were any one of these three people -- Tommy, Misty, or Joe -- I would be in absolute fear for my life because Ron Cummings has made it very, very clear that he is going to kill whoever was responsible for the death of his little girl.

GRACE: And speaking of Ronald Cummings, Marc Klaas, joining me right now, Leonard Padilla, bounty hunter out of Sacramento, California who has offered to bond out Ronald Cummings.

Leonard, thank you for being with us. What do you make of Art`s breaking news?

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER, OFFERING TO BAIL RON CUMMINGS OUT OF JAIL: Well, I think it`s all -- he`s always right on top of everything and ahead of everybody else. But there`s one thing that we`re forgetting. Law enforcement has the phone calls that went back and forth, say, after 10:00 until 3:00 in the morning, and they have the phones that they went from and to.

We`re eliminating automatically Tim and Chelsea from the equation and putting it on Joe because of what Chelsea said as far as the keys on the counter and the van being parked somewhere else.

Now, Lindsay stood by her husband Tommy over 50 conversations. Chelsea has stood by Timmy over 50 conversations. Joe is saying I wasn`t there, I didn`t do anything.

But law enforcement knows what phone calls came from and what phones they went to. And nobody has bothered to say, well, wait a minute, the van was borrowed from Tommy -- actually, it`s Lindsay because it`s her van. And it was at Timmy and Chelsea`s house.

Joe was merely a guest there. And everybody`s dumping on Joe. I don`t believe Joe had anything to do with it. I tend to -- I`m going to err, if at all, on the side of Joe and say he didn`t have anything to do with it.

So who brought the van from Timmy`s house, picked up Tommy, or whatever, and then went to Misty?

Now Misty`s not telling anybody the truth as to what happened to the child. The child was already deceased when they came to that trailer. So what happened there?

GRACE: Joining right now, Dr. David M. Posey, medical examiner, forensic pathologist out of the Glen Oaks Pathology Medical Group, L.A.

Dr. Posey, Marc Klaas says we`re going to have to wait until we get the DNA on those bones. But the reality is in a rush how quickly can you get DNA?

DR. DAVID POSEY, M.D., MEDICAL EXAMINER, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST; GLENN OAKS PATHOLOGY MED. GROUP: Well, I think they can probably have it within a week. It is a complicated procedure, and you`ve got to go through a number of steps.

But I think, you know, one week we should be able to have some good idea that the bones belong to whoever or they`re not Haleigh`s bones.

GRACE: To Sheryl McCollum, director of the Cold Case Squad, Pine Lake.

Sheryl.

SHERYL MCCOLLUM, DIRECTOR, COLD CASE SQUAD, PINE LAKE: It could be faster than a week. Three days, Nancy.

GRACE: Three days. Seventy-two hours, and you can get r-felt DNA.

MCCOLLUM: Absolutely.

GRACE: With me Dr. Leslie Austin -- Dr. Leslie Austin, psychotherapist.

Dr. Leslie, wouldn`t you have liked to have been in the back of that squad car with Misty Croslin and Tommy Croslin after police show Misty Croslin -- the new stepmother -- little Haleigh`s bones?

LESLIE AUSTIN, PH.D., PSYCHOTHERAPIST: I sure would have. I would have given anything to hear that conversation. And if it was taped, hopefully maybe we will. I don`t trust anything either of them says except in a circumstance like that when they`re not smart enough to think that maybe they`re being monitored.

GRACE: Out to the lines. Becky, Ohio. Hi, Becky.

BECKY, CALLER FROM OHIO: Hi, Nancy. Hey, I have a question.

GRACE: OK.

BECKY: I remember way back early in the investigation when a dog hit on a scent in Misty`s dumpster by her trailer.

GRACE: Right.

BECKY: And I was wondering would it be possible that after she had disposed of the body she got to thinking and called her brother and he decided since he had deposited deer carcasses there in the river that that would be a better place to hide her body?

GRACE: To Jean Casarez, legal correspondent "In Session," I recall when the cadaver dog made that hit. Do you?

JEAN CASAREZ, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": That`s right. I remember the cameras that were there. There was live pictures of them searching that dumpster because of the hit.

They didn`t find anything. It wasn`t that close in time, though, to when Haleigh went missing. So definitely the dumpster could have been emptied or, as Becky is saying, the dumpster could have had the remains taken out and put someplace else by someone.

GRACE: Breaking news tonight. Misty Croslin, the new stepmother, taken down to the docks of the St. Johns River and shown bones purported to be those of little Haleigh.

As we go to break, everyone, we are taking your calls live. And happy birthday to one of the best lawyers in the state of Mississippi, Frank Hadden.

Frank, your success probably has a lot to do with your law school study partner.

And happy birthday to a beautiful lady, Milton, Florida. Ruth Brown. Happy birthday.

And happy birthday to one of our stars. "In Session," TruTV star, Jean Casarez. She`s finally 21.

Happy birthday, beautiful Jean.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARDY: It`s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

M. CROSLIN: Dad, there`s nothing.

HARDY: We were willing to go ahead and take the effort and the time to go look for that needle.

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FMR. DC POLICE DETECTIVE; FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: Who was with her? The last person with her. She was.

M. CROSLIN: I woke up and she was gone. And the back door was wide open.

BROOKS: She is the one that holds the key information to finding out what happened to this beautiful little girl.

M. CROSLIN: It was about 10 o`clock.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She didn`t make any calls until either she saw him pulling in the driveway or until he actually started coming in the house, and he confronted her.

CUMMINGS: I just got home from work. My 5-year-old daughter is gone.

HOLLARS: Told us baby, don`t cry, this is something you should have said a long time ago.

PADILLA: Misty is being very coy about answering the questions.

HOLLARS: She says, "But nanny, I was scared."

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Stunning evidence tonight breaking in the last hour that stepmother Misty Croslin taken down to the docks of the St. Johns River and shown the bones of 5-year-old little Haleigh, then placed in a squad car along with her brother Tommy Croslin.

We are taking your calls, live to Lisa in Florida. Hi, Lisa.

LISA, CALLER FROM FLORIDA: Hi, Nancy. Good evening.

GRACE: Hi, dear.

LISA: Hi, honey. Listen, how long ago did the grandmother find out this information? And can she be like held responsible for withholding evidence?

GRACE: To Marlaina Schiavo, when did the calls start coming to grandma? That broke the case.

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY PRODUCER: Well, as you recall, Tommy Croslin took a polygraph two weeks ago and -- or a week and a half ago, and at that time, right after that, that`s when he called his grandmother. So -- and it was right after that that the search began. So she wasn`t holding on to any information for Tommy.

GRACE: And remember, Lisa in Florida, in our jurisprudence system you do not -- you did not be prosecuted for not doing something, for failure to act. So if you know something and you don`t tell police, you`re likely not going to get prosecuted.

If you obstruct justice, however, you will. If you actively try to stop or hinder an investigation, that`s a different matter than simply withholding evidence.

But according to our sources, the grandma only found out in the last week.

To Rhonda in Florida. Hi, Rhonda. Rhonda, are you there?

RHONDA, CALLER FROM FLORIDA: Yes, I am.

GRACE: What`s your question, dear?

RHONDA: Thank you for taking my call.

GRACE: Yes, ma`am.

RHONDA: And I think that you -- it`s wonderful the way you balance both worlds, working worlds and being a mom. That`s a hard job.

GRACE: Man, it really is, Rhonda. And you sound like you`re a working mom yourself. So you know what it`s like.

RHONDA: And also I think they`re becoming personalities on their own, getting their own personality.

GRACE: Oh, yes.

RHONDA: I think they`re comical (ph).

GRACE: They are. And they had these two personalities when they -- when I gave birth.

RHONDA: Yes.

GRACE: But they have really developed. They couldn`t be more different, even though they`re twins.

What`s your question, dear?

RHONDA: Yes, I have a comment and a question. First of all, if Misty Croslin was just looking on or just looking on or helping, would she still be accomplice -- an accomplice?

GRACE: If she`s helping, you`re darn right. One for all and all for one. The theory of conspiracy, aiding and abetting, accomplice to a crime.

To Renee in New Hampshire. Hi, Renee.

RENEE, CALLER FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE: Yes, ma`am. I`m just wondering, why all of a sudden are her grandchildren calling the grandmother after 14 months?

GRACE: Good question. Art Harris, I believe they`ve been calling on and off all along.

HARRIS: That`s right, Nancy.

GRACE: And finally, when Tommy Croslin flunked the polygraph, he cracked.

HARRIS: That`s right, Nancy. I`ve been speaking with Flora Hollars for months. They have been calling her collect from jail. She is their listening post and very, very sympathetic to both of them.

They called -- Tommy called her after he had been holding this in for many months, took the polygraph, flunked, felt badly, told her, and she said, as you know, it was Joe, wasn`t it? He said yes. And he got it off his chest.

GRACE: Art Harris breaking the story tonight, Croslin taken down to the river and shown little Haleigh`s bones.

We are quickly shifting gears in an effort to help find a missing church mom. We`re calling her that because she was so heavily involved in her local church. Goes shopping at a local outdoor mall, is never seen again.

To Katie Wright, reporter, "The Hillsboro Times-Gazette." What happened to Tiffany Tehan? Give it to me in a nutshell, Katie.

KATIE WRIGHT, REPORTER, THE HILLSBORO TIMES-GAZETTE: Well, I`ll tell you what we know, Nancy. We know that Tiffany Tehan has been missing since she left on a shopping trip early Saturday morning around 8:30.

Her family reported her missing to authorities at 9:00 that evening. And at 9:00 Sunday morning her vehicle was found parked around a nearby shopping center. And according to what we know, the keys were locked in the vehicle and there was a flat tire.

Today, however, a -- one of the leads that police have received led to a person of interest being -- you know, coming into the story where she was reportedly seen with this man on numerous occasions throughout the months of March and April, according to police --

GRACE: Hold on, Katie.

WRIGHT: -- at this nearby convenient store --

GRACE: Hold on, Katie. Katie Wright joining us from the "Hillsboro Times-Gazette." We`re showing you the photo.

Liz, please take me down. I want the viewers to see the photo of Tiffany Tehan along with the guy who is now named a person of interest. Tip line 937-376-7200.

To Chuck Tabor, this is Tiffany`s father, just now joining us.

Mr. Tabor, thank you for being with us. What are police telling you?

CHUCK TABOR, FATHER OF MISSING MOM, TIFFANY TEHAN, JUST MET WITH POLICE AT SEARCH HEADQUARTERS: Well, they`re following every lead they have. They`re checking on who this is. They`re trying to find this person of interest. They`re looking at everything they can find. And all we`re trying to do is help them find our daughter.

GRACE: With me is Chuck Tabor. This is Tiffany`s father.

We`re going to be right back with Mr. Tabor, taking your calls live. But as we go to break, we are asking for your thoughts and prayers for one of our dear stars, Denitra. She is just coming out of surgery, and we ask blessings on her tonight.

Denitra, please stay strong.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: In a search for 31-year-old church mom Tiffany Tehan, to her father joining us tonight, Chuck Tabor.

Mr. Tabor, she left around 8:30 a.m., but she reported missing until 9:30 p.m. There`s a perfectly good explanation. What is it?

TABOR: She had planned to spend her day shopping. And so that was in the schedule that she had given her husband and she called him to let him know where she was, and that was the last phone call in the morning that he got from her.

Not thinking anything about it because she was going to take the whole day shopping, and then he just -- he thought, well, OK, she`s going to call, she`s going to call, she`s going to call. And so he called -- he called us, and we said it`s time to do something. So that`s what happened.

GRACE: I`m hearing in my ear right now an update. We now have a name for the guy I`m showing you. His name is Tre B. Hutcherson.

Ellie, is it Hutcherson or Hutchinson? Hutcherson. With an R. And he also has been missing for several days.

I want to go back to Clark Goldband. When did these photos pop up?

CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Now, Nancy, law enforcement has said these photos emerged between March and April, a few times at possibly, as reports are saying, a Circle K convenience store there in Ohio.

Law enforcement has said there are multiple shots of them entering the store at various times the past few months.

GRACE: Yes, because I notice they have on different clothes going in and out.

To Chuck Tabor, this is Tiffany Tehan`s father.

Chuck, do you know who Tre B. Hutcherson is? Is that something from her church? Who is he?

TABOR: I don`t know. That`s -- this is the first I`ve heard it. I did not recognize the picture, and that name is an unfamiliar name.

GRACE: Tre B. Hutcherson.

Everyone, tip line, 937-376-7200.

To Marc Klaas, what do you think, Marc?

KLAAS: Well, I think that -- he was identified solely through your program tonight. I don`t think there`s any question about that. There is -- this is a love triangle and this could go in a number of different ways.

Unless the husband has a very solid alibi, he could very well be involved in this disappearance, too. And I don`t think anybody should forget that until these people are found.

GRACE: And I`d like to find out exactly how that tire was flattened, Marc Klaas.

With us tonight is Chuck Tabor. This is Tiffany Tehan`s father.

Everyone, there is a reward in the search for Tiffany Tehan.

Tonight let`s stop and remember Army Private Michael Baloga, 21, Everett, Washington. Killed Iraq. Awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation medal, National Defense Service medal.

Never met a stranger. Loved hackie sack, rave, water sports. Dreamed of seeing his daughter graduate high school and walking her down the aisle. Leaves behind parents Robert and Linda, two sisters, two brothers, daughter Isis.

Michael Baloga, American hero.

Thank you to our guests but especially you for being with us. See you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.

END

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[Sassycat]

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ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

Misty`s Grandmother Sheds Light on Haleigh`s Disappearance

Aired April 21, 2010 - 19:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, fast-breaking developments in the desperate search for beautiful little Haleigh Cummings. Tonight, Misty Croslin`s grandmother is back to talk one-on-one with me. Grandma Flo claims Ron, Misty, Tommy and Cousin Joe are all involved in a conspiracy surrounding Haleigh`s death. What happened to little Haleigh on the banks of that river?

And shocking new claims in the Casey Anthony case. A new prison inmate has NOW come forward. She claims Casey described in graphic detail how she used chloroform to knock out little Caylee so she could go party. This jailhouse informant is a convicted murderer herself, so is any of this actually true?

Plus, a very special guest here on ISSUES. I`ll be sitting down with Mr. 007 himself, Pierce Brosnan. He`ll talk about the fight to save the whales. He is up in arms over a controversial move by the U.S. government that critics say could allow more whale hunting. Tonight, what you can do to stop it.

ISSUES starts now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jaw-dropping new developments tonight in the Haleigh Cummings murder mystery. The 5-year-old vanished more than a year ago. Tonight, are investigators on the brink of nailing Haleigh`s killer? Does Misty Croslin, the very last person to see this little girl alive, know who killed her and how they did it?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN, RON CUMMINGS` EX-WIFE: They`re not going to put me away for something I didn`t do. And I didn`t have anything to do with Haleigh. And if I knew who did, I would tell. I`ve told them everything that I can tell them. So they need to leave me alone about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Really? Hmm. Misty`s own grandmother, Flora Hollars, is back with us tonight live. Flo says Misty knows what happened to Haleigh.

Last night, right here on ISSUES, Flora dropped a huge bombshell. She says she thinks all three of her grandkids -- Misty, her brother Tommy and their cousin, Joe Overstreet -- were involved in Haleigh`s murder.

Investigators did take Misty to the search site to question her. Flo says Misty, who`s behind bars on drug charges, told her Tommy and Cousin Joe tied Haleigh to a brick of cement and then tossed the child into the St. John`s River.

Last night, Flo told us even before Haleigh went missing Cousin Joe spoke to Tommy about dumping a body in that very river.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY`S GRANDMOTHER: Tied Haleigh up with a yellow rope and tied a brick or block to the rope and dropped her into the St. John`s River.

She was crying and I told her, I said, "Baby, don`t cry. This is something you should have said a long time ago."

She says, "But, nanny, I was scared."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Plus, divers discover bones in the muddy water. It was reported that they could belong to little Haleigh. Investigators even told Haleigh`s dad, Ronald, to plan a funeral.

Well, tonight, breaking news on that front. Those bones have been analyzed and have been identified as animal remains. There is still no body in this case.

And we are taking your calls tonight with Grandma Flo: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.

Straight out to my fantastic expert panel, all experts in this case, but first, my very special guest and the prime expert in this case, Flora Hollars, Misty Croslin`s own grandmother.

Flora, let me say again for the record I applaud you for immediately reporting this tip to police, even though your own family is at stake in all of this.

HOLLARS: Thank you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Great to have you here.

Last night you said you believe Misty, Tommy, Joe and Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, were all involved in a conspiracy to cover up Haleigh`s murder. Flo, we did some research. We found that cops have cleared Ronald Cummings, Haleigh`s dad. So why do you think he knows something more?

HOLLARS: Well, really what it boiled down to is the fact that him and her had been arguing all day where she`d been out on that drug spree. And then he made her keep those babies -- those two babies that night. And there`s -- it takes him 50 minutes to get from home and work, back and forth. And what did he do in that ten minutes?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. So you`re saying that there`s a time discrepancy?

HOLLARS: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But he went to work.

HOLLARS: Uh-huh.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: My understanding was he was -- he`s working the night shift, he`s informed at work that little Haleigh is missing by Misty. He rushes back, can`t find her and then called police. He calls police. Where is the time discrepancy there?

HOLLARS: The -- getting to work is 25 minutes, getting back from -- getting home from work is 25 minutes. That -- that makes 50 minutes. There`s ten minutes to spare there.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, I want to stress again that law enforcement has said that Ron Cummings is not a suspect. They have investigated. They`ve cleared him. They`ve said they`ve checked his phone records, they`ve checked everything, and they really believe he has absolutely nothing to do with this.

We`ve also reached out to attorneys for all -- Tommy, Joe, Misty and Ron -- and we have not heard back today.

But I want to ask you about this, Flo. After Ron leaves for work, somehow we have now Misty who`s in the trailer, she said she just went to sleep with the two kids and woke up -- initially she said this -- and they were missing. But it emerged that perhaps she had been visited by Tommy and Joe.

So set the stage for us. What was going on inside that trailer, do you believe? Do you believe all three were there, and were they partying?

HOLLARS: I know they were al three there, because Joe and Tommy was looking for the machine gun that Ronald had.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And what were they doing? Were they partying? Were they drugging, do you think?

HOLLARS: They didn`t say that, but I`m pretty such if they had any they were.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why do...

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why do these three grandchildren have troubles? Why are they so troubled? Now, two of the three are behind bars. Joe is clear at this point. Investigators have not charged him with anything. But why do you think Misty and Tommy have such a troubled history and now they`re behind bars on drug conspiracy charges?

Did they have trouble as kids? Did any of these three of your grandchildren that we`re looking at now have violent streaks when they were kids growing up?

HOLLARS: Not that I know of. But they never really had parents that stayed straight enough to take care of them anyways.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do you mean?

HOLLARS: Tommy and Misty, their mom and dad were crackheads. And they stayed messed up on crack all the time. What time I didn`t have them, their grandmother in Michigan had them. Well, I had Misty. She had the other two.

I went to Colorado three summers in a row and only caught the kids home one time. They were in Michigan.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Only what one time?

HOLLARS: Only one time out of the three years that I went up there.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Only one time what? I didn`t get you.

HOLLARS: When I went to Colorado to visit, I went there three times. The first time that I went, they wasn`t there. The second -- the second time they were there. The third time they wasn`t there. They were in Michigan.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re -- is this the parents of Misty?

HOLLARS: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So what -- how old was Misty and who was taking care of her?

HOLLARS: Her grandmother in -- June Croslin in Michigan.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re saying that Misty and Tommy, they`re brother and sister, their parents were drug addicts and did not take good care of Misty and Tommy, which may have led to their own addiction? As a recovering alcoholic myself, I know that that can be handed down. We`re not saying for sure they`re addicts, but this is your premise?

HOLLARS: Oh, yes, ma`am, they are addicts.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: How do you know that?

HOLLARS: They live like gypsies.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: How do you know that Misty and Tommy are addicts?

HOLLARS: Well, from the -- my daughter`s own words down there and the way that he was stealing his daddy`s pills, which his daddy is going on trial for doctor shopping. He was getting roxies. And he said they were stealing all of them. But Misty stated out of her own mouth that he was giving them to her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Flo, you say there are a few different stories you`ve heard about how little Haleigh was murdered.

HOLLARS: Uh-huh.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want you to listen to this.

HOLLARS: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: I`ve heard two different details. I heard that she got a hold of one of Ron`s pills and swallowed it and O.D.`d on it, and then I heard that Misty supposedly hit her in the back of the head, and Joe supposedly raped her and then got rid of the body.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Flo, those are three very different scenarios. Where did you hear each of those stories, and which one do you believe?

HOLLARS: I believe the one that Misty told me, that they tied her up in a rope and dropped her in the river. I just don`t know whether they raped her or not. But I sort of believe that they did. I just hope and pray that the child was already dead before she hit that water.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But how do you know that, based on what Tommy told you on the phone? I mean, did Tommy tell you how the child -- if, in fact, this is what happened, got from the trailer to the river and what happened in between the time that the child left the trailer and got to the river, and who took the child from the trailer to the river?

HOLLARS: No, ma`am. All Tommy told me was that Joe did it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you didn`t ask any follow-up questions?

HOLLARS: Yes, I asked follow-up questions, but he didn`t answer any of the rest of them. He was crying too hard, so he started talking about his kids and his wife.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So how do you know that Misty, in your opinion, Misty, Tommy and Joe were all there at the river that night with little Haleigh? How do you make that leap, when all Tommy said was Joe did it, and then all Misty said was they tied a rope around her and, with cement, threw her in the water?

HOLLARS: Well, in my opinion, the way that I feel that -- knowing that is that she knew she was throwed in the St. John`s River.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re saying how would she know that without having witnessed it?

HOLLARS: If she hadn`t have witnessed it or -- see, Joe left the next day after this happened. Now, maybe Tommy carried her over there and showed her where they had dropped her at. I don`t know.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Grandma Flo, you`re such a great interview. We really, really appreciate you being here. Stay right where you are. Don`t move.

And we`re going to get some calls in: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297. Phone lines lighting up.

Plus, here we go again. A new prison inmate coming forward in the Casey Anthony case, this time claiming Casey talked about chloroform. You won`t believe this one. Are any of these roommates telling the truth.

But first, what happened to Haleigh Cummings? And did she end up in this river? We are hunting for answers with Misty`s grandmother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: I don`t want to say nothing that will hurt you, Misty.

M. CROSLIN: I know, Daddy. It`s nothing against me. I`m telling you.

H. CROSLIN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Your brother told me to tell you he loves you.

M. CROSLIN: I love him, too.

H. CROSLIN: We want to get your brother out, too.

M. CROSLIN: Well, worry about me first. OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. CROSLIN: So I got up and went to the kitchen. And that`s when I noticed the back door was wide open. The back door was open. The screen door was holding by a big cement block.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Misty told cops a cinderblock was propped open, holding the door of her trailer home open the night Haleigh went missing. That was her initial story. Investigators reportedly pulled two cinderblocks from the St. John`s River, and they are examining them.

We are talking to Misty`s grandmother, Flora Hollars, who says she thinks her granddaughter, Misty, was somehow involved in Haleigh Cummings` death.

We have a team of experts with us tonight. We begin with HLN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks.

Mike, what would you like to ask Flora?

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Ms. Hollars, good to have you with us again.

HOLLARS: Thank you.

BROOKS: Misty has taken now, it looks like, four polygraphs. Initially the first two were by law enforcement, one by Texas EquuSearch, and then apparently, another one. Has she ever discussed what the questions were that were asked to her and why she failed so badly?

HOLLARS: No, sir, she hasn`t.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jayne Weintraub, your question for Flo.

JAYNE WEINTRAUB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Have you ever spoken with Misty prior to this about any details like the yellow rope? Did she ever mention anything?

HOLLARS: She didn`t say anything about that until the Monday after Tommy had told me on Sunday about the -- Joe being the one that did it. And that following Monday is when Misty told me that they tied her with a yellow rope and tied the blocks around it and dropped her into the St. John`s River.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Levi Page, host of "The Levi Page Show," your question for Flo.

LEVI PAGE, HOST, "THE LEVI PAGE SHOW": Yes. Ms. Hollars, I want to ask you. Misty was jailed along with Donna Brock, a former volunteer with EquuSearch, in that drug-trafficking scandal.

HOLLARS: Yes.

PAGE: Donna Brock went undercover in October to try to get information out of Misty. According to what`s been reported, Ronald Cumming, when he learned that Donna Brock was going undercover to try to get information out of Misty, Ronald called Misty to warn her not to say anything. If Ronald doesn`t have any involvement, why do you think he warned Misty not to talk to Donna?

HOLLARS: That`s something that I would really like to know, too.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Because I think you`re saying that Ron may have at least some knowledge of what happened, even though I have to stress investigators have cleared him as a suspect.

Cheryl, North Carolina, your question for Flo?

CALLER: Yes. Why did she wait so long to come out with this? Obviously, they told her earlier on. And so she`s known this for a while, and she waited until they all got arrested on the drug charges to come out with this.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Flo?

HOLLARS: Who waited?

CALLER: You did.

HOLLARS: I just heard this last week.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Well, let me ask a related question, then. Why do you think Misty waited so long? If, in fact, she was going to spill this, why wait until 15 minutes after Tommy calls?

Have you ever considered the possibility that somehow they managed to coordinate their stories and that none of this is true, that maybe there`s nothing down there at the river, that -- that basically this is just another story made up out of whole cloth, the way Misty initially said she woke up and Haleigh was simply gone?

HOLLARS: No, ma`am, because 15 minutes after Tommy called me, Misty called me. I told her what he said and she was crying and all she could say is, "Nanny, I`ve told them this all along." Misty didn`t tell me until the following Monday about the rope and the bricks in the St. John`s River.

BROOKS: And Jane, I really don`t think also that law enforcement would have gone to all this trouble and this whole dive operation, had they not thought that the information they got was very credible.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.

WEINTRAUB: Especially to stay all night on a river. I mean, it`s really -- it`s unheard of. Jane, can I ask you to ask a question?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go ahead.

WEINTRAUB: Can you ask Flo whether or not there were any discussions from Misty about the police about the time in prison she was going to spend before she came up with this confession? In other words, was she complaining to Flo that they`re going to put her in jail for 30 years if she doesn`t just tell them, so that`s why she`s telling her?

HOLLARS: No, ma`am. She told me that she didn`t think she would get over five years.

BROOKS: But, Jayne, we`ve seen -- we`ve seen how Misty has been since she went in. You know, the initial video we`ve seen of her until now. You saw her with her father, Hank. "Yes, Tommy is in here, too, but get me out first." It`s starting to get to her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Fantastic panel, stay right where you are. Are police finally closing in on little Haleigh`s killer? What happened that night?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON CUMMINGS, FATHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: If you have my daughter, bring her home, please. All I want is Haleigh. That`s all I want. I want nothing else but Haleigh. That`s it. Please, if you have her, bring her home.

Babe, if you`re watching, you know you`ll always be daddy`s little girl. I love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Investigators did an intense underwater search over several days using divers, cadaver dogs, underwater sonar devices, focusing in n this area, a dock along the river bank of the St. John`s River.

Flo, after you called in your tip to investigators, telling them what Tommy and Misty told you, have investigators been in contact with you? Have they updated you at all as to whether they believe the story, what they found down at the river, anything?

HOLLARS: No, ma`am. I keep leaving them messages.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Really?

HOLLARS: Different things that I hear, I leave them messages, but they`ve not bothered to call me back.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: How do you feel about that?

HOLLARS: I think it`s dirty. At least they should pick the phone up and call me back and answer my questions.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: How has your extended family reacted to your going forward and calling police, even though it could jeopardize your three grandchildren?

HOLLARS: None of them like it, but it`s like I said, if it was me, I would want somebody to be doing the same thing that I`m doing sitting here right now.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do you want more than anything else?

HOLLARS: I want that little girl to be put to rest.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Closure.

Mike Brooks, a question?

BROOKS: Ms. Hollars, just a little while ago you said that they went over to Ronald`s house looking for his machine gun. It had been reported earlier that apparently he had a .38 revolver. Does he have a machine gun in that house?

HOLLARS: That -- Misty said that he had a machine gun there, but he had turned it and put it somewheres else.

BROOKS: Hmm. That`s something that we`d never heard either.

HOLLARS: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I don`t understand why somebody would take a child in reaction to not finding a machine gun.

Now, let me ask you this question. Flora, what was the relationship between Misty and Haleigh? You said that Misty didn`t want to baby-sit that night. Did Misty resent the responsibility of having to take care of Haleigh, much as Casey Anthony is accused of resenting the responsibility of being a parent regarding Caylee?

HOLLARS: That one night, I`m sure she did.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But in general, did she resent the child?

HOLLARS: No, ma`am, not in general she didn`t. I`ve talked to the child on the telephone.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And?

HOLLARS: And she was a nice-talking little girl.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But I`m saying do you think -- we`re trying to figure out a motive, a motive for any of this. Something just doesn`t add up here.

HOLLARS: I`m saying Misty was jealous of Ron and Haleigh.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Misty is jealous of Ron?

HOLLARS: Ron and his daughter. I`m saying she was jealous of them.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why?

HOLLARS: The attention that he give his daughter.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh. And do you think that was a motive of some sort?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am, I do.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Motive for what?

HOLLARS: Getting rid of the little girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa.

HOLLARS: She had what she wanted.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s pretty serious stuff. Again, nobody has been charged as a suspect in this case -- Jayne Weintraub.

WEINTRAUB: I was just going to say, you know, what`s clear also that we`ve learned from the last few days is that, one, tragically, Haleigh is not alive anymore.

And, No. 2, we`ve learned that this case will eventually have closure, because there`s no statute of limitations on murder. The cops will have a chance to develop the case when the drug case comes. They`ll make the squeeze play. One will admit it until they turn evidence against the other. And they`ll come up with some corroboration. This case will be made eventually.

BROOKS: It`s just a matter of making that probable cause.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Stay tuned. We`ll have more on this case with Flo.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. CROSLIN: If I have something, she wants it. So if we buy something for me, we buy the same thing for her. Our shoes, me and Haleigh have the same pair of shoes. She wanted me to have pink and white Jordans just like hers. So me and her are like -- we try to do everything together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We are here with Flo Hollars, the 67-year-old grandmother of Misty Croslin, trying to break this case, trying to really understand what happened that night. Did they go down to the river with Haleigh and throw her in the water with a weight? If so, who did it and why?

Flo, you said Misty and Ron fought because she didn`t want to baby sit Haleigh and junior the night that Haleigh went missing.

We talked about Misty`s relationship with Haleigh. You say Misty was jealous of the attention Ron gave little Haleigh. She was the apple of his eye. He said that.

FLO HOLLARS, MISTY CROSLIN`S GRANDMOTHER: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So take us further. Where are you going with that?

HOLLARS: Well, if it was your child or your step-child, would you be walking and laughing with her gone? Look how Misty is laughing. She didn`t care. She had Ron by herself.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you feel that Misty was, like, madly in love with Ron?

HOLLARS: Oh, yes, I know she is.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Still?

HOLLARS: Still.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is that why she had Ron`s name tattooed on her?

HOLLARS: Uh-huh. That`s -- that`s why she`s tried to mail letters to get us to mail them back to Ron but we will not send them back to him.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tell us about that. I`m not sure I understand you. Can you spell that out?

HOLLARS: She has mailed letters to her mother mainly to be sent -- put in another envelope and be sent to Ron under her mother`s name. And I told her mother, I says, "You better not do it because you`re sticking your foot in too deep." And she didn`t do it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Mike, thoughts?

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: No, I think -- that`s good information you gave her. Good advice. Because, no, if the jail found out about that, it could definitely get -- get them in trouble.

HOLLARS: Yes, it could.

(CROSSTALK)

BROOKS: One other thing, Ms. Hollars, Tommy had initially said that he went over that night and he pounded on the door of that trailer. Has he talked to you about that and said that he fabricated that? Or has he said that that was exactly what happened and then went back with Joe?

HOLLARS: He`s never said to me that he went over there. When I found out that he had went over there, I asked him why did it take him eight months to come out and say that he had been over there. And he never answered.

BROOKS: Interesting.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me ask you this, Flo. What were in the letters that Misty was writing, trying to get her own mother to send them to Ron behind bars so that Ron could read something from her?

HOLLARS: How much she loved him and how much she wanted to be with him. And he tells her in the courtroom that he`s in love with her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So this is some kind of twisted love story?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am, it is.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok, here`s one thing I`ve never understood. How could you marry somebody who basically lost your daughter? I mean, for lack of a better phrase, the child disappeared on her watch. Everybody was shocked that he then proceeds to marry her. What do you make of that?

HOLLARS: They`d only known one another for four months. To me, that was staged marriage.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why do you say that?

HOLLARS: To keep from testifying against each other. But they found out real quick that it don`t work in Florida.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but -- ok. Here`s what I don`t understand. You seem to agree that Ron said Haleigh was the apple of his eye.

HOLLARS: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yet why would he then be involved in any conspiracy? He`s the one who`d likely be outraged if anybody hurt Haleigh.

HOLLARS: Well, leaving him with her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What?

HOLLARS: Leaving them with her that one particular night when she was so messed up. Would you leave your child with somebody that was doped up?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: No. We`ve covered that. Ok. Jayne Weintraub, question? Question?

JAYNE WEINTRAUB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, I -- no, other than I`m troubled that the police have not called Flo back. I wonder if that`s a message.

And also, I`m curious if Misty mentioned anything about being charged with a murder or Tommy, for that matter. Has anybody spoken to that they`re afraid of being charged with the murder?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Flo?

HOLLARS: I`ve not got to talk to them. I don`t have the money to get pay-toll minutes put on my telephone right now. But as soon as I get the money, I`m having them added on there.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I just want to say, Flo, we really appreciate your courage in speaking and being part of this effort to get to the truth. It takes a lot of guts to say something that could have blow-back to your own family.

HOLLARS: Yes, I know.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We applaud you. And we`re going to stay on top of it. We want you to come back real soon, ok, Flo?

HOLLARS: Ok. Thank you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you.

<snipped to include Haleigh coverage only>

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/21/ijvm.01.html

[Sassycat]

http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/21/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Bones Found in St. John`s Animal Bones, Not Human

Aired April 21, 2010 - 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5-year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. The last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who goes on to flunk four polygraphs. Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and stepmother Misty Croslin both booked. Charges, drug trafficking.

Suddenly, search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters, comb the St. John`s River. Croslin rousted out of her jail cell, taken in handcuffs down to the dock, motioning out to the water, pointing out a specific spot to police. Police announcing 5-year-old Haleigh likely dead. Evidence, including two cinderblocks, pulled from the muddy waters of the St. John`s River.

As the search for little Haleigh`s entire body and the murder weapon goes on, bombshell tonight. In a stunning police move, we learn while Misty Croslin stands on the docks of the St. John`s, police show her bones recovered in the search, then place Croslin and brother Tommy together in the back of a squad car, leaving the two, sister and brother, to talk freely. Was there a squad car confession?

In the last hours, police announce they have not found Haleigh`s body, all they`ve dredged up are animal bones. Did Croslin only see animal bones at the dock, then break down? Police refusing to confirm human remains found, but go inform Haleigh`s father behind closed doors to plan a funeral. Father Ronald Cummings and bio mom Crystal Sheffield meet to determine whether to have Haleigh officially declared dead.

Croslin`s own grandmother describing scenarios, insisting she believes all three -- Misty Croslin, brother Tommy Croslin, cousin Joe Overstreet -- are all responsible for Haleigh`s death. Two types rope missing from Croslin`s van the morning after Haleigh vanishes, backing Grandma`s story Haleigh ruthlessly tied to a brick, then thrown into the muddy waters, dead or alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: Today was a very bad day for me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was taken to the crime scene, to the river.

MISTY CROSLIN: Tomorrow`s going to be a bad day for me, too, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The detectives showed her what they had found.

MISTY CROSLIN: I was freaking out! I was like, Man, they got me...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was shown bones.

GRACE: ... shown bones...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... bones and remains...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know that bones have been found in the river.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She knows something.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Human bones or animal bones?

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY`S AND JOE`S GRANDMOTHER: She was pointing (ph) a site out on the river on the TV.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re still denying that they found any human remains.

MISTY CROSLIN: It was crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... show her the bones...

GRACE: They put her in the car with brother Tommy Croslin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And let`s say she has the reaction...

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m serious. I was like, Oh, my God.

HOLLARS: Those three grandkids of mine is involved in this, and I don`t know why!

MISTY CROSLIN: The cops said there was a whole bunch of bricks...

Yes, it was a brick. Like, a brick on the floor.

But I`ve never seen any bricks at ail.

HOLLARS: They have no remorse or something!

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m not hiding anything.

JOE OVERSTREET, MISTY`S COUSIN: I didn`t do it.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: I don`t know where she is.

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: If I find whoever has my daughter before y`all do, I`m killing him. I don`t care. I`ll spend the rest of my life in prison. I`m telling you, you can put it on recording. I don`t care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And breaking news tonight, live, Ohio. A young church mom of a 1- year-old baby girl vanishes while shopping. But now grainy surveillance video emerges of Mommy with a mystery man. Cops ID a person of interest. As we go to air last night, they ID him. The mystery man, Tre B. Hutcherson.

Breaking tonight, in a surprise twist, we learn it`s not the first time Mommy spotted with the mystery married man, his wife revealing thousands now gone from the family bank account. Tonight, is the young church mom in danger, or is she a runaway mom? Where is young church mom Tiffany Tehan?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honey, your dad and I, and your husband and your child, need you to come back home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news. Law enforcement just moments ago saying they`ve located the 1999 red Volkswagen Beetle believed to be driven by Tre Hutcherson.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re just going hour by hour, day by day, and trying to do what we can to locate her safely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cops say he`s 42-year-old Tre B. Hutcherson, who`s unemployed and has also been missing for several days. Law enforcement desperately trying to track the two down, as local media talks to a woman claiming to be Hutcherson`s wife. She alleges Hutcherson recently withdrew $2,000 cash and said she believes the two want to be together.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A woman that claims to be Tre Hutcherson`s wife told us, quote, "He`s taken off with this girl, obviously, together. He`s caused no harm to her, and they`re together because they want to be."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you can make a phone call just to let us know that you`re there, that you`re safe or whatever, we will make the way for you to come back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But would a respected mom involved in her church`s ministry just leave her 1-year-old daughter behind? Questions now swirling. What exactly happened to missing mom Tiffany Tehan?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. We learn while Misty Croslin, baby-sitter-turned- stepmother, stands on the docks of the St. John`s River, police show her bones, bones recovered in the search for 5-year-old Haleigh, then place Misty Croslin and brother Tommy Croslin together in the back of a squad car, leaving brother and sister to talk freely. Was there a squad car confession?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this point, I`m going to call it a homicide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Local reports police telling Ronald Cummings and his family to start making funeral arrangements for Haleigh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re hoping to make an arrest in this case. People are finally starting to talk.

HOLLARS: I know one thing. Misty had been out on a drug binge for three days. Her and Ron had fought that day, and she told him she didn`t want to baby-sit. And he told her, Yes, you are going to baby-sit.

CUMMINGS: Please. All we want is my child. That`s it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s still hoping that if Misty did know something that she was forced to do, threatened into doing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You leave your kids with somebody that`s all doped up?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: WJXT is reporting that two cinderblocks have been pulled during that massive search in the St. John`s River.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without a body, the case against Haleigh`s killer may have to be built entirely on circumstantial evidence.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty, when she first told the story about the night Haleigh went missing, she said the back door was propped open with a cinderblock.

911 OPERATOR: You said your back door was wide open?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes. It was brick. Like a brick on the floor.

HOLLARS: First thing that I was told was that Joe had killed her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s so many people talking.

HOLLARS: I don`t even know whether she was dead when she hit the water or not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so few who know what they`re talking about.

HOLLARS: What I was told by Misty was that Tommy and Joe took Haleigh and wrapped a yellow rope around her and carried her to the dock and tied a brick around the bottom of -- of the end of the rope and throwed her into the river.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Artharris.com reporting investigators have found a piece of yellow rope from inside brother Tommy Croslin`s home.

CUMMINGS: I just want my daughter back!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re trying to bring somebody to justice for this little girl right here and her family. And that`s what this is all about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Art Harris, investigative reporter at Artharris.com. You`ve been there in Satsuma, Art. You broke the story last night that Misty Croslin, the last person to see 5-year-old Haleigh alive, was shown bones there on the dock of the St. John`s. Are we now learning that those were not Haleigh`s bones?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Nancy, the bones we first reported on your show last night Misty was shown at the St. John`s River have been tested, and police have announced today they are animal bones. They also are saying that -- in a press release today that she saw the bones. But they tried to downplay this, Nancy, you know, by saying, my sources saying, that they have a strategy to keep the pressure on her, a calculated strategy by showing her bones in the hopes she will crack.

GRACE: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute, Art Harris. Hold on! To Dr. Marty Makary, physician and professor of public health, Johns Hopkins -- you can`t get any better than that. Dr. Makary, is there any mistaking a deer bone with a human child bone?

DR. MARTY MAKARY, JOHNS HOPKINS: Well, with weather damage and if we`re talking about bone fragments, sure. There`s no way a parent is going to be able to identify a bone fragment that`s been weathered...

GRACE: I`m talking about the police, Makary, the police.

MAKARY: No, the police can tell because of DNA. They can nail it with 100 percent certainty.

GRACE: No, I mean out there on the docks, Dr. Marty Makary. Do you think police knew that they were showing Misty Croslin deer bones, not little girl bones?

MAKARY: You know, based on the shape of a bone, oftentimes you can make a deduction. But you need a laboratory to know with 100 percent certainty. Otherwise, a bone can look like a bone.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. We are taking your calls live. Joining us out of the Philadelphia jurisdiction, attorney Anthony F. List. Also with us, defense attorney, New York, Alan Ripka. Along with him, defense attorney Jason Oshins joining us out of New York, practicing in multiple jurisdictions.

First to you, Oshins. There`s not a thing wrong with what police did.

JASON OSHINS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, Nancy. You know, I`ve got to cite you on that. That`s excellent police work. They`re trying to, you know, pinch one against the other, hopefully, get an excited utterance, like we think that might have occurred between the two Croslins in the back of the police car. Really nothing to do from a defense point of view. It`s protected by the hearsay rule. And you know, if it occurred, it`s a tough one, Nancy.

GRACE: Ripka?

ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it`s incredibly traumatic if she`s not the one who did this. And showing somebody bones and claiming they`re human bones to entice them to sort of admit to what they did could be very emotional if they`re not the suspect here.

GRACE: Put Ripka up! Emotional? That doesn`t matter. Emotional doesn`t matter, according to the Constitution. Don`t come with me -- to me with a box of Kleenex telling me it`s emotional!

Anthony List, what about it? Is there any way that they can get whatever she said in that cop car thrown out because those were not Haleigh`s bones, they were deer bones?

ANTHONY F. LIST, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: I think the whole process was intentionally misleading. Dr. Makary...

GRACE: So? Is that against the Constitution, Mr. List?

LIST: Well, that`s correct. And I think Dr. Makary`s talking as an expert...

GRACE: That was a yes or no, Anthony. This is not unconstitutional.

LIST: You`re saying it`s not unconstitutional. I disagree with you.

GRACE: And what -- what amendment? What Bill of Right do you believe it`s violating? What was that, Mr. List?

LIST: I`m sorry. The Bill of Rights is that the whole investigation has to be conducted with fairness, and I don`t think this was.

GRACE: Oh, fairness! I don`t recall seeing that in the Bill of Rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: I see the photo behind you of you and Misty Croslin. Do you think she could have had anything to do with this?

HOLLARS: No, ma`am, I really don`t think she could. Misty`s too good with kids. Misty loves kids. She`s had an opportunity to hurt them all, and she`s kept every one of them. I don`t believe Misty had any involvement whatsoever.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are starting to talk.

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are starting to cooperate.

MISTY CROSLIN: There`s nothing to break me on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she`s come to realize that, you know, she`s in trouble.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: I see a smile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are reports of two cinderblocks retrieved from the river.

MISTY CROSLIN: It was a brick, like, a brick on the floor.

HOLLARS: Misty had been out on a drug binge for three days. Her and Ron had fought that day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And my source is telling me police have obtained yellow rope from Tommy Croslin`s home.

TOMMY CROSLIN: I said, I can`t help you find nobody. I don`t know where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They told the family it`s time, they have enough evidence that they can start making funeral arrangements for little Haleigh.

HOLLARS: And she told him she didn`t want to baby-sit, and he told her, Yes, you are going to baby-sit.

MISTY CROSLIN: Bring her back.

CUMMINGS: I know somebody took my little girl!

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD, HALEIGH`S MOTHER: We just want our baby to come home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They brought the family members in to the sheriff`s office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s not as strong at home as he is on TV.

HOLLARS: He left the kids there with her, and she was still strung out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They told him that it was now a homicide investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was the worst thing I`ve ever been through in my entire life.

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: Misty is being very coy about answering the questions.

HOLLARS: Would you leave your kids with somebody that`s all doped up?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Back to Art Harris, investigative journalist at Artharris.com. We are taking your calls live. So Art, bottom line -- I want a yes or no out of you, and that`s very hard to get out of an investigative journalist. But Art, bottom line, was she shown deer bones? Are we sure those were not Haleigh`s bones?

HARRIS: They`re saying those were not Haleigh`s bones, they were either deer or alligator bones pulled from the river. The question is, did police know that when they showed them to her? And was the announcement today, Nancy, that they were animal bones curiously close to our report on your show that they showed her bones?

GRACE: Joining me right now is a special guest, the attorney for Ronald Cummings, Terry Shoemaker, joining us out of St. Augustine, Florida. Terry Shoemaker, do you believe police knew when they showed Misty Croslin those bones that they were not human bones?

TERRY SHOEMAKER, ATTORNEY FOR RONALD CUMMINGS (via telephone): I really don`t know the answer to that, Nancy. I do know that after reviewing them and having them, you know, looked at by the appropriate people, that they have come back and said that they were animal bones. But at the time, I have no idea.

GRACE: To Pat Brown, criminal profiler, author of "The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths." Pat Brown, regardless of what the defense attorneys List, Ripka, Oshins and Shoemaker might tell us tonight, the reality is that police can use a trick in order to get a confession.

We just saw that in the Dalia Dippolito case, the woman who tried to get her husband killed six months into the marriage. She contracted with a crop who she thought was a hitman. They set the whole thing up. It was a trick, all right?

That`s totally constitutional. What they can`t do is beat a confession out of you, get a confession out of you without giving you Miranda rights, torture you, punish you. There is a host of things they cannot do, but trickery ain`t one of them, Pat Brown. Yes, no?

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Yes. Well, Anthony`s saying you have to be fair and not misleading. I don`t know what lawyers we`d have left in our defense system if that were true. But the police can do whatever they want as far as being tricky. And they could have just pulled those bones out and not even said one way or another. They could say, Look, here are the bones. That`s their purpose, is to see if they can get her to give up a confession. That`s perfectly fine. It`s legal as heck.

GRACE: With me right now, another special guest, the grandmother of both Misty and Tommy Croslin, Ms. Flora Hollars, joining us out of Nashville, Tennessee. Ms. Hollars, are you now suggesting that Ronald Cummings, Haleigh`s father, may somehow be to blame for her disappearance?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am. From leaving the kids there with her.

GRACE: I`m sorry. I couldn`t hear you. Repeat?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am. For leaving the kids there with her, with her all strung out.

GRACE: So are you convinced in your own mind that your granddaughter, Misty Croslin, and grandson Tommy Croslin and Joe Overstreet are all three responsible?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am, I am.

GRACE: What scenario do you believe unfolded? What do you think happened that night?

HOLLARS: Exactly what Misty told me, that -- the rope and the cinderblocks and dropping her in the St. John`s River.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are finally starting to talk. Where that`s going to lead us, I don`t know. But we`re going to follow it to the end. And we`re -- yes, we`re trying to make an arrest. We`re trying to bring somebody to justice for this little girl right here and her family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: I see the photo behind you of you and Misty Croslin. Do you think she could have had anything to do with this?

HOLLARS: No, ma`am, I really don`t think she could. Misty`s too good with kids. Misty loves kids. She`s had an opportunity to hurt them all, and she`s kept every one of them. I don`t believe Misty had any involvement whatsoever.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you`re thinking that maybe Misty had something to do with it that night and was there when Haleigh`s body was thrown into the river?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am, I do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re saying all three, all three of your grandkids were involved in this?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am, I think they were. I really do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you think that?

HOLLARS: It`s just the way that they...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And joining us from Nashville, Flora Hollars, the grandmother of both Misty and Tommy Croslin. Ms. Hollars, again, thank you for being with us. What led you to change your mind? You first insisted to me several weeks ago, no way was Misty remotely involved. But then you changed your mind and you yourself called police.

HOLLARS: Yes, I did. I changed my mind when I put two and two together that she knowed where to go to at the river. She`s involved.

GRACE: What exactly did Misty Croslin tell you from behind bars when she called you?

HOLLARS: When she called me, she says, Nanny, Tommy and Joe took a rope, a yellow rope, and wrapped Haleigh up with a yellow rope, tied it around her. They tied brickle blocks to the other end of it and dropped her into the St. John`s River. And if they dropped her in the St. John`s River, where was she at? How did she know? How did she see it?

GRACE: What do you make of her and Tommy, Tommy Croslin, her brother, being placed into the same squad car after seeing these bones that were allegedly Haleigh`s bones? Do you believe they talked about it? Did they make a confession, Ms. Hollars?

HOLLARS: No, ma`am, I really don`t think they did. It`s going to take a little bit more than that to break her down, and him, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Misty did know something -- and it`s appearing that, you know, based on what`s going on, that she did. But he`s hoping that it`s something that she was forced to do, threatened into doing, and that`s why she wouldn`t talk to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Items have been recovered at the search site.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cinder blocks --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cinder blocks --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those cinder blocks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not going to discuss the particular items that I`ve taken for analysts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn`t do anything with that little girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will not be mentioning any names at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was told by Misty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was the last one to see our daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She says nanny, I`m telling you everything I know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a huge river.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tied Haleigh up with the yellow rope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She could have potentially been put in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And tied a brickle block to the rope.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via telephone): It was brick, like a brick on the floor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And dropped her into the St. Johns River.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`ve never seen any bricks at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Haleigh Cummings is most likely deceased.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only one that knows is the people that was there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s not anger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via telephone): How the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) could you let my daughter get stolen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The disappointment that she didn`t feel as if she could come forward and tell him, you know, what may have happened that night if she in fact knew.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know where she is.

I`m not hiding anything.

I don`t.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Haleigh looked back and blew us a kiss, and she leaned up against the car, and then she got in the car and they drove away, and I never seen her again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE: Straight out to the lines. Out to Laura in Kansas. Hi, Laura.

LAURA, KANSAS RESIDENT (via telephone): Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: Hi, dear, what`s your question?

LAURA: First of all, I want to tell you you have two of the sweetest children in the whole world.

GRACE: Thank you. We`ve been playing today like it`s 1999. Let me tell you. And the whole time I would look at them and thought about Ron Cummings coming home from work to find his daughter, his 5-year-old little girl just gone, no real explanation, nothing, just gone, vanished. And now this.

What`s your question, dear?

LAURA: Nancy, my question is, how can they trust Misty Croslin to tell the truth out there on that dock when this whole time she has lied and not told the truth?

GRACE: I don`t think they do trust her to tell the truth. Out to you, Art Harris.

What do you make of it?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Nancy, I can tell you that they are doing everything they can to push her hot buttons. That`s the reason that they took her out to the dock and took her by the bones. She told Tommy in the car, I`m told, Nancy, that she was upset by that and figured they were probably deer bones, and that it was a police trick. So she`s on to them.

GRACE: Oh, no. Art, how can you confirm that?

HARRIS: Nancy, I`ve -- I have sources who are aware of the conversation.

GRACE: Out to the lines. Melody, Ohio.

Hi, Melody.

MELODY, OHIO RESIDENT (via telephone): Yes, Nancy. With her being up for three days, she definitely wasn`t seeing straight. Do you think maybe by accident because that little girl was on medication, that she got the medications messed up and maybe actually gave her an overdose of a drug by a mistake, and then the brother and the cousin, that`s when they all showed up? Thank you.

GRACE: Melody, I don`t think so. Because she has flunked four polygraphs. If there had been some accident with medication, I think she would have come forward with that.

Unleash the lawyers. Anthony F. List, Alan Ripka, Jason Oshins. Also with us, from Florida, Terry Shoemaker, the attorney for Ronald Cummings.

What about it, Anthony list? What do you make of that scenario?

ANTHONY F. LIST, ATTORNEY: Nancy, the one bit of evidence that really impresses me is the statement the grandmother made, Flora Hollins, that -- or Hollars that in her prison conversation over the phone this young girl described in detail what had happened. And I would put a lot of weight and credibility to that statement from a grandmother, especially under the circumstances in which it was given.

We know it`s admissible into evidence, and I think it`s very strong evidence, stronger than anything else I`ve heard. And remind me to give you my impression about trickery used by police and whether or not there`s a limit on that. But as far as what we were hearing so far, I think the grandmother`s telling the truth.

GRACE: Mr. List, I`ve got a feeling I already know what you think about trickery by cops. But what concerns me is the letter of the law and the constitution. But it also carries great weight that you, a defense attorney, would believe the grandmother`s comment means so much because to me you`re dead on about that.

Because this grandmother, Flora Hollars, Mr. List, has taken up -- taken up for and defended Misty Croslin from the get-go. Dyed in the wool Croslin supporter. In fact, if you look at that sound where she`s defending her, there hanging behind her in the background is the picture of her hugging on Misty Croslin. And the fact that she has now reversed decisions really means a lot.

And Alan Ripka, List says that it would come into evidence.

Why?

ALAN RIPKA, ATTORNEY: What would come into evidence?

GRACE: What Misty Croslin and Tommy Croslin stated to their grandmother.

RIPKA: Well, I think it would come into evidence. I think there would be a big fight, but I think that if it has to do with the crime, I think the grandmother is a reliable source. And I think the court would see the hearsay exception there.

GRACE: What about it, Jason Oshins?

JASON OSHINS, ATTORNEY: Yes, I`m not going to disagree with either of my peers right there. Absolutely, it comes in. There`s really no issue as to why it wouldn`t.

GRACE: Back to Flora Hollars. This is Misty and Tommy Croslin`s grandmother.

Miss Hollars, you say that you believe all three are involved. But earlier you believed that Joe Overstreet had basically been the ring leader.

Why did you believe that?

FLORA HOLLERS, MISTY AND TOMMY CROSLIN`S GRANDMOTHER: I believe that, Nancy, because of the way that when he came home he was a completely different person. And now if my daughter had on a Haleigh shirt, he would throw his hands up and "F it" and walk out is what he would say. He met a girl, her name was Haleigh. He asked her if she was 5 years old. What kind of stupidity is that?

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Out to Melody in Ohio.

Hi, Melody.

JOE, NEW YORK RESIDENT (via telephone): I`m not her.

GRACE: Oh, excuse me. Lost melody.

Joe, New York.

Hi, Joe.

JOE: Hi, Nancy. I have a question in reference to the drugs they were selling. Did the cops ever find out who their supplier was and --

GRACE: Good question.

What about it, Ellie Jostad?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: We don`t know if there is somebody farther up that chain that was supplying drugs. We do know, however, that police say that Misty Croslin, Tommy Croslin, Ron Cummings were both selling and buying drugs to these undercover informants.

Out to Marlaina Schiavo, our producer, joining us there at the jailhouse.

Marlaina, what more can you tell me?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY PRODUCER: Well, I can tell you, Nancy, that even though they keep saying about these bones and they`re animal bones, they still have enough evidence to make this a homicide case, and we do know that there are items at a lab right now being tested that could be connected to this case.

We`re hearing a lot about cinder blocks being pulled out. We`re hearing a lot about just evidence that`s coming out that has caused them to -- you know, for this massive search, and to make this a homicide case, and to tell Ronald Cummings to start making funeral arrangements.

GRACE: You know, Marlaina, along with the theory that cops can use trickery, if they had gone into that room and told Ronald Cummings behind closed doors to start planning a funeral, do we know his response?

SCHIAVO: It was a somber response. We know that he was asking his attorney a lot of questions about what is involved with that because the bottom line is, Nancy, for him to tell a judge or go before a judge to get a death certificate, that`s a really hard thing to do for a father. So he was -- you know, he didn`t have a lot to say, but he was deeply saddened, obviously, by what they were telling him.

GRACE: To Art Harris.

Art, I was told from my sources that he broke down --

HARRIS: That`s right, Nancy.

GRACE: -- in uncontrollable tears.

HARRIS: Yes. My sources told me he broke down and so did Crystal Sheffield. And there was no doubt, at least in law enforcement`s mind, this was a genuine reaction from a very, very grieving father.

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. It has come to light that yesterday Misty Croslin, the last 24 hours, was brought down to the docks of the St. Johns River and shown bones dredged from the river. And led to believe they were Haleigh Cummings` bones, the 5-year-old little girl that went missing under her watch. They then placed her in a squad car with her brother, Tommy Croslin. Now we learned that bones may not have been the little girl`s, in fact animal bones.

To Lillian Glass, Dr. Lillian Glass, psychologist and author of "Toxic People," joining us out of L.A.

Lillian, what do you make of it? And I find it very difficult to believe that Misty Croslin and Tommy Croslin did not discuss the case in the back of that squad car.

DR. LILLIAN GLASS, PSYCHOLOGIST AND AUTHOR OF "TOXIC PEOPLE": Well, I agree with you. And what was interesting is that it was reported that emotion was noted in Misty. And this is something we`ve never seen. We`ve seen her arrogant. We`ve seen her emotionless. We`ve seen her strung out. We`ve seen her nasty. And now she may be softening up in terms of breaking and really telling us what really happened. So I think as you do, when she was in the squad car something must have been said to --

GRACE: To Bill Majeski, former NYPD, now president of Majeski Associates in New York.

Was there anything wrong with what cops did?

BILL MAJESKI, FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE; MAJESKI ASSOCIATES INC: No, absolutely not. I thought it was very clever on their part. As a matter of fact, I`m surprise it took them so long to do something like that. But sure, any effort that they could make in terms of trickery, trickery`s used all the time in law enforcement, and it`s used quite successfully. And why not? Especially in a case like this.

GRACE: Correct and succinct.

Everyone, as we go to break tonight, we are asking for thoughts and prayers for Mary Claire Blackshaw. She`s a young mom in the fight of her life, battling bone cancer. Mary Claire, we all join together tonight, and we are praying. Now, you, please stay strong.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Breaking news. Law enforcement just moments ago saying they`ve located the 1999 red Volkswagen Beetle believed to be driven by Trey Hutcherson.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s no use of jumping to conclusions on a picture.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Cops say this man is 42-year-old Trey B. Hutcherson, who`s also been missing for several days and may be with Tiffany. Cops now say the FBI is involved.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pictures don`t prove anything. And so what we`re just trying to do is wait.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A woman that claims to be Trey Hutcherson`s wife claims he took a bunch of cash, maybe in the thousands, out of their bank accounts. Quote, "yeah, he took some money. I don`t know anything else. He`s left. I`m here by myself. I`m just trying to get moved to California, and I`m just trying to move on."

As police checking passenger airline manifests out of Dayton Airport, but haven`t spotted the two on any list. Still, no activity from either Hutcherson`s or Tiffany`s cell phones or ATM cards.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As we know, it her day was operating as it was supposed to operate.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Tiffany`s husband, David Tehan, says he doesn`t care what`s going on, he just wants Tiffany to come back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love you. We care about you. And if you could see the expression of love here, you would understand how much we need for you to come back home now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Katie Wright, reporter with the "Hillsborough Times-Gazette," joining us there at the search headquarters.

Katie, thank you for being with us.

What`s the update?

KATIE WRIGHT, REPORTER, "THE HILLSBORO TIMES-GAZETTE: Right now, Nancy, we do know that within 24 hours after Trey B. Hutcherson was listed as a person of interest in the case, or after he was identified, they did locate the red Volkswagen Beetle belonging, or believing to belong to him in North Dayton. However, police are still searching for Tiffany, as well as Trey Hutcherson, and they are I believe processing the car probably as we speak.

GRACE: To Clark Goldband, our producer on the story.

Clark, what happened? Between when we first heard about this story, a missing mom with a flat tire out shopping, in fact going to a consignment sale for mommies, for gently used clothes for her 1-year-old daughter, and suddenly all this video turns up of her with this guy, Hutcherson?

When was the video? What are they doing in the video?

CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, that`s right, Nancy. In fact, several surveillance shots have emerged. They were taken in the past few months within weeks, two to three weeks, law enforcement has said this afternoon, at a local Circle K convenience store, Nancy, just a few feet from where this mom works at an insurance agency.

GRACE: OK. Circle K convenience store.

What were they doing in there?

GOLDBAND: Now, Nancy, we`ve learned this afternoon from press reports that the clerk in the Circle K says they`ve popped in multiple times, almost every day in the past few weeks, to buy coffee. It didn`t seem like they were romantically involved. They were just friends.

GRACE: OK. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. They come in every day together, they buy coffee, do they sit there in the Circle K and drink the coffee?

GOLDBAND: Not that we know of. The clerk just says they come in to purchase the coffee.

GRACE: They come in and buy the coffee. All right.

Did she have a job, Clark Goldband?

GOLDBAND: Yes, Nancy. She had a job at an insurance agency. And in fact she was the only female employee of that insurance -- I`m sorry.

GRACE: What about him? Did he have a job?

GOLDBAND: No. He`s unemployed, and he`s also married.

GRACE: Married?

GOLDBAND: Yes.

GRACE: Children?

GOLDBAND: Not that we know of. But his wife, Nancy, in press reports said that he recently withdrew $2,000 in cash right before he took off.

GRACE: We are taking your calls live.

Joining us right now is Captain Scott Anger with the Xena Police Department.

Captain Anger, welcome. And please tell us what your department is doing to find 31-year-old Tiffany Tehan.

CAPT. SCOTT ANGER, XENA POLICE DEPARTMENT (via telephone): We`re doing everything within our power right now, within our capabilities, to try to find out the truth and bring Tiffany home safely. At this point, we`re trying to use all of our available sources. And as you`ve stated, we`ve used other agencies, to be very helpful in bringing this to hopefully a good resolution.

GRACE: Are you talking about the FBI?

ANGER: The FBI has been involved and has helped us in this case.

GRACE: What is the FBI doing?

ANGER: Right now we`ve just used the FBI for some of their specialties, and I can`t elaborate on that.

GRACE: Their specialties.

To Bill Majeski, former NYPD, what specialty would they be using the FBI for?

MAJESKI: Well, perhaps some analysis of computers. If she had access to a computer, they may be looking into that to see if there was some kind of a relationship that was budding as a result of computer communication. Other than that, you know, I can`t see anything that they would -- unless they have found some kind of evidence that they want analyzed in some way.

GRACE: Right. Right.

With us right now, special guest joining us from Search Headquarters in the search for 31-year-old Tiffany Tehan, a young church mom, and we call her that because she`s so heavily involved with her church. The mother of a 1-year-old little girl. Her father is with us, Chuck Tabor.

Mr. Tabor, thank you for being with us.

Look, I`m a new mom myself. And you know, between working and taking care of the twins all day, it`s -- it can be a crushing load sometimes. It really can. I could see marital discord, you get fed up. But I just don`t see her leaving the 1-year-old little girl behind. I just don`t see it.

CHUCK TABOR, FATHER OF TIFFANY TEHAN: Yes, I don`t either. I don`t -- I don`t understand that. That`s totally not anything in Tiffany`s character at all. It`s not something that she traditionally would be doing. And we don`t really understand why. We just want her back, and we want to find her and see help her to come back and -- or help -- we`re doing everything we can to try to find her, find Tiffany and there`s a Web site, TiffanyTehan.com. There`s a $5,000 reward that`s being offered for any help and getting her safe return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOY BEHAR, HOST, "THE JOY BEHAR SHOW": Tonight on "The Joy Behar Show," they say Cameron Douglas will wind up in a prison that`s like a country club. Really? Country Clubs are filled with rich, white people. Is he moving in with the Cheneys.

Then the tears flow as Kate Gosselin is voted off of "Dancing With the stars." Is she getting acting lessons from Glenn Beck?

And actress Alyssa Milano joins me. I like her. Even than Milano cookies. And trust me, that`s saying a lot, because I love my cookies.

That and more in a bit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tiffany Tehan has been missing since she left on a shopping trip.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had planned to spend her day shopping.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her family reported her missing to authorities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, she`s going to call, she`s going to call, she`s going to call.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her vehicle was found, the keys were locked in the vehicle and there was a flat tire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to the lines. Cory in Massachusetts.

Hi, Cory.

CORY, MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT (via telephone): Hi, Nancy. How are you?

GRACE: I`m good. Dear, what`s your question?

CORY: My question is how long has the mom been missing, and is the baby with the father?

GRACE: Back to Pastor Chuck Tabor. This is Tiffany Tehan`s father.

The little girl is with the father, right?

TABOR: That`s correct. He`s taking care of her.

GRACE: What are they telling her?

TABOR: She`s 1-year-old. And so they`re just trying to make her day and her routine as regular as possible. She misses her mom. You can tell that.

GRACE: I`m sure.

Mr. Tabor, how do they believe the tire was flatted?

GRACE: As I understand it, this was an old tire that had repeatedly deflated and had -- they were regularly filling it with air. And, you know, they didn`t find the car until Sunday morning. It could have been that it just deflated on its own.

To Pat Brown, criminal profiler.

Pat, what do you make of it?

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, I think what`s most interesting is that she was meeting with him for something, maybe confidant, maybe she was advising her. I wonder if they did go out to the car to talk about something, and something went wrong there. Maybe his withdrawal of $2,000, he had something in his mind. He was leaving his wife. He wanted this lady to go with him. Maybe she didn`t want to go. Maybe that`s why the keys are locked in the car. Maybe he said, well, you`re not going to get back in your car. That`s one theory I have.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Look, I know that the easy thing to believe is she took of with this guy.

BROWN: Right.

GRACE: And, look, married people can get really angry at each other when it`s stressful, but I just don`t see Tiffany Tehan leaving behind that 1-year-old little girl.

BROWN: I agree.

GRACE: And to Pastor Chuck Tabor, Mr. Tabor, no matter what has happened please know that the baby girl, her husband, you, and your family are in our prayers because no matter what happened --

TABOR: Thank you very much.

GRACE: No matter what happened, it`s a big thing for the little girl. So you are in our prayers.

TABOR: It sure is. Thank you very much.

GRACE: Yes, sir.

TABOR: I would encourage everybody to pray. Thank you.

GRACE: Everyone, let`s stop and remember Army Sergeant Harrison Dutton Brown, 31, Prichard, Alabama, killed in Iraq. On a third tour, awarded a bronze star, purple heart, lost his life Easter Sunday. Loved studies and football, scholarship to enlist, loves sports. Leaves behind grieving mother, Christy, and two brothers, widow and high school sweetheart, Felicia. Three children. Harrison Brown, American hero.

Thanks to our guests, but especially to you.

And a special good night from Georgia friends, Betty and Bucky. Now, there`s a beautiful couple.

Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

END

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ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

Aired April 22, 2010 - 19:00:00   ET


<snipped to include Haleigh coverage only>

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dramatic new twists and turns in the desperate search for little Haleigh Cummings. Grandma Flo now says jealousy for Ron`s affection could be the motive for little Haleigh`s death.

And tonight: a new brouhaha over bones. What exactly did cops pull out of the St. Johns River?

Plus, the runaway mom: an Ohio wife and mother of a 1-year-old daughter vanishes over the weekend sparking a national manhunt. Well, it turns out she wasn`t abducted at all. In fact, she ran off to Florida with another man to, quote, "start a new life". So will she be arrested? We`ll hear what her betrayed husband is saying. You won`t believe that.

Mind-blowing new developments in the case of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings. Investigators say the little girl is dead, but there is still no sign of her body. Was 18-year-old Misty Croslin, who was babysitting Haleigh on the night she vanished, somehow involved in her death?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN, RONALD CUMMINGS` FORMER WIFE: If I have something, she wants it. So we -- if we buy something for me, we buy the same thing for her. Our shoes, me and Haleigh has the same pair of shoes. She wanted me have pink and white Jordans just like hers. So me and her, like -- we must do -- we try to do everything together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, more bombshells from Misty`s very own grandmother, who is here for two nights in a row on ISSUES and said some extraordinary things. We`re going to analyze that tonight.

Flo Hollars claims Misty was insanely jealous of Haleigh. She claims Misty resented the love her boyfriend, Ronald, had for his own daughter. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: Please if you have my daughter, bring her home, please. All I want is Haleigh. That`s all I want. I want nothing else but Haleigh. That`s it.

Please, if you have her, bring her home. Haleigh, if you`re watching, you know you`ll always be daddy`s little girl. I love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Flora Hollars told us right here on ISSUES that Misty is madly in love with Ron still and that jealousy might have been a motive for murder. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLO HOLLARS, MISTY CROSLIN`S GRANDMOTHER: I`m saying Misty was jealous of Ron and Haleigh.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Misty`s jealous of Ron?

HOLLARS: Ron and his daughter. I`m saying she was --

JAYNE WEINTRAUB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Of Ron`s attention.

HOLLARS: -- jealous of them.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why?

HOLLARS: The attention that he gives his daughter.

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Oh.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh. And you think that was a motive of some sort?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am, I do.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Motive for what?

HOLLARS: Getting rid of the little girl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Explosive stuff. Misty maintains she was not involved and woke up to find the little girl gone.

Plus, brand new insight into this investigation. Tommy Croslin`s attorney tells HLN it was Tommy, it was, in fact, Tommy who led investigators to this very specific dock on the St. Johns River that you`ve been seeing over the past few weeks.

What else did Tommy, who you`re looking at right there, tell them?

Straight out to my fantastic expert panel: all experts on the Haleigh Cummings case. But I want to begin with you, Jayne Weintraub. You were here on our ISSUES show last night. You heard everything Misty`s grandma, Flo, had to say.

What is your take on this jealousy as a motive theory?

WEINTRAUB: You know, I just don`t buy it. It very well might be true that she was jealous of the affection towards the daughter, but Jane, I don`t see that as a motive for murder by an 18-year-old girl who was already living with the child and in the relationship. I just don`t see it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Misty`s grandma says Misty wrote secret letters to Haleigh`s dad, Ronald, from behind bars. This was another bombshell she laid on us last night. Misty allegedly sent these letters to her own family and then begged them to mail them back to Ron in jail. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: She has mailed letters to her mother mainly to be sent -- put in another envelope and be sent to Ron under her mother`s name. And I told her mother, I says that you better not do it because you`re sticking your foot in too deep. And she didn`t do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Investigator John Lucich, could Misty have used that same letter system to get in touch with Tommy who was also behind bars? I believe they were in separate institutions. I mean, could they have gotten together and somehow gotten in contact through this letter system and then fabricated this story that Haleigh`s body was dumped down by the river? Because, remember, it all started at the river after Tommy first calls grandma Flo and says Joe did it. And then Misty, 15 minutes later, calls grandma Flo and says Tommy and Joe went down to the river and threw Haleigh in the water.

JOHN LUCICH, FORMER POLICE INVESTIGATOR: former Sure, anything is possible, Jane. I have a quick question for you. Didn`t Flo last night say that it`s possible that this little girl got a hold of a pill and OD`d? Didn`t she say that last night?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. Here`s what I know. There are three possible versions that Grandma Flo offered, ok?

Here are the three. Haleigh OD`d on a pill, Misty hit Haleigh with a plank, and Joe took the child after an argument with Ron over a gun and was angry and then took Haleigh.

LUCICH: I read that last night on a transcript. My question for her, if she heard this from somebody, like she said she did on that transcript, which version did she hear? Or is this just supposition going down many different roads that she`s making up in her mind?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well --

WEINTRAUB: No. She`s not making it up. She heard -- this was what she was told -- I`m sorry Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go ahead.

WEINTRAUB: She was told three different stories. And that`s the problem. She`s been given inconsistent statements. She`s just reporting what she heard and what she was told by Misty and by Tommy. And they are not saying the same thing.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Levi Page --

LUCICH: Well, if -- this is why the cops may not be returning her call because they`re all inconsistent. You leave information that`s not consistent and they`re not going to return calls.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. But guess what John? Everybody is saying there has to be some truth here. Otherwise, why would have cops gone down to the river and had dive teams at extraordinary expense for days on end searching the murky waters of the St. Johns River?

LUCICH: They`ve run out of leads. They`ve run out of leads.

WEINTRAUB: No.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: One at a time. One at a time.

WEINTRAUB: No. And there`s a polygraph that Tommy Croslin`s lawyer claims was passed. And that`s what led them to the river. If that`s true, and not only do the police have a polygraph and not only does Tommy`s lawyer have the polygraph, but there`s a private investigator, Steven Brown, and he`s said to have had this polygraph as well.

I`m interested in seeing when we can get a copy of that from someone.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: By the way, word to our viewers, we`ll have Tommy Croslin`s attorney here on ISSUES tomorrow. We`re going to ask him about this case and some statements that his client has made.

Now, Levi Page, you are the host of the Levi Page Show on blog talk radio. You know a lot bout this case. Here`s what I`d like to ask you.

Three theories: Haleigh OD`d on a pill. I don`t know that somebody would keep that quiet this long since it`s an accidental overdose and that`s not as severe as being accused of murder.

Joe took the child. Ok, in a fight over a gun. Ron, the child`s father, has said there never was an argument over a gun.

So guess what, that leaves the third option. Misty hit Haleigh with a plank. What do you think?

LEVI PAGE, BLOG TALK RADIO HOST: I don`t believe any of those. I think what happened was that Ron was involved; that maybe Ron lost his temper and Misty was covering up for Ron. Maybe -- we remember that Ronald called Tommy that night to go over to the house when he called Misty 90- plus times. Why was he calling her 90-plus times?

I think that he called Tommy to go over there. Tommy went over there. Tommy has seen something that he wasn`t supposed to see. And that`s whenever Ronald -- we remember during the summer when Ronald put a decapitated rat in the mailbox of the Croslin family. He was saying, "I`m trying to intimidate you. I don`t want you to talk. Don`t talk or I`ll decapitate you," is what Ronald Cummings was saying.

I think when you look at the joint interview that Misty and Ronald have done together, in one interview Ronald -- Ronald is going -- Misty is going over statements of what happened that night. She says that Haleigh was in bed with me, Haleigh and Junior were. Then she says, oh, they were four inches away. And Ronald immediately jumps in and says, no, no, they weren`t four inches away. They were four feet away. How would Ronald know that if he wasn`t at home?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But it`s -- a couple of things.

PAGE: He was giving her a script to read, in my opinion. She messed up on the script. He was correcting her. I think Ronald is involved and Misty is covering up for him.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me say that police have exonerated Ron, the father.

PAGE: I don`t think that`s true. I don`t think they`ve exonerated him.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: When they did their initial examination, they said he is not a suspect. Ok? So I just want to make that very clear.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And again, everybody`s lawyers are involved on this show to tell their side.

Jayne Weintraub, give us some -- you know what? Actually, Dr. Dale, very quickly, ten seconds -- give us some closure on this.

DR. DALE ARCHER, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, I mean, this reminds me of my poker-playing days. There`s a saying. How do you know that a poker player is lying about his hand? When his lips are moving.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Fascinating stuff. We`re going to keep on it and tomorrow, Tommy Croslin`s lawyer right here on ISSUES.

All right. We`re going to get his side of the story.

<snipped to include Haleigh coverage only>

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/22/ijvm.01.html

[Sassycat]

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NANCY GRACE

Missing Ohio Church Mom Found With Married Man in Miami; Croslin- Cummings Family Split on Haleigh Case

Aired April 22, 2010 - 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, live, Ohio. A young church mom of a 1-year-old baby girl vanishes while shopping. Then grainy surveillance video emerges of Mommy with a mystery man cops ID a person of interest. The mystery man, Tre B. Hutcherson. Then in a surprise twist, we learn it`s not the first time Mommy`s spotted with the mystery married man, his wife revealing thousands now gone from the family bank account.

Bombshell tonight. After a massive four-day search, her baby girl left without a mom, volunteers, family, friends, church members all on hold, the trail leads cops straight to Mommy and the married man 1,000 miles away at an oceanfront hotel, Miami South Beach, Mommy telling cops she wants to start a new life. With thousands in police resources, hundreds of man-hours wasted, will there be charges against runaway Mommy? And what about the baby she abandoned for a married man in Miami Beach?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tiffany has been found safely in Miami, Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, after days of tension and frantic searching, missing church mom Tiffany Tehan has been found.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She may have made some mistakes, but everyone does.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tiffany and person of interest Tre Hutcherson stopped in a vehicle in Miami Beach, Florida, where Tiffany drops a bomb on cops, allegedly telling them she left Ohio voluntarily and intended to start a new life. But why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A woman that claims to be Tre Hutcherson`s wife told us, quote, "He`s taken off with this girl, obviously together. He`s caused no harm to her, and they`re together because they want to be."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How could a beloved member of the church ministry, a pastor`s daughter, simply leave her 1-year-old baby behind?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can`t blame her for any of that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will Tiffany Tehan face criminal charges? Cops said if Tehan had picked up the phone just once, a lot of pain and wasted resources could have been avoided.

GRACE: I just don`t see her leaving the 1-year-old little girl behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t understand that. That`s totally not anything in Tiffany`s character at all. It`s not something she traditionally would be doing. And we don`t really understand why.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And breaking news tonight, Satsuma, Florida. A 5-year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. The last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, goes on to flunk four polygraphs. Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and stepmother Croslin both booked, drug trafficking.

Suddenly, search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters all combing the St. John`s River. Croslin rousted out of jail, taken in handcuffs down to the dock, motioning out to a specific spot for police. Cops announcing 5-year-old Haleigh likely dead. Evidence, including two cinderblocks, pulled from the muddy waters of the St. John`s.

As the search for little Haleigh`s entire body and the murder weapon goes on, breaking tonight. With pressure mounting, Haleigh`s family split down the middle on what happened the night Haleigh vanishes. Exclusive tonight, Haleigh`s great-grandmother and Misty Croslin`s grandmother take sides, and they join us live. This as reports possible murder weapons recovered, including cinderblocks and rope. But still no sign of Haleigh`s body, at least no sign that police will confirm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: I didn`t do anything with that little girl.

JOE OVERSTREET, MISTY`S COUSIN: I didn`t do it.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: I had nothing to do with none of that crap.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY`S AND JOE`S GRANDMOTHER: Three grandkids of mine is involved in this, and I don`t know why!

MISTY CROSLIN: They`re treating our family like crap.

HOLLARS: She`s involved.

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD, HALEIGH`S MOTHER: She was the last one to see our daughter.

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) let my daughter get stolen (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

HOLLARS: She says, Nanny, Tommy and Joe took a rope...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s something hard to hear.

HOLLARS: ... tied it around her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) hurt so many lives.

HOLLARS: They tied brickle blocks to her...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot believe anything.

HOLLARS: ... and dropped her into the St. John`s River.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They can`t show me, why do I believe it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... just want to know where she`s at.

GRACE: Where is...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... Haleigh...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... Haleigh...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... Haleigh...

CUMMINGS: ... my little girl!

GRACE: (INAUDIBLE) from her body...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... a murder weapon...

MISTY CROSLIN: The cops said there was a whole bunch of bricks.

Like, a brick on the floor.

But I`ve never seen any bricks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`ve seen her arrogant...

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m serious. I was, like, Oh, my God!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`ve seen her emotionless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you do for a living, ma`am?

MISTY CROSLIN: Nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`ve seen her strung out.

MISTY CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE) I`m, like, Hell, no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`ve seen her nasty.

MISTY CROSLIN: Get me out first. Worry about me first.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And now she may be softening up in terms of breaking and really telling us what really happened.

HOLLARS: I said, Are you telling the police, too? She says, Yes, I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. After a massive four-day search that spanned the country, her baby girl left without a mother, a young church mom and a married mystery man apprehended by cops a thousand miles away. Will there be charges against the runaway mom? And will she get the baby back, the baby she abandoned for Miami Beach and a married man?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s been our hope and goal throughout this whole thing to make sure that we bring Tiffany back safely, and we have succeeded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news. Missing church mom Tiffany Tehan has been found safe in Miami Beach, Florida. Cops say Tehan was pulled over with person of interest Tre Hutcherson, the two willingly together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s a person, like everyone else.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cops say Tiffany told them she left Ohio voluntarily with the intent of starting a new life, the couple reportedly staying together at a $39-a-night hotel in Miami.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... getting through life. And it`s not always easy.

But just how did the couple end up 1,000 miles away from friends and family?

A woman that claims to be Tre Hutcherson`s wife told us, quote, "I know that he would go to Circle-K and I`m sure that he was talking to her. And she`s with him because she wants to be. She`s not been hurt or they`ve run off together."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Law enforcement says they`re not ruling out charges against Tiffany Tehan, saying they`ve spent over 200 hours of police overtime on the case.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you guys have any anger at all? A lot of people want to know that question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Clark Goldband, our producer on the story. Mommy turns up over 1,000 miles away with the mystery married man, saying she wanted to start a new life?

CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: In South Beach, Miami, no less, Nancy, over 1,000 miles away from Ohio, where she vanished. And law enforcement there in South Beach, Nancy, saying that they made statements indicating they were romantically involved together, and Mommy apparently saying she wanted to start a new life.

GRACE: Well, you know, what? Thank you, Clark, but I think we can all determine they were romantically involved together.

Straight out to Katie Wright, reporter with the "Hillsboro Times- Gazette," joining us at the Xenia Police Department. Katie, thank you for being with us. What more can you tell us?

KATIE WRIGHT, "HILLSBORO TIMES-GAZETTE": Well, right now, what we know, Nancy, is that Tiffany Tehan and Tre Hutcherson were located last night on the 79th Street causeway in Miami. We are told they were located by Miami police acting on a tip out of the Xenia Police Department here.

Police say that they interviewed both Tiffany and Tre separately, just to make sure that Tiffany was, indeed, acting voluntarily when she went to Florida with this man. They confirmed that she was not in any danger. And currently, they are not in custody and no charges have been filed.

GRACE: Back to you, Clark Goldband. Explain to me how they were apprehended. What vehicle were they in? Because Mommy`s vehicle was found with a flat tire, with the keys in the ignition, the doors locked, as if it had been abandoned, clearly, giving the appearance that there had been foul play.

GOLDBAND: Also, Nancy, the person of interest`s car, that `99 red Volkswagen, was also located by law enforcement. So the big question was, How`d they get down there? Here`s what we know, according to reports. A 2002 gray Chrysler Sebring was found there. Now, what`s interesting is that, apparently, this person of interest traded in that Volkswagen Friday, one day before they had vanished. And he told the car dealer, according to press reports, he needed to get away and needed a car that was more reliable.

GRACE: Well, he certainly wasn`t making that a secret.

To Captain Scott Anger (ph) with the Xenia Police Department, joining us out of Ohio. Captain, thank you for being with us. Right now, are any charges being considered against the runaway mom?

Hold on. I`m not hearing Captain Anger. I`ll get back with him when you can correct his satellite, Rosie. Thank you.

Back to you, Clark. I want to find out, do we know of any current charges pending?

GOLDBAND: No, Nancy, we do not. But law enforcement has said that they`ve spent over 200 hours of overtime investigating this case, not to mention the thousands of dollars paying that overtime. And the FBI also involved, this spanning coast to coast.

GRACE: Out to the lines. Judith in Michigan. Hi, Judith.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. It`s good to hear -- or good to talk to you.

GRACE: Likewise.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I want to know is -- I have a comment and a question. My comment is I have three children, which I could never, ever leave because I love them dearly. And I also have a grandson that I have raised since he was three days old. And my daughter was a daughter that just -- just because you have a child come out of your body doesn`t make you a parent. That`s why there are so many adoptive parents that are so beautifully raising their children.

But my question is, why -- what I`m thinking is this woman probably could have gone through post-partum, whatever, the baby`s young. Maybe she just wanted to start a new life, get away. Men do it all the time, and it`s no big deal when a mom -- when a dad takes off. But when a mom takes off, they say, Oh, how could they leave their kid? And what I`m saying is, just because a baby comes out of your body doesn`t make you a parent. So why would charges be even filed against this woman? Men do it all the time.

GRACE: Judith, men do do it all the time. But believe me, here on this show, we don`t act like it`s nothing when men dump their families and disappear.

Let`s unleash the lawyers and answer the questions. Joining us tonight, felony prosecutor, Atlanta, Eleanor Odom. Also with us, defense attorney, New York, Richard Herman. With us also out of Atlanta, defense attorney Peter Odom.

First of all, Eleanor, it`s not against the law to just leave, to just say, Hey, I`m going to get the bread, `bye, and never come back. That is not a felony. It`s not even a misdemeanor. But think about this, Eleanor. Did she intentionally allow it to be set up to look like she had met with foul play, launching a massive nationwide search, thousands and thousands of dollars, thousands of manhours by the police, all wasted. Now, if she intentionally misled police, doesn`t that give it a different interpretation?

ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: It certainly does, Nancy. Not only does that give it a different interpretation, but something else I`m concerned about is abandonment of that child. Perhaps there`s a charge there because she completely left her own child.

GRACE: Richard Herman, weigh in.

RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, it`s amazing that he was the person of interest. Why wasn`t she the person of interest? Maybe she abducted him. All your viewers put it on him!

GRACE: Yes, OK, you know what, Richard?

HERMAN: All of them, Nancy!

GRACE: I`m sorry I went to you. What about it, Odom?

PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There`s no charge to bring, Nancy. She might have done something morally wrong, but legally, there`s nothing that can be done.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police now say a missing Ohio wife and mother, Tiffany Tehan, wasn`t missing at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tiffany has been found safely in Miami, Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wife and mother Tiffany Tehan ran off with another man to Miami to start a new life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just how did Tiffany Tehan and Tre Hutcherson avoid cops?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say this convenience store video shows Tehan with Tre Hutcherson, and it was key to cracking the case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "The Dayton Daily News" reporters Hutcherson traded in his `99 red Volkswagen Beetle for a 2002 Chrysler Sebring just one day before Tiffany vanished.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tehan told them she and Hutcherson were romantically involved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cops say they put an alert out on the 2002 Chrysler Sebring, which reportedly was tracked down in Miami Beach, Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s been our hope and goal throughout this whole thing to make sure that we bring Tiffany back safely, and we have succeeded with that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did have one question, though. Are you going to work this out? Is she coming home? And you know, the family right now said...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She may have made some mistakes, but everyone does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. I want to go back to Clark Goldband. I want to get this straight. Exactly where was the missing mom?

GOLDBAND: Nancy, she was in Miami beach, Florida, which is in south Florida. That`s about 1,100 miles away from the hometown in Ohio where she went missing.

GRACE: No, no, no. I already know Miami Beach. I know that. Where in Miami Beach? The International Inn Underbay. Tell me.

GOLDBAND: Yes, Nancy. She was at that hotel. We did some research...

GRACE: What is that?

GOLDBAND: It`s $39 a night at that motel. And she was stopped about a few hundred feet away on the international causeway that was leading back to that hotel.

GRACE: To Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, author of "Dealbreakers." Listen, Bethany, the caller, Judith from Michigan, was right. It`s not a crime to just leave your family, just walk out and never come back. Morally, do I approve? No. But it`s not a crime. But when you intentionally leave a scenario set up as if you`ve been kidnapped, a flat tire...

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: Right.

GRACE: ... the keys in the ignition, you ignore voicemail, you don`t check your phone, you turn off your cell, you -- how can you miss the news coverage? It`s on every major network, every dot-com there is. Where`s the missing mom of one? We`ve devoted several nights to it, trying to find this woman. I mean, how can that not be intentional, Bethany? Give me your best shot. Go ahead. Throw post-partum at me! I`ve been there!

MARSHALL: Nancy, it`s not post-partum because someone who`s depressed would never have the energy to run away. What this is is profound pathological selfishness. And let`s not forget, the reason she gave for leaving, she wanted a new life.

This is why women kill their babies is they feel that the child is standing in the way of love. So this woman should never be allowed alone with this baby again. She seems to fit, like, a borderline narcissistic personality profile, where there`s initial clinging to new love or attachment figures, and that`s all they want to do is gravitate towards the people that they experience as admiring them. And she probably gave no thought to her church, her minister father, her husband, her 1-year-old baby. So she thought, in a pathological way, that they would just forget about her.

GRACE: Bethany, Bethany, Bethany, Bethany! Let`s boil it down. OK. I don`t care about all the grown-ups. They can deal with it.

MARSHALL: Sure.

GRACE: But the baby, the baby is a different thing. And don`t start up with me, like Judith in Michigan, did about post-partum. She`s tired. She wants a new life. Every new mother, especially that has to hold down a full-time job and raise children -- you know, daddies are great...

MARSHALL: Nancy...

GRACE: ... Bethany, but the reality is, in our society, it`s all Mommy. The kid`s sick, it`s on Mommy to take care of the child. If there`s a problem, it`s on Mommy. Mommy has to fix it. And that kind of goes with the package. Most of the women on the panel tonight are mommies. We get it. But walking out on the baby is not an option, Dr. Bethany!

MARSHALL: No. She`s not bonded to her child. And that`s why I said this is not post-partum depression because when you`re depressed, you couldn`t run away from anything, even if a train is bearing down on her.

GRACE: I mean, come on! Eleanor...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: She wants to start over...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: ... she could get a divorce!

ELEANOR ODOM: That would be the easiest way, Nancy, instead of abandoning your child. Now she probably won`t have custody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was supposed to go out and do some quick shopping for her 1-year-old baby girl. But 31-year-old mom Tiffany Tehan never returned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police now say a missing Ohio wife and mother, Tiffany Tehan, wasn`t missing at all. They say she ran off with another man to Miami to start a new life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to explore all those things. Like I say, the main factor in this was where we got to today. Xenia Police Department`s main goal was finding Tiffany safely, and all of the other things that you`re requesting will be taken care of at a later date. And we do not -- we`re not going to divulge any information that`s of personal or family matters. We`ve succeeded in what we -- what we were to do as law enforcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to the lines. Ann in Georgia. Hi, Ann. I think I`ve got Ann in Georgia. Are you there, dear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I am.

GRACE: Hi. Thank you for calling. What`s your question, Ann?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. How are you and the children? I haven`t seen the children lately.

GRACE: Let me tell you something. I usually bathe them and get them all ready, give them their meds (ph) if they have to before, I come to work. Tonight, we played so hard. They were covered in dirt and something gooey on their face. I had to leave them for Daddy to bathe. They`re not going to like that. But otherwise they`re great.

What`s your question, dear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I was just wondering, how did anybody find out about this affair she was having with this man?

GRACE: Well, I`ll tell you, Ann, I really think it was because of the surveillance video at a Citgo. I mean, come on! Out to you, Andrew Scott, former chief of police, Boca Raton, VP Scott Robertson Associates there in Miami. When you see a woman come in with the same guy, getting coffee every day, weeks on end, caught on surveillance, and he`s suddenly 2,000, 3,000 bucks missing out of his account, gets rid of his car, she`s gone, they`re both gone. You know, it adds up. Two and two I think is still four, right?

ANDREW J. SCOTT, FORMER CHIEF OF POLICE, BOCA RATON: I think that`s a clue, Nancy, that, clearly, that there was some intent on both of their parts to leave. And frankly, you know, there`s no crime for being stupid, and she was pretty stupid to do what they`ve done and create the problems that they created for the police department.

GRACE: But Andrew Scott, setting it up to look as if she had been kidnapped? That`s just not walking out on your family.

SCOTT: No, I agree with you, Nancy.

GRACE: That`s (INAUDIBLE) major problem.

SCOTT: That`s correct. But they`re going to have to show intent, that that`s what she was trying to do to charge her.

GRACE: You`re right, Andrew.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: There`s nothing to break me of.

I don`t know where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bottom line, you don`t know where Haleigh is.

MISTY CROSLIN: Bottom line.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY`S AND JOE`S GRANDMOTHER: ... pointing a spot out on the river on the TV.

MISTY CROSLIN: They set me up.

HOLLARS: This is something you should have said a long time ago.

MISTY CROSLIN: I was freaking out. I was, like, man (INAUDIBLE)

HOLLARS: She said, But Nanny, I was scared.

MISTY CROSLIN: Today`s a very bad day for me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They brought the family members into the sheriff`s office.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s now officially a homicide case.

GRACE: ... the search for little Haleigh`s entire body and the murder weapon...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They can start making funeral arrangements.

MISTY CROSLIN: Tomorrow`s going to be a bad day for me, too, OK?

GRACE: What scenario do you believe unfolded?

HOLLARS: Exactly what Misty told me, about the rope and the cinderblocks and dropping her in the St. John`s River.

GRACE: What do you think happened that night?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chances are that she`s dead. And that may be so, but statistics have also been proven wrong.

GRACE: Do you think she could have anything to do with this?

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is!

I`m not hiding anything.

Me being in a jail has nothing to do with Haleigh.

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re doing everything they can to push her hot buttons.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m serious. I was, like, Oh, my God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They hope to shock her into some sort of revelation...

MISTY CROSLIN: It was crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... or some sort of piece of information they can compare to what she said before...

MISTY CROSLIN: When I went to sleep, she was there, and then when I woke up, she was gone!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... that will bring it one step closer to a conclusion and an arrest.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She does not deserve this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: The family split down the middle about what happened the night 5-year-old Haleigh went missing. They join us tonight. But first to Jean Casarez from "In Session." Jean what`s the latest?

JEAN CASAREZ, "IN SESSION": You know, the latest is, Nancy, law enforcement is now saying that any bones at the river`s edge were not human, they were animal. But in the same breath, Nancy, they`re not refuting the local claims that cinderblocks were taken out of that river and rope was taken from Tommy`s home.

GRACE: And the other thing is this, Marlaina Schiavo. Even if -- we don`t -- all these items are being tested. We don`t have the DNA results yet. But even if they do not have any of Haleigh`s bones, what if they`ve got pajamas? What if they`ve got her shoe? What if they`ve got her barrette she wore to bed at night? Lucy always tries to wear a barrette to be at night. What if they`ve got that? What about that? Are police denying that, too, Marlaina Schiavo?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Police will not tell us what they have, but we know what they do have is enough to call this a homicide investigation, Nancy. It`s enough to talk to Ronald and Crystal and tell them that they have to start making some sort of arrangements to get a death certificate or to maybe start planning a funeral and start thinking about that. So even though they`re not being specific, we know they have something significant that they are working on.

GRACE: Joining us right now, two very special guests. Out of Nashville, Tennessee, Flora Hollars. This is Misty and Tommy Croslin`s grandmother. They called her from behind bars and gave their accounts of what happened the night Haleigh apparently was murdered.

Also with us, Annette Sykes, joining us exclusively. This is Haleigh`s great-grandmother. She was there at the home just hours before Haleigh disappeared.

First to you, Ms. Sykes. What did you observe in the home that evening?

ANNETTE SYKES, HALEIGH`S GREAT-GRANDMOTHER: I stopped by about 7:30 to drop off some laundry that I had done. I always did the children`s laundry just because it`s something I`ve always done. And the children were on the front porch with Misty. They were eating supper. And when we drove up, Haleigh jumped out of her chair and come running up and gave me a hug. And Junior came out and gave me a hug, and I gave them a kiss. And Misty walked out. She helped carry some of the clothes into the house and got the children`s shirts on, and they got back up to eat supper. I gave them a kiss, told them good-bye, and I got back in the car and left.

GRACE: So all along, Ms. Sykes, Misty Croslin has told us that that evening she spent that evening doing laundry, doing the kids` laundry. So that`s not true. You did the laundry?

SYKES: She did hers and Ronald`s and the household laundry, but I did the children`s clothes because I didn`t like them -- I didn`t like them to have stains or anything on them. I`m real -- I just always did their laundry, the children`s laundry. They did their own...

GRACE: And at that time...

SYKES: ... the adults` and the household laundry.

GRACE: And at that time, Ms. Sykes, Ronald Cummings was already at work?

SYKES: Yes. Absolutely.

GRACE: OK. So he`s out of the picture. Ms. Sykes, I know that by now, you are aware that Ms. Hollars, who is Misty Croslin and Tommy Croslin`s grandmother -- she`s the one, one of ones, that called police, that ended up mounting this search of the St. John`s River -- really believes that Ronald Cummings, your grandson, is partially at fault. What`s your response?

SYKES: I heard what she said on your show about Ronald being responsible because he left the children with her and she was all strung out. But I was there, and she was not strung out. I mean, she was walking and talking just -- I mean, I talked to her. Like I said, she helped me carry the laundry in. She had fixed supper for the children. They were eating.

HOLLARS: I have a question for you. Why didn`t Teresa take those kids home with her when Misty offered to pay for her to take her home?

SYKES: I was not aware that she did.

HOLLARS: She most certainly did.

GRACE: OK, hold on just a moment. Ms. Hollars, where are you getting that information?

HOLLARS: I got that information from every one of them in Florida. All my kids down there knew that.

GRACE: So that came from Misty Croslin?

HOLLARS: It came from Misty. It also came from her mama. And it also...

GRACE: Whoa, whoa, wait, stop. Who was there when she asked Ms. Neves to take the children?

HOLLARS: That I don`t know.

GRACE: Well, what other people may tell you that weren`t there really doesn`t account for anything. But Ms. Hollars, I want to go back over your assertion about what Misty told you, what Tommy Croslin told you from behind bars. Ms. Hollars, now I understand that you believe there`s a scenario in which little Haleigh was molested before she was murdered.

HOLLARS: I feel like that.

GRACE: Why?

HOLLARS: I just don`t know, but that`s what I think.

GRACE: Isn`t it true that there has been a scenario put out there, and it had to come from behind bars, that Misty Croslin heard the child in the next room screaming?

HOLLARS: Yes.

GRACE: Where did that come from.

HOLLARS: So did little Junior hear the couch bouncing.

GRACE: And my question is, where did that story come from?

HOLLARS: It came from Misty.

GRACE: What did she say?

HOLLARS: That she heard Haleigh in there crying.

GRACE: And who was in the room with Haleigh?

HOLLARS: I`m going to say Joe or Tommy, one.

GRACE: Or both?

HOLLARS: Or both.

GRACE: And what, if anything, did Misty Croslin do to take care of Haleigh?

HOLLARS: According to what she told me when all this was going on, she`d already had been threatened by Joe, and she grabbed Junior and got into bed, and they covered up their heads completely. And when she took the covers off of her head, Haleigh was gone.

GRACE: To Ms. Sykes, Annette Sykes.

SYKES: Yes?

GRACE: This is Haleigh Cummings`s great-grandmother. That`s the first time I have heard that scenario over the airwaves. What is your response? She would stay there with a sheet over her head while a child screamed in the next room.

SYKES: That`s the first time I`ve ever heard that. I`ve never heard that before. I was not aware of that. I`ve not ever heard that story before. I really don`t know. I -- it`s -- I mean, I don`t see how anybody could do that, if it`s true. But I don`t know. I`ve not ever heard that story before. I`ve heard so many stories. We all have. And you never know what to believe anymore. My thing is that they`re going to have to prove to me anything that they tell me. If they want me to believe it, they`re going to have to prove it.

GRACE: Ms. Sykes, what do you think of them searching -- the police searching the St. John`s River?

SYKES: Well, evidently, they had some tip. Somebody called them. And they were down there searching. And I went down there early that morning and didn`t -- you know, they wouldn`t tell me anything. And I wasn`t -- I knew what they were searching -- you know, I knew they were looking for something participating (SIC) to Haleigh, but I didn`t really know what.

HOLLARS: I was the one that called you and told you that.

SYKES: Yes, she did. Ms. Hollars called me and told me -- she certainly did -- that she had called down here and told them what Tommy had told her. And Teresa and I went and -- over to that area and walked around all afternoon and looked in the woods over there. But of course, we didn`t find anything.

GRACE: Everyone, we are going to break...

SYKES: And then the next morning...

GRACE: ... and we are taking your calls live. But a special thank you to our FaceBook crime fighters, Kansas friend Candace, pregnant with twins, Virginia friend Yvonne, a legal secretary, and Ohio friend Nora, who checks in every night on FaceBook. FaceBook friends, thank you.

Everybody, submit your photos at CNN.com/nancygrace and then click on FaceBook.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: What scenario do you believe unfolded? What do you think happened that night?

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: How (EXPLETIVE DELETED) could you let my daughter get stole (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!

HOLLARS: Exactly what Misty told me, that the rope and the cinderblocks and...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. But right now, calling in from Cape Cod is Timmy Croslin`s wife, Chelsea Croslin, who was living near Satsuma the night little Haleigh went missing. Chelsea Croslin, thank you for calling.

CHELSEA CROSLIN, MISTY`S SISTER-IN-LAW (via telephone): Yes? Hi.

GRACE: Yes...

CHELSEA CROSLIN: Nancy?

GRACE: Hi, dear. Thank you for calling. Where were you that night, Chelsea?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: I was at my home the night that Haleigh went missing.

GRACE: Chelsea, what do you make of all the scenarios -- Chelsea, you need to cut your television off, if you can, or down.

CHELSEA CROSLIN: Yes, I went upstairs. I`m sorry.

GRACE: Thank you, dear. OK, back to Chelsea Croslin. This is Timmy Croslin`s wife calling us tonight from Cape Cod. She was living in the Satsuma area the night Haleigh went missing. Chelsea Croslin, what do you make of Tommy Croslin and Misty Croslin, really, their jailhouse confessions they gave to their grandmother?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: For one, I don`t believe that they gave their grandmother jailhouse confessions at all. I think if they did, it would be on tape. I believe that arrests would have already been made. Our family, everybody has been -- you know, not us, but Tommy, Misty, Joe has all been taken in for their interrogations. I don`t believe that -- anything that Flo Hollars is saying I think is a complete lie. I don`t -- I do not see Misty sitting there and listening to her baby cry. I mean, not biological baby, but we loved that child just as much as I love my own. and she would have never let that happen. She would have not sat there and done that. I mean, she could have just easily...

GRACE: But Chelsea Croslin, why would Ms. Hollars make up a lie about her own flesh and blood?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: Ms. Hollars has not been around our family for the last seven years that I have been with the Croslins.

HOLLARS: You lie.

CHELSEA CROSLIN: I have met Flo Hollars maybe two times. She is not involved in our family. So I don`t know why she would want to hurt and implicate three of her grandchildren. It`s just very sad that she would do that.

GRACE: Ms. Hollars, what`s your response to that?

HOLLARS: My response to that is why did she tell me the road to tell them to go at?

GRACE: Repeat?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: Well, Nanny, you -- Nanny, you were the one that said, Where do you want searched? And I said I wanted 309, not specifically a dock -- I said 309 because I got a letter from Misty stating that Joe might have had -- or Joe was the involving party. So from there, I called the detective, Kay Sangelica (ph), the head detective on the case. I told them about it.

HOLLARS: And so did I. And so did I.

CHELSEA CROSLIN: He did not follow up with it. So then from there, I asked Leonard Padilla. Leonard Padilla, will you help me fund a search? Because I don`t have money myself, and my goal in life is to find Haleigh. That`s all that matters to us.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Wait, wait, wait, wait! Back to Chelsea Croslin. What did you tell police where they should search?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: I told them that Joe, when he was staying in Satsuma with us -- I lived in Crescent City, a little bit farther, but it`s all in the same area. He stayed at Tommy`s house for a few days until him and Ronald had had that falling out regarding the gun that he had stolen that was recovered. From there, he went and stayed at Lisa and Hank`s house. There was a car accident and Hank was airlifted off to Gainesville. I`m talking about Hank, senior.

GRACE: So are you saying that you believe Joe Overstreet is involved in Haleigh`s disappearance?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: I do believe Joe Overstreet is involved in the disappearance. I don`t know if Joe is the one that actually did do the harm and killed her, or whatever this horrible news that`s out there.

GRACE: But wait a minute. Chelsea, there`s only three choices, Overstreet, Misty Croslin or Tommy Croslin.

CHELSEA CROSLIN: There`s not just three stories, Nancy. I believe -- you know, there`s many more things, too. Like, what happens -- what happens if Haleigh overdosed because there was loose pills laying around in that house? And I don`t care what anybody says...

HOLLARS: No, there wasn`t.

CHELSEA CROSLIN: ... because I know for a fact there was.

GRACE: OK, hold on. Hold on. Just a moment. Hold on. Out to the lawyers, Richard Herman, you`ve got the whole family basically giving a scenario that implicates their own three family members.

RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It`s incredible, Nancy. And the caller is right. I mean, these are jailhouse phone calls. They`ve been recorded. Law enforcement has listened to them.

GRACE: So?

HERMAN: I`d like to know...

GRACE: I already know that!

HERMAN: Right, but then they would have acted (ph) months ago. They wouldn`t just have acted now immediately off of Ms. Hollars`s phone call. I want to know, does she have any contracts with any newspapers or any tabloids?

GRACE: No.

HERMAN: That`s what I want to know.

GRACE: Good try, Richard. Good try, Richard.

HERMAN: Ask her.

GRACE: OK. Fine. Ms. Hollars, do you have a contract or a deal with a newspaper, radio or TV? Have you made any money off this story?

HOLLARS: I have not made a penny off this story. I have told exactly what those two kids has told me. And if none of them down there don`t like it, they can kiss where the sun don`t shine!

(LAUGHTER)

GRACE: OK, we`ll just cut out on that. And very quickly, Peter Odom?

PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, if all this is made up, why is it that the police appear to be finding things in the river?

GRACE: And Eleanor?

ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: I hate to agree with a defense attorney, but yes, that`s true. There`s an air of truth to it, and it`s being corroborated.

GRACE: Very quickly, to Dr. Michael Bell, Palm Beach County chief medical examiner. Weigh in on whether you would expect to find Haleigh`s remains if they had been thrown in the river.

DR. MICHAEL BELL, PALM BEACH COUNTY CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER: Well, that`s a good question. Quite frankly, if they don`t find them, I wouldn`t be surprised. I think it depends on how far they want to search. But certainly, they may find bones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: First thing that I was told was that Joe had killed her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: WJXT is reporting that two cinderblocks have been pulled during that massive search in the St. John`s River.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without a body, the case against Haleigh`s killer may have to be built entirely on circumstantial evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: What led you to change your mind? You first insisted to me several weeks ago no way was Misty remotely involved. But then you changed your mind and you yourself called police.

HOLLARS: Yes, I did. I changed my mind when I put two and two together that she knowed where to go to at the river. She`s involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: To Richard Herman, defense attorney, New York. Richard, why do you say things like, Maybe Flora Hollars is getting paid? Now, I want to see Herman! That`s so irresponsible to just throw something out there like that!

HERMAN: It`s not irresponsible, Nancy.

GRACE: She could be a witness at trial.

HERMAN: No.

GRACE: She`s not getting paid! Paid by who, me?

HERMAN: Ms. Sykes -- Ms. Sykes...

GRACE: She`s not.

HERMAN: Ms. Sykes completely obliterated her statement that Misty was wrecked that night that he left her there with the baby. Come on! There`s no credibility to what Ms. Hollars is saying. She`s just babbling, getting her two minutes of fame right now.

GRACE: No, that`s not true...

HERMAN: That`s what`s going on here.

GRACE: ... because Eleanor Odom, she is repeating -- you know what? Here`s the deal. Police have all these phone calls recorded so this is going to ultimately be settled when those tapes are played, bottom line.

ELEANOR ODOM: Exactly, Nancy. And maybe Ms. Sykes didn`t see her under the influence of anything while she was there, but that doesn`t mean that Misty didn`t go and get high later on that evening.

GRACE: I didn`t know you and Misty were on a first-name basis, Eleanor.

(LAUGHTER)

GRACE: I hear you, Herman. Odom, weigh in.

PETER ODOM: Nancy, I agree with Richard. You have to ask these questions because...

GRACE: Oh, so...

PETER ODOM: ... her testimony is going to be subject...

GRACE: ... second verse same as the first.

PETER ODOM: ... great scrutiny, and it would be irresponsible not to ask these questions.

GRACE: You know what?

PETER ODOM: What is her possible motivation?

GRACE: You two -- you, Peter Odom, you, Richard Herman, the two weak sisters of the legal panel tonight because you`re coming up -- you`re just making stories up, like Hollars got paid.

Bethany Marshall, weigh in.

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: I don`t think this is a story a grandmother would make up about her grandchildren.

GRACE: I don`t, either.

MARSHALL: I think the story -- the story about the boys in the other room and the baby screaming is Misty`s manipulative attempt to distract the attention...

GRACE: Blame somebody else.

MARSHALL: ... away from her. And these stories will come out. I think they haven`t so far because Misty has told so many lies that they would...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: What about it, Ellie Jostad?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, we`re not going to find out right away what was said on the tapes. Police have said they`re not going to release them because it`s part of an active investigation. However, they will confirm that Flora and Tommy talked, although Tommy`s lawyer says he only told her to call his lawyer.

GRACE: I mean, Terry Shoemaker, attorney for Ron Cummings, they all know their calls are recorded, right?

TERRY SHOEMAKER, ATTORNEY FOR RONALD CUMMINGS (via telephone): Absolutely. I`ve been burned many times in the St. John`s County jail system, where my clients have talked on a telephone call and it came back to haunt them, so...

GRACE: And I`m sure...

SHOEMAKER: ... if there are phone calls, it`ll be there.

GRACE: ... you advise them -- I`m sure you advise them beforehand, Don`t yak on the phone. Just try to hold it in.

Everyone, let`s stop and remember Army Staff Sergeant Harrison "Duck" (ph) Brown, 31, Printer (ph), Alabama, killed, Iraq on a third tour, awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, lost his life Easter Sunday. Left studies and a football scholarship at Tuskegee to enlist, loves sports. The gentle giant leaves behind grieving mom, Chris Ann (ph), two brothers, widow and high school sweetheart Delisha (ph), three children. Harrison Brown, American hero.

Thanks to our guests, but especially to you for being with us. See you tomorrow night, 8:00 o`clock sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.

END

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[Sassycat]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/23/ijvm.01.html

ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

How Did Haleigh Die?

Aired April 23, 2010 - 19:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, shocking new claims in the Haleigh Cummings mystery. I`ll go one-on-one with the lawyer for Misty Croslin`s brother, Tommy. Did Tommy lead cops down to the river? Was he there the night of Haleigh`s disappearance? And what about Grandma Flo`s shocking new allegations? What`s fact? What`s fiction? I`ll talk to Tommy`s attorney next.

Plus head-spinning new evidence just released in the Casey Anthony trial, including bombshell claims that Lee Anthony`s girlfriend told a co- worker Casey killed her little daughter. Is any of this true? We`re sorting through the new evidence, hunting for justice.

And an ISSUES primetime exclusive. I will talk with Lindsay Lohan`s dad, Michael. His troubled movie star daughter is allegedly in a drug- fueled downward spiral. He says he`s doing everything he can to stop it. Can Michael get through to Lindsay before it`s too late?

ISSUES starts now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, breaking news, new vile, stomach-churning, I dare say, claims about what precious little 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings might have gone through the night she disappeared.

A horrifying new theory. Did Misty Croslin, who was baby-sitting Haleigh when she vanished, hear the little girl screaming while she was being sexually abused? Did Haleigh`s attacker threaten Misty and scare the teenager into staying silent?

Listen to this from last night`s "NANCY GRACE" show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HLN ANCHOR: Isn`t it true that there has been a scenario put out there, and it had to come from behind bars, that Misty Croslin heard the child in the next room screaming?

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY`S GRANDMOTHER: Yes.

GRACE: Where did it come from?

HOLLARS: So did little Junior hear the couch bouncing.

GRACE: And my question is where did that story come from?

HOLLARS: It came from Misty.

GRACE: What did she say?

HOLLARS: That she heard Haleigh in there crying.

GRACE: And who was in the room with Haleigh?

HOLLARS: I`m going to say Joe or Tommy, one.

GRACE: Or both?

HOLLARS: Or both.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Pretty serious claims there. Remember, Misty Croslin gave cops a totally different story, and police are not confirming any of these claims. It`s just one of Misty`s grandmother`s many theories.

But there is one thing Grandma Flo Hollars says she is sure of. Flo says she spoke to both her grandkids, Misty and Tommy Croslin, and she insists Misty says Tommy and their cousin, Joe, tied Haleigh to a brick and tossed her into the St. John`s River.

Tonight, we are delighted to have a very special one-on-one interview with the attorney for Misty`s brother, Tommy Croslin, who sits behind bars on drug charges. Was Tommy the one who finally cracked and led investigators to the specific boat dock along the St. John`s River? Cops launched an intense search for Haleigh`s remains at that very dock. How did Tommy know about this spot? Was Tommy in that trailer home the night little Haleigh was murdered? What, if anything, does Tommy Croslin know?

Straight out to my phenomenal panel, all experts in this bizarre mystery, but I want to begin with attorney James Werter, who is representing Tommy Croslin.

Jim, thank you so much for joining us. We have just heard some extreme allegations against your client from his own grandmother. We want to clear the air. We want to get your side of the story. What is your reaction about what Grandma Flo is saying?

JAMES WERTER, ATTORNEY FOR TOMMY CROSLIN: Well, that`s why I put my release out last week. It just -- all the rumors and speculation that are going around just totally annoyed me. And I put a press release out last week outlining how law enforcement came to the river on Monday night. That would have been April 12.

If you remember on HLN on the 26th of March, I informed you, well, maybe not you, but HLN that he would take a polygraph, and he did take a polygraph on April 8. I spoke with him on April 10 -- that was a Saturday morning. And on April 11, Lindsay called me, his wife, Tommy`s wife. So Monday morning, April 12, Steve Brown, the investigator, and myself sat down with Tommy. We discussed the results of the polygraph. And that evening...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What were the results? Did he fail or did he pass and what was he asked about?

WERTER: Well, I can`t really get into what he was asked about. I have a good working relationship with law enforcement, so that`s part of the investigation. So I have to refrain from that.

But because of the polygraph that night, Monday night, April 12, we were on the dock with Tommy and law enforcement. That would have been FDLE, Putnam County Sheriff`s Office, and those two agencies. We were there discussing the scene with Tommy.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The investigators searched a dock along the St. John`s River, drudging up two cinder blocks and reportedly some yellow rope. Now, does this dovetail with Grandma Flo`s story that Misty told her Tommy and Joe tied Haleigh with a rope with cinder blocks and threw her in the river?

Cops brought Misty to the dock. They reportedly also brought Tommy Croslin to the dock.

Jim, again, we want to get your side of the story. Your client had originally said, according to published reports, that he went to the trailer the night Haleigh disappeared at 10 p.m., knocked on the door, nobody was there, Misty wasn`t there and he left. Now we`re hearing possibly many other different stories. My question to you is why did police bring Tommy to the dock?

WERTER: Again, we`re getting into the facts, and I talked to your producers about this. Getting into the facts of that evening, which are in the hands of law enforcement. And it`s really hard for me to discuss that because I don`t want to jeopardize the investigation.

I will tell you that I feel comfortable with Tommy and representing Tommy. But the fact of the matter is I don`t know if they pulled anything out of the river because I can`t get a straight story from anybody on that. So all the things about bones or cinder blocks, things of that nature, I think it`s pure speculation at this time until an arrest is made.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me just say this. I guess what we`re all wondering, and I understand you`re limited in what you can say, but I guess what we`re all wondering is, if he had nothing to do with it, how would he know what to point out down at the river? That`s what nobody seems to understand.

WERTER: It is a good point, and I`ll leave that to your speculation. You`re a brilliant woman.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I don`t know if I`m a brilliant woman. Thank you for that, but I think everybody is trying to solve this puzzle. It is a true mystery, and we can`t figure out what`s going on.

So we have these people who were talking, particularly Grandma Flo. Now let`s listen to this. Misty`s Grandmother Flo told Nancy Grace she thinks Haleigh was molested while Misty hid in the other room. But here on ISSUES, Flo said she thought Misty`s jealousy over Ron`s attention to his daughter could be the motive. So let`s break down all of Grandma Flo`s inconsistencies.

WERTER: You want to leave that to me? Well, the fact...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: First thing that I was told was that Joe had killed her. I was told that Misty had knocked her in the head and killed her and that Joe and Tommy got rid of her.

Misty had been out on a drug binge for three days. Her and Ron had fought that day. And she told him she didn`t want to baby-sit. And he told her, "Yes, you are going to baby-sit." And he left the kids there with her, and she was still strung out.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you also think the conspiracy extends to Ron. You think it`s four people involved in the conspiracy?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am, I do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So, Jim, as Tommy Croslin`s attorney, what do you think of all her stories and the inconsistencies in those stories?

WERTER: I would have to call her a defense attorney`s field day for cross-examination. She told so many different stories.

But I can tell you this. I had a discussion with Tommy twice, and when he called to get in touch with myself and Steve Brown, he did not talk to Flo Hollars about what happened that night. He simply told her to get a hold of Lindsay, to get a hold of me, that he wanted to talk to Steve and myself. So if you put her on the stand...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So are you saying that Tommy -- are you saying that - - she`s saying Tommy called her, and Tommy said Joe did it. Can you at least tell us whether your client is denying that?

WERTER: Oh, yes. Flat out, he is denying that. He did not discuss the case with Flo Hollars, and that was on Sunday night. Flo, from my understanding, got a hold of Lindsay, Tommy`s wife. Lindsay got a hold of me, and then we discussed everything on Monday morning.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re saying Grandma Flo is making up this entire story out of whole cloth, because you`re saying Tommy has said to you flat- out, "I did not tell Grandma Flo anything about who did what to Haleigh"?

WERTER: This is what Tommy told me.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, what about the fact that Grandma Flo says Misty called 15 minutes after Tommy? Everybody`s found that very odd that they should both be behind bars for such a long time and then, within 15 minutes of each other, get it into their heads to call Grandma Flo.

WERTER: That in itself tells you something about the quality of information that you`re getting. These people do not have communications between each other.

I think after the Anthony debacle with the letters going back and forth, I think the correctional facilities have tightened up on inter- prisoner communications. So you just have to look at content that this lady is putting out, and it`s just not consistent.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me just say this. The reason why people are taking her seriously is that cops did go down to the river, and they did search for several days and spent huge amounts on divers. Why?

WERTER: Based on -- based on Tommy`s discussions with him, with the FDLE and Putnam County, on Monday night, April 11.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: In other words, Tommy knows something. But you`re saying he`s not responsible, but he knows what happened?

WERTER: Again, I will say -- well, I will go with that, yes. I am quite comfortable in you saying that.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tommy knows what happened, but he`s not responsible.

WERTER: Correct.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Stay right there. That`s good information. We`re going to have so much more on this Haleigh Cummings mystery in just a moment. What was Tommy`s role in all of it? You just heard. His attorney says he knows something, but he is not responsible.

Plus, more bad news for Casey Anthony. First her prison inmates claim she killed her daughter. Now who else is saying the very same thing?

But first little Haleigh, still nowhere to be found, and neither is the truth. We are hunting for answers. What happened to this beautiful little child?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: I believe the one that Misty told me, that they tied her up in a rope and dropped her in the river. I just don`t know whether they raped her or not, but I sort of believe that they did. I just hope and pray that the child was already dead before she hit that water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your face is getting fat again. Yes.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: I`m not strung out on the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pills no more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Today we are talking one-on-one with Tommy Croslin`s attorney, Jim Werter, who just told us here on ISSUES that Tommy knows what happened to little Haleigh but was not involved. But we can extrapolate he knows enough to have led police down to the riverbanks.

Our team of experts and panelists standing by, just itching to get in on this conversation.

Mike Brooks, HLN law enforcement analyst, what are your thoughts or questions?

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, again, since we know that there was a phone call from Tommy to Flo Hollars, most likely it was tape recorded by the Putnam County sheriffs. Have you heard the content of that exact phone call yet?

WERTER: No, I haven`t. They`re kind of slow on releasing those kind of things.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Mark Eiglarsh, your thoughts or questions for Jim?

MARK EIGLARSH, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Oh, gosh, I have so many, Jane. First of all, phenomenal interview. You didn`t let him off. And finally, he admitted that his client knows something but just isn`t guilty. All right, so we got that out of the way.

But I`ve never seen a defense lawyer, including myself, bring up a polygraph unless the flying colors, passing with flying colors comes next. He didn`t say whether he passed or failed it. Is it fair, then, to suggest that he failed it, and what was the relevant question asked before he failed?

BROOKS: He`s not going to answer.

WERTER: Oh, is it back to me?

EIGLARSH: Oh, it is.

WERTER: OK. Yes, OK. It`s not going to answer. And if you remember my interview, if you`ve seen my interview on Nancy`s show, polygraphs, it`s not always a fail or flunk thing. It`s an investigative tool. And it led us to that dock, so I would say that it worked.

EIGLARSH: Well, there was a relevant question asked, and it should have been a yes or no. And it either showed deception or not. What was the specific, relevant question asked that he failed?

WERTER: That`s going to be in the hands of law enforcement, as I said earlier in the show. I`m not going to interfere with their investigation. Tommy has been cooperative with law enforcement.

EIGLARSH: Bring us the truth.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hold on. Going to bring out the old gavel. All right. I`m trying to get a timeline on this crazy case.

We know at 7:30 Great-Grandma Annette Sykes drops by the trailer, drops off some laundry. She says everything seems fine. We know that Misty had originally claimed she woke up at in the morning and Haleigh was gone. She claims she put her to sleep at 10 p.m.

So I mean, there`s this whole area of time there in the evening where something crazy, something untoward occurred.

Let me ask you this, Jim.

WERTER: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Was your client, Tommy, there at any time during the evening?

WERTER: Right now again, as I told your producers, until -- until there`s an arrest made, I really cannot talk about the actual crime itself. What I`m talking about now is the timeline on how they came to the dock. So -- I can`t answer.

BROOKS: What about the night -- what about the evening of, where Flora Hollars says it was Tommy and cousin Joe Overstreet that went to the trailer? Is he friends? Was he in Florida at the same time and with Joe Overstreet?

WERTER: Well, that`s a matter of fact. That`s open knowledge that Joe Overstreet has been -- I`m sorry, my earpiece popped out -- but that they were in Florida. Joe -- Joe lives in Tennessee, but he was down visiting. Tommy lives in Florida. He lives in the Satsuma area. That`s open knowledge. That`s no problem there.

BROOKS: Were they together at the trailer of Misty Croslin that evening?

WERTER: Again, what are you doing? You`re getting into the facts.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK.

EIGLARSH: Jane, I have another one.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but here`s the -- here`s the point. Grandma Flo, OK, says Misty pointed the finger at Tommy and Joe. You`re saying Tommy knows what happened, but he wasn`t involved. OK, but Grandma Flo also says that Tommy said Joe did it. Would you at least be willing to give us a yea or nay? In other words, did Tommy ever implicate Cousin Joe, or could there be somebody else involved?

WERTER: Well, I can`t answer the latter part of that question. What I did say was Tommy did not discuss this case with Flo Hollars.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to bring in Howard Samuels, founder and CEO of The Hills Treatment Center. There is so much drug aspect to this case. Misty was on a three-day drug binge, reportedly, leading up to this. Flo Hollars claims that her parents had drug problems.

Now we`re hearing claims that Flo is a liar and that she`s been on national television lying. What do you make of it as a person who deals with addicts?

HOWARD SAMUELS, FOUNDER/CEO, THE HILLS TREATMENT CENTER: Well, I`ve got to say, Jane, this crime makes me so sick to my stomach, so horrific. And once again, we find that drugs are in the middle of it. I mean, drugs push people to do such horrific things, and this is the tragedy here, OK? And, you know, this is why there is such a crisis in this country as far as murder, you know, abuse, rape. I mean, it`s just sick what drugs do.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And I think you`re right, because none of these scenarios would be believable, except for the fact that there`s been so much reporting about the drugs being all around the house, et cetera. So that makes you believe anything`s possible.

But everybody stay right where you are. We are putting this puzzle together. So many questions in the desperate search for little Haleigh. Everybody connected to this case seems to have a theory. Is anyone telling the truth?

Plus, an ISSUES exclusive. I`m going to go one-on-one with Lindsay Lohan`s dad. He claims his daughter is in deep trouble.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

T. CROSLIN: I hate (EXPLETIVE DELETED) having to be here myself. I`d do anything to get up out of this situation, but besides make up a story. I ain`t making up no damn story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Another stunning new theory: did Haleigh accidentally overdose on drugs? Here`s Grandma again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: I know one thing. Misty had been out on a drug binge for three days. Her and Ron had fought that day, and she told him she didn`t want to baby-sit. And he told her, "Yes, you are going to baby-sit." And he left the kids there with her, and she was still strung out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And now Tommy`s wife, Chelsea, confirms there were always pills lying around Misty and Ron`s trailer home. It`s actually Timmy`s wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHELSEA CROSLIN, MISTY`S SISTER-IN-LAW: I believe, you know, there`s many more things to it. What happened -- what happens if Haleigh overdosed? Because there were loose pills laying around in that house. and I don`t care what anybody says. I know for a fact there was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right, Jim. Misty and Tommy are both behind bars on drug conspiracy charges. Tommy has acknowledged that he was taking a lot of pills before he was arrested. What do you know, if anything, about the drug use going on in the home? And do you think this might be a plausible theory?

WERTER: There are so many theories going on. And again, it addresses the issues of the investigation. And I have a good relationship. Should I jeopardize that relationship or the investigation itself, I cannot disclose that kind of information. I just can`t do it. I want to see a successful end to this investigation.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Of course, but let me just ask you this. You know what Tommy -- in other words, Tommy says he knows the story, but he`s not involved. You know the story that Tommy`s told you. So you know what Tommy`s theory is or what Tommy`s story is.

WERTER: I know that theory.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Levi Page, host of "The Levi Page Show" on blog talk radio. Your question for Jim?

LEVI PAGE, HOST, "THE LEVI PAGE SHOW": Yes, I want to go back to the night that Haleigh vanished. I want to know, is it true that Tommy went to the trailer that night after Ronald couldn`t get a hold of Misty? He called her phone over 90 times, so then he called Tommy go over to the trailer. Is that true?

We also know that Tommy and Ron were going through a series of fights over the summer. We know that Ronald and Misty were seen by a neighbor putting a dead, decapitated rat in the mailbox of the Croslin family. Are those events related to the night Haleigh vanished?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Well, I think that, Jim, you`re probably going to say you can`t answer any of that, or can you?

WERTER: I can`t, and it`s a compound question.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Let me ask you this. Let me ask you this. How does Tommy feel about his grandmother throwing him under the bus?

WERTER: Well, you`ve got to think. I mean, this is your grandmother, and she`s coming out over the past week or so with so many types of bad theories, you know, how these terrible children did this, that. What kind of grandmother would do this?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What`s your thought on why a grandmother would do this?

WERTER: Well, this is a strange group of people, I have to admit. I`m a New Yorker like yourself, so I`m not quite used to this motive, what I call emotional I.Q. You`re familiar with E.Q.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.

WERTER: And you can`t relate. You can`t -- you can speculate, but how accurate your speculation would be, that would be speculation. So this is -- this is a different group of people. You just can`t think that way.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It is, indeed, a curious clan. Thank you so much, Jim. Please come back soon. I really appreciate you being a good sport about all those questions.

WERTER: Not a problem.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: From one blockbuster case into another, new documents just released in the Casey Anthony case. Who`s admitting now that Casey killed Caylee?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

<snipped to include Haleigh coverage only>

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/23/ijvm.01.html

[Sassycat]

http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/23/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Misty Croslin Looking for Plea Deal?

Aired April 23, 2010 - 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. The last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who takes to the airwaves claiming she`s innocent. But even in one brief interview, she can`t keep her story straight, including a 180 on a lie detector she flunked. Little Haleigh`s own father, Ronald Cummings, and baby-sitter- turned-stepmother Misty Croslin both handcuffed, arrested, booked. Charges, drug trafficking.

Bombshell tonight. Is Croslin set to take a plea deal? Misty Croslin goes all the way to the Florida governor, whining about her treatment. This as we obtain more secretly recorded jailhouse tapes, hours of Croslin yakking to Mommy and Daddy, you name it, all caught on video. As usual, it`s all about Misty Croslin, whining about life behind bars, Croslin breaking down in tears, actually blaming the little girl`s kidnap for ruing her life, repeatedly referring to the kidnapper as "he." This while Croslin`s own brother blames their alleged drug operation for Haleigh`s disappearance. But why? As police comb those jailhouse tapes for clues, tonight, where is 5-year-old Haleigh?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: Today`s a very bad day for me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was taken to the crime scene, to the river.

MISTY CROSLIN: Tomorrow`s going to be a bad day for me, too, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Detectives showed her what they had found.

MISTY CROSLIN: I was freaking out. I was, like, Man, they got me!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was shown bones.

GRACE: ... shown bones...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... bones and remains...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know that bones have been found in the river.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY`S GRANDMOTHER: She knows something.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Human bone or animal bone?

HOLLARS: She was pointing a spot out on the river on the TV.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re still denying that they found any human remains.

MISTY CROSLIN: It was crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... show her the bones...

GRACE: They put her in the car with brother Tommy Croslin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And let`s say she has the reaction...

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m serious. I was, like, Oh, my God.

HOLLARS: Those three grandkids of mine is involved in this, and I don`t know why!

MISTY CROSLIN: The cops said there was a whole bunch of bricks...

It was a brick. Like, there was a brick on the floor.

-- but I`ve never seen any bricks at all.

HOLLARS: They have no remorse or something!

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m not hiding anything.

JOE OVERSTREET, MISTY`S COUSIN: I didn`t do it.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: I don`t know where she is.

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: If I find whoever has my daughter before y`all do, I`m killing him. I don`t care. I`ll spend the rest of my life in prison. I`m telling you, you can put it on recording, I don`t care.

MISTY CROSLIN: Well, youthful offender -- I would do it. I would take it. Three years in and four years out, I`ll take it. I`ll take it and run. It`s, like -- but I`d be in, like, a boot camp since I`m so young. If they put me in prison, I`ll be, like, in a boot camp.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Is Misty Croslin, baby-sitter-turned- stepmother, the last person to see little Haleigh Cummings alive, set to take a plea deal? To what? Croslin goes all the way to the Florida governor complaining about her treatment. This as we obtain even more secretly recorded jailhouse tapes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are starting to talk.

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are starting to cooperate.

MISTY CROSLIN: There`s nothing to break me on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she`s come to realize that, you know, she`s in trouble.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: I see the smile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are reports of two cinderblocks retrieved from the river.

MISTY CROSLIN: It was a brick. Like, there was brick on the floor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And my sources telling me police have obtained yellow rope from Tommy Croslin`s home.

TOMMY CROSLIN: I said, I can`t help you find her body. I don`t know where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They told the family it`s time, they have enough evidence that they can start making funeral arrangements for little Haleigh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bring her back.

CUMMINGS: I know somebody took my little girl!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just want our baby to come home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They brought the family members in to the sheriff`s office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s not as strong at home as he is on TV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They told him that it was now a homicide investigation.

CHELSEA CROSLIN, MISTY`S SISTER-IN-LAW: It was the worst thing I`ve ever been through in my entire life.

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: Misty is being very coy about answering the questions.

HOLLARS: She says, But Nanny, I was scared.

PADILLA: She has not told the truth.

HOLLARS: This is something you should have said a long time ago.

PADILLA: The truth is still within Misty.

MISTY CROSLIN: If people think that I had something to do with it -- if I had something to do with it, I knew where she was, we wouldn`t be sitting here today.

They ain`t never seen us, how we lived before. We always had nice stuff, nice things.

HANK CROSLIN: Been up and down all of our life, but we`ve always come out -- out of it. But this time -- I ain`t never -- this time`s terrible.

MISTY CROSLIN: I never thought, ever thought this would ever be, like, something to even think about happening.

HANK CROSLIN: Me neither. No way.

MISTY CROSLIN: Seen this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) on TV, and you know, I didn`t think it was -- you know, I didn`t think it ever could happen to us.

HANK CROSLIN: They`re out to get you, and they got you.

MISTY CROSLIN: They can`t charge me with stuff that I didn`t do.

HANK CROSLIN: Accessory, I guess.

MISTY CROSLIN: They can`t charge me with all these -- yes, but they can`t charge me for just trafficking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Is she crazy? Eleanor, Eleanor Odom, she is behind bars, suspected in the murder of a 5-year-old little girl, and she`s saying she can`t go to boot camp, which is a diversion program where you basically go to a youth boot camp for a couple months and then you get cut loose?

ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: I know. It`s hard to believe. She doesn`t even have any offer of that that we know of right now, and that would certainly be a generous offer, considering all the drugs she was selling.

GRACE: And let me make it clear. She is not a formal suspect. The police have not named her a person of interest or a suspect. What we do know is she`s the last person to see 5-year-old Haleigh alive.

Now with breaking news, investigative journalist Art Harris. Art, what can you tell us?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: I can tell you, Nancy, that as I reported on Artharris.com last week, she has flunked a polygraph, a police polygraph, and now I know that her brother took one on Thursday. No results announced, but this is something that we`re all holding our breath about because if Tommy Croslin passes his test, then it`s back on Misty. If he doesn`t, then all bets are off.

GRACE: Well, it would seem to me, Art Harris, if she flunked yet another -- I think this would be the fourth polygraph, it`s not off Misty. It`s not on anybody else, it`s still on Misty Croslin.

HARRIS: That`s true. But there would be other possibilities beyond Misty, if Tommy Croslin knocked on the door of the trailer that night, says no one was home, we don`t know what the questions were that he was asked. But if there was any deception shown, Nancy, his story could be held up to the light of the truth.

GRACE: OK. Art -- with me, investigative journalist Art Harris. Art, what can you tell me about the conditions surrounding her most recent polygraph that we now learn, you`ve learned she flunked?

HARRIS: I can tell you, Nancy, that she was scheduled to take one a few days before. She was too sick to take it. They set it up again. It was given in the St. John`s County jail building, administrative building. Several detectives were there who`d been working on the case. An independent polygraph operator, who is a veteran...

GRACE: Who?

HARRIS: ... a woman named Patty Knight (ph) from a nearby county, came over to do it. It was done between 5:30, 8:30 PM in the evening. And she showed deception on every question.

GRACE: On every question.

HARRIS: That`s right.

GRACE: Art, how did you find that out?

HARRIS: Nancy, I`ll just say that I spoke with people who are familiar with the test.

GRACE: Do you have any idea what the questions were?

HARRIS: Well, we know that the question that she had -- that was raised in letters she wrote to her relatives revolved around the scenario she named, was that her brother, Tommy, and her cousin, Joe, the mystery cousin from Tennessee, were at the trailer that night. And she claimed that she saw them with Haleigh, that they came over to steal a gun from her husband, Ron Cummings, and the gun wasn`t there -- or then boyfriend. And so Tommy left, and cousin Joe was mad and took Haleigh.

Of course, they are not suspects. Cousin Joe has denied all involvement. He has a lawyer. He`s been interviewed twice by law enforcement. And he is right now in the clear.

GRACE: And so she flunked the polygraph all about that scenario. So that is just a crock of lies, right?

HARRIS: Nancy, we don`t know what to believe at this point.

GRACE: To Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, "In Session." Jean, after taking a listen to all of these newly obtained jailhouse recordings, what is she talking about a plea deal? Who has offered her, if anybody, jail for three years, or is that just something she dreamed up behind bars?

JEAN CASAREZ, "IN SESSION": Or is this something her attorney has talked to her about? Well, what`s interesting, Nancy, she`s charged with eight felony counts, charged as an adult with prescription drug trafficking. She`s saying that she will enter a plea deal as a youthful offender. That`s a juvenile. And that means she would go to a juvenile institution until she is 21, and then she said she`d get out on probation. So that`s what she`s believing. But with these counts, does she really even know what the reality is?

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers -- Eleanor Odom, prosecutor, Atlanta, Renee Rockwell, veteran defense attorney out of Atlanta, Peter Odom, defense attorney also out of Atlanta.

To you, Peter Odom. There is no -- first of all, it sounds to me like her idea that she`s getting from a jailhouse lawyer -- in other words, somebody that`s been around the block several times and thinks they know the system, telling her what she can hope to get on these drug charges. What do you make of it?

PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think that what she`s talking about, a three-year sentence or a boot camp sentence, is probably what`s going to happen with her. Nancy, keep it in perspective. All the drugs that she sold in their entirety could fit in a Ziploc bag, in a quart-lock Zip-size -- Ziploc bag, at that.

GRACE: Well, hold it!

PETER ODOM: It`s $4,000 worth of drugs.

GRACE: Wait! Wa-wait! Wait! You are misleading the viewers! First of all, Elizabeth, please pull up the video of Ms. Croslin doing a drug deal. Yes, it would only fill up a Ziploc bag. But it`s because it`s tiny, tiny...

PETER ODOM: Right.

GRACE: ... Oxycodone and Oxycontin pills, Eleanor...

PETER ODOM: Right.

GRACE: ... so you can fill up a bag with, like, a thousand of those.

PETER ODOM: Right, and that...

ELEANOR ODOM: Exactly. And remember, it`s a trafficking amount. That`s a lot of drugs, Nancy.

GRACE: What about it, Renee?

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: And not only that, Nancy, but eight different counts. Now, at the end of the day, a three-year sentence in a boot camp is not unreasonable. But she`s going to have to come to the table with something, and it`s going to have to be something about the disappearance of the baby.

GRACE: You are seeing video right now of undercover police surveillance from a pinhole camera inside a police undercover car, Misty Croslin leading the drug sale. And there you go with the first Ziploc bag full of illegal drugs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: Hey. I`m in the car with him. Where do you want me to meet you?

I haven`t seen him.

HANK CROSLIN: Well, he said he didn`t -- he wasn`t going to leave you, he`s going to stick with you to the end.

MISTY CROSLIN: OK.

HANK CROSLIN: He just -- he just wishes that you would be straight with him because he`s your lawyer and he`s not going to do nothing to harm you.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know. I am, though.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN: If you could do something to help yourself, man, you would be home with us.

MISTY CROSLIN: Daddy, I -- there`s nothing I can do. I`ve told them everything, told them everything I know. If I knew anything else, they would know. Really. They would.

I don`t want to be here, man. I don`t want to be at this place. This place is not nowhere I want to be. It`s not scary or nothing, it`s just I don`t want to be here. I want to be able to do my -- have my own freedom and not treated like a dog. Of course I do.

I just want them to do whatever they`re going to do with me, and let`s get it done and over with because I`m tired of sitting in this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) jail. I mean, OK, what`s the point of me sitting in the jail? I could be at home sitting, doing the same thing, waiting for court, you know? I don`t understand. Now I have to wait another frickin` no telling how long for court.

HANK CROSLIN: You`re headed for a long haul, baby, hard road. I just wish you would have listened to me in the beginning.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know. I wish I would have, too. That first day when you were -- when you said that, I should have just listened and I wouldn`t be in this mess.

HANK CROSLIN: That`s why I cussed you out and everything.

MISTY CROSLIN: I have $1.3 million...

HANK CROSLIN: And you told me to mind my own business. Cussed me out and told me to mind my own business.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know I did.

HANK CROSLIN: You was my business.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know. I know. I wish -- you know, I wish my bond wasn`t this high because I could bond out.

HANK CROSLIN: Sure. Yes, it`s your first time ever getting in trouble, you know?

MISTY CROSLIN: My first time ever being in trouble, they`re going to put me at $1.3 million.

HANK CROSLIN: That`s because they think...

MISTY CROSLIN: I know.

HANK CROSLIN: ... you know more than what you`re saying.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Out to Marlaina Schiavo, our producer on the story. Marlaina, what is she -- why is she contacting the governor?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: She said that she`s going to write to the governor because she doesn`t like how she`s being treated in jail. She`s in protective custody, and she thinks that that`s a punishment. Meanwhile, we spoke to the jail, and it`s for her protection because if they put her in general population, she might get hurt. So -- and she also says that she doesn`t like the food, Nancy, and she wants him to look into it.

GRACE: Doesn`t like the food and she wants the governor to look into it. OK. Renee -- Renee Rockwell, everything she writes to the governor will be admissible in court.

ROCKWELL: Yes, but I`m pretty sure that she`s just going to be writing about the food conditions. And Nancy, everything that she`s writing to anybody is going to be admissible in court, unless she`s writing to her attorney. So all these letters that she`s sending to all these relatives about what`s going on, what happened, what didn`t happen, those are absolutely fair game for the prosecution.

GRACE: To Dr. Jeff Gardere, psychologist, author of "Love Prescription." Dr. Jeff, here`s the bottom line. When you see her talking to her father, saying, I`ve told them everything I know, and breaking down crying and talking about wanting to go home, you`ve got to put that against the backdrop of four failed polygraphs, a failed voice stress test, and either a refusal or inability to go under hypnosis. If she really didn`t know anything, she wouldn`t be failing four different polygraphs -- four polygraphs!

JEFF GARDERE, PSYCHOLOGIST: Absolutely. This is a woman who`s not only immature, young woman who`s not only immature, but also a sociopath. We can just look at the fact that she was involved with Haleigh Cummings, the way that she was, the way that she didn`t really take care of her. And then finally, with the eyes of the world looking at you, Nancy, knowing law enforcement is monitoring you, then you get involved in drug deals. This is insanity.

GRACE: Jean Casarez, the reality is, looking at her, you want to believe her. You want to believe anyone that`s talking and take them at face value and believe them. But you can`t because we know that she flunked four polygraphs. Private polygraphs, police polygraphs, voice stress test, you name it, she flunked it.

CASAREZ: Now, let`s add more facts to what you just said. She just said in these recently released jailhouse tapes, basically, without naming a name -- she said she knows who did whatever happened to Haleigh, that he, singular, is walking around free while she`s in there. You hear her father respond that from the very beginning, they`ve told that to law enforcement. They`ve done nothing. And we know Art Harris has clued us in to who "he" is. Well, if police have done nothing, that`s because they have no probable cause, they have no evidence at all of this lone male person.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN: Well, as soon as they get this Haleigh case wrapped up, they`ll let us alone. I understand. I understand them to an extent, you know? I understand they want to find Haleigh. And I want them to find Haleigh, too, and find out who did this to Haleigh. I don`t care who it is. Well...

MISTY CROSLIN: Well, of course, but they don`t have to do this, like, this ruining of our life!

HANK CROSLIN: ... I think we let them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN: You just got to get your butt out of there. Do whatever you got to do to get out of there, Misty.

MISTY CROSLIN: I am, Daddy. I want out of here so bad. They can put me on an ankle bracelet, you know? That`s even -- that would even -- you know, being in jail, this isn`t even a lesson, OK? If I`m outside, out in the open and knowing I can`t leave the house, you know, that`s even tempting.

HANK CROSLIN: Well, they did that to somebody -- when your mom was in court last time, there was this girl and a guy got caught selling some pills to an undercover cop, and they gave them two years` house arrest and two years` probation.

MISTY CROSLIN: That`s -- I would love for that, man. Give me two years probation and two years house arrest, man? Give me six years, I don`t care!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Leonard Padilla, bounty hunter who offered to bail Croslin out of jail. Of course, her attorney would have nothing to do with it because his condition was she help tell him what happened the night Haleigh went missing. Leonard Padilla joining us out of Sacramento via Skype. What do you make of the now bombshell that she`s flunked a fourth polygraph? There`s no way around it, she is lying.

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: Well, Nancy, I don`t think she could tell the truth and pass. Her mind is so convoluted with what happens in her life, especially that particular evening, that there`s people that have many, many doubts as to whether she could pass a lie detector test even if she told the truth.

Now, Art Harris says that Tommy took a lie detector test Thursday, which obviously hasn`t been publicized. If he`d have passed it -- if he took it Thursday and he passed it, his attorney would be all over the media with it.

GRACE: Man, you`re not kidding.

PADILLA: So if he did take one Thursday -- if he took one Thursday and it ain`t been publicized for the past week...

GRACE: Yes, it can`t be good.

PADILLA: ... I can only wonder what happened.

GRACE: Paul Penzone, let`s talk about what Padilla just said -- Paul Penzone joining us out of Phoenix, director of prevention program Childhelp.org, former sergeant with the Phoenix PD. Paul, I think even if you were stoned out of your brain that night, you still would be telling the truth this many months later on a polygraph test when you say, I don`t remember. I did the laundry. I went to sleep. She was lying four feet away from me. I don`t think that being high as a kite the night of the incident would prevent her from passing a polygraph this many months later.

PAUL PENZONE, CHILDHELP.ORG: You`re absolutely correct because it`s about telling the truth, not so much her ability to remember every detail. As you know, I was a narcotics detective for many years, and I`ve interviewed hundreds if not thousands of people. She lacks any remorse, any conflict whatsoever in what occurred because she`s hiding something for herself still.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: They got me where they want me because that`s what they did. I didn`t go out doing that, you know?

HANK CROSLIN: You just fell into their game, Ronald`s and their game.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF HARDY, PUTNAM COUNTY SHERIFF: At this point, I`m comfortable to go ahead and say that I`m going to call it a homicide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If somebody had something to do with it, let them fry. So be it.

NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: What, Miss Hollars, could be their possible motivation for killing a 5-year-old girl?

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY AND TOMMY CROSLIN`S GRANDMOTHER: I still don`t know. Those three grandkids of mine is involved in this, and I don`t know why. But I sure would like to know why.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sources telling CNN affiliate WJXT that two cinder blocks have been taken out of the St. Johns River. Forensic testing now taking place.

HARDY: I`m not going to discuss the particular items that I`ve taken for analysis.

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: The cops said there was a whole bunch of bricks about 50 feet away. But I`ve never seen any bricks at all.

HARDY: I think she`s come to realize that, you know, she`s in trouble.

HOLLARS: She said Joe Overstreet and Tommy wrapped the rope around Haleigh and carried her to the dock at the St. Johns River, and put a block around the other end of the rope and throw her in the river.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Art Harris.com reporting law enforcement has found a yellow rope inside brother Tommy Croslin`s home.

TOMMY CROSLIN, SUSPECT ON HALEIGH`S DISAPPEARANCE: I can`t help you find her body. I don`t know where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Harris`s sources say it could be the possible murder weapon.

MISTY CROSLIN: We are like dogs in here in cages.

HANK CROSLIN: Yeah, I know.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m serious. They make us -- we`re like -- everybody else is allowed to do you know, come out. We are dogs in here.

HANK CROSLIN: Well, don`t. I might be in there myself here real soon. And your mom.

MISTY CROSLIN: They treating us like we`re dogs. I really am. I`m starting to go off. I`m serious. Is it trafficking when you go state to state or place to place? Come on.

HANK CROSLIN: No. Trafficking I guess is just selling. But you -- it wasn`t you selling, anyways.

MISTY CROSLIN: Exactly.

HANK CROSLIN: I know that, and they know that. But they just -- they`ve got -- they got you. They picked --

MISTY CROSLIN: They got me, but they ain`t got me for all of them.

HANK CROSLIN: They targeted you and they got you.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know.

HANK CROSLIN: That`s all it was about.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know. I`d be all right because when I get done and get out there are -- I`m going to do what I`ve got to do, but I`m not doing -- I`m not taking the ride for all these charges, dad. I`m not. I`m not taking it. Because I didn`t do all of it. That`s not right. It`s not at all. It makes me angry when I think about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: OK. That is B.S., Art Harris. She did do it. We`ve got it on video. My point is forget about the drugs, which we`re about to show you her doing the deal. You`ve got Ron Cummings in the back seat riding along.

Liz, do you have the sound that goes with that? Yes, no, maybe.

Liz, do you have the sound?

OK. Pump it up so we can hear it. She`s counting out the drugs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not an accountant.

MISTY CROSLIN: Oh, man. Five minutes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: She looks like she`s high as a kite right there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: Hi. I`m in the car with him. Where do you want me to meet you? You want me to just go to my house?

Yeah, I`ll go to --

Oh, Lord, please don`t let --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, don`t do that.

MISTY CROSLIN: So this other dude, you don`t want to get him --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he`s got what?

MISTY CROSLIN: 20 of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 20 of them.

MISTY CROSLIN: So five times -- or 20 times five would be --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 25.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me -- I`ll call my brother-in-law, and see how much time before they`re planning on going. Going to do like last time, drop them at --

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m mobile. (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Usually.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: So Art Harris, her denying this over and over to her father. She`s on video. We`re about to show you more. My point is if she`s so convincing, crying and anguished, that she didn`t sell dope, what about her denial she had anything to do with Misty`s disappearance? Excuse me, with Haleigh`s disappearance.

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Well, Nancy, she`s trying to rewrite the subtitles of what we`ve actually seen with our own eyes here. And, you know, 80 percent of the times, according to statistics, the last person or family members who have seen a child are somehow involved, according to the FBI. So she is denying and denying. But you know, deception may just be in her DNA, Nancy. And no one can tell if she`s telling the truth about anything. She grew up this way. Her grandmother blames her parents. I`ve talked to her, Flora Hollars, in Tennessee, for how she was raised. And this is just something that --

GRACE: OK, Art, Art, Art, please, do not start about how it`s her mommy and daddy`s fault and it`s her grandparents and they said this. No, they were not there in the home the night Haleigh went missing. So don`t throw any psychobabble on me. This is -- you are right. Statistically, the last person with the child is responsible for what befell them.

And I want to go to Paul Penzone on that out of Phoenix, Arizona. She`s the last one with her. Her story doesn`t make sense. She`s failed four polygraphs. Her story has changed. It has altered. The many times she tells it, it changes.

What does that say to you, Penzone?

PAUL PENZONE, CHILDHELP`S DIRECTOR OF PREVENTION PROGRAMS: Well, we have to be honest with ourselves and say there are people, as your earlier guest stated, that are sociopaths. They have no moral fiber. They don`t care about others other than themselves. So she`s willing to lie at all costs to save her own soul. If she`s not involved in this, I would be amazed. I would put every year of my experience in law enforcement on the fact that she is involved in the disappearance of this beautiful baby.

GRACE: To Dr. Michael Hunter, forensic pathologist, medical examiner, joining us out of New York tonight.

Dr. Hunter, could there be any evidence left on the body of Haleigh Cummings even if, worst case scenario, she were left out in the elements?

DR. MICHAEL HUNTER, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Well, if she`s left out in the elements, then given the time frame, she`s going to be skeletal. And I think probably completely skeletal. I think what a medical examiner can do, an anthropologist can do, can define possibly what injuries maybe she sustained. Head trauma, penetrating and perforating wounds such as gunshot wounds and stab wounds. Other than that you`re really left to the circumstances behind her disappearance and her discovery. Now, as far as evidence, DNA, and so forth that may tie someone to it, I really doubt that that`s going to be possible.

GRACE: And to you, Eleanor Odom, what do you make of it?

ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: Well, I completely agree, Nancy, you`re not going to find that. But that doesn`t mean a person can`t be prosecuted for murder even if there`s not as much evidence as we would like, DNA and that sort of thing. You can still hold them accountable.

GRACE: Plus finding the body out in the elements or perhaps partially buried would indicate, of course, it was not an accidental death.

Everybody, as we go to break, happy birthday to South Carolina friend Kathy Evans. She loves classic movies, reading, and the love of her life, great niece, Abby. Happy birthday, Kathy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN: I loved Haleigh.

MISTY CROSLIN: Me too.

HANK CROSLIN: And they know I didn`t have nothing to do with it. I was in the damn hospital. Why you going to treat me like that?

MISTY CROSLIN: Because that`s just -- they`re just assholes, man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m not taking the ride for all these charges, dad. I didn`t do all this. I`m not taking all these charges. I didn`t do all that. I`m not doing it. The ones I`m not doing anything, it was -- in the video is the one I`m not doing it. I`m not. I`m not. I`m taking that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) to trial because I`m not going down for something that I didn`t do. I should not be --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Renee Rockwell, have you noticed how she keeps referring to "he" as the kidnapper?

RENEE ROCKWELL: I noticed that. And I like the way she says, Nancy, that she`s not going to take it, she`s not going to take the rap for all that. Here`s the deal. You`ve got eight trafficking counts against you. The prosecutor, if she wants to go to trial, is going to get the strongest one. There`s not going to be a trial. Nancy, what these law enforcement people want and are begging for is just for one straight story. Right?

GRACE: Well, she`s --

ROCKWELL: And then she can bargain her way out of there. Maybe. But they just can`t get it from her.

GRACE: And I imagine the reason they`re not getting it from her, Peter Odom, is because it implicates her.

PETER ODOM: She`s scared of something more than she`s scared of the prosecutors and jail. And I can`t speculate as to what. But she clearly knows something that she`s not saying, and something very powerful is keeping her from saying it.

GRACE: I would think that something may be, Eleanor Odom, the Florida death penalty.

ELEANOR ODOM: Well, very well, because clearly she knows something about Haleigh. As we`ve all said she was the last one to see Haleigh alive.

GRACE: And statistically, Eleanor, what is the likelihood that somebody else came into that home and took the child with nobody waking up, nobody hearing anything, when the child was about three feet away from her?

ELEANOR ODOM: Highly unlikely. She knows something. And she can`t open her mouth without lying. It`s just disgusting, Nancy.

GRACE: Marlaina, what do you know?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY PRODUCER: Well, I do know that her attorney says he`s going to stick with her, but he is begging her to give her -- give him a straight story. And we also know that, Tommy, her brother, his lawyer dropped him as of yesterday because he doesn`t want to deal with this Haleigh thing anymore. He`s just going to represent him on the drug charges.

GRACE: Jean Casarez?

JEAN CASAREZ: Plea deal is right. Now, you know, Nancy, at the last hearing, I listened very closely, and I heard the judge say to Ronald`s attorney, now, you`re discussing something right now with the prosecutor, right? And he said, yes, we are. We`re not hearing that from Misty. That`s why they`re giving her the lie detector test. They want her to pass because they want information to be credible so they can help solve this case and give her probably a plea deal.

GRACE: What is your point about the prosecutor discussing what, a plea deal with Ronald Cummings?

CASAREZ: Yes. I think that -- I mean, we -- I think this is the time that something could happen if they could give -- if she could give them information, if Misty could. That`s the whole point that they`re trying to do.

GRACE: But Art Harris, Jean is correct. You do hear that. But Art Harris, if she keeps flunking polys, they can`t take anything she says to the bank, nothing.

HARRIS: That`s right, Nancy. They need someone to corroborate just an ounce, a shred of what she`s saying for her to be credible, for her information to be useful to anybody. No prosecutor can rely on anything she says right now.

GRACE: And to Dr. Michael Hunter out of New York, forensic pathologist, medical examiner. Dr. Hunter, just finding the body alone, depending on where it`s found and the condition in which it`s found, would likely be enough to support a murder charge.

HUNTER: Well, certainly you`d look at that, and given the circumstances, you would definitely classify a case like that as a homicide maybe by unspecified means if you`re not able to identify the particular cause. But I think anyone would be able to be comfortable with a homicide ruling.

GRACE: To Dr. Jeff Gardere, psychologist.

Jeff, we`ve talked about lie detector tests and the ability to lie. It would be very tough, in my opinion, for this girl, Misty Croslin, to beat a lie detector test. In fact, she`s flunked four of them. What does that say to you in when you take a look at her on these secretly recorded jailhouse tapes crying and crying about how she wasn`t involved.

DR. JEFF GARDERE, PSYCHOLOGIST: To me this is a very typical example. And Nancy, you said this early, you were right on it. If she can tell this boldfaced or bald-faced lie about what happened with this drug deal, then what does that tell you as to what she knows with Haleigh Cummings? She knows something, but she just does not have the ability to tell the truth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN: It`s stupid. It`s just because who -- it`s just because of who we are. I mean, they`re messing with me about my grandkids. There`s no sense in that. I never hurt no kid, never would. I love my grandkids.

MISTY CROSLIN: That`s ridiculous.

HANK CROSLIN: If I found out somebody did hurt Haleigh, I`d be the first one to put a bullet in them. I don`t give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) if it was my son or who.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know.

HANK CROSLIN: But I know my son had nothing to do with it. I know for a fact.

HANK CROSLIN: They`re probably going to have us all in jail before it`s all over with.

MISTY CROSLIN: You`ve got to stop saying that. No, they`re not.

HANK CROSLIN: Well, that`s what they want.

MISTY CROSLIN: You did nothing wrong. Mom did not do nothing wrong. I didn`t even do anything wrong. And they got me in here. I didn`t do nothing wrong. What they`re trying to get me that`s like, you know look at all the murderers and killers out here. They`re getting seven years in jail and (EXPLETIVE DELETED) like that. They arrest people that -- they shouldn`t be arrested. They shouldn`t be worried about (EXPLETIVE DELETED) like this. They should be worried about (EXPLETIVE DELETED) other (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

HANK CROSLIN: Drugs are bad business.

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes, it is. But I`m not what they say I am, man.

HANK CROSLIN: I know you`re not. And they know you`re not, too.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know.

HANK CROSLIN: They`re just -- let a little young girl fall into some stupid game that they had.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know.

HANK CROSLIN: That`s how they work.

MISTY CROSLIN: Can`t wait just to get out of jail and just be home with y`all.

HANK CROSLIN: They`re there to brake, Misty. That`s what they`re there to do. And they ain`t going to be easy on you.

MISTY CROSLIN: They can`t --

HANK CROSLIN: When it comes to -- when it comes to an innocent child, that`s how they are. They just want to know where she`s at and what happened.

MISTY CROSLIN: Well, I can`t tell them that. If I could, I would.

HANK CROSLIN: The only charge they got on me is the only charge they`re ever going to get on me.

MISTY CROSLIN: Exactly. These are the only charges they`re going to have on me, too, because when I`m done, get out of here, I ain`t never doing nothing wrong again.

HANK CROSLIN: I ain`t no damn thief. I ain`t never been no thief.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know. I can`t believe they won`t let mom come see me.

HANK CROSLIN: Because of this other charge.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know.

HANK CROSLIN: That`s a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) charge, too.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know.

HANK CROSLIN: But they`re going to find out. They got cameras there. They can find out what happened. Wal-Mart should have cameras.

MISTY CROSLIN: Oh, they do.

HANK CROSLIN: The lady, the lady said "oh, they`re Croslins." That`s the reason why she was saying that (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Your mom didn`t steal no (EXPLETIVE DELETED) purse. I`m sorry. I got to watch my mouth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And now CNN Heroes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I entered the E.R. from a severe cold. I was 24 weeks pregnant. I had H1N1.

They put me in a coma to stabilize me. I was in a coma for roughly six weeks.

When I woke up, my husband said we had to take out the baby. And I immediately clenched my stomach, but he settled me down and was like, "No, no, he`s OK. He`s down in the NICU.

DR. SEAN DANESHMAND, CNN HERO: My daughter was born prematurely. And to see people hearing there`s something wrong with their baby, and then to have to worry about everything else around them, I mean, life doesn`t stop.

I`m Dr. Sean Daneshmand. I started an organization that provides assistance to families with babies in the NICU. I wanted to take some of the suffering that these women go through away from them so they can really focus on their baby.

It`s emotionally draining. And the way the economy now is, people are suffering.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn`t think this was going to be as hard. She`s going to do it. She`s going to be OK.

DANESHMAND: They need extra money for clothing, diapers, medical expenses, rent. These are families that, all of a sudden, in a time of crisis, now need extra help. And that`s what we`re about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They helped us with our mortgage, with gas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something as simple as gas cards to be able to make it to the NICU every day just helped tremendously.

DANESHMAND: I can`t think of any other time in one`s life where you need someone to be there for you.

You`re good? You`ve got to stay strong right now.

I`ve got a very special rule in life. I never thought I`d be here. And, my God, I`m having a great time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: What a week in America`s courtrooms. Take a look at the stories and, more important, the people who touched our lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Items have been recovered at the search site.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cinder blocks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cinder blocks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those cinder blocks --

HARDY: I`m not going to discuss the particular items that I`ve taken for analysis.

MISTY CROSLIN: I didn`t do anything with that little girl.

HARDY: I will not be mentioning any names at this time.

HOLLARS: I was told by Misty --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty, she was the last one to see our daughter.

HOLLARS: She said, Nanny, I`m telling you everything I know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a huge river.

HOLLARS: Tied Haleigh up with a yellow rope --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He could have potentially been put in.

HOLLARS: And tied a brick of block to the rope.

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes, it was brick, like it was a brick on the floor.

HOLLARS: And dropped her into the St. John`s River.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`ve never seen any bricks at all.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Haleigh Cummings is most likely deceased.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Law enforcement searching for 31-year-old missing Ohio mom, Tiffany Tehan. Friends and family fear she may be in danger.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police hope anyone can lead them to the man in these pictures, who they are calling, a person of interest in the Tiffany Tehan case. It`s from convenience store in East Dayton.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Tiffany went shopping Saturday morning around 9:00 to look for clothes for her 1-year-old daughter. At around 11:00 am, Tiffany vanishes.

HARDY: It`s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

MISTY CROSLIN: Dad, there`s nothing.

HARDY: We were willing to go ahead and take the effort and time to go look for that needle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who was with her, the last person with her? She was.

MISTY CROSLIN: I woke up, she was gone. The back door was wide open.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is the one that holds the key information to finding out what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tiffany has been found safely in Miami, Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Now, after days of tension and frantic searching, missing church mom, Tiffany Tehan has been found.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She may have made some mistakes, but everyone does.

GRACE: Haleigh`s great grandmother, and Misty Croslin`s grandmother take side.

ANNETTE SYKES, HALEIGH`S GREAT GRANDMOTHER: Ronald being responsible because he left the children with her, and she was all strung out, but I was there and she was not strung out.

HOLLARS: I have a question for you. Why didn`t Theresa take those kids home with her when Misty offered to pay for her to take them home?

SYKES: I was not aware that she did.

HOLLARS: She most certainly did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know why she would want her to implicate three of her grandchildren? It`s just very sad to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know. Does she have any contracts with any newspaper or any tabloid?

HOLLARS: I have not made a penny off this story. I have told exactly what those two kids have told me, and if none of them down there don`t like it, they can kiss where the sun don`t shine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE: Let`s stop and remember Army Private First Class Omar Torres, 20, Chicago, Illinois, killed Iraq. Accepted as Ohio State scholar. Left studies to enlist, worked as hard on his sleeve, would give you the shirt off his back with a smile that lit up the room. Love sports, Chicago Bears, trained to being a politician.

Left behind grieving parents, Doris and Oscar. A veteran firefighter. Sister, Aurelia (ph), brother, Oscar.

Omar Torres, American hero.

Thanks to our guest, but especially to you for being with us tonight. And a special good night for the New York control room.

Good night Brett, Liz, Squeaky, Evil.

Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.

END

http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/23/ng.01.html

[Sassycat]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/27/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Croslin`s Drug Co-Defendant Sentenced to 15 Years

Aired April 27, 2010 - 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. The last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who goes on to flunk four polygraphs. Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and stepmother Croslin both booked on drug trafficking.

Suddenly, search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters all combing the St. John`s River, Croslin rousted out of jail, taken down to the dock, motioning out in handcuffs to a specific spot for police. Cops announce 5-year-old Haleigh likely dead. Evidence, including two cinderblocks, pulled from the muddy waters of the St. John`s.

As the search for little Haleigh`s entire body and the murder weapon goes on, bombshell tonight. Message to Misty Croslin! You`re not getting youthful offender, probation or a light sentence at drug court. You will do hard time! In the last hours, the trial judge brings down the hammer on Croslin`s co-defendant in the drug case. Nineteen-year-old Hope Sykes, basically along for the ride, gets a whopping 15 years hard jail time plus a $100,000 fine, the family breaking down in court, then turning angry, going after the camera in open court. That`s 15 years hard jail time for just one -- repeat, one -- hand-to-hand drug sale. Croslin charged with eight sales. Eight times 15, people, 120 years behind bars, Croslin!

With Sykes facing years in the female penitentiary, is she now set to be the state`s secret weapon against Misty Croslin? What does she know? This as Tommy Croslin`s own lawyer says Tommy Croslin can ID Haleigh`s killer. Listen, under Florida law, party to a crime, they`re all set to stew in the same pot together for the little girl`s murder!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: Ronald`s family`s not as good as everybody thinks they are.

HOPE SYKES, RONALD`S COUSIN: I want to be a physical therapist. I want to go to college. I wanted to graduate school.

MISTY CROSLIN: They all take pills. They all do (EXPLETIVE DELETED), every last one of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, man!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cousin of Ronald Cummings was in court today...

SYKES: Guess what, Mom? Guess what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... where she was sentenced to serve 15 years behind bars on drug charges.

SYKES: I`m not going to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pimp 15 years on no (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pills I ain`t touched!

MISTY CROSLIN: Nineteen-year-old Hope Sykes elected to plead no contest...

KATRINA BELCHER, HOPE`S MOTHER: (INAUDIBLE) no contest...

SYKES: Did you want me to say not guilty, no contest, what?

Me and my mom get into arguments. I say things I don`t mean.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... and was still given over a decade behind bars.

SYKES: I`m telling you right now, they think I`m bad now, wait until I get out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what does this mean for Misty Croslin, who faces over 100 years in prison if she`s convicted?

MISTY CROSLIN: I didn`t even like pills barely, you know?

-- just jumped in and took everything I had!

SYKES: That back view only shows Misty having the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pills!

MISTY CROSLIN: ... fifty, sixty...

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: They say you sold -- sold over 300 pills to the undercover.

MISTY CROSLIN: ... seventy, eighty...

That weekend was a lie.

-- ninety...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will this get her and her co-defendants to open up about what happened to Haleigh?

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: They try to say that this Haleigh stuff had nothing to do with it.

MISTY CROSLIN: Me being in jail has nothing to do with Haleigh.

TOMMY CROSLIN: That was all it had to do with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And breaking news tonight, live, Idaho. Human remains found, the skeletal remains of a female, an adult female, now discovered. Is it missing 28-year-old mom of two Susan Cox Powell? Cox Powell last seen by her husband and two little boys when Daddy suddenly announces around midnight he`s taking the boys, ages 4 and 2, camping in the snow at midnight, freezing temperatures, at an undisclosed location. He says when they all get home, Mommy`s gone.

But now we learn the remains could be those of two other young women who vanish into thin air. Who are they? The remains right now in autopsy. At this hour, we are on standby for a positive ID.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Questions swirling. Just who do the remains found in Idaho belong to? Which one of these three missing women could it be?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could it be that of missing Utah mom Susan Powell?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just miss her and we want her back.

GRACE: It`s about three hours from the Utah home where 28-year-old Susan Powell was last seen alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just dirt, and a perfect place to dump a body. They`ll have to do some tests -- dental and DNA -- to find out if this really is Susan.

GRACE: Josh Powell says he`s taking his two boys camping, age 2 and 4, at midnight?

JOSH POWELL, HUSBAND: A lot of times, I just go camping with my boys. You know, not -- nothing big. I just go overnight.

GRACE: In the snow?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have any idea what happened to her?

JOSH POWELL: No. Thank you. And any help to try to find her would - - would be appreciated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Appreciated? This guy is so suspicious!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cops also focusing on two other missing women, 21- year-old mother of three Stephanie Eldredge, who went missing suddenly, leaving her 4-month-old daughter, car and shoes behind, also looking at missing 20-year-old Amber Hoopes, who said good night to her family at 10:30. Just three hours later, she was gone, the TV and lights still on in her room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they`re indicating it`s badly decomposed...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If this person went missing December 7th and has now been discovered in a snow field in April, there`s a significant chance that that person would be quite well preserved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police are holding things close to their vest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you`ve got soft tissue, you would be able to see evidence of a knife wound or a gunshot wound.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody killed the woman there and dumped her. The only question is who she is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Message to Misty Croslin. You`re not getting youthful offender. You`re not getting probation. You`re not getting a light sentence at drug court. You will do hard jail time. In the last hours, the trial judge brings down the hammer on Croslin`s co-defendant in the drug case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYKES: If they`re going to try to lock me up over being in the car, then it`s whatever. I`m over it. I`m ready to go off and do my time and whatever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ronald Cummings`s cousin, Hope Sykes, who was arrested as part of a drug sting involving Misty Croslin, pled no contest to drug charges and received 15 years in prison today.

SYKES: I`d rather go to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) prison. You got a lot (EXPLETIVE DELETED) up. I`m not going to boot camp.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sykes is only charged with one count of trafficking prescription pills, while her co-defendant, Misty Croslin, has eight counts of trafficking.

SYKES: Well, I ain`t doing no damn six years mandatory nothing. They can kiss my ass. You might as well stick me with 15.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which causes many to wonder if this new development will force Croslin to finally reveal what happened to Haleigh.

SYKES: The back view only shows Misty having the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pills because Misty cupped two pills, decided to say the dope boy (EXPLETIVE DELETED) her, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) them over.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m scared. I don`t want to get set up for nothing. I`m, like, I cannot get in trouble for nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what does this mean for the other co- defendants? Are they going to be more willing to talk now?

TOMMY CROSLIN: I know in the paper, it says I`m facing 15 years in prison, but that`s a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) lie. The damn police said, You`re facing three years in prison unless you help us find Haleigh. I said, I can`t help you find her body. I don`t know where she is.

SYKES: We`re already ten steps in front of the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) game if everybody knows how to pick up their damn steps!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: I guess she told him. She said, Don`t stick me with any F-ing six years, you might as well give me 15. Well, honey bun, you got the 15. Keep talking, you might get some more. I`m talking about co-defendant Sykes, the judge just bringing down the hammer and slamming her with 15 years behind bars. Apparently, this was not a plea deal because her family completely nutted up in court, crying, screaming, even one going for one of the cameras in the courtroom. Hope Sykes, big talker behind bars, talked herself right out of a sweet plea deal.

Out to Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, in session. What happened?

JEAN CASAREZ, "IN SESSION": Well, this was sentencing day, you`re right, for the cousin of Ronald Cummings, and she was charged with one felony count of prescription drug trafficking. And what that includes, Nancy...

GRACE: Wa-wait, wa-wait, wa-wait, wa-wait! Jean -- Rosie, New York control room, I want to see Sykes. I want to see the undercover video of her propped up -- no, no, no, not her in court. I want to see her propped up there in the back seat.

Let me tell you something, Jean Casarez. If I saw somebody smoking a joint, I would leave and call police. There is Ms. Sykes, propped up in the back seat, going right along with an undercover drug sale to -- with a drug sale to an undercover cop. And she says she didn`t have anything to do with it. Go ahead, Jean.

CASAREZ: Well, Nancy, let`s look at the law, because that`s on January 13th, by the way, that that undercover surveillance tape was rolling. And under the law, true, you can sell, you can purchase, you can manufacture. But guess what? You can also possess the prescription drugs, but you don`t have to actually hold them. You can actually just be in the car and have knowledge of what`s happening. And that led to today`s sentencing. She pleaded no contest, but the judge didn`t really have discretion because it`s 15 years mandatory minimum.

GRACE: And another thing that Jean Casarez is alluding to -- and I`ve got it right here on the felony warrant for Hope Sykes, who could be now the state`s secret weapon against Misty Croslin. She and Croslin, like this. They`re even selling dope together. You don`t think Misty Croslin has blabbed to her, her drug-dealing buddy? If she knows anything, looking at 15 years in the ladies` pen, don`t you think she`s going to sing?

Here, Jean Casarez, it says, as you`ve described, sell, manufacture, deliver, bring into Florida or an actual or constructive possession of 14 grams or more -- "actual or constructive possession."

Unleash the lawyers, Raymond Giudice, Hugo Rodriguez. Also with us, Jim Werter, attorney for Tommy Croslin. And of course, Jean Casarez, also an attorney and a reporter.

Ray Giudice, "active/constructive" -- what that means is, this is my writing pen, it`s mine, I have actual possession, it`s in my hand. If I left it in the makeup room or in the courtroom, it`s still mine. It`s constructive possession, correct?

RAYMOND GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Correct. And she`s -- they`ve got her on this trafficking charge. And I agree with you, when she hits prison and starts looking at real prison time -- keep in mind, she`s been in the county jail. That`s light duty. If she ever knows anything or wants to spit it out, now`s the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYKES: I really didn`t want to speak about the case. And you know, my mom asked me what`s going on because I was waiting to call her the next day. I didn`t want to call her that day because I saw her in court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BELCHER: You`re lucky. You got April. A lot of other people got June. So you got April, Ronald got May, and Misty`s got June.

SYKES: I don`t know.

BELCHER: Do you know Misty qualifies for the same thing you do, that Misty can get the same thing you do? I don`t see how, but her attorney, Kim, asked the judge if she can have it.

SYKES: Well...

BELCHER: But she ain`t going to give it to her because Judge Larue (ph) looks like he don`t like her. He acts like he ain`t got no use for her.

SYKES: Well, did you see how he acted towards me? I mean, God, he asked me if I had a job. I`m not going to stand up and say, Hey, yes, I was a stripper. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) no! Ain`t going to do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, do you want to -- you want to hop in?

MISTY CROSLIN: Baby, get in. Get in. Who is that?

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: Unlock the door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

MISTY CROSLIN: I know that`s somebody. I know her. I just don`t know who she is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve got them -- I`ve got them 10 in little -- little (INAUDIBLE) baggies, if you want to count them up real quick and make sure that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) there.

CUMMINGS: I`m positive they are, man.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There should be a hundred there.

CUMMINGS: (INAUDIBLE)

MISTY CROSLIN: ... 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 -- 100 in there.

CUMMINGS: 100 in here. They`re all in 10-packs. There`s 100.

MISTY CROSLIN: There should be 10 in each one.

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So just whenever. I mean...

CUMMINGS: It`s going to take a couple days for me to get rid of 200 of them, now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I mean -- I mean -- I mean, I got -- I`ve got two weeks to play with, dude. So I mean, you know, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) two weeks, whatever.

CUMMINGS: OK. I`ll get it for you no, problem. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) two weeks I can make the money to pay for them and eat it myself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

MISTY CROSLIN: Uh-oh!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Hang on. Hey, do me a favor...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground! Get on the ground! Go, go, go, go!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: In the last hours, the trial judge brings down the hammer on Hope Sykes, one of Misty Croslin`s co-defendants in the drug case. Behind bars, she actually said -- and it`s caught on tape. Please cue it up for me, Rosie -- You think I`m bad now, wait until I get out of here. She was saying, I`m not going to do six years behind bars, I`m not doing boot camp, they might as well stick me with F-ing 15 years behind bars.

Well, they did, in the last hours, bedlam breaking out in the courtroom upon sentencing. Obviously, this was not a plea deal. They did not realize that this 19-year-old girl was getting 15 years behind bars. What does it mean?

Let`s go straight out to Ellie Jostad, our producer on the story. What does it mean, Ellie? What does it mean for Misty Croslin?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, it sounds like Hope Sykes is actually the low man on this alleged drug dealing totem pole. She was only facing one charge. It was a lesser amount than some of her co- defendants. Now, Misty Croslin is facing the most charges. She`s got eight felony drug possession charges against her and a mandatory minimum of 25 years behind bars. So she`s looking at a lot more jail time than Hope Sykes was.

GRACE: You`re not kidding. And today in court, isn`t it true, Marlaina Schiavo, that when they were doing the sentencing in front of the judge -- this is what we call a blind plea, it seems to me. There`s not a deal in place. The defendant goes up and takes a plea with the judge, and the judge sentences as he or she sees fit. There`s not a deal in the works. Didn`t they play back what she said behind bars?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: They did. They played back that angry conversation that she had with her mother, saying that, They think -- you know, They think I`m bad now, just see if they try to put me through boot camp, you know, I`ll be even worse when I get out. And it didn`t really play well in her favor.

And now, as you know, Nancy, as Ellie was saying, Misty Croslin is facing way many more charges than Hope was, and Hope really wasn`t implicated in anything with Haleigh Cummings. So now Misty was thinking she was going to get out, and I think the reality`s setting in.

GRACE: I think it is, too, Marlaina Schiavo. Let`s take a peek at what happened in court in the last few hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYKES: I`d rather go to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) prison. You got a lot (EXPLETIVE DELETED) up. I`m not going to boot camp because I`ll be -- I`m telling you right now, they think I`m bad now, wait until I get out of that.

BELCHER: Let me explain something to you, Hope. You screw up on anything at this point in the game, you will get 15 years.

SYKES: Well, I ain`t doing no damn 6 years mandatory nothing. They can kiss my ass. You might as well stick me with 15.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: That`s a lady.

Now, listen, what you saw was her standing in court as this was getting played back to the judge. This is as her lawyer is asking for a lenient sentence.

Back to the lawyers -- everybody, we`re taking your calls live -- Raymond Giudice, Hugo Rodriguez. Also with us, Jim Werter, attorney for Tommy Croslin. Also with us, of course, Jean Casarez, not only legal correspondent but attorney, as well.

Weigh in, Rodriguez.

HUGO RODRIGUEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The only way Ms. Sykes has any hope of ever getting out of jail is to cooperate with the state. It was a min- man. It wasn`t so blind. She had to know -- she had to know she was going to get 15. It`s a min-man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: I wish they would give me, like, house arrest, probation or something.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: I know. I got...

MISTY CROSLIN: Because you know, when I go to court, they might let me out if they -- they might let me out, and then I have to come back and - - when -- when -- you know?

LISA CROSLIN: I know. That`s what I`m saying. They might. You never know.

MISTY CROSLIN: I mean, I -- they could give me probation for 10 years. I don`t care.

LISA CROSLIN: I know. You got to get a place to live, too, sis.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BELCHER: I just wanted to make sure you understood what was going on, and that ain`t good because you pled no contest, and you don`t know what you`re pleading to. Now, from what I understood, I thought the one charge got dismissed if you took the trafficking charge.

SYKES: No, Mom. I have two charges still.

BELCHER: That`s not the way she explained it to me, but I`ll ask her again.

SYKES: What are you talking about? Like, I sat there and said no contest? I didn`t plead no contest. She pled no contest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Out to Nancy in Illinois. Hi, Nancy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: What`s your question, dear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you?

GRACE: I`m good, dear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, they said that they took Misty to the river and she pointed out that she knew where the body was thrown? Well, actually -- and then she told her grandmother that she took Junior and hid under the covers. I mean, she`s a pathetic liar.

GRACE: Well, under that scenario, I think what she was trying to say is that, according to Ms. Flora Hollars, the grandmother, that she heard an attack. Misty Croslin heard a physical sexual assault on little Misty -- excuse me, on little Haleigh, 5-year-old Haleigh, in the next room. Instead of interceding, she put the covers over her own head, and then, apparently, if she didn`t go along with them, knows where the body was dumped.

Is that your understanding, Jean Casarez?

CASAREZ: I think you`ve got it right. I think you do, Nancy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like I told her earlier, I`ll just give you a call when I`m done out there and start heading this way, and we`ll see what`s up at that point.

CUMMINGS: Yes. I can`t -- I mean, I don`t know if you do Roxies or whatever. I can get them. But they`re...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: I understand that you believe there`s a scenario in which little Haleigh was molested before she was murdered.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY CROSLIN AND JOE OVERSTREET`S GRANDMOTHER: I feel like that.

GRACE: Why?

HOLLARS: I just don`t know. But that`s what I think.

GRACE: Isn`t it true that there has been a scenario put out there and it had to come from behind bars that Misty Croslin heard the child in the next room screaming?

HOLLARS: Yes.

GRACE: Where did that come from?

HOLLARS: So did little Junior hear the couch bouncing.

GRACE: And my question is, where did that story come from?

HOLLARS: It came from Misty.

GRACE: What did she say?

HOLLARS: That she heard Haleigh in there crying.

GRACE: And who was in the room with Haleigh?

HOLLARS: I`m going to say Joe or Tommy, one.

GRACE: Or both?

HOLLARS: Or both.

GRACE: And what, if anything, did Misty Croslin do to take care of Haleigh?

HOLLARS: According to what she told me, when all this was going on, she had already been threatened by Joe and she grabbed Junior and got in the bed and they covered up their heads completely, and when she took the covers off of her head Haleigh was gone.

HOPE SYKES, RONALD CUMMINGS` COUSIN: I`d rather go to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) prison. You know? You got a lot (EXPLETIVE DELETED) up. I`m not going to boot camp because I`ll be -- I`m telling you right now, they think I`m bad now, wait until I get out of that.

KATRINA BELCHER: Let me explain something to you, Hope. You screw up on anything at this point in the game, you will get 15 years.

SYKES: Well, I ain`t doing no damn six years mandatory nothing. They can kiss my ass. You might as well stick me with 15.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: That`s Hope Sykes in court just a couple of hours ago. Oop, did I say that? Yes, you said it, and now you`ve got 15 years behind bars. Bottom line, what does it mean in the search for Haleigh? What does it mean to Misty Croslin, who actually thought she was going to get probation?

Straight out to a special guest joining us, Jim Werter. This is the attorney for Tommy Croslin. This is Misty Croslin`s brother.

Mr. Werter, thank you for being with us. What, if anything, or any way do you believe that today`s sentence will affect Tommy Croslin, your client, and Misty Croslin behind bars?

JIM WERTER, ATTORNEY FOR TOMMY CROSLIN: Well, as far as Tommy goes, it really is kind of irrelevant. First of all, as far as the cousin goes, I don`t know, I haven`t seen her score sheet, I don`t know her background. I can say that sometimes your client is their own worst enemy.

That tape recording of what she was saying in jail, I`m sure Judge Larue sitting on the bench just kind of rolled his eyes back on that one.

But as far as Tommy goes, it`s a whole different case and it`s -- you know, he has probably a different background.

I believe my minimum mandatory that I`m looking at is three years. I have not gotten full disclosure yet from the state as far as the evidence. There`s still another count out there that I`m waiting for disclosure on.

GRACE: Mr. Werter -- with us, everyone, Jim Werter, a well-respected attorney out of the Jacksonville, Florida area.

Mr. Werter, is it true that you have stated that your client can ID the killer, the person that took Haleigh?

WERTER: OK. That`s incorrect. What I stated was that he`s, first of all, not culpable but he does know what happened that night. I had been repeatedly saying that I cannot discuss the facts of the case because it`s an ongoing investigation and I`d like to see it come to a successful conclusion.

You being former in a way law enforcement by being a prosecutor, me being former law enforcement and a prosecutor, I`d like to see a successful end to this. And I think Tommy will come out very well with this.

GRACE: OK. Wait. Now you`re saying that your client knows what happened that night?

WERTER: Yes.

GRACE: What happened?

WERTER: I told you. I just told you. I cannot discuss the facts of the case because of the ongoing investigation. When I am dying for an arrest to be made in this case and I could be more forthcoming. But right now I have a good working relationship with law enforcement. I`m going to keep it that way.

GRACE: Out to the lines, Debbie, Wisconsin. Hi, Debbie.

DEBBIE, CALLER FROM WISCONSIN: Hi, Nancy. How are you?

GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?

DEBBIE: Well, I just am curious, is it just going to be continual nutcases coming out on this thing?

GRACE: I`m sorry. I couldn`t hear you. Repeat.

DEBBIE: I said is it just going to be a continual line of nutcases coming on this thing? I mean, I`d never even heard of this Sykes girl until today.

GRACE: Straight out to Jean Casarez. What about it, Jean?

JEAN CASAREZ, CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": She`s the cousin of Ronald Cummings, and she hasn`t probably been discussed a lot because she`s not central to Haleigh. But she is central to this case in that she was in the car, especially on January 13th, and charged with one count.

And the significance of that is she got 15 years and the others now will see the terms that they can get, especially Misty Croslin-Cummings, who law enforcement have honed in on, and that may be the answer in the end to what had happened to Haleigh.

GRACE: Joining us tonight out of San Francisco, Marc Klaas, the president and founder of KlaasKids Foundation.

Marc, where does this -- where does this all leave us? What happened in court in the last few hours in the search for Haleigh? What happened to Haleigh?

MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Well, that`s the big -- that`s the money question, isn`t it? And everything that`s happening is about that question.

And I think, Nancy, that unless somebody turns rather quickly on this, this case may never be solved. And these people will spend years if not decades behind bars.

But based upon past histories and their failure to have any kind of family loyalty, I suspect that both Tommy and Misty are right now trying to figure what they can do to turn this to their advantage so that they can disclose what happened to Haleigh and get out of having to spend all of those years behind bars, if that`s possible.

GRACE: To Dr. Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist, joining us out of New York, you saw Sykes`s demeanor in court. All right? And juxtapose that against what she was saying behind bars.

PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, she presents as a defiant, aggressive sociopathic 12-year-old, and then is the innocent sobbing little girl. And this is somebody who is really a sociopath and who has a defiant bravado that we see in much older, hardened criminals.

GRACE: Well, what do you make of the fact that these two were running buddies? Sykes is a running buddy of Misty Croslin`s. Don`t you think at some point Croslin discussed Haleigh`s disappearance with her?

SAUNDERS: I would expect that she might have bragged to Sykes. I don`t know that she would have discussed anything as a confidant because she`s pretty closed-lipped.

GRACE: Back to the lines, Lisa in Tennessee. Hi, Lisa.

LISA, CALLER FROM TENNESSEE: Hello.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?

LISA: Yes. Misty. Do you think it`s possible that she was so jealous of Haleigh that she wanted to be with Ronald Cummings and wanted Misty out of the picture?

GRACE: Excellent question. What about it, Dr. Saunders?

SAUNDERS: That makes an awful lot of sense. This is a person who`s impulsive when they`re not on drugs and you can only imagine how she behaves when she`s on drugs. She might have hated this little girl and just wanted her out of the way, so did something.

GRACE: To Ron Shindel, former NYPD deputy inspector.

Ron, do you believe that this harsh sentence handed down today -- and I`m not saying it was not deserved, I think the judge did the right thing. Do you think it`s part of strategy in order to get the others to break down?

Now that they see this woman, who`s basically a wing man. She`s riding along for the heck of it. She`s just there in the backseat during the drug sale. She got 15 years behind bars on one drug sale.

Misty Croslin`s looking at eight. This should make them come to their senses.

RON SHINDEL, FORMER NYPD DEPUTY INSPECTOR: I think it`s part of the strategy. But I also think it`s part of punishment for the contempt that she`s showing for the entire system.

She thinks this is a joke. They all think this is a joke. They`re all not thinking this thing through to where they should be and taking this serious. And I think that the court down there is finally getting serious with these folks and letting them know the full force that will come their way.

GRACE: To Dr. Joshua Perper, chief medical examiner, Broward County, author of "When to Call the Doctor."

Dr. Perper, as always, it`s a privilege to have you on the airwaves with us.

DR. JOSHUA PERPER, MEDICAL EXAMINER, AUTHOR OF "WHEN TO CALL THE DOCTOR": Thank you.

GRACE: Dr. Perper, if this scenario is true, the one that the grandmother swears she was told by Misty Croslin that the child was raped and that the body was thrown into this water, what if anything could we tell now?

Could we tell if a sex assault occurred on the 5-year-old?

PERPER: I don`t think that considering the period of time which elapsed since the attack and the fact that the body was not found and if it`s found probably it`s decomposed, it would be extremely unlikely that rape can be proven. It`s not impossible, but it`s extremely unlikely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN, FORMER STEPMOM/BABYSITTER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: Just going to ride right here by the school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You scared the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of me.

CROSLIN: Sorry. $190?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $190?

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: Yes. $7 apiece. It`s actually $189.

CROSLIN: Well, yes, $189.

CUMMINGS: For 27 of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For 27 of them?

CROSLIN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK. All right.

CROSLIN: You`re going to have to probably give me your money right here.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Left?

CROSLIN: Yes. Just go straight.

CUMMINGS: What you got? I hear you sniffling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huh?

CUMMINGS: What you got? I hear you sniffling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CUMMINGS: Roxies or something?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. My (EXPLETIVE DELETED) stays (EXPLETIVE DELETED), dude.

CUMMINGS: You got some good dope or something?

CROSLIN: (Laughs).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

CUMMINGS: I like to get high. That`s why I was asking. If you had any powder to let me know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I got to go talk to some people this afternoon. I`ve got to be straight.

CUMMINGS: Well, do whatever you got to do man because like I said them 50 percs, I told you it wasn`t a guarantee and the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) ain`t called me yet. It`s a guarantee he`s getting them. There`s no ifs, ands and buts. He gets them every month. He gets 100 of them, but he won`t sell me but 50.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

CUMMINGS: So I guarantee you there`s 50 Percocets right around the corner. I just don`t know.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: There you see Sykes propped up there in the backseat as drugs are being sold to an undercover cop. In the last hours in court the judge brings down the hammer on he her. Hope Sykes. Giving her 15 years in the female penitentiary. Not probation, not youthful offender. Fifteen years hard jail time.

To Jean Casarez, he had the power to sentence under the youthful offender. But he didn`t. What difference would that have made if he had?

CASAREZ: Could have been a big difference. OK. She`s 19 years old. He could have sentenced her under youthful offender, as a juvenile, basically. She would have spent two years in a juvenile facility until she`s 21. If there`s more sentence to go, she could go to an adult prison or even probation, could have been out.

GRACE: Well, she talked herself right out of that.

To Kathy in Alabama. Hi, Kathy.

KATHY, CALLER FROM ALABAMA: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?

KATHY: Well, the first thing I`d like to say to you is I`ve watched your show several years and I want to thank you for all you do for these children. Because of you my son got sole custody of our grandbaby, and I really believe with all my heart you helped save her life, that she did not turn into poor little Haleigh.

But my question, and I do believe you answered it, do you believe they are sentencing these others first in hopes of getting Misty to come across with something? Even though I don`t think we`ll ever -- if we depend on her for the truth, I don`t think we`ll ever know what happened to Haleigh.

GRACE: Kathy in Alabama, thank you for the compliment. I in no way can take credit for the miracle in your life. What God has unfolded for you. Your wonderful blessings. And I`ve got a soft spot for Alabama. My father is from Heycody, Alabama.

But in answer to your question, I think that they are trying to squeeze them to talk. But I don`t think they can talk, Kathy in Alabama, because anything they say will incriminate themselves.

They`re already pointing the finger. All right? We see that. And ratting each other out. But what more can they do? They`re going to stew in the same pot under Florida law, under accomplice to a crime or party to a crime.

Everybody, we are switching gears. I want to tell you about a body that has just been found. Is it the body of Susan Cox Powell?

An adult female`s body has just been discovered in a densely wooded area --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s an area where deer hunters, rabbit hunters, people like that go.

CASAREZ: Someone that was working in the area with those wind turbine units, and they were trying to get cell phone reception so they actually were just walking through this very rural area and came upon this body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The road where she was found near is a dirt track.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The body`s badly decomposed but police say skeletal remains are likely female.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The skeletal remains undergoing autopsy. Police say the remains appear to be female. But the age and cause of death couldn`t immediately be determined because of the poor quality of the bones.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A perfect place to dump a body. Somebody killed the woman there and dumped her.

GRACE: Is it the remains of 28-year-old mom of two, Susan Powell?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Law enforcement now looking at three possibilities -- 21-year-old mother of three Stephanie Eldredge --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Missing Utah mom Susan Powell.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Missing 20-year-old Amber Hoopes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only question is who she is.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Jim Kirkwood joining us from Salt Lake City, Utah and KTKK News Radio.

Jim, right now the adult female`s remains are at autopsy, and we are waiting to determine whether they are Susan Cox Powell`s or possibly the remains of two other young women that went missing.

Who are they?

JIM KIRKWOOD, REPORTER, KTKK NEWS RADIO (via phone): Yes. Nancy, the -- probably the most likely is Stephanie Eldredge. And she went missing in 2007. The -- August the 20th. She was 21 at the time. And she is the most likely.

The other one is Amber Hoopes. She went missing in -- let`s see. That is September 14th in 2001. She was 20 years old at the time.

GRACE: Rosie, I had asked that we have the tip line numbers up under these ladies. Stephanie Eldredge, age 21 at the time of her disappearance. Tip line, 208-529-1200. Reward, $5,000.

Also, Amber Hoopes, age 20 at the time of her disappearance. Tip line, 208-529-1200.

And of course the possibility that this is the body of Susan Cox Powell.

Joining us tonight, Chuck Cox. This is the father of Susan Cox Powell.

Mr. Cox, thank you for being with us.

CHUCK COX, SUSAN COX POWELL`S FATHER: Thank you for having me on.

GRACE: Mr. Cox, first of all, so many of us have been praying for and thinking of your daughter and her two little boys and all of you.

Have police indicated that they believe this could be or probably is not Susan`s body?

COX: The police haven`t made any comment on that to me.

GRACE: Has her husband shown up at the scene, Josh Powell? Has he come to see if these are the remains of his wife?

COX: I have no idea.

GRACE: Mr. Cox, do you believe that Susan is, in fact, dead?

COX: I try to balance hope that she`s still alive while preparing myself for the possibility that as time goes on that she may no longer be with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RUPA MIKKILINENI, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, whose body this is. It could be Susan Powell`s and one of the two young women we talked about, Nancy. Two weeks` time.

GRACE: You know what? It only takes an hour to make a positive I.D. by dental records. We know that.

To the lawyers, Hugo Rodriguez, Ray Giudice. Why isn`t Josh Powell there on the scene, Ray Giudice?

RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I would advise him to say nothing, do nothing, stay at home, let his lawyer do the talking.

GRACE: Rodriguez.

HUGO RODRIGUEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, FMR. FBI AGENT: I`d have to agree with that. He needs to lawyer up and say nothing until --

GRACE: Aren`t the two of you married? I know you are, Giudice. What about it, Rodriguez, are you married?

RODRIGUEZ: No, I`m not, Nancy.

GRACE: Have you ever been?

RODRIGUEZ: Too often.

GRACE: Well-put. Well, for a happily married man I find it very difficult to believe that if he thought these were his wife`s remains he would not go to the scene to try to find out what`s happening. I want to - -

GIUDICE: The TMZ helicopter videotape of him standing out there is far negatively outweighed by him staying in the house and doing nothing. It`s no good.

GRACE: Thank you, Ray.

GIUDICE: He is not charged.

GRACE: I want to go to Mr. Cox. This is Susan`s father.

Mr. Cox, your final thoughts tonight?

COX: I don`t believe this is Susan. I hope it`s not her. I still wish that there could be some closure, some movement on this case, and I hold out hope that she`ll return. And I`d like to thank everybody for their prayers and support and remind them that there are a lot of people missing out there and a lot of people need your help.

Please don`t forget those who are out -- who are missing, and help to bring all the people home. And we`re thankful that you`re putting this segment on and helping us to keep Susan`s face out there.

There are many people out missing and we know she will be found. So thank you very much.

GRACE: Mr. Cox, I don`t feel right about you thanking me, but thank you for being on with us.

Everyone, again, the tip line in Susan`s case, 801-840-4000.

Let`s stop and remember Army Captain Erick Foster, 29, Wexford, Pennsylvania, killed Iraq. Second tour. Two Bronze Stars, Purple Heart, Ranger Tab, Armed Forces Service medal, a Duquesne University grad. Loved time with family, Pittsburgh Steelers and penguins, movies, playing cards.

Remember for bringing joy and laughter to his family. Leaves behind parents Barbara and Robert, sisters Abby and Elizabeth.

Erick Foster, American hero.

Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. And thank you to New Jersey friend Susan, mother of one of our star cameramen Brett, for the sippy cups and the toys for the twins. I am so blessed.

Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern, and until then, good night, friend.

END

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/27/ng.01.html

[Sassycat]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/30/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Tommy Croslin Recants

Aired April 30, 2010 - 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. Last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who goes on to flunk four polygraphs. Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and stepmother Croslin both booked on drug trafficking.

Suddenly, search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters all coming to St. John`s River, Croslin rousted out of jail, taken down to the docks, motioning out in handcuffs to a specific spot for police. Cops announce 5-year-old Haleigh likely dead. Evidence, including two cinderblocks, pulled from the muddy waters of the St. John`s.

As the search for little Haleigh`s entire body and the murder weapon goes on, bombshell tonight. After the trial judge brings down the hammer on Croslin`s co-defendant in the drug case -- 19-year-old Hope Sykes, basically along for the ride -- getting a whopping 15 years hard jail time -- that`s for one hand-to-hand sell (ph) -- Croslin charged with eight -- that`s 120 years for her -- tonight we learn exactly why police bring Croslin to the banks of the St. John`s. And tonight, a major player recants a key statement to police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: The truth will come out, and you know, then they`ll know that they were (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with the wrong people, not doing their jobs right.

GRACE: You`re saying that your client knows what happened that night?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I am dying for an arrest to be made in this case.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY`S GRANDMOTHER: She says, Nanny, Tommy and Joe took a rope, a yellow rope, and wrapped Haleigh up with a yellow rope, tied it around her.

CHELSEA CROSLIN, MISTY`S SISTER-IN-LAW: I don`t believe that Tommy and Misty could do anything to harm a child.

HOLLARS: They tied brickle blocks to the other end of it and dropped her into the St. John`s River. If they dropped her in the St. John`s River, where was she at? How did she know? How did she see it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is your grandmother, and she`s coming out over the past week or so with so many types of bad theories, you know, how these terrible children did this, that.

TOMMY CROSLIN: I ain`t got nothing to say to them jokers. I ain`t got nothing to say to you lying people.

HOLLARS: She grabbed Junior and got into bed, and they covered up their heads and -- completely.

CHELSEA CROSLIN: I don`t believe that -- anything that Flo Hollars is saying I think is a complete lie.

HOLLARS: And when she took the covers off of her head, Haleigh was gone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do not see Misty sitting there and listening to her baby cry.

TOMMY CROSLIN: If I knew something, you`d know a long time ago. Leave me alone.

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: You tell them where Haleigh is. Bring Haleigh home.

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: I can`t just bring her home, you know?

HOLLARS: It`s going to take a little bit more than that to break her down. And him, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. We learn exactly why police bring Misty Croslin down to the banks of the St. John`s. And tonight, a major player recants a key statement to police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY CROSLIN: The damn police said, You`re facing three years in prison unless you help us find Haleigh. I said, I can`t help you find nobody. I don`t know where she is.

GRACE: Is it true that you have stated that your client can ID the killer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s first of all not culpable, but he does know what happened that night.

MISTY CROSLIN: Youthful offender. I would do it. I would take it. Three years in and four years out, I`ll take it. I`ll take it and run.

HANK CROSLIN: If they think Joe had something to do with it and...

TOMMY CROSLIN: Go get his (EXPLETIVE DELETED) punk ass and put him in jail!

HOPE SYKES, MISTY`S COUSIN: Not going to boot camp. I`m telling you right now, they think I`m bad now, wait until I get out of that.

GRACE: Are you convinced in your own mind that your granddaughter, Misty Croslin, and grandson Tommy Croslin and Joe Overstreet are all three responsible?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am, I am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know why she would want to hurt and implicate three of her grandchildren. It`s just very sad that she would do that.

HOLLARS: I want that little girl to be put to rest.

HANK CROSLIN: I know for a fact Tommy -- Tommy ain`t got the heart. He -- I don`t give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) what anybody says. Tommy had nothing to do with that case.

GRACE: He did take a polygraph on April 8th. Because of the polygraph, we were on the dock with Tommy and law enforcement.

TOMMY CROSLIN: I want out of here so bad, I`d do anything to get out of here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do believe Joe Overstreet is involved in the disappearance.

HOLLARS: I changed my mind when I put two and two together that she knowed where to go to at the river. She`s involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Art Harris, investigative journalist at Artharris.com, with breaking news. Art, explain.

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Nancy, I can tell you why Misty Croslin was taken down to the river by police. She was there because she says she can identify the dock that Haleigh was thrown off. She`s told police her brother Tommy took her to that very dock shortly -- about four months ago and told her this is where he and Joe had dumped the body.

GRACE: OK. Now, Art, when does she tell cops this story?

HARRIS: This was a month before her arrest. About four months ago, Nancy.

GRACE: OK, wait a minute. She tells cops that she`s taken down to the river and shown where Haleigh`s body was disposed. She tells cops before the drug arrest?

HARRIS: Before -- a month before the drug arrest, my sources tell me. And they wanted to know if she could identify the dock. There`s several docks around that area...

GRACE: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I still don`t have the timeline. Are you telling me Tommy Croslin took her there a month before the drug arrest or she told cops about it a month before the drug arrest?

HARRIS: Tommy took her there a month before the drug arrest, and she told cops about it. And they have taken her back to the river to see if she could identify the dock.

GRACE: OK. When does she tell cops about it, while she`s in jail and wants to get out?

HARRIS: That`s right, Nancy.

GRACE: OK.

HARRIS: And Tommy denies it. His lawyer says, Didn`t happen.

GRACE: And not only that, we`ve got a major recantation. That`s when you tell police one story or you tell something on the stand under oath, then you think about it and you go, Ruh-roh, that didn`t happen. Explain, Art Harris.

HARRIS: Nancy, as strange as it seems, I`m reporting on Artharris.com that Tommy Croslin now says he lied when he told police he was at the trailer at 10:00 o`clock the night Haleigh vanished. He says it didn`t happen. He lied because he wanted to get out of jail. He was facing a $50,000 bond on a gun theft charge. And right after he told that, what he says is a lie now, it was reduced to $5,000 and out he went. He went home.

GRACE: To Marc Klaas, president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation. This changes the whole scenario, Marc. Frankly, I don`t know if any of them are capable of telling the truth.

MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: There are so many shifting scenarios, so many shifting alliances, so many shifting loyalties in this, so many things that have been said, so many lies, that I think the only way that this will ever be resolved is if one of these individuals ultimately shows the authorities proof of life or proof of death.

GRACE: Marc, how long have you been in this business? You`ve been in this business since Polly, your daughter, was taken.

KLAAS: Yes.

GRACE: You`ve got it on your lapel. How long ago was that?

KLAAS: That was over 16 years ago, 16-and-a-half years, just about.

GRACE: Do you really believe that anybody involved in this is going to tell the cops the truth? They`re all lying to save their own skin!

KLAAS: Oh, I don`t think that they`re going to stop lying. But I think that it`s not going to get resolved in any way, shape or form until somebody receives proof of life or proof of death on this little girl. Otherwise, it`ll just be this revolving -- this revolving loyalties, these revolving scenarios, these revolving stories that we keep hearing again and again and again.

GRACE: So far, we`ve counted up 11 scenarios, 11 different scenarios -- can you hand me that cart? Thank you -- that this bunch has come up with. Let`s see them, Rosie. First of all, Misty Croslin asleep. When she woke up, Haleigh`s gone. That`s the first story.

Second, Croslin wasn`t home that night. Unknown kidnapper. Third, Overstreet and Tommy Croslin assault, rape the little girl, kill her, dump her body. That came straight from Misty Croslin to her grandmother. Fourth, Haleigh overdosed at a drug party.

Fifth, Croslin hit Haleigh on the back of the head. Croslin and Overstreet dispose body. Next, Overstreet takes Haleigh, tied rope and cinderblock around her, threw her in the St. John`s dead or alive. Next, man in black, unknown stranger. Next, four people in the trailer the night Haleigh vanished. They took Haleigh.

Next, Timmy and Chelsea helped hide Haleigh. She was spotted in Massachusetts. Tenth, someone holding Haleigh, demanding $35,000 to get her back. And last, Croslin out partying, having party time, drugs, et cetera, says Haleigh saw it and said, I`m telling Daddy, and gets killed -- eleven different scenarios.

Out to Ellie Jostad. Where did the different scenarios come from?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, there`s a bunch of different sources for these. Obviously, that first story -- I was asleep, when I woke up, Haleigh was gone -- that comes direct from Misty Croslin. Now, the other version, that Misty wasn`t home that night -- that story came out just a day or two after Haleigh went missing. We heard it from a variety of sources. It wasn`t pinned down to anybody.

Remember, though, shortly thereafter -- actually, a few months later - - Tommy Croslin, her brother, says he goes to the house that night, knocks on the door, nobody`s home. And now, as Art Harris is reporting, he`s apparently taking that story back. So we don`t know. Was he there that night or not?

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Out to Raeleen in Florida. Hi, Raeleen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. First I have a comment on you. I love your twins. And you are my hero. I love you.

GRACE: I don`t deserve it, but thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you do deserve it. I live, like, 30 minutes from this bunch, and so I have two things. The first is if Misty took the cops to the river and they -- she showed them where the body was, and if they found anything, can she -- can they go ahead and arrest her, like, on this murder charge as of right now?

GRACE: OK. I know you`ve got a second question, so hold tight. Let`s go to that one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

GRACE: With us tonight, Renee Rockwell, Peter Odom, both defense attorneys out of Atlanta, and our correspondent and attorney, Jean Casarez, joining us from "In Session." What about it, Jean Casarez?

JEAN CASAREZ, "IN SESSION": Well, I think what she`s talking about is accessory after the fact. In other words, you can know about a crime. That`s not a crime to know about it. But if you helped conceal it, if you help so someone doesn`t find out about it and actively help that person escape authorities, then you can be an accessory after the fact.

GRACE: But Renee Rockwell, she would have to be part of it because she was at home with the girl when the girl was taken.

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Unless, Nancy, she was just so overdosed or so exhausted and...

GRACE: Well, she wasn`t.

ROCKWELL: ... and passed out -- wait a minute. If she was, the question, is she going to be arrested in the murder or is she going to be arrested in the cover-up?

GRACE: Renee, you can make up whatever you want to, but the grandmother, Sykes, was there that night and said she was perfectly normal. Isn`t that right, Jean Casarez?

CASAREZ: That`s right, but...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: ... make up a scenario!

CASAREZ: It was earlier, 7:00 o`clock at night, not 3:00 in the morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Are you now suggesting that Ronald Cummings, Haleigh`s father, may somehow be to blame for her disappearance?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am. For leaving the kids there with her, with her all strung out.

GRACE: So are you convinced in your own mind that your granddaughter, Misty Croslin, and grandson Tommy Croslin and Joe Overstreet are all three responsible?

HOLLARS: Yes, ma`am, I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: Those three grandkids of mine is involved in this, and I don`t know why!

GRACE: She is blaming Joe and Tommy.

MISTY CROSLIN: They`re going to know. They`re going to know.

GRACE: Tommy Croslin is blaming Joe Overstreet.

TOMMY CROSLIN: I didn`t do (EXPLETIVE DELETED). That`s my story and I`m sticking to it.

GRACE: Joe Overstreet saying, I wasn`t there.

JOE OVERSTREET, MISTY`S COUSIN: I didn`t do it.

GRACE: All three are pointing the finger at each other.

HOLLARS: What Tommy told me...

TOMMY CROSLIN: They don`t want to listen to me.

HOLLARS: He says, Nanny, I`ve got to break down...

TOMMY CROSLIN: But I promise you, I`m done with all this stupid (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

HOLLARS: I`ve got to tell somebody.

TOMMY CROSLIN: And I ain`t had nothing to do with none of that crap.

HOLLARS: I said, Are you going to tell me Joe did this? He says, Yes, Nanny, Joe did.

HANK CROSLIN: Play with fire, you get burnt.

TOMMY CROSLIN: Yes.

GRACE: She would have been awake when the brother came over there banging on the door.

TOMMY CROSLIN: She needs to go ahead and tell the truth, man...

MISTY CROSLIN: When I woke up, she was gone!

TOMMY CROSLIN: ... and don`t be making up stories.

MISTY CROSLIN: I was, like, Oh, my God!

GRACE: One of them are lying.

TOMMY CROSLIN: Misty`s going to get her little butt kicked.

HANK CROSLIN: I know for a fact Tommy -- Tommy ain`t got the heart.

TOMMY CROSLIN: I`m not no drug trafficker or anything. You know that.

They can`t do nothing. They can`t prove (EXPLETIVE DELETED). They cannot prove nothing. They`ve got no proof.

LINDSAY CROSLIN, TOMMY`S WIFE: Oh, my God. I know. It`s funny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: You know, instead of going, I`m innocent, I didn`t have anything to do with this, I want to find Haleigh, they keep saying, They don`t have any proof, They don`t have any proof, They can`t prove it, they can`t prove it. I find that highly probative.

And as to attorney Renee Rockwell`s made-up scenario that Misty Croslin was strung out of her gourd the night Haleigh goes missing, take a listen to what an eyewitness had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: I know that by now, you are aware that Ms. Hollars, who is Misty Croslin and Tommy Croslin`s grandmother -- she`s the one, one of the ones that called police and ended up mounting this search of the St. John`s River, really believes that Ronald Cummings, your grandson, is partially at fault. What`s your response?

ANNETTE SYKES, RONALD`S GRANDMOTHER: I heard what she said on your show about Ronald being responsible because he left the children with her and she was all strung out. But I was there and she was not strung out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight back to Art Harris at Artharris.com, who`s breaking the story tonight regarding not only the fact that Croslin had this knowledge for some time as to where the body was dumped, but that Tommy Croslin is now recanting on a major, major milestone in the timeline.

Art Harris, he`s now saying he never went to the home, banged on the door between 10:00 and 10:30, and that nobody answered.

HARRIS: That`s right, Nancy. And his private investigator, Steve Brown (ph), tells me that`s not possible because his wife got home about 10:15. He was baby-sitting. He doesn`t rule out he could have gone over there later. But the fact that Tommy is now saying he lied to police does not help the prosecution`s case, it seems.

GRACE: To Leonard Padilla, bounty hunter, who has offered to bail Croslin out from behind bars, now offering to bail out Ronald Cummings, what do you make of Tommy Croslin`s about-face?

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: Well, we`d -- I discussed this thing at length with Lindsay on several occasions, about the 10:00 o`clock thing. And I kept asking Lindsay, How could it be true one way or the other if he had never said anything about it for about eight months? It seemed to me that he would have said right off the bat, I went over there and there was nobody there at 10:00 o`clock, but he didn`t do that until October.

And then afterwards, something came to me from an individual in the investigation that Tommy -- and this was about a month ago -- had said, Well, maybe I didn`t go over there after all. And myself and Lindsay were more inclined to believe that he hadn`t gone over there because he was home until 10:15 with the kids, and she didn`t get home until about that time from school.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has evidence been found that may close the case on who killed Haleigh Cummings?

HOLLARS: I was told that Misty had knocked her in the head and killed her and that Joe and Tommy god rid of her.

GRACE: Knocked her in the head with what, a cinderblock?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will follow this case to the end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Officers spent three days searching the St. John`s River, but they did not find 5-year-old Haleigh`s body.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s involved, too, because she was pointing a spot out on the river on the TV.

MISTY CROSLIN: It was crazy.

HOLLARS: They have no remorse or something!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who was with her, the last person with her? She was.

MISTY CROSLIN: I woke up and she was gone, and the back door was wide open!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is the one that holds the key information to finding out what happened to this beautiful little girl.

HOLLARS: I believe the one that Misty told me, that they tied her up in a rope and dropped her in the river.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He didn`t make any calls until either she saw him pulling in the driveway or until he actually started coming in the house.

HOLLARS: Just don`t know whether they raped her or not. I just hope and pray that the child was already dead before she hit that water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Raeleen in Florida, you had a two-pronged question. What`s the rest of your question, dear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. The other one is, OK, the sister-in-law -- I don`t remember -- she was on your show.

GRACE: Chelsea. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She said -- she was saying that Ms. Hollars hadn`t had nothing to do with her grandkids over seven years. But I`ve seen a picture on her wall of her and Misty...

GRACE: I saw that, too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... and it hasn`t been seven years. Misty was not 10 years old in that picture, or younger.

GRACE: You`re absolutely correct. Hey, before you get to your question, Rosie, let`s pull up that interview we had with Ms. Hollars. And in fact, I pointed it out one night when I was speaking to her. You can see Misty and Ms. Hollars, Misty Croslin and Ms. Hollars together in the photo, just as Raeleen is pointing out. So what`s your question, dear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK (INAUDIBLE) my question is, so she`s -- she is -- you know, she`s lying about it because she`s -- you know, that was my question, that...

GRACE: That`s an excellent point, the fact that...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I mean...

GRACE: ... she is lying about it. To Marlaina Schiavo. What do we know about Ms. Hollars and her communications and her relationship with the grandchildren? Because she was very specific and detailed in what she said they told her from behind bars.

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Not only was she very specific, Nancy, but we know from all the jailhouse conversations that they have had a lot of contact. And a lot of times, you hear them say, I need to call Nanny, Tell Nanny to write me. So there was a relationship here. But according to Chelsea Croslin, there was not much of a relationship. So again, lots of inconsistencies in what we`re being told.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Why would Ms. Hollars make up a lie about her own flesh and blood?

CHELSEA CROSLIN: Ms. Hollars has not been around our family for the last seven years that I have been with the Croslins. I have met Flo Hollars maybe two times. She is not involved in our family, so I don`t know why she would want to hurt and implicate three of her grandchildren. It`s just very sad that she would do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Who killed Haleigh Cummings?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Divers removed two cinder blocks which are being examined.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He misses his baby. I mean, good lord. His heart`s tore out.

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: I come home from work, and my child was not there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s a daddy`s girl. Everywhere she went, everywhere daddy went, Haleigh went.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Without a body the case against Haleigh`s killer may have to be built entirely on circumstantial evidence.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police have obtained yellow rope from Tommy Croslin`s home.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sources say it could be the possible murder weapon.

CUMMINGS: Please, all we want is my child. That`s it.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY CROSLIN AND JOE OVERSTREET`S GRANDMOTHER: I think he knows more than what he`s saying.

CUMMINGS: If I find whoever has my daughter before y`all do I`m killing them.

HOLLARS: I know one thing. Misty had been out on a drug binge for three days. Her and Ron had fought that day, and she told him she didn`t want to babysit, and he told her yes, you are going to babysit.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I want to know, does she have any contracts with any newspapers or any tabloids?

NANCY GRACE, HOST: No.

HOLLARS: I have not made a penny off of this story. I have told exactly what those two kids has told me. And if none of them down there don`t like it, they can kiss where the sun don`t shine.

KATRINA BELCHER, HOPE SYKES` MOTHER: Hope, she said the cops had you on the video in the back. When you got back in the car you had the pills in your hand.

HOPE SYKES, RONALD CUMMING`S COUSIN: I didn`t have no pills in my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) hand.

BELCHER: Well, at one point in the game according to the video --

SYKES: No. Not at one point --

BELCHER: -- you had pills in your hand.

SYKES: Bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED). No, at no one point in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) game I had no pills. I don`t know. She must got you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) or something because there is no pills.

BELCHER: Well, Terry Shoemaker`s saying the same thing, Hope. They`ve all reviewed the videos. You had the front scene video and then you have the rear view video, which is what she was talking about in court today.

SYKES: No, mom, she was talking about that they have me sitting in the back of the vehicle.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Well, Hope Sykes can carry on all she wants to. But in the middle of her plea sentencing the state very wisely played back where she is basically taunting the judge, saying things like, if you think I`m bad now just wait until I get out.

If you`re going to give me six years, you might as well give me 15 years. I don`t want boot camp. I don`t want youthful offender.

Well, the judge listened. Be careful what you ask, my dear, for you will surely get it. She got the 15 years behind bars. That should be a lesson to Misty Croslin.

We are taking your calls live. For a recap, for you that are just joining us, right now we know in breaking news from Art Harris why cops bring Misty Croslin down to the docks of the St. Johns River.

And also tonight, in a stunning twist, a bizarre recantation by a key player in this case. It throws the timeline out the window. Cops now starting square one.

Out to Art Harris, investigative journalist at Artharris.com. What did you learn?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, ARTHARRIS.COM: Nancy, I can tell you that Misty Croslin is telling police that Tommy took her to that dock on the river to identify the place that he threw -- he says he and Joe Overstreet threw Haleigh`s body.

Police took her there to see if she could identify that as the dock that they went to purportedly the night Tommy showed her where it happened.

GRACE: And what about the recant?

HARRIS: Tommy Croslin has now said he lied to police when he said he went to the trailer at 10:00 p.m. He says he never did -- he said it to get out of jail so they would reduce his bond on the gun theft charge. And now -- you`re right. It throws the case out the window.

Police still believe, they`re hanging on. They believe his first story. But his lawyer says it`s likely that it was not 10:00 because that`s when his -- that`s when he was baby-sitting.

GRACE: Well, wait a minute, Art. If he goes over there anytime that night -- I don`t care if it`s 10:00 or 1:00 a.m. -- he`s placing himself at the scene of the crime. Don`t they get that?

Out to the lines, Kathleen, New Jersey. Hi, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN, CALLER FROM NEW JERSEY: Hi, Nancy. It`s an honor to talk to you. And your twins --

GRACE: Likewise.

KATHLEEN: -- are just precious. I so enjoy the photos. OK. I have a quick comment and a question.

GRACE: OK.

KATHLEEN: You know, the three of them are obviously -- they`re all lying to save themselves. And I was thinking, they aren`t the smartest bunch. So I really find it hard to believe that one of them didn`t blab to one of their friends by now.

And I just think if you find that person that they spoke to who has nothing to lose by talking, that`s the only way you`re going to get to the truth.

GRACE: Hold on. Just a moment, Kathleen. Don`t go anywhere because we may have that person.

Rosie, roll the sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYKES: I`d rather go to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) prison. You got a lot (EXPLETIVE DELETED) up. I`m not going to boot camp. Because I`ll be -- I`m telling you right now, they think I`m bad now, wait until I get out of that.

BELCHER: Let me explain something to you, Hope. You screw up on anything at this point in the game, you will get 15 years.

SYKES: Well, I ain`t doing no damn six years mandatory nothing. They can kiss my ass. You might as well stick me with 15.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Kathleen in New Jersey, this woman, Hope Sykes, got 15 years hard jail time for being there during one hand-to-hand sale to an undercover cop. There you go. Now -- right there she`s just brimming with attitude. Right there. Look at that.

KATHLEEN: Yes.

GRACE: Don`t you know if Misty Croslin ever said one thing to her about what happened to Haleigh that this girl`s going to crack and talk to get out of jail?

KATHLEEN: Yes. I think there`s got to be others. There`s three of them. I really think there`s got to be someone else also. But my question is, what`s Ronald`s reaction to all these recent developments that implicate --

GRACE: That`s a good question, Kathleen and New Jersey. Out to Ellie Jostad. What was his reaction when he was told behind bars that Haleigh`s likely dead?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Well, we`ve told of course -- we`ve been told, of course, that he was very upset about that. However, both he and Crystal Sheffield say that they are not going forward with any sort of funeral plans. They are not planning to go forward and have her declared dead.

They`re still holding out hope that this could be a false tip and that she could still be alive.

GRACE: Let`s stop, everybody. As we go to break, happy birthday to our Cajun friend from Louisiana, Sims Regard. Loving husband of wife Robin, pictured here. Father of Jenna and Ryan. Grandfather to 3-year-old Brianna.

Loves saltwater fishing on the Mississippi. Birthday wish, to save the Gulf Coast from the oil spill.

Sims Regard, happy birthday, friend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN, FORMER STEPMOM/BABYSITTER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: I didn`t do anything with that little girl.

JOE OVERSTREET, MISTY CROSLIN`S COUSIN: I didn`t do it.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S BROTHER: I had nothing to do with none of that crap.

HOLLARS: Those three grandkids of mine is involved in this, and I don`t know why.

M. CROSLIN: They`re treating our family like crap.

HOLLARS: She`s involved.

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD, MOTHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: She`s the last one to see our daughter.

CUMMINGS: You let my daughter get stole, bitch?

HOLLARS: She says, Nanny, Tommy and Joe took a rope --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has something hard to hear.

HOLLARS: Tied it around her."

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: What scenario do you believe unfolded? What do you think happened that night?

CUMMINGS: How the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) can you let my daughter get stole, bitch?

HOLLARS: Exactly what Misty told me, that the rope and the cinder blocks and dropping her in the St. Johns River.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There have been a few stories that have swirled around.

HOLLARS: I don`t even know whether she was dead when she hit the water or not.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Cops in Satsuma, Florida are trying to connect the dots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know statistics say, you know, that chances are that she`s dead.

OVERSTREET: Sorry. I can`t imagine what they`re going through.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Misty Croslin, the last person to see little Haleigh the night that she vanished, mentioned a cement block day one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said your back door was wide open?

M. CROSLIN: Yes. It was brick. Like a brick on the floor.

HOLLARS: She says, "Nanny, Tommy and Joe took a rope, a yellow rope, and wrapped Haleigh up with a yellow rope, tied it around her, and dropped her into the St. Johns River."

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Could this new lead, the yellow rope, be linked back to little Haleigh and those cinder blocks?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s probably not enough, though, just to have, well, yellow rope and yellow rope. But if you can match up that specific yellow rope found to yellow rope on the bricks, that`s significant.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Croslin and her brother Tommy have both implicated their cousin Joe Overstreet in Haleigh`s disappearance.

OVERSTREET: I didn`t do it.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You didn`t do it?

OVERSTREET: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you can`t show me, you know, why do I believe it?

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Unleash the lawyers. Renee Rockwell, Peter Odom, our correspondent Jean Casarez from "In Session."

Peter Odom, there is no way that these three have not talked. But now anything that Tommy Croslin would want to tell police in exchange for a lesser plea sentence is not worth the paper it`s written on.

PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right.

GRACE: Now that he has recanted something. Didn`t his lawyer tell him about that little problem, his credibility problem?

ODOM: Well, none of these three, Nancy, has any credibility whatsoever. I have to side with Marc Klaas on this. When he said that there`s never going to be a case made on their statements alone.

We`ve got a very important piece of circumstantial evidence. That is that this little -- poor little girl is missing. And then we have a whole lot of statements, all of which have been contradicted and re-contradicted by each other.

Without physical evidence there is no case.

GRACE: Tom Shamshak, former police chief, private investigator, instructor at Boston University, joining us out of Boston. Is there any way without physical corroboration that you can believe anything these three say?

TOM SHAMSHAK, FMR. POLICE CHIEF, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR, INSTRUCTOR AT BOSTON UNIV.: Hi, Nancy. No, I don`t think that we can believe anything they say without some physical evidence. And who knows? The cinder blocks with this yellow rope that has been reported, I`m sure the analysis will be working, you know, to link that up.

GRACE: And to Dr. Michael Bell, chief medical examiner of Palm Beach, if they did find Haleigh`s body at this point, what could they tell from it?

DR. MICHAEL BELL, PALM BEACH CO. CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER: Well, if there`s any injuries or damage to the bones, such as a knife, they could certainly tell that. They`re not going to be able to tell whether or not she was strangled --

GRACE: Yes. Because there`s no soft tissue left.

BELL: -- suffocated. Exactly. So --

GRACE: Everybody --

BELL: -- it will be limited to what they can tell.

GRACE: Switching gears, in the United States every 10 seconds a child is abused. April, Child Abuse Prevention Month. Child Help, an international organization, raises awareness and fights for the abused and neglected children around the world.

<snipped to include Haleigh coverage only>

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/30/ng.01.html

[Sassycat]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1005/14/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Tommy Croslin Says Cousin Joe Did It

Aired May 14, 2010 - 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. The last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who goes on to flunk four polygraphs. Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings and stepmother Croslin both booked, drug trafficking. Search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters all comb the St. John`s River, no sign of Haleigh`s remains.

As the search for Haleigh`s entire body and for the murder weapon, goes on, bombshell tonight. He cracks! Stepmother Misty Croslin`s cousin finally confesses 5-year-old Haleigh killed there in the trailer, in the home, the little girl allegedly murdered by cousin Overstreet as Misty Croslin stands by and lets it happen, or worse.

And tonight, is Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, set to plead guilty? This as a stunning call from behind jailhouse walls emerges pointing the finger directly at Haleigh`s killer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: I need her to get my lawyer down here. It`s important.

GRACE: Your client knows what happened that night?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I am dying for an arrest to be made in this case.

TOMMY CROSLIN: I got to do something. It needed to be done -- it should have been done already.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY`S GRANDMOTHER: She grabbed Junior and got into bed, and they covered up their heads completely.

CHELSEA CROSLIN, MISTY`S SISTER-IN-LAW: I don`t believe that -- anything that Flo Hollars is saying I think is a complete lie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tommy Croslin`s attorney claims his client has admitted that Haleigh died inside the trailer in Satsuma.

HOLLARS: And when she took the covers off of her head, Haleigh was gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Newly released audiotape shows Tommy Croslin points the finger at cousin Joe Overstreet, claiming he`s involved in Haleigh`s murder.

TOMMY CROSLIN: He`s got to pay.

HOLLARS: Is it the story that Misty`s saying?

TOMMY CROSLIN: Yes, but it -- yes, that`s it.

HOLLARS: Joe?

TOMMY CROSLIN: Yes?

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: You need to tell them where Haleigh is. Bring Haleigh home.

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: I can`t just bring her home, you know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meanwhile, Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, is trying to arrange a plea deal on his drug charges.

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: I`ll get it for you. No problem. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) two weeks, I can make the money to pay for them and eat them myself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reports emerge Cummings is negotiating with prosecutors on a 15-year jail sentence for drug trafficking.

CUMMINGS: I don`t know if you do Roxies or whatever. I can get them. But they`re (EXPLETIVE DELETED) expensive.

HOLLARS: It`s Joe. I`ve been knowing this all along. I knew it was him.

TOMMY CROSLIN: It drives me crazy. He tried to kill all of us, so don`t be telling him until they get his ass because they`re going to get his ass.

HOLLARS: OK.

TOMMY CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE) that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. He cracks! Stepmother Misty Croslin`s cousin finally confesses 5-year-old Haleigh killed, murdered there in the home, the little girl allegedly murdered by cousin Overstreet as Misty Croslin lets it happen, or worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY CROSLIN: I`m just scared. I don`t want no one to hurt my kids.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to Tommy Croslin`s attorney, James Werter, Tommy Croslin says Haleigh died inside her own home.

GRACE: Your client can ID the killer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s, first of all, not culpable, but he does know what happened that night.

TOMMY CROSLIN: It needed to put to an end and that little (EXPLETIVE DELETED) needs to pay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This as we obtain brand-new audiotapes showing Tommy Croslin allegedly pointing the finger at cousin Joe Overstreet, claiming he`s responsible for Haleigh`s death.

TOMMY CROSLIN: It wasn`t me. No, it`s not me.

HOLLARS: Joe?

TOMMY CROSLIN: Yes.

HANK CROSLIN: If they think Joe had something to do with it...

TOMMY CROSLIN: Go get his (EXPLETIVE DELETED) punk ass and put him in jail!

HOLLARS: I was told that Ron come home, and Haleigh had took one of - - found one of his pills and took it and was dead. And Ron called you to get you to come up there and help Misty...

TOMMY CROSLIN: That`s (INAUDIBLE)

HOLLARS: ... and clean the house up and -- while he disposed of Haleigh.

TOMMY CROSLIN: That`s (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Also today, Haleigh`s father is reported negotiating a plea deal on drug charges.

CUMMINGS: I like to get high. That`s why I was asking if you had any powder to let me know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ronald Cummings could be sentenced to 15 years in jail in exchange for testifying against his ex-wife, Misty Croslin, and former brother-in-law Tommy Croslin in the drug case.

CUMMINGS: It`s not a retirement plan, but an extra kick (INAUDIBLE)

TOMMY CROSLIN: Someone need to do something to him. Someone needs to get his ass.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Art Harris, investigative journalist at Artharris.com, with breaking news. Art, what`s the news?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Nancy, the news is shocking, this tape of Tommy Croslin, where he now fingers in his own voice cousin Joe Overstreet. We`ve heard rumors of this. Misty has recounted this story to her grandmother and others. But now Tommy comes forward, and in this tape we`ve been anticipating because people have been doubting he had this conversation with his grandmother -- he now says it was his cousin who killed Haleigh.

GRACE: And where? Where is he saying it happened?

HARRIS: According to your sources, Nancy, he`s saying it`s inside the trailer. Doesn`t say it on this tape, but that is consistent with possibly what people have been speculating about a blanket that was seized and other things in the trailer that was just too neat for a crime scene.

GRACE: To Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, "In Session." What more can you tell me, Jean?

JEAN CASAREZ, "IN SESSION": Well, we can say that Flora Hollers, when she was on your show and she talked about the call between she and Tommy, that that is what we hear in this phone conversation. We hear Tommy. He`s breathless. You hear the emotion in his voice. He talks about that he`s got to get his attorney. He`s got to tell his attorney something. He does say it is Joe, but he admits no responsibility whatsoever.

GRACE: Take a listen to the call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: I was told that Ron come home and Haleigh had took -- found one of his pills and took it and was dead. And Ron called you to get you to come up there and help Misty...

TOMMY CROSLIN: That`s (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

HOLLARS: ... clean the house up and while he disposed of Haleigh.

TOMMY CROSLIN: That`s (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

HOLLARS: OK. Well, I`m glad you`re telling me the truth, baby, because I`ve been wanting to hear it for a long time. But I knowed it. I knowed it in my heart. All this time I`ve knowed it.

TOMMY CROSLIN: He`s got to pay.

GRACE: What scenario do you believe unfolded? What do you think happened that night?

HOLLARS: Exactly what Misty told me about the rope and the cinderblocks and dropping her in the St. John`s River.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to James Werter, Tommy Croslin`s attorney. What more does your client say?

JAMES WERTER, ATTORNEY FOR TOMMY CROSLIN: On the tape or off the tape?

GRACE: Off.

WERTER: Off the tape? I can`t really say that. I mean, on the tape, what I gave you was just a redacted version. We took phone numbers out of it. But that`s the entire tape that you have. And if you notice, he did not go through what happened that night with Flora Hollars. He told -- he pointed the fingers. He denied one version that Flora put to him.

Now, off, he told me that it did occur in the trailer and that he and Misty were not participants but were scared to death of Joe`s behavior. They grew up with this guy. They say even though he doesn`t have a criminal record, he did have a very violent past and they were afraid of him. And there was a weapon of intimidation there. And I don`t want to get into that because we`re still trying to make sure everybody is telling the truth this time, finally, and getting the story as it should be, OK, with the truth.

And if I give you too much, it`ll go over the air and then they can, you know, coordinate or collaborate their own stories together, even though they`re not in communications. So I am hesitant in giving you more.

GRACE: Well, Mr. Werter, basically, it sounds like you`re saying he told you more, but you can`t commit to it on air because his story might change.

WERTER: No. No. I did not say that. I want a pure interview of both of these. My understanding through Robert Fields is that their stories now, even though they haven`t been together to collaborate their stories, are pretty well matched up, you know, with a reasonable amount of tolerances that you would expect normal witnesses. They`re not mirror images and they`re not widely different. So that`s a normal -- that`s what you look for in trial.

And you know this. If you get two people who are mirror image, it causes suspicion. If they`re too widely apart, then their credibility is shot there, too. So what the thing is, is to see what the pure story is. And if they have communications, third party, whatever, you know, it may taint the purity of their testimony...

GRACE: Well, isn`t it true...

WERTER: ... such as it is right now.

GRACE: ... that Tom Croslin, your client, told you that Overstreet got very irate. Things happened from there -- I`m quoting. Overstreet went into the bedroom where Haleigh was, and Haleigh was no longer alive. Overstreet was in a rage.

WERTER: Yes. That`s correct. He went in there looking for this gun that they were going to go borrow. It was an automatic weapon. And out there, they do poach at night or shoot deer at night with the headlights and things of that nature. The gun was not there. Misty told him the gun was not there. That`s what set him off. And next thing I know...

GRACE: Hold on. Hold on. Ellie Jostad, you`ve heard another story, right?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, we`ve heard a bunch of different stories. We`ve heard a version from Flora Hollars where she heard that a rope was wrapped around Haleigh, she was thrown into the river. She wasn`t sure if she was dead or alive. Another version, Misty heard Haleigh being sexually assaulted and just hid under the covers.

But what`s on this tape is the version that she says came from Tommy, the version that he and Joe got rid of the body somehow, or even less than that, that Joe was responsible for what happened.

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Back to you, Ellie Jostad. When you are referring to the tape, be specific.

JOSTAD: Yes. Well, on the tape, what Tommy Croslin tells Flora is -- she says, you know, something to the effect of, I think I know what you`re going to tell me, and she says, Was it Joe? And he says, Yes. And he says repeatedly that he needs to speak to his lawyer and that he needs to pay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY CROSLIN: Y`all don`t say nothing to him, all right?

HOLLARS: I didn`t. No, it`s Joe. I`ve been knowing this all along. I knew it was him.

TOMMY CROSLIN: Don`t saying nothing to nobody right now.

HOLLARS: Oh, I`m not. I`m not. I`m not.

TOMMY CROSLIN: Because I need to get my lawyer down here because you know what?

HOLLARS: What?

TOMMY CROSLIN: To help me anyway, you know, and -- it need to be put to an end, and that little (EXPLETIVE DELETED) needs to pay.

HOLLARS: That`s it. That`s it exactly. Exactly. Oh, me, me, me, me, me, me! You know, that don`t even hurt me to hear that that happened from him because I know it was him. I knew all along that it was him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: There`s three grandkids of mine that`s involved in this, and I don`t know why!

GRACE: She is blaming Joe and Tommy.

MISTY CROSLIN: They`re going to know. They`re going to know.

GRACE: Tommy Croslin is blaming Joe Overstreet.

TOMMY CROSLIN: Someone`s got -- he`s got to be stopped, so...

GRACE: Joe Overstreet`s saying, I wasn`t there.

JOE OVERSTREET, MISTY`S COUSIN: I didn`t do it.

GRACE: All three are pointing the finger at each other.

HOLLARS: What Tommy told me...

-- or is it somebody else?

TOMMY CROSLIN: It ain`t me. No, it`s not me.

HOLLARS: He says, Nanny, I`ve got to break down...

TOMMY CROSLIN: It`s very important. I got to do something. It needed to be done and should have been done already.

HOLLARS: I`ve got to tell somebody.

TOMMY CROSLIN: I had nothing to do with none of that crap.

HOLLARS: I said, Are you going to tell me that Joe did this? He says, Yes, Nanny, Joe did.

Joe?

TOMMY CROSLIN: Yes.

HOLLARS: OK. That`s what I`ve been thinking all along.

GRACE: She would have been awake when the brother came over there banging on the door.

TOMMY CROSLIN: If she does, she needs to go ahead and tell the truth, man.

MISTY CROSLIN: When I woke up, she was gone!

TOMMY CROSLIN: And don`t be making up stories.

MISTY CROSLIN: I was, like, Oh, my God!

GRACE: One of them are lying.

TOMMY CROSLIN: Misty`s going to get her little butt kicked.

HANK CROSLIN: I know for a fact Tommy -- Tommy ain`t got the heart.

TOMMY CROSLIN: I`m not no drug trafficker or anything. You know that.

They can`t do nothing -- they can`t prove (EXPLETIVE DELETED). They cannot prove nothing. They got no proof.

MISTY CROSLIN: Oh, my God. I know. It`s funny.

HOLLARS: Well, I`m glad you`re telling me the truth, baby, because I`ve been wanting to hear it for a long time, but I knowed it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Out to Veda in Idaho. Hi, Veda.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a comment and a question.

GRACE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, my comment is, I`m really proud of the way you stand up for the children.

GRACE: Thank you, Veda. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have four children that have passed, and my question is, how can this woman, Misty Carlton (ph), pretend she knew nothing about this, marry the father of this little girl and still hold it in herself all the time that she knew where that baby was?

GRACE: You know, I don`t know how she`s done it. But in my mind, in light of her failing four distinctly separate polygraphs, she has lied from the very beginning.

And to Bethany Marshall, Dr. Bethany, psychoanalyst, author of "Dealbreakers," if she had passed out or she was high on drugs or if she wasn`t there that night, she could have said that on the polygraph.

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: That`s right. But Veda brings an excellent point up, which is, How does someone hold a lie for this long? What is the mechanism by which the lie stays afloat? And I think it`s a couple of things. I think people like Misty tell a lie to cover their tracks, and then the lie becomes their truth. They begin to believe the lie and it becomes so much their truth that when they`re questioned about it, they actually become indignant.

And I actually think there`s an intergenerational pattern of lying in this family. That`s why all three of these players are lying. And part of it could even be genetic, a genetic predisposition towards sociopathy and anti-social behavior. And then you have all the drug use mixed in. Then you have an anti-authority attitude, and then them believing their own lies and turning on each other. And it is the perfect storm for holding onto a lie for ever and to the grave.

GRACE: You know, I think it`s a lot -- not that I`m disagreeing with you, Dr. Bethany, but I think there`s the simple element, Eleanor Odom, that the truth could result in the Florida death penalty. Now, that is an incentive to lie, Eleanor.

ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: Exactly. And what Tommy may be saying is a complete lie as to what happened in the trailer because he`s trying to exonerate himself. He`s trying to get out of trouble. So I don`t know that I believe him 100 percent.

GRACE: And this is a huge bombshell tonight. If believed, that Tom Croslin says the murder, the death of 5-year-old Haleigh happened there in the family home, what about it, Renee Rockwell.

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, obviously, you can check that story out with any forensics, Nancy.

GRACE: Well, I don`t know about that, Peter Odom, because the child`s DNA would be in the home anyway. So to find her DNA might not be that unusual, depending on the location and the nature.

PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right. They`ve been through that house, Nancy, with a fine-toothed comb. I`m not sure that this really adds anything to the story. It`s just -- I mean, there`s so much vapor -- there`s such a huge vapor of lies out there, it`s so difficult to tell what`s true, that they`re not...

GRACE: I know. When you finally...

PETER ODOM: ... any closer to solving this.

GRACE: When you finally hear the truth, Peter, you may not know whether to accept it or not, there`s been so many lies amongst this bunch.

PETER ODOM: And nothing is going to happen in this case without physical corroboration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY CROSLIN: Tell her I got to do something that I should have done a while ago.

HOLLARS: The first thing that I was told was that Joe had killed her.

TOMMY CROSLIN: Tell her I have to do something that I should have done a long time ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a huge river.

HOLLARS: I don`t want to hear the answer to it because I already know it.

-- throwed her in the river.

TOMMY CROSLIN: I`m just scared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY CROSLIN: His ass is crazy.

HANK CROSLIN: The only one that knows is the people that were there.

TOMMY CROSLIN: He tried to kill all of us.

HOLLARS: ... tied Haleigh up with a yellow rope...

TOMMY CROSLIN: Don`t be -- don`t be telling him until they get his ass.

HOLLARS: ... and tied a brickle block to the rope...

TOMMY CROSLIN: They`re going to get his ass.

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes. It was brick. Like, there`s brick on the floor, like...

HOLLARS: ... and dropped her into the St. John`s River.

MISTY CROSLIN: I never seen any bricks at all.

TOMMY CROSLIN: Don`t let him know, guys, for real because his ass is out to run (ph).

HOLLARS: No, baby. He won`t know. He won`t know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Bombshell tonight. We now learn that the cousin of Misty Croslin is stating Haleigh Cummings dies in the home, there in the trailer.

To Sheryl McCollum, cold case analyst. What do you make of it? And why is this so important to the case?

SHERYL MCCOLLUM, CRIME ANALYST: This is crucial. And I don`t look at this as a lie, I look at all of them as half-truths. Tommy has told you from the beginning he interjected himself at the crime scene. Then later, he tells Grandma, I was there when she died. And now she`s telling -- you know, now he`s telling the police even more information about what occurred inside the house, including the weapon of intimidation. He`s telling you bits and pieces as he gets more comfortable, Nancy. And I`m going to stay on my mantra. Tommy Croslin is the key to breaking this case, period.

GRACE: You know, you`ve said that since the very beginning, Sheryl McCollum. Why?

MCCOLLUM: He`s the one! He`s the one that talked. He`s the one that wants the story to come out. Tommy feels bad! He`s got kids, Nancy. And I`m going to tell you, they watch your show. So I`m going to speak directly to Tommy. Tommy, tell them. Tell them where the weapon is. Tell them who killed her. Tell them where Haleigh is! Let`s get this done! And I bet he does it within eight weeks, Nancy, eight weeks.

GRACE: But the thing is, Sheryl McCollum, the truth may implicate him.

MCCOLLUM: And he knows that. But he also knows, Nancy, the first one to talk gets the deal. He said he`s scared for his kids. You know what he really cares about? What they think about him. Bloody (ph), tell them what happened. Man up right now!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLARS: When Tommy called me, he was sort of whimpering, like, crying. I told him, I says, You failed your lie detector test, didn`t you. And he says, Yes, Nanny, I did. I said, OK, it`s time to come clean now.

TOMMY CROSLIN: He`s got to pay.

HOLLARS: Huh?

TOMMY CROSLIN: I said he`s got to pay for it.

HOLLARS: He`s got to pay for it, he says. He`s got to pay for it, he says.

TOMMY CROSLIN: He can`t hurt nobody.

HOLLARS: He can`t hurt nobody.

Do you know, Tommy?

TOMMY CROSLIN: What`s that?

HOLLARS: Do you know?

TOMMY CROSLIN: All I know is that he`s got to pay. you know, he can`t get to none of us, so it don`t matter.

HOLLARS: He`s got to pay, and he can`t get to none of y`all, so it don`t matter. But get his lawyer there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY CROSLIN: Y`all don`t say nothing to him, all right?

FLORA HOLLARS, GRANDMOTHER OF TOMMY: I didn`t. I been knowing this all along. I knew it was him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tommy Croslin points the finger at cousin, Joe Overstreet, claiming he`s involved in Haleigh`s murder.

CROSLIN: All I know is he`s got to pay. He can`t get to none of us, so it don`t matter.

HOLLARS: I want that little girl to be put to rest.

HANK CROSLIN: I know for a fact Tommy, Tommy ain`t got the heart. I don`t give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) what anybody says. Tommy had nothing to with that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were on the dock with Tommy and law enforcement --

CROSLIN: This (EXPLETIVE DELETED) sucks, dude. I want us out of here so bad. I would do anything to get out of here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do Joe Overstreet is involved in the disappearance.

HOLLAR: He says, Nanny, Tommy and Joe took a rope, a yellow rope, and wrapped Haleigh up with a yellow rope, tied it around here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t believe that Tommy and Misty could do anything to harm a child.

HOLLAR: They tied rickle (ph) blocks to the end of it and dropped her into the St. John`s River. And if they dropped her into the St. John`s River, where was she at? How did she know? How did she see it?

CROSLIN: The damn police said you are facing three years in prison unless you help us find Haleigh. I said, I can`t help you find nobody. I don`t know where she is.

I don`t want no one to hurt my kids.

HOLLAR: I know it`s -- I know it`s -- oh, my god.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, CNN HOST: Drug defendant, Tom Croslin, now admits that 5-year-old Haleigh was killed there in the family home, in the trailer. That is a major, major break in the case if it is found to be true. This, as we learn that Haleigh`s father, Ron Cummings, set to plead guilty. All the while, Lindsay Croslin finally going through with her plan to divorce Tom Croslin. What, if anything, will it mean to the investigation?

But first, to Ron`s guilty plea. What about it Eleanor?

ELEANOR ODOM, FELONY PROSECUTOR: Well, he`s pleading guilty to the trafficking and allegedly getting 15 years to serve. However, his sentence won`t come down until he truthfully testifies in a trial against Misty and Tommy. So, you know, there`s a lot more to come.

GRACE: Why do you say that sentencing won`t come down until after he gives testimony?

ODOM: Because part of his plea bargain will depend on him testifying truthfully at the trial of Misty. So he`s got to do that first, Nancy. And if he plays by the rules and does what he`s supposed to do, then he`ll get his 14 years.

GRACE: And to the lines. Alma, California.

Hi, Alma.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: Hi, dear.

CALLER: Great to talk to you.

GRACE: Likewise.

CALLER: I live in Northern California. We see these kids being killed in all this. And I say to myself that the cousin, or the other guy, the storm -- what was his name. Not Tommy, but the cousin.

GRACE: Joe Overstreet.

CALLER: Yes. I think he did it. I think either the baby got a hold of an Oxycontin and she took it and overdosed, and they threw her in the river instead of calling 911.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: That is a working theory that police have based on letters, based on drug use, based on the use of and the selling of Oxycontin-type pills.

Right, Ella Jostad?

ELLA JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yes, Nancy, that`s one of the possibilities. We do know that many of the players in this case are now involved in the drug trafficking. So it would make sense that there may have been drugs in the home.

GRACE: To Dr. Jake Deutsch, doctor of emergency medicine, joining us out of our Manhattan studio. Doctor, thanks for being with us.

DR. JAKE DEUTSCH, DOCTOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE: Thank you, Nancy.

GRACE: Over and over, we hear the defense attorneys arguing about the lack of evidence or DNA. That`s what they`re referring to in the home. However, there are many modes of murder that would not leave DNA behind.

DEUTSCH: Absolutely. If this was a suffocation, you wouldn`t expect to find any DNA evidence. Poisoning, as we have just mentioned, that would fall into the category where there wouldn`t be much forensic evidence. This drug use is interesting to me because it suggests possible routes of contaminating or actually killing the child. But maybe that leads insight into why this guy is starting confessed. Maybe he`s been using drugs for a long time. He has some permanent brain injury and is starting to hallucinate and become paranoid and therefore having more admission of guilt. So I am curious as to what kind of drugs they were trafficking. And that may be a clue into the answer here.

GRACE: All right, Harris, what type of drugs?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Let`s see, Oxycontin. They were using -- Misty calls them roxies, which is another form of Oxycontin. They also used cocaine. Ronald, you heard him ask in the car for a little -- little -- a little bit of marching dust. And now we have, you know, the whole drug -- the drug dealing backdrop.

But, Nancy, I also want to look at -- the reason that Tommy may be coming forward now is he was involved in this gun deal, I`m told, along with Misty. And they were planning to steal the gun and split the profits. If that`s the case, they had to be afraid that, what would Ronald do if he found out. And now, if it comes out, what can happen?

GRACE: Back to the lines. Bobbie, Missouri.

Hi, Bobbie.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy, how are you?

GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?

CALLER: I`m so glad to speak with you.

GRACE: Likewise.

CALLER: You are a sharp lady.

GRACE: Thank you.

CALLER: I tell you what, I have tried to call many times. But there`s something that lies heavy on my mind.

GRACE: OK.

CALLER: The day that the little girl went missing, they made comments there was an air conditioner man there, working on the air conditioner because it was out of use. It was not working. I know from experience that a lot of times they`ll prop open the backdoor and they`ll have to go in and out. And with that door being propped open, with that brick -- and no one ever mentioned, you know, questioning the air conditioner guy. Who was the air conditioner guy? It`s been totally left out of the picture. Besides, all of them are lying so much. And I can`t understand the father living there. I have a huge home, but I know what`s around my home. And he was not aware of any concrete blocks. He plays dumb to that question. And you just don`t know what to believe. But what about the air conditioner man?

GRACE: That`s a good point, Bobbie in Missouri.

Rosie, don`t we have the photos of the concrete blocks, the cement blocks around the home?

And to you, Jean Casarez, what about an air conditioning repairman being at the home that day?

JEAN CASAREZ, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think I remember something about that early on. But the sheriff`s department has an entire room that`s devoted to the case file of now this homicide case. They have left no stone unturned. They haven`t arrested anyone that they have investigated. And they obviously believe this man, if there is an air conditioning man, that he`s not a part of this.

GRACE: Everyone, quick break.

But tonight, best wishes and congratulations go out to Jolyn and Bruce. They`re getting married, finally. They were, back in 1968, very much in love, but Jolyn got cold feet, returned the engagement ring and sent a Dear John letter. Here they are in 1968. Well, Jolyn and Bruce found each other again 40 years later. Better late than never. You know, love finds a way. Here`s a true love story. Congratulations, Jolyn and Bruce.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: Ronald and Stanley are not as good as everybody thinks they are.

CUMMING: I`ve been slandered into a sorry father.

CROSLIN: They all take pills. They all do (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, is trying to arrange a plea deal on his drug charges.

CUMMINGS: I was a dope boy and must have ripped -- ripped somebody off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The catch? Ronald Cummings could be sentenced to 15 years in jail.

CUMMINGS: This is between me and you and whoever`s listening to our recording.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In exchange for testifying against his wife, Misty Croslin.

CUMMING: I`m not hiding anything from anybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And former brother-in-law, Tommy Croslin.

CUMMING: If somebody had something to do with it, so be it, whoever it might be.

MISTY CROSLIN, MOTHER OF HALIEGH: I would never hurt her.

CUMMING: That`s who it is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does Ronald know in this too?

LISA CROSLIN: Her and Ronald fought that day.

CUMMING: She admits she`s the last one to see her.

LISA CROSLIN: And she told him she didn`t want to babysit.

MISTY CROSLIN: They look at me like their mom.

LISA CROSLIN: And he told her, yes, you are going to babysit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My grandchildren love Misty, and that Misty loves my grandchildren.

LISA CROSLIN: I think he knows more than what he`s saying.

CUMMING: I don`t think she knows any information that`s going to find Haleigh.

LISA CROSLIN: The fact that him leaving those kids with her, and her still high on pills.

CUMMING: Nobody knows where there`s a (INAUDIBLE).

LISA CROSLIN: Would you leave your kids with somebody who`s all doped up?

CUMMING: There really isn`t a relationship.

MISTY CROSLIN: Baby, get in. Get in.

CUMMING: Ex-wife/friend.

MISTY CROSLIN: I still love him.

LISA CROSLIN: I know you do, baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Ronald Cummings set to plead guilty. This has a divorce is brewing.

What can you tell me about the divorce, Jean Casarez?

CASAREZ: I believe they are divorced now. At least, they were going through a divorce. But the thing is, this is what I have been told, is that he is going to plead guilty, but he has to do a statement, give a statement to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. That statement will be used as evidence against the other defendants. And I think that could be more pressure to Misty, even before there`s a trial and testimony, that even Ronald Cummings has turned against her.

GRACE: To James Werter, is it true that your client, Tom Croslin, is seen to be divorced from wife, Lindsay?

JAMES WERTER, ATTORNEY: No, that divorce action is on hold. Lindsay is giving it second thoughts, so that`s not happening at this time.

GRACE: Why did I know you would say that?

What about it, Ella Jostad?

JOSTAD: Well, actually Art Harris had been reporting that they were planning to file, that Lindsay has given up, I guess, and decided to file for divorce.

Is that true, Art Harris.

HARRIS: That`s right, papers were filed. She felt very betrayed. Believed in Tommy, stuck by him up to the end. Then she found out that he flunked the lie detector test, Nancy, and filed. And now, as we heard Mr. Werter saying, has second thoughts.

GRACE: So you believe, Art Harris, that she filed the divorce papers because her husband failed the polygraph?

HARRIS: And she learned that he had been lying to her over and over again. And she was so loyal to him. In many conversations I had with Lindsay, she was not going to believe this unless she had something concrete, Nancy.

GRACE: Out to the lines. Ryan in North Carolina.

Hi, Ryan.

CALLER: Hey, Nancy.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?

CALLER: Is there any new evidence to test if the ropes and cinder block found in the water -- is there any evidence to watch the original location by chance?

GRACE: The fact that it`s all been under water would probably remove any fiber or blood evidence.

What do you make of that, Dr. Deutsch?

DEUTSCH: Yes, that doesn`t bode well. If this is a very active river that they`re describing, all of that evidence would be washed away. The things that I would be interested in finding, given the circumstances, was any evidence of trauma to the skeleton which may have -- lead to a cause of death at this late stage.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers.

Eleanor Odom, felony prosecutor, with multiple death penalties under her belt; Renee Rockwell, defense attorney, Atlanta; Peter Odom, also a defense attorney in the Atlanta jurisdiction.

First to you, Eleanor. How would a plea, a guilty plea on the drug case from Ronald Cummings, and a divorce between Tom Croslin, who was there the night Haleigh goes missing, and his wife, Lindsay, how could those two events shape this case?

ODOM: I think somebody mentioned earlier, it`s going to put a great amount of pressure on both Tom Croslin and Misty Croslin to come forward and tell the truth, because those people are getting the best deals up front. They`re the first ones to plead, they`re going to get the best deals. So I`m hoping it will put some pressure on, so that Misty and Tom will finally tell the truth.

GRACE: Are you referring to the plea deal by Ron Cummings or the divorce between Croslin and Lindsay Croslin?

ODOM: Both, because you`ve got the plea deal by Ronald Cummings, which he could say something about Misty. And then if there`s a divorce, guess what, Nancy, there`s no marital privilege. You know, you`ve got to be careful about that. So that could put pressure on Tom Croslin.

GRACE: it`s my understanding Eleanor, that the way the marital privilege would work, even if they`re divorced, Tom Croslin could invoke husband/wife privilege, because it was protected at the time the comment was made.

ODOM: And I think that would be between communications between them, but not necessarily between certain actions.

GRACE: Good point.

ODOM: Things that she saw. So you`ve got to look at it that way.

What about it, Renee Rockwell. How will Ronald Cumming`s guilty plea and the divorce of Tom Croslin -- behind bars right now -- how would that affect the case?

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: First of all, I think he`s got on a great chance to make a move, because I have said all along, Nancy, that I felt the sorriest for him, because I didn`t think he had anything to come to the table with. But this is a fantastic move by law enforcement saying, hey, you come to us, you come to the table, we`ll give you a lesser sentence if you agree to testify. All he has to testify in is against these two in the drug case.

GRACE: Right.

What about it, Peter?

ROCKWELL: If he testifies in the drug case --

PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right. Of course, they have great cases against all these drug defendants without Ronald Cummings` testimony.

GRACE: Yes.

PETER ODOM: I don`t know that that`s going to have a huge impact. They`ve got it all on tape.

GRACE: They don`t need his testimony in the drug case. You`re right, Peter Odom.

He could get a light deal in the drug case in exchange for testimony in a possible Haleigh case.

What about that rope, Sheryl McCollum.

SHERYL MCCOLLUM: Nancy, they`re -- let`s say the rope was a 15-foot rope in the package that Tommy had in his house, and there`s five foot missing from it, and that`s the exact same link they found and pulled from the river, same color, same make, same width. That`s pretty good evidence to me. He described it to grandma. He led them to it.

GRACE: Quick break. We`re taking your calls, but now, "CNN Heroes."

(CNN HEROES)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: What a week in America`s courtrooms. Take a look at the stories and, more important, the people who touched our lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICE: At approximately 9:15, a woman walking her dog in a remote area of Napa County found a body.

GRACE: The body of 24-year-old nursing student, Phuong Le, this absolutely gorgeous young girl, her whole life in front of her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we have here is a homicide with no suspects in custody or in sight (ph). But definitely the body is that of Phuong Le. Unknown who did this to her and why.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just released, nearly 50 pages of graphic text messages prosecutors say were exchanged between accused murder-for hire bride, Dalia Dippolito, and her alleged lover.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: LOL, nice. You`re great. Thanks for everything. So do you approve of my boobs?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police in Nevada investigating the death of a 25- year-old pro woman golfer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something happened. She was supposed to leave for a tournament. That morning, she didn`t leave.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say they responded to a 911 call.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Erica`s body was found inside of her Henderson home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Details of her death haven`t been released.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just devastating. We`re going to have to bury a 25-year-old daughter. That`s sad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Search warrants reveal apparent blood stains found in both cars belonging to Venus` husband, Douglas Stewart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m sure he took her as I am of my name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news. A friend of the 16-year-old girl, allegedly raped by NFL superstar and former "Dancing with the Stars" contestant, Lawrence Taylor, comes forward. According to an unnamed source who spoke to the "New York Post," she claims the girl said no intercourse happened at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lawrence Taylor did not have consensual sex with anybody.

GRACE: Did you hear the defense attorney just say he did not have consensual sex with anyone? I guess that was one of those Freudian slips.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For almost one minute, this teacher was caught on a cell-phone camera terrorizing a student.

GRACE: Look at the little boy cringing. This is a sixth grader the teacher is beating. And if reports are true, other teachers stood by and watched it. I can hardly stand to look at it. Kicking, beating. And the way she approached him, she looked like she was a professional wrestler.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Let`s stop and remember Army specialist, Kareem Khan, 20, Mantoloking (ph), New Jersey, killed Iraq, awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart. Unofficially joining the Army with his dad`s permission before he was 18. Loved the ocean, video games, Dallas Cowboys and flee markets with dad. Leaves behind grieving parents, Heros (ph) and Elshiba (ph), step mom, Neesha (ph), and stepsister, Oleigha (ph). Kareem Khan, American hero.

Thanks to our guests, and especially to you.

Reminder, May 16th, CNN Espanol has a special program on handicapped children, included, a story of sensory thera-fun, a huge indoor play station for children with special needs, Atlanta. Founded by a father with a daughter with special needs.

And tonight, good night from the New York control room.

Good night, Brett, Rosie, Norm.

Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp eastern. And until then, good night, friends.

END

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1005/14/ng.01.html

[Sassycat]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1005/17/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Haleigh`s Dad Set to Testify against Misty; Ron Cummings to Take Plea Deal on Drug Charges

Aired May 17, 2010 - 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. The last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who goes on to flunk four polygraphs. Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and stepmother Croslin both booked, drug trafficking. Search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters all comb the St. John`s River.

As the search for Haleigh`s entire body and for the murder weapon goes on, bombshell tonight. Is 5-year-old Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, set to enter a plea of guilty in exchange for testifying against his own ex, Haleigh`s stepmom Misty Croslin? Why are prosecutors reportedly willing to cut decades off Cummings`s jail sentence? What does he know? And tonight, a stunning call from behind jailhouse walls, a call that could crack the case wide open.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: I know somebody took my little girl! Some sorry piece of trash that will be wasted when it`s all over!

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: I don`t know where she is!

CUMMINGS: It`s hard to believe that she don`t know more, but it`s also hard to believe that if she did know more, she ain`t already talking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ronald Cummings may testify against his ex- wife, Misty Croslin.

CUMMINGS: Especially if they got her locked up like they got me, man.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY`S GRANDMOTHER: They`d only known one another for four months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to affiliate WESH, Cummings accepted a plea deal in exchange for his testimony against Croslin and her brother.

CUMMINGS: I`ll get it for you. No problem. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) two weeks, I can make the money to pay for them and eat it myself.

HOLLARS: To me, that was a staged marriage to keep from testifying against each other, but they found out real quick that it don`t work in Florida.

CUMMINGS: 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 said that the back doctor was wide open and Haleigh was gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Under the deal, Cummings will have to serve 15 years behind bars.

CUMMINGS: I don`t know if you do Roxies or whatever. I can get them, but they`re (EXPLETIVE DELETED) expensive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CUMMINGS: I don`t care if they get me with injustifiable homicide. I don`t care. If I find out what happened to young`un, it doesn`t matter to me. It`d be worth life without parole or the death penalty or whatever.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.

Tonight, is there a deal in the works? Is 5-year-old Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, set to enter a plea of guilty in exchange for testifying against his own ex, Haleigh`s stepmother, Misty Croslin?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUMMINGS: Somebody stole my child out of my bed!

I want to know, if she knows anything, what she does know.

This is my heart. And somebody stole my heart from me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ronald Cummings may testify against his ex- wife, Misty Croslin, in a drug case.

CUMMINGS: How the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) can you let my daughter get stole, (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!

MISTY CROSLIN: I still love him.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: I know you do, baby.

CUMMINGS: We need to find my daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: According to WESH, Cummings accepted a plea deal in exchange for his testimony against Croslin and also her brother.

MISTY CROSLIN: I would have woke up if I heard any noise, and I didn`t hear anything at all.

CUMMINGS: I don`t think Misty holds any information that`s going to find Haleigh.

You got some good dope or something?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

CUMMINGS: I like to get high. That`s why I was asking if you had any powder to let me know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Under this deal, Cummings will serve 15 years in prison.

CUMMINGS: This is a setback in my life that when I come out, will remind me, you know, what I -- what I should be -- should be doing and not what I was doing or whatever.

The two of us have agreed to go separate ways. We can`t go anywhere without being questioned or people staring at us or anything like that.

GRACE: For the first time, I don`t believe you. I think you do suspect your ex-wife`s -- soon-to-be ex-wife`s story. Why? I don`t know that yet, but I`ll find out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Is Ronald Cummings, the man that has been on this show many, many times begging for help in finding his daughter, a man now behind bars on drug trafficking -- you`ve seen his involvement on undercover police pinpoint video taken from inside an undercover car. We`re going to show you that in just a few moments. But is he set to take a greatly reduced guilty plea in exchange for testifying against Misty Croslin?

There you see Ronald Cummings in the back seat. Rosie, can you open up the sound on that for me? We`re trying to get the sound for you on this video. This is secret police surveillance take within pinpoint camera. You hardly hear Ronald Cummings say a word. In nearly every one of these dope deals, Misty Croslin is running the show.

Out to Art Harris, investigative journalist at Artharris.com. Art, what do you know?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Nancy, Ronald Cummings has taken a plea deal to serve 15 years in prison -- decades less than he would have had he gone to trial to face three charges of trafficking -- to testify against his ex-wife, Misty, and his former brother-in-law, Tommy Croslin, in the drug charges. This seriously gives prosecutors in the Haleigh Cummings case a tremendous bit of leverage, Nancy, to try to crack her under more pressure.

GRACE: Out to Marlaina Schiavo, our producer on the story. Marlaina, it`s my understanding the plea deal is not yet confirmed. Now, this has been in the works for some time now, many, many weeks. But as of right now, has he gone in front of a judge and taken the deal? Has he put his testimony in writing, that we know of?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Not just yet, but almost. His attorney, Ronald`s attorney, Terry Shoemaker, says that this deal is in the works. He is supposed to go to trial on July 19th, but Terry said he`s going to meet with prosecutors this week, hopefully, and get this deal done, Nancy.

GRACE: OK, what date is the trial date, Marlaina?

SCHIAVO: July 19.

GRACE: July 19th. Well, there`s nothing like a trial date to get a guilty plea in the works. I would go for months with something on the trial calendar, come Monday morning, the defense attorneys would be lined up on the courthouse steps, everybody trying to get a plea deal because sentencing much harsher after a trial.

Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight, Eleanor Odom, felony prosecutor who has tried many death penalty cases. Also with us, John Burris, famed attorney out of San Francisco. Also with us, Alan Ripka, defense attorney, New York.

Before we go to the lawyers, Ellie Jostad, what more can you tell me about the possibility Ronald Cummings is entering a plea of guilty?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, Ron Cummings is facing five trafficking charges. Now, the mandatory minimums on those charges vary, depending on how much of the drug he`s accused of selling. What we`re hearing is that he is going to plead to the three lesser charges. One of them carries a three-year mandatory minimum, the other two charges 15 years. What gets dropped in exchange are two charges for more -- more drugs, a larger amount of drugs. Each of those carries a 25-year mandatory minimum. So he`s getting a lot shaved off his jail time if he testifies for the state.

GRACE: And when you say 15 years, Ellie, it sounds to me like pleading guilty on a couple of counts is all going to run concurrent. In other words...

JOSTAD: Right.

GRACE: ... at the same time, when a judge could stack it consecutively, 15 years and 15 years and 15 years, so total a large, like, 45, 50 years of jail time?

JOSTAD: Right. That`s right, Nancy. That`s what Terry Shoemaker, Ronald Cummings`s attorney, is hoping, that he could get out in about 15 years.

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Take a listen to Ronald Cummings in the police undercover car in the middle of a drug deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to -- you want to hop in?

MISTY CROSLIN: Baby, get in. Get in. Who is that?

CUMMINGS: Unlock the door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

MISTY CROSLIN: I know that`s somebody. I know that (INAUDIBLE) somebody. I know her. I just don`t know who she is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve got them -- I`ve got them -- 10 in little -- little (INAUDIBLE) baggies, if you want to count them up real quick and make sure they`re all (EXPLETIVE DELETED) there.

CUMMINGS: I`m positive they are, man. I`m sure you...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s 100 there, should be 100 there.

CUMMINGS: (INAUDIBLE)

MISTY CROSLIN: ... 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 in there. There`s 100 in there.

CUMMINGS: Got 100 in here. If they`re all in -- if they`re all in 10-packs, there`s 100.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. There should be...

(CROSSTALK)

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So just whenever. I mean...

CUMMINGS: It should be -- it`s going to take a couple days for me to get rid of 200 of them now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I mean -- I mean, I -- I mean, I got -- I got two weeks to play with it, so I mean (EXPLETIVE DELETED) two weeks, whatever.

CUMMINGS: OK. I`ll get it for you. No problem. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) two weeks, I can make the money to pay for them and eat it myself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

MISTY CROSLIN: Uh-oh!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!

CUMMINGS: Hang on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, do me a favor...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground! Get on the ground! Go, go, go, go, go!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: Just going to ride right here by the school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You scared the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of me!

MISTY CROSLIN: Sorry -- $190.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $190?

CUMMINGS: Yes, $7 apiece. It`s actually $189.

MISTY CROSLIN: Well, yes, $189.

CUMMINGS: For 27 of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For 27 of them?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, OK, OK. All right.

MISTY CROSLIN: You`re going to have to probably give me the money right here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: You know, they act like they`re counting out jellybeans at the candy counter at Sears and Roebuck.

Eleanor Odom, John Burris, Alan Ripka, get ready. We`re taking calls. First to Stephanie in Missouri. Hi, Stephanie. I think I`ve got Stephanie with me. Rosie, can you hook me up with Stephanie in Missouri?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I just want to touch on two different things...

GRACE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... that`s really been bothering me.

GRACE: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first one is the visit, the timely visit of Joe. You know, was this a planned trip he had there, OK? And then the second one is, you know, maybe Joe and Misty have some sort of incestual (SIC) relationship and Haleigh might have woken up and caught them and said she was going to tell her daddy.

GRACE: OK. Stephanie, Missouri, I think your first question is very good. Second one about incest -- don`t have a scintilla, a shred of evidence to support that. But I want to go back to your question about, Was Joe Overstreet`s visit planned? What do we know, Art Harris?

HARRIS: I can tell you that investigators have looked into that because that was the big question. Did he leave right after Haleigh went missing? And they learned that he had plans to go there and then plans to leave that day. He went down with a friend who was a young woman named Jennifer...

GRACE: So it was pre-planned?

HARRIS: Pre-planned.

GRACE: OK. Lawyers, Eleanor Odom, John Burris, Alan Ripka. First to you, John Burris. He`s got all the reason in the world to testify against Misty Croslin. If the allegations are true, she and her relatives are responsible for the death, likely the murder of his little girl. Why shouldn`t he testify?

JOHN BURRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I think he should, and I think he will testify. And I think that`s part of the agreement. The question is, what does he really have to offer to testify about?

GRACE: What about it, Eleanor Odom?

BURRIS: I mean, he...

ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: Well, I think it`s good. The person who comes and admits guilt first gets the better deal, and there he is putting pressure on Misty.

GRACE: What about it, Alan Ripka?

ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: He`s saving 20 years, so he has to do it, no matter what?

GRACE: Is Ronald Cummings set to enter a plea of guilty in exchange for testimony on what he knows about the night his 5-year-old daughter went missing? She`s never been seen alive since.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUMMINGS: I`m not hiding anything for anybody. And if somebody had something to do with it, let them fry.

HOLLARS: Joe. I`ve been knowing this all along. I knew it was him.

MISTY CROSLIN: Youthful offender? I would do it. I would take it. Three years in and four years out? I`ll take it. I`ll take it and run.

HOLLARS: I just hope and pray that the child was already dead before she hit that water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUMMINGS: I want to get to the bottom of what happened. One way or another, I want my daughter to come home.

MISTY CROSLIN: I woke up and she was gone!

CUMMINGS: I come home from work, and my child was not there.

How the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) can you let my daughter get stole, (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!

MISTY CROSLIN: Me being in jail has nothing to do with Haleigh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The investigators have had an effect on her.

LISA CROSLIN: I see the smile.

MISTY CROSLIN: I need to just sit here and do what I got to do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s not going to crack.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: He`s got to pay.

HOLLARS: And it`s the story that Misty`s saying?

TOMMY CROSLIN: Yes, but it -- yes, that`s it.

HOLLARS: Joe?

TOMMY CROSLIN: Yes.

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: You tell them where Haleigh is and bring Haleigh home.

MISTY CROSLIN: I can`t just bring her home, you know?

CUMMINGS: Not a retirement plan, but an extra kick right now.

HANK CROSLIN: Well, you just fell into their game, Ronald and their game. Should`ve never been with Ronald in the first place.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s going to put a great amount of pressure on both Tom Croslin and Misty Croslin to come forward and tell the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you do for a living, ma`am?

MISTY CROSLIN: Nothing.

I put her to bed and -- about 8:00 o`clock, and the back door was wide open.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bottom line, you don`t know where Haleigh is.

MISTY CROSLIN: Bottom line.

That`s what they think, I`m going to break? There`s nothing to break me on!

CUMMINGS: This (EXPLETIVE DELETED) will drive you crazy. This place ain`t but the size of two sheets of plywood.

MISTY CROSLIN: Over where that guy`s walking, I`m going to have you stop a little bit back here, and I`m going to get out of the car and walk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

MISTY CROSLIN: Because he don`t like seeing new people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t want to meet nobody new, either.

MISTY CROSLIN: Let us out right here and we`ll walk up there. Come on, Hope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. You want us just to hang out right here?

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes. Just go and -- go down and turn around...

CUMMINGS: We`ll go up here and turn around and come back, man. I`ll ride with you. Let me up front. (INAUDIBLE) in the back (INAUDIBLE) Slow down when you go past them. Let me just ask them where I`m going to meet them at. Hey! Hey! Where -- how far down y`all got to go?

MISTY CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE)

CUMMINGS: We`re going to -- we`re going to pick you up right back right there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Tonight, reports that Ron Cummings, the father of 5-year- old Haleigh, is set to plead guilty in exchange for his testimony against stepmother Misty Croslin, his own ex-wife. We are taking your calls. This as a letter that allegedly comes from behind jailhouse walls said to crack the case wide open. Tell me about the letter, Art Harris.

HARRIS: Nancy, I can tell that you Misty has written a letter to her sister-in-law, Chelsea Croslin, up in Massachusetts, and it goes over in much more detail than she has before, according to what Chelsea told me, the details of that night and discusses -- and discusses going down to the river, trying to identify the dock that police took her to as the one that Tommy supposedly took her to, to show her where they threw Haleigh off.

GRACE: OK. Who`s got the letter, Art?

HARRIS: Chelsea Croslin has the letter.

GRACE: Has anybody seen...

HARRIS: Law enforcement has a copy of the letter.

GRACE: OK, so cops have a copy of the letter?

HARRIS: Yes.

GRACE: Why don`t they have the actual letter?

HARRIS: Well, they see, everything that goes in and out of that jail, and they can do with it what they want. They -- they have the letter, Nancy. So...

GRACE: OK, but you`re sure the cops have the letter?

HARRIS: That`s what I`ve been told.

GRACE: Now, Art, isn`t it true that they were trying to sell the letter?

HARRIS: Well, I`ve been told that they would like to trade the letter for a used car to go back and forth to school and to work, that they don`t have a car that works right now.

GRACE: So bottom line, they are trying to sell the letter?

HARRIS: Correct.

GRACE: OK. Eleanor Odom, John Burris, Alan Ripka. John Burris, doesn`t that devalue the letter? I mean, if we can prove it came from behind jailhouse walls, fine. If cops intercepted it and made a copy of it, fine. But if not, how I do know this isn`t just some letter that the family fabricated to try to sell?

BURRIS: I agree with that. I mean, any time you have something from the jailhouse, you have to be suspicious of it in the first place unless you can authenticate it. I`d have real questions about this, frankly.

GRACE: Eleanor?

ODOM: You can authenticate it by using handwriting analysis. An expert witness can tell who wrote that letter.

GRACE: And Alan Ripka, is every letter and every phone call coming out of a jail fair game for law enforcement?

RIPKA: Absolutely fair game. Law enforcement can use it to prosecute and do with it what they will.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s your relationship with Misty?

CUMMINGS: There really isn`t a relationship, you know? Just, I guess, ex-wife-slash friend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, do me a favor...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground! Get on the ground! Go, go, go, go!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

911 OPERATOR: 911. What`s your emergency?

MISTY CROSLIN: I -- I just woke up and our back door was open, and I can`t find my daughter.

911 OPERATOR: You can`t find what?

MISTY CROSLIN: Our daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say Misty was the last person to see the 6-year-old, and they have always accused her of not telling them everything about what happened that night.

MISTY CROSLIN: If I had something to do with it, if I knew where she was, we wouldn`t be sitting here today. We would have her.

CUMMINGS: Well, we don`t want to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with him no more anyway if he don`t do good business. That`s the end of that.

When I find out, if I find out before the police, it`s going to be done for them. Done dealing. I`ll have satisfaction knowing that I got the person who stole my daughter from me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Out to Jessie in Nevada. Hi, Jessie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Thank you for taking my call.

GRACE: Thank you for calling in, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have two short questions.

GRACE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did Ron and Misty meet? And why did they get married so soon?

GRACE: Good question. What do you know about it, Art Harris?

HARRIS: I can tell you that they met one day when Ron was at the bus stop to pick up his daughter, that Misty was walking with her family. He was standing next to a neighbor named Jerry Santos (ph). And all of a sudden, Ron remarked, Look at that girl. Isn`t she hot? And Ron (SIC) said, yes, Ron, if you like 15, it`ll get you 20. So she was very young, looked very young, and he was very surprised that this was someone Ron was attracted to. Next thing you know, they were -- they were together.

GRACE: Leonard Padilla, bounty hunter who offered to bail Ron Cummings out from behind bars -- Leonard, what do you think of the reports that have now surfaced Ronald Cummings now set to plead guilty in exchange for his testimony against Misty Croslin?

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: Well, Nancy, that situation started about three, maybe four weeks ago. And at that time, I had to cool my jets on bailing him out because there was a bail reduction schedule, and one thing would have led to another. And there was some thought in my mind that he might follow up with his threat to get out of jail. And there was also some thoughts that it might mess up his plea bargain that he had going. So at that time, I decided to back off. And it looks like the plea bargain is going to go through as far as Ron and his deal with the DA.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Misty has been deceptive. Her stories don`t make sense. The key to this case lies with her.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Ronald Cummings may testify against his ex-wife, Misty Croslin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The police have always that -- you know, first, you know, if you divorce Misty, you know, we`ll find something out. You know, she`ll crack.

MISTY CROSLIN, FORMER STEPMOM/BABYSITTER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: I don`t want a divorce. But heck, that`s what he wants. So whatever. I`m not going to fight him.

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: He said she didn`t give two (EXPLETIVE DELETED) about her brother, her mama, her daddy. Nobody,. When I talked about you being locked up, she started pouring them. And they were real.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They told him, you know, if Misty got in trouble, if Misty was in jail, we could probably get her to crack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Hey, do me a favor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground. Get on down. Get on down!

CUMMINGS: They went to the jail and was talking to her and Jason said man, I`ve never seen her cry. Real tears. You know she always has to jerk a tear out. Jason said no, man, this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) was like pouring. And you know what when it started? And I said when? He said when we started about you being locked up and losing Junior.

M. CROSLIN: When Haleigh`s found I will be let out of jail because that`s the only reason they`re keeping me in here. The only reason they set me up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, like I told her earlier, I`ll just give you a call when I`m done out there and start hearing this way and we`ll see what`s up at that point.

M. CROSLIN: All right.

CUMMINGS: Yes, if I can`t -- I mean I don`t know if you do Roxies or whatever. I can get them. But they`re (EXPLETIVE DELETED) expensive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Out to the lines, Harriet in Florida. Hi, Harriet.

HARRIET, CALLER FROM FLORIDA: Hi, Miss Nancy. How are you?

GRACE: Hi, dear. I`m good. What`s your question, Harriet?

HARRIET: Well, I have a comment. One, one of the questions brought up was Haleigh has got a little purple fuzzy hat and that reminds me so much of that little girl that John Couey killed and buried or buried alive.

And the other, I think Joe Overstreet is the most important person in this case. I think he has done it. I think he has used these other people, but they are idiots. But anyway, I hear you`re from Macon and I was born there.

(LAUGHTER)

GRACE: So you`re a Macon girl. I miss it.

HARRIET: Yes.

GRACE: Harriet, it`s really interesting what you`re saying about Overstreet, because out of the three, he`s the only one that`s not behind bars right now. And I wonder how much they are using him as a scapegoat or how much he`s actually involved.

To Ellie Jostad. Ellie, what do you make of it? Because here we`ve got Ronald Cummings set to testify against his ex -- stepmother Misty Croslin -- but we hear little out of Joe Overstreet.

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Right, Nancy. And Joe Overstreet`s name actually came up just within a few days of Haleigh`s disappearance. And at the time, police told us they checked him out, they`d interviewed him a couple of times.

I think it was even the FDLE or the FBI that may have also talked to him and we have heard repeatedly, he is not a suspect, he is not a person of interest.

GRACE: But for all I know, Ellie, they`ve got a tap on every line he`s got.

And to Andrew J. Scott, former chief of police, Boca Raton, VP, Scott- Roberts and Associates, what about tapping a cell phone? Isn`t that possible, too?

ANDREW J. SCOTT, FMR. CHIEF OF POLICE, BOCA RATON, FL.; VP OF SCOTT- ROBERTS AND ASSOCIATES, LLC: Oh, very easily. It is quite capable and they should be doing it, and if they haven`t, I think it`s a good move, but they can very easily do that, Nancy. It`s not a problem.

GRACE: Because they keep saying Joe Overstreet is not a suspect. They are probably watching him, listening to every phone call he makes, seeing correspondence he sends back and forth if he is corresponding to anybody behind jailhouse walls.

What do you think, Andrew?

SCOTT: Oh, I think so. I think that anybody that was at least a person of interest probably is going to have some type of surveillance being done on them, either electronically or physical or both, and it would make sense to do all of that because somewhere along the line they`re going to get some good information.

GRACE: Now here is what Tommy Croslin has to say about with cousin Joe Overstreet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S BROTHER: He`s got to pay.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY CROSLIN AND JOE OVERSTREET`S GRANDMOTHER: Huh?

T. CROSLIN: I said he`s got to pay for it.

HOLLARS: He`s got to pay for it. He`s got to pay for it, he says.

T. CROSLIN: He can`t hurt nobody.

HOLLARS: He can`t hurt nobody. Do you know, Tommy?

T. CROSLIN: What`s that?

HOLLARS: Do you know?

T. CROSLIN: All I know is that he`s got to pay and he can`t get to none of us so it don`t matter.

HOLLARS: He`s got to pay and he can`t get to none of you all so it don`t matter, but get his lawyer there.

She said is it you or is it somebody else?

T. CROSLIN: It ain`t me. No. It`s not me. She should know that.

HOLLARS: It`s not him. It`s not him.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: So, how is it -- is it just convenient, Eleanor Odom, that they are blaming Overstreet? He`s the only one not behind bars. Police seem to think the other two are more important.

ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: Exactly. And remember, Misty is the key, as we have said so many times, and she was actually at the trail that night. She knows what happened to little Haleigh and she`s not talking.

The cops are probably letting Joe be out and about and doing his own thing so they can do a lot of surveillance on him.

GRACE: To Art Harris, investigative journalist. Art, I want to, A, go back to that letter but first, if this is correct, if Ronald Cummings is set to enter a plead of guilty in exchange for his testimony against Misty Croslin, the stepmother, what would he know? He wasn`t there that evening.

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, ARTHARRIS.COM: Exactly, Nancy. The question is what leverage could Ron possibly have other than trickling down and touching Misty`s heart? As the officer told him, he`s the only thing that makes her cry. And she`s got him tattooed right above her lower back.

GRACE: OK, thanks, Art, for that little tidbit. To Terry in Maryland, hi, Terry.

TERRY, CALLER FROM MARYLAND: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What is your question?

TERRY: Yes, Cousin Joe. He`s not listed as a suspect and the authorities questioned him. Why didn`t they give him a lie detector test to see if he passed or failed and they would learn more about the case because I think he would fail?

GRACE: Well, Terry in Maryland, I think he knows more than he is telling. I`m not convinced that Misty Croslin is telling the truth about his involvement. But regarding the lie detector, you cannot force a suspect or a defendant, a person of interest onto a lie detector. You absolutely can cannot under our Constitution. Isn`t that right, Ripka?

ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right. They are not required to take a lie detector test. One may think that he`d want to to show he`s innocent, but he doesn`t have to.

GRACE: What about it, Burris? How often do you hook up one of your clients to a lie detector test?

JOHN BURRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It depends on what I think they`re guilty or not.

(LAUGHTER)

GRACE: So give me a number.

BURRIS: Well, I don`t do that. I don`t do that --

GRACE: Give me a ballpark number.

BURRIS: I don`t do that.

GRACE: I bet you in all your years of practice which has got to be at least, at least 20, at least. I bet you haven`t hooked up to --

BURRIS: I have people. No, I have not hooked up 20 people, you`re absolutely right. And --

GRACE: No way.

BURRIS: And generally --

GRACE: Because, hey, you don`t want to know the answer, huh?

BURRIS: Well, three to four people, I certainly have. No, if I think a person can be cleared, I definitely will hook them up and try to give that to the district attorney`s confidence so I have done that in more than one --

GRACE: So you`re telling me you`ve had less than 20 people you thought were innocent that you represented?

BURRIS: No, I haven`t said that. But you know, sometimes it makes --

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: I can add, all right? I do know a little math on this end. OK. Out to the lines. Angela, Ohio. Hi, Angela.

ANGELA, CALLER FROM OHIO: Hi there. I can`t believe I`m on here. I just love you and when I don`t get to see you, I`m recording you.

GRACE: Thank you for calling in, dear. What`s your question?

ANGELA: I have some question and actually some comments.

GRACE: OK.

ANGELA: Misty knows the system. I mean you can just tell a bad person when you are around them, you know? And the way she manipulates her mother, she -- like her mother agrees with everything. Like I see that smile and yes, I know, honey, it will be all right. And she just agreed and that makes me sick to my stomach. You know and --

GRACE: Well, you remember she was trying to get her mother to give up her house payment to try to bond her out. Remember that phone call? Go ahead, Angela.

ANGELA: OK. And if Ronald Cummings is going to testify against her, then he had to have known something, right? I mean --

GRACE: Well, he may know things that happened afterwards. There may be things that she told him, inconsistent statements. It could be a number of things, right, Eleanor, without him being involved in the murder?

ODOM: Exactly. And he probably knows, as you said, about her actions and can testify as to that so I think this plea deal is just to put pressure on for a later case, perhaps a murder case.

GRACE: To Dr. Janet Taylor, psychiatrist and MD, now that Croslin is hearing behind bars that her true love, Ron Cummings, is going to testify against her, what direction -- in which direction will that push her?

DR. JANET TAYLOR, PSYCHIATRIST: Well, it`s got to push her to one of instability, because as we have heard, he was her rock and I`m sure she`s very shocked that he`s going to do that but hopefully, maybe it`ll put the pressure on her to finally tell the truth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

M. CROSLIN: There was nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were willing to take the effort to look for that needle.

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST; FMR. D.C. POLICE DET., FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: Who was with her, the last person with her? She was.

CUMMINGS: I still got one pending that`s assault with a deadly weapon, charge pending and I never -- I didn`t even -- my guns were at home are locked up in a gun cabinet, dude.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. CROSLIN: Ronald`s family is not as good as everybody think they are.

CUMMINGS: I have been slandered into a sorry father.

M. CROSLIN: They all take pills. They all do (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Haleigh`s father Ronald Cummings is trying to arrange a plea deal on his drug charges.

CUMMINGS: I was a dope boy and I must have ripped somebody off.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: According to affiliate (INAUDIBLE), Cummings accepts a plea deal in exchange --

CUMMINGS: This is between me and you and whoever`s listening to our recording.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Croslin`s in jail waiting to be tried on drug charges. She is the last person --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: In exchange for testifying against his ex-wife, Misty Croslin.

CUMMINGS: I`m not hiding anything for anybody.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And former brother-in-law, Tommy Croslin.

CUMMINGS: If somebody has something to do with it, so be it. Who ever it might be.

M. CROSLIN: I would never hurt her.

CUMMINGS: That is who it is.

BROOKS: What does Ronald know in this, too?

HOLLARS: Her and Ron had fought that day.

CUMMINGS: I know she was the last one to see her.

HOLLARS: And she told him she didn`t want to babysit.

M. CROSLIN: They look at me like their mom.

HOLLARS: And he told her, yes, you are going to babysit.

TERESA NEVES, HALEIGH CUMMINGS` MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER: My grandchildren loved Misty and that Misty love my grandchildren.

HOLLARS: I think he knows more than what he is saying.

CUMMINGS: I don`t think that she holds any information that`s going to find Haleigh.

HOLLARS: The fact that leaving those kids there with her and her still having pills.

CUMMINGS: Nobody knows whether it`s a psycho or sicko.

HOLLARS: Would you leave your kids with somebody that`s all doped up?

CUMMINGS: I know somebody took my little girl. A sorry piece of trash that will be wasted with when it`s all over. Somebody stole my child out of my bed. I come home from work and my -- my child was not there.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Ronald Cummings, is he set to plead guilty in exchange for his testimony about stepmother, Misty Croslin, his ex-wife, the last one to see little Haleigh alive?

We are taking your calls. Out to the lines, Blaire, North Carolina. Hi, Blaire.

BLAIRE, CALLER FROM NORTH CAROLINA: Hi, Nancy, how are you?

GRACE: Hi, dear, I`m good. Thank you for calling in. What is your question?

BLAIRE: I`m just -- I have two questions and I have a serious comment. My first comment is, how in this -- excuse my French -- how the hell can you sit there and walk arm in arm with the -- the last person that just seen your child alive?

I`m sorry, I don`t agree with the man putting his hands on a woman but when it comes down to your child that`s a whole other story. I`m sorry there is no possible way I can see myself arm in arm, even with my husband, if I think that something even a little bit happened to my child in his care.

And also, I just don`t understand how he`s not a suspect in this case because of simply because of that and his demeanor. I mean you`re a father --

GRACE: OK. With your first comment, I agree. With your question, I`ll tell you how he is not a suspect that we know of.

BLAIRE: Mm-hmm.

GRACE: He was punched into work at the time she went missing. We know what time he went to work and while he was at work, a relative -- a believable relative -- came to the home. He was not there. He was at work.

Only there as an adult was Misty Croslin. His employer has been questioned. He did not leave his place of business to go home. So he was gone -- what was it, Ellie Jostad -- from that afternoon until 3:00 in the morning.

And she -- Haleigh was alive and well when the relative came to visit around 7:30 p.m. Ellie?

JOSTAD: Yes, that`s right, Nancy. It was, I believe, the grandmother who had been there earlier in the evening. She said she saw the kids. They -- she brought in some lawn drill, the kids had dinner, everything was fine at that point.

GRACE: I want to go to Dr. Glenn Kolansky, board certified physician. Dr. Kolansky joining us out of New York.

Dr. Kolansky, it was stated by one of the persons of interest that Haleigh`s murder occurred in the home. There is no DNA that we have learned about that points in that direction. Could both things be true that there is no DNA evidence and that she was murdered in the home?

DR. GLENN KOLANSKY, M.D., BOARD CERTIFIED PHYSICIAN: Well, certainly she could have been murdered in the home and basically I believe another family moved into that home. Certainly they could have lean cleaned up DNA evidence. Certainly, you know -- anything like the fingerprints or any kind of body fluids. It`s easy to remove those with simple cleaning fluids. Basically, we really have no idea.

GRACE: Well, I`m just thinking about a different kind of cause of death, Eleanor.

ODOM: Yes, something like strangulation, Nancy, wouldn`t necessarily leave body fluid that they could test for DNA. So yes, there are causes of death that you wouldn`t leave a trace there in the trailer.

GRACE: And another thing -- out to you, John Burris -- you know, a lot of people have tried to get rid of blood DNA with various household cleaners and you practically have to pull out something akin to muriatic acid. It`s a very strong chemical additive to get rid of DNA.

It`s very hard to get rid of. You can even put bleach on it. It can break it down, but it can`t get rid of it.

BURRIS: Well, I agree. I don`t know that you can easily get are rid of it. And I think that, you know, you can overlook it initially. And so it could be there and you don`t know. But there are certain kind of death that are caused where you don`t necessarily leave it in the first place. So I think that point is right.

GRACE: You know, Marlaina Schiavo, we`ve also been told that Tom Croslin wants a deal, wants a plea deal but prosecutors don`t have anything to do with him.

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Yes. According to his attorney, Jim Werter, he wants a plea deal also but they will not negotiate with him, Nancy.

He wouldn`t say why he wouldn`t but it probably had something to do with the fact that all the information he`s provided --

GRACE: That they think he is guilty?

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Because take a look at it, Eleanor. Out of the three behind bars -- you`ve got Ron Cummings, the father, Misty Croslin, the stepmother and Tom Croslin, the relative -- he is the only one who`s getting a deal. That says to me cops don`t think he`s implicated in Haleigh`s murder.

ODOM: Exactly, Nancy. And if Tommy Croslin wanted to plea guilty so badly, he could do that. Nothing is to stop him from pleading guilty to the drug charges whatsoever. He`ll just take what the judge gives him at that point because there is no plea deal on the table.

GRACE: Tonight, breaking news, is Ronald Cummings set to plead guilty to exchange for testimony against his ex-wife, Misty Croslin, and the disappearance of their 5-year-old girl Haleigh?

As we go to break, thoughts and prayers to Georgia friend, Jo Horn, just coming out of surgery.

Jo, get well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are starting to talk.

M. CROSLIN: It`s, you know, it`s so hard to talk. It`s going to hurt two people. Use your head and you`ll know.

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S FATHER: It`s hard to destroy her right now. She`s just an 18-year-old girl. Give her a break.

CUMMINGS: All we want is my child. That`s it. I just want my daughter back.

I would love for whatever sorry piece of trash took my child to hand her over to someone who will hand her to proper authorities and she can get back to me because this is my heart and somebody stole my heart from me.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Out to bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, joining us out of Sacramento, California.

So, Leonard, you say this plea deal with Ronald Cummings has been in the work for sometime. About a month, right?

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: That`s correct, yes.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: What do you believe Ronald Cummings has to offer at trial -- at a murder trial?

PADILLA: Well, I don`t think it`s so much what he has to offer at a trial. It`s the thought that Misty has to have in her mind and Tommy has to have in his mind as to what does Ronald have that he might be able to say against us in the criminal trial on the narcotics, on the drugs. Somehow Misty has to get her mind to retaliating against him.

Now one of the things Joe keeps being brought up. His belongings that were dumped at a gas station before they got back to Tennessee or on the route to Tennessee, when the young lady gave him a ride back, they were searched by the authorities back there and they are in the custody of the authorities.

So in my way of thinking, if there was something incriminating in his belongings, he would not be free today. So there`s much left of speculation as to why Joe is being talked about by Tommy and Misty as being the culprit in this thing when they themselves have a lot to --

GRACE: Got it.

PADILLA: -- own up to. Tommy himself lied about being at the trailer and Misty has lied throughout the whole situation.

GRACE: Everyone, let`s stop and remember Army Staff Sergeant Jacob Thompson, 26, North Mankato, Minnesota. Killed Iraq. On a second tour, awarded two Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star, Army Commendation medal and Iraqi Freedom Ribbon.

An avid fisherman from the age of 7. Always helping others. His leg adorned with three tattoos, each with the name of a friend killed during the war. Leaves behind grieving parents, Barb and Scott, brothers, John and Jason, two nephews, six nieces.

Jacob Thompson, American hero.

Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. Tonight, in our New York studio, Connecticut friends, Gregory, Cheryl and Kristy. Aren`t they a beautiful family?

Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

END

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1005/17/ng.01.html

[Sassycat]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1005/26/ng.01.html

NANCY GRACE

Misty`s Father Urges her to Come Clean

Aired May 26, 2010 - 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. The last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who goes on to flunk four polygraphs. Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and stepmother Croslin both booked on drug trafficking. Search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters all comb the St. John`s River.

As the search for Haleigh`s entire body and a murder weapon goes on, bombshell tonight. We obtain even more secretly recorded jailhouse tapes, hours of Croslin yakking and whining. And tonight, we catch Croslin`s father begging Croslin to come clean about Haleigh and talk to cops, making it clear her own father doesn`t believe her. And it`s all on video, Croslin, growing more desperate by the minute, convinced she`ll get a sweet plea deal. Think again! And tonight, another jailhouse letter from Croslin, cops combing it now. What does it reveal about what happened to 5-year-old Haleigh?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: Don`t be holding nothing back from nobody.

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: Daddy, I`m not!

HANK CROSLIN: Just get it out there. Let it out, man. Tell the truth.

LISA CROSLIN: Misty has written a letter to her sister-in-law, Chelsea Croslin -- the details of that night.

MISTY CROSLIN: I swear on everything I`ve told the truth, Dad. There`s nothing else to -- I don`t know! And that`s the truth, you know?

LISA CROSLIN: It discusses going down to the river, trying to identify the dock that police took her to as the one that Tommy supposedly took her to show her where they threw Haleigh off.

GRACE: They brought Misty Croslin down to the docks to show police a specific spot in the St. John`s River!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All along she`s saying she didn`t know anything.

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is.

I`m not hiding anything.

I don`t.

There`s nothing to break me on.

There`s nothing!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And now she is pointing out what may have happened that night that Haleigh went missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just by virtue of the fact she`s standing there pretty much implies that she`s provided information to this law enforcement agency to where this child was disposed.

MISTY CROSLIN: If I knew, they would have knew all along.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And tonight: She was drunk, drunk on alcohol, three times the illegal limit. But she is a 2-year-old baby girl. Did the baby girl`s own father booze the baby up on gin and iced tea? The baby girl rushed to the emergency room. It`s revealed in the last month, the 2-year-old suffers fractured limbs, bruising to the head, a broken leg. Bye-bye, Daddy! Hello, big house!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To me, that`s attempted murder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Kentucky man has been arrested for allegedly giving his 2-year-old stepdaughter enough alcohol that doctors say she could have been killed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Neighbors are dumbfounded learning a 2-year-old was fed liquor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s no different than shooting a child or shooting somebody else.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 2-year-old was transported to the hospital after being found by her mother unresponsive at home, her blood alcohol level .25 percent. Cops say the stepdad, 23-year-old Raymond Jackson (ph), admitted to encouraging the toddler to drink a mixture of gin and iced tea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) tell you that this is a serious physical injury to this child. And certainly, this could actually cause death.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jackson was soon after taken into custody, charged with first-degree criminal abuse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s pretty bad when they`re feeding kids alcohol. No kid should be put in that situation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is being held on $10,000 bond. Jackson`s wife, who is also the child`s mother, was granted emergency custody. And a restraining order was issued against Jackson barring him from any contact with his wife or 2-year-old stepdaughter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. We obtain even more secretly recorded jailhouse tapes, hours of Croslin yakking, whining. Bombshell tonight. We catch Croslin`s father begging Croslin to come clean, making it clear her own father does not believe her. And tonight, a new letter emerging from behind jailhouse walls. The tapes, all on video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN: The idea is that you need to -- whatever you know, you need to tell them.

MISTY CROSLIN: Daddy, I know!

HANK CROSLIN: OK.

MISTY CROSLIN: And it`s not my fault they don`t listen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve told people it`s going to be just a matter of time.

GRACE: Who cracked?

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m not hiding anything.

GRACE: Who cracked?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she`s come to realize that, you know, she`s in trouble.

GRACE: Is Haleigh Cummings at the bottom of the St. John`s River?

MISTY CROSLIN: I would never hurt her.

GRACE: What scenario could possibly have happened?

HANK CROSLIN: I think they need to go get Joe and lock him up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put him in jail.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: I don`t know why she`s making up (EXPLETIVE DELETED). She probably knows something.

MISTY CROSLIN: That`s all I know!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The police have brought her to the river to show where she saw this child go into the river.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: You better be honest with them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are helicopters floating above her head.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The key to what happened to Haleigh lies with Misty.

MISTY CROSLIN: They need to move on, get away from me, get off of me. They need to move on. I`ve been telling them that, just move on. I don`t have any answers. I`m not the key to (INAUDIBLE) Not me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Then why did you flunk four polygraphs? Why did you fail voice stress layering? Why did you refuse to be submitted to hypnosis? Answer that, Misty Croslin!

Straight out to Art Harris, investigative journalist at Artharris.com. Art, what can you tell me, what do we learn in the jailhouse tapes, and what do you know about another letter from behind jailhouse walls?

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: This letter, Nancy, comes from Misty Croslin to her sister-in-law, Chelsea. And in it, she says that the police have searched the wrong dock, that Tommy took her to another dock nearby, and that`s where he and Joe allegedly threw the body off of little Haleigh.

Now, her lawyer tells me, Robert Fields, that he thinks she`s confused, that they were walking down a road about a month before they were arrested when Tommy revealed where the body was dumped. He thinks that his client may be confused. But still, she says in this letter that the police, she believes, are searching on the wrong dock.

GRACE: To Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, "In Session." What can you tell me about the tapes? What do we learn?

JEAN CASAREZ, "IN SESSION": Well, I`ve combed through them, and we do learn some new things. First of all, she says -- this is brand-new. She says, you know, They keeping telling -- saying that he did it, he did it. So all of a sudden, you keep -- start believing it -- Joe. Before, she had said two people are going to be hurt in this. We know she was referring to Tom and Joe. Now she`s questioning whether cousin Joe -- and cousin Joe has always said, I`m being framed in this. She also talks about that she was used by Ronald, that she knows...

GRACE: Wait! Back me up, Jean. Explain that one more time. Her recent jailhouse tapes, the secretly recorded tapes, what do they indicate about Joe Overstreet, cousin Joe Overstreet`s involvement in Haleigh`s disappearance?

CASAREZ: That if she said Joe is responsible, that maybe he wasn`t responsible at all, that the name Joe kept popping out so suddenly, she believed it herself.

GRACE: Oh, good Lord! Well, about Croslin, Tom Croslin?

CASAREZ: Well, she talks about that she doesn`t understand why she can`t see him, that she wants to see her brother. And her father says, Well, maybe it`s because you implicated him in all of this. She doesn`t admit that.

GRACE: Take a listen to this conversation recorded behind jailhouse walls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN: I just want all this stuff to get over with.

MISTY CROSLIN: Me, too. Me, too, Dad. And you know what? I was told by somebody that -- you know how them tests come back inconclusive?

HANK CROSLIN: Yes.

MISTY CROSLIN: It doesn`t mean I failed anything. They said that...

HANK CROSLIN: I know. They`re not...

MISTY CROSLIN: ... what it means is I was too -- I was too nervous to answer the questions.

HANK CROSLIN: You can`t be pointing fingers at somebody that you don`t know done it. If you know somebody that done it, you need to tell the truth.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know. But I don`t. I really don`t.

HANK CROSLIN: But you`ve just made it worse on yourself just playing that game. Don`t play no games, little Misty, no games at all.

MISTY CROSLIN: Dad, just the whole (INAUDIBLE)

HANK CROSLIN: There`s no excuse. All it -- it`s just getting you in trouble. I know you don`t understand, Misty, but it`s just getting you in more trouble. The cops, all they want to know is the truth.

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t have it, though. And I keep telling them that and I keep telling them that. It seems like they just want me to say something, so that`s what they -- they want me to say something just so they`re happy, you know? I keep telling them, I don`t know, I don`t know, I don`t know. And they keep pressuring me, Yes, you do, Yes, you do, Yes, you do. (INAUDIBLE) want to make you (INAUDIBLE) I don`t know. They put kind of like -- I can`t even explain it!

HANK CROSLIN: It just tells that -- that -- they said that Ronald snuck out of there, out of that -- out of the work.

MISTY CROSLIN: OK, well, why wasn`t...

HANK CROSLIN: That night.

MISTY CROSLIN: Then when I called him that night, how come he didn`t answer the phone? I called and called and he didn`t answer the phone. And then as soon as I opened the door, he`s there. And he talks like -- he says that he was a drug dealer and all this stuff back in the day, talked about all this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Why`d that black guy tell -- say that they -- them people had her and he was going to go back and get her, but if he told -- if Ronald told, then he was coming to kill him. There`s all this (EXPLETIVE DELETED). They don`t even look at nothing. They just want to look at me. And I`m tired of it. I`ve got to start thinking about (INAUDIBLE) myself. I`m not letting people (INAUDIBLE) running me down no more. I`m not. I know I didn`t have nothing to do with anything. And God knows. So they can all kiss my butt.

HANK CROSLIN: I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: So now, clearly, she`s going to try to point the finger back at Misty`s -- back at Misty`s ex-husband, Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, who we know to have been at work that night.

We are taking your calls. Out to Kimberly in Arizona. Hi, Kimberly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. We are truly, truly blessed to have you and your family with us, too. I just wanted to start that off with.

GRACE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do have a question in regards to -- after failing not one, not two but four tests, what was the baby`s father thinking when he decided to marry her in the first place?

GRACE: You know, Marlaina Schiavo, our producer on the story, I`ve never quite understood that. What`s your theory?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: I never quite understood it, either, but he said that you have to keep your enemies closer. And his lawyers said that that was part of his strategy, as well.

GRACE: What about it, Art Harris?

HARRIS: Right, Nancy. It`s very strange, but he wanted to keep her under his thumb because he felt if she took off, he would never find Haleigh.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN: Will you just find out what happened to Haleigh, man, everybody would be better off.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know. You don`t -- people don`t understand. If I knew, I would tell. I don`t know anything else. I told them everything I know. There`s nothing else I can tell them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: I know somebody took my little girl!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m comfortable to go ahead and say that I`m going to call it a homicide.

CUMMINGS: Some sorry piece of trash that will be wasted when it`s all over!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Haleigh Cummings is most likely deceased.

MISTY CROSLIN: People keep saying this person, this person, so you know, in your mind, you`re like, Well, hey, it`s that person, so you actually start to believe it, like the Joe thing.

CUMMINGS: If I find whoever has my daughter before y`all do, I`m killing him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want whoever took her to let her go.

CUMMINGS: I don`t care. I`ll spend the rest of my life in prison. I`m telling you, you can put it on recording. I don`t care.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want my baby home.

TOMMY CROSLIN: If I knew something, you`d know a long time ago. Leave me alone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joe Overstreet has been a person who Misty Croslin, and it appears her brother, have been pointing the finger at for possibly the death of Haleigh Cummings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I lost a lot of family.

MISTY CROSLIN: Everybody just pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure. Poor me.

I don`t know why they won`t let me see my brother in here. They should be -- I`m going to keep writing. Tell Tommy to keep writing, too.

HANK CROSLIN: Probably mad at you for bringing his name up. He said he doesn`t know nothing about it, he was never there and he doesn`t know why you`re saying that about him.

MISTY CROSLIN: They need -- because they put a lot of things in people`s mouth. The cops do a lot. They try to say more than what was even said. They do!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Back to Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, "In Session." So many more of those recorded jailhouse tapes have now been obtained. What more have you observed? What more have you learned from the tapes?

CASAREZ: She talks about that she believes that she was used from the beginning by Ronald Cummings, that he just wanted a baby-sitter for the kids, and that`s why she came into his life. You know, if there are ever charges here in any capacity against Misty, that can be a motive for prosecutors.

GRACE: Dr. Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist joining us out of New York. Dr. Saunders, it sounds like the dad believes she did it. Her own father believes she`s not telling the truth.

PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: It sure sounds that way, Nancy. At the very least, he knows that there`s more to it, and he doesn`t trust his own daughter, with good reason.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. David Cooke, chief special victims unit, Houston County DA`s office, Raymond Giudice, defense attorney, Atlanta, Paul Batista, defense attorney and author of "Death`s Witness" joining us in New York.

I want to go to you, Ray Giudice. The words of her father could very well come in at court. And if a jury believes her father thinks she`s lying, that would go a long way.

RAYMOND GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I don`t disagree with you at all. The man seems to be very honest, and he seems to be trying to do what he thinks is in the best interests for his daughter. But I do agree with Pat. I don`t think he`s saying that -- he doesn`t believe she killed the child, it`s that he doesn`t believe she`s telling everything she knows. And that`s a very, very important distinction.

GRACE: Wait a minute, Pat Saunders, is that what you said?

SAUNDERS: No, I said...

GRACE: Yes, I didn`t think so.

SAUNDERS: Yes. I think that he may think she`s lying, but that there`s more to it than she`s talking.

GRACE: OK, Ray, thanks for completely obscuring what Dr. Saunders actually said, but that was a good argument. What about it, Batista?

PAUL BATISTA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, you know, I don`t think the father believes that she`s lying. I think the father is actually a very experienced lawyer. He`s telling her, Come clean. That is actually good advice.

GRACE: OK, the father`s not a lawyer. David Cooke, chief, special victims unit, will the father`s words -- can they come in at trial?

DAVID COOKE, SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, HOUSTON CTY. DA`S OFFICE: They possibly could, but you`re probably going to have a hearsay objection. I think the main thing that would come in from the father is just that he...

GRACE: But what if you can cross-examine the father?

COOKE: Well, then you can...

GRACE: Bring the father in and cross-examine him. That gets rid of the hearsay problem.

COOKE: Yes, you could, if you bring him in. But the only thing he`s going to -- she can offer through the father is just the conversations from the jail and the different accounts that show her continued contradictions and her continued lies.

GRACE: Oh, it`s coming in, David Cooke!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: There`s nothing to break me on.

I don`t know where she is!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bottom line, you don`t know where Haleigh is.

MISTY CROSLIN: Bottom line.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY`S GRANDMOTHER: ... pointing a site out on the river on the TV.

MISTY CROSLIN: They set me up.

HOLLARS: This is something you should have said a long time ago.

MISTY CROSLIN: When I woke up, she was gone!

HANK CROSLIN: You`ve got to pay for it. You can`t hurt nobody.

HOLLARS: I hope and pray that the child was already dead before she hit that water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know what they`re going to do. I hope they offer something.

HANK CROSLIN: I doubt they`re going to offer anything right now, not until they find out the truth.

MISTY CROSLIN: They`ve got to offer something about these charges.

HANK CROSLIN: They don`t want to give -- they don`t want to give these charges until the truth comes out because they`re not going to be lenient on you. So if you know something, sister, you need to tell them.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know, Daddy.

HANK CROSLIN: But you need to tell (ph) with your lawyer.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Joining me now, a very special guest, Marc Klaas, the president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation -- his daughter, Polly, taken many, many years ago from her home. She was murdered. Marc, I want to hear your thoughts now.

MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: Well, I think that the one moment of clarity that Misty has had, particularly in recent months, is the realization that Ron, in fact, was using her. And he has a history of going after young girls. Now, he gets them pregnant. He uses them for housekeepers. He uses them for baby-sitters. He uses them for sex. And I think that that`s something that needs to be acknowledged. I also believe...

GRACE: Can I ask you what that has to do with Haleigh`s disappearance?

KLAAS: Oh, I just think it`s...

GRACE: Please focus...

KLAAS: I just think that...

GRACE: ... on the disappearance of the child.

KLAAS: No, I think it`s a moment of clarity. As far as the disappearance...

GRACE: What`s a moment of clarity? You don`t agree with Ronald Cummings`s lifestyle. OK. What about Haleigh`s disappearance?

KLAAS: No. No, no, no, no, Nancy. What I`m saying is that she`s finally realized this.

GRACE: OK.

KLAAS: That`s all I`m saying is that she`s finally realized this, and perhaps more clarity will follow. I really don`t know. But I think it has become obvious that nobody in this game is telling the truth, that everybody`s story consistently shifts and consistently points in different directions. They imply that other people are involved, and it`s always somebody else and it`s always not me.

GRACE: Joining us, Marc Klaas, president and fonder of Klaas Kids Foundation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUMMINGS: I want to the get to the bottom of what happened. One way or another, I want my daughter to come home.

MISTY CROSLIN: I woke up, and she was gone!

CUMMINGS: I came home from work, and my child was not there.

How the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) can you let my daughter get stole (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know why they won`t let me see my brother in here. I`m going to keep writing. Tell Tommy to keep writing, too.

HANK CROSLIN: Probably mad at you for bringing his name up. He said he didn`t know nothing about it, he was never there and he don`t know why you keep saying that about him.

MISTY CROSLIN: They need -- because they -- they put a lot of things in people`s mouth. The cops do a lot. They try to say more than what was even said. They do!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S FATHER: Well, as soon as they get this Haleigh case wrapped up, they`ll let us alone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We received a tip yesterday.

MISTY CROSLIN, FORMER STEPMOM/BABYSITTER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: Answer any questions I have to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That there was possibly some physical evidence in the Haleigh Cummings investigation.

M. CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is. I`m not hiding anything. They just need to move on. Dad, there`s nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re just following up on that lead to verify it or to -- you know, if it is true or it isn`t.

H. CROSLIN: Regardless of what the outcome is, I want to know where Haleigh`s at.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Out there to rule the (INAUDIBLE) out.

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: Well, of course, I want to know if she knows anything.

M. CROSLIN: If I had something to do with it, if I knew where she was, we wouldn`t be sitting here today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We saw probably no where like say between 12 to 15 divers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When did you last see her?

M. CROSLIN: Um, we just like, you know, it was about 10:00. We were -- she was sleeping.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s probably six or eight of them that was actually in the water right in front of the dock, just searching in front of the dock area.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does the door look like it was pried open?

M. CROSLIN: Um --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was more divers being brought out by boat.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does it look like you had some sort of someone try to enter into your house?

H. CROSLIN: They`re going to wrap it up in the next two weeks.

M. CROSLIN: I hope they do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How old are you?

M. CROSLIN: Just turned 18. I`ll be going 18-year-old girl, dad, and I`ve never had -- you know, I`m not a troublemaker. I didn`t do anything wrong, and they want to keep -- put me like on -- like I`m a horrible person and I`m not and I don`t deserve none of this.

I always had it hard, I always try to help people and everything. I always get screwed over, all the time. And Ronald just used me.

H. CROSLIN: I tried to tell you that.

M. CROSLIN: He did. He did use me. He used me for a babysitter, he used me for everything, he wanted me, and his family, too. That`s the only reason they wanted me around, is to be their babysitter because they were tired of baby-sitting the kids. That`s exactly why.

And when they didn`t need me no more -- when they started -- when Haleigh come up missing and they didn`t need me no more, that`s when they wanted me to leave, because they had everybody helping them hand and foot. That`s exactly why.

And they want to say since I come into their family, it`s been drama. No. Since Ronald came into my life, it`s been drama.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HOST: To Art Harris, investigative journalist, artharris.com. Art, he didn`t have to marry her to have her around. She was shacked up all over town. He didn`t have to marry her to have her shacked up at his place.

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, ARTHARRIS.COM: She was there, Nancy, already taking care of his kids. I interviewed a neighbor -- it was fascinating -- who told me the very same thing, that Misty had told him, I`m tired of taking care of other people`s children.

And then she asked him, you know, please pray for me. It was a very chilling interview I had. And I share that with some investigators --

Art Harris, Art Harris. Don`t try to drag God into this, OK? All right? No.

HARRIS: I`m telling you what --

GRACE: I don`t want to hear that.

HARRIS: What he reported she told him, Nancy.

GRACE: OK.

HARRIS: To me, was this a moment of -- as Marc Klaas said -- clarity?

GRACE: To Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer. Ellie, what more can you tell me?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Well, Nancy, it looks like, like her brother, Misty Croslin is hoping that she`s going to get some kind of deal. She says, you know, if she was offered something, she suggests maybe she`ll take it.

Same thing Tommy -- Tommy Croslin also said. But her father says, you know, they`re not going to offer you anything until they get the truth. They`re not going to be lenient with you until you tell them what you know.

GRACE: And Jean Casarez, what`s interesting about Ellie`s point is there apparently is a plea deal in the works for Ronald Cummings, which says to me they don`t suspect him in Haleigh`s disappearance.

JEAN CASAREZ, CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": That`s right. It`s not to fruition yet, but they definitely believe that they`re going to get those 25-year mandatory minimums knocked off. They have yet to give the statement to Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The DA`s office also wants a statement.

This is all in regard to the drug case, but the fact is, yes, a plea deal has been offered.

GRACE: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Out to you, Leonard Padilla, bounty hunter, joining us from Sacramento via Skype, offering to bail out Croslin.

I believe you also offered to bail out Ronald Cummings. What do you make of this letter, Leonard Padilla? A letter apparently received by Chelsea Croslin from Misty Croslin.

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER, OFFERED TO BAIL MISTY CROSLIN OUT OF JAIL: Well, I believe that`s the same letter that she offered to sell to me for $2500.

GRACE: Yes. That would be the one.

PADILLA: Yes. And at the time, I told her that, you know, the situation was such that nobody really could verify anything that would be in that letter. It`s like --

GRACE: But, wait, wait.

PADILLA: -- if there`s any clarity --

GRACE: Leonard, you`ve been in the courthouse --

PADILLA: There will probably more clarity at the start of this case - -

GRACE: -- more than all of us.

PADILLA: -- than there is now.

GRACE: If you get a handwriting comparison, and we can prove this is from Misty Croslin, even the fact that her story may change to me is incriminating.

PADILLA: It`s strange to me, first of all, that she would write a letter knowing that law enforcement would read it. And then have Chelsea attempt to sell it. I mean they`ve got to know that law enforcement has the letter. They`ve read it, they know what`s in it. She has to know that they`re going to draw some conclusions.

GRACE: OK, hold on. David Cooke, joining us out of Atlanta, isn`t it true that when a defendant -- a suspect speaks, even if they don`t come out and say, I did it, and wave a red flag at the jury, the fact that they give one incriminating statement after the next or one changing story after the next says they`re hiding something. If you`re not hiding anything, you just tell the truth.

DAVID COOKE, CHIEF, SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, HOUSTON COUNTY DA`S OFFICE: Nancy, the only reason to lie is that it`s better than the truth. And in this case, the reason for her to keep lying time after time after time is strongly condemning and it`s very suspicious. I think you`re right.

GRACE: Art, what could convince me that Misty Croslin actually wrote this letter? And again, what do you know about the contents?

HARRIS: Well, her lawyer confirmed to me, Nancy, Robert Fields, that she did write it, that Chelsea got it. He`s aware of it. And -- and the reason is that Chelsea challenged her saying, I`m about to have a nervous breakdown, Misty, you`ve got to tell me what is true or not. And that`s why Chelsea tells me she wrote it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

H. CROSLIN: Somebody called me on the way here and told me that Art Harris is supposed to have some letter that you sent out and a family member was supposed to have gave it to him, but he`s lying, because I know for a fact that no family member gave it to him.

M. CROSLIN: What?

H. CROSLIN: Supposed to be a letter that came out.

M. CROSLIN: What letter?

H. CROSLIN: A letter that comes from you of the one of the family members.

M. CROSLIN: Somebody gave them a letter?

H. CROSLIN: That`s what they say, but --

M. CROSLIN: Who? Who`s they?

H. CROSLIN: That`s what they said on the news, Art Harris is supposed to have a letter.

M. CROSLIN: Art Harris ain`t got no letter -- well, if he`s got a letter --

H. CROSLIN: Well, they got it off --

M. CROSLIN: Huh?

H. CROSLIN: Yes. They got it from the cops.

M. CROSLIN: How`d they get it from the cops when -- well, yes. I don`t care. They can have the letter. I ain`t hiding nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

M. CROSLIN: Dad, there`s nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But we were willing to go ahead and take the effort and the time to go look for that needle.

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST; FMR. D.C. POLICE DET., FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: Who was with her, the last person with her? She was.

CUMMINGS: I still got some pending, that`s assault with a deadly weapon, charge pending and I never even -- my guns were at home locked up in a gun cabinet, dude.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The toddler was rushed to St. Elizabeth`s Hospital then to children`s unconscious.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Twenty-three-year-old Raymond Jackson was arrested after his 2-year-old stepdaughter was brought to the hospital with a blood alcohol of 0.25 percent.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Neighbors are dumbfounded learning a 2-year- old was fed liquor.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Jackson is charged with first-degree criminal abuse and faces up to 10 years behind bars after police say he gave the child enough alcohol that doctors say she could have died from it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope she survives. I hope she makes it. It`s probably going to damage her.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police say Jackson admitted to encouraging the toddler to drink a mixture of gin and iced tea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No kid should be put in that situation.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Jackson`s 6-month-old was also home during the incident, but police say there`s no indication the baby was given any alcohol.

Jackson remains behind bars on $10,000 bond. His next hearing in the case is June 1st.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Noticed the child -- something was obviously wrong with the child and she immediately took that child to the hospital. And they tell you that this is a serious physical injury to this child, and certainly this could actually cause death.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Three times the legal limit. She was drunk. She is a toddler girl.

Straight out to Jack Crumley, reporter, 700 WLW News Radio, joining us out of Cincinnati.

Jack, what happened?

JACK CRUMLEY, REPORTER, 700 WLW, NEWS RADIO: Hi, Nancy, yes, quite a shocking story out of -- out of Crescent Springs, Kentucky where this little girl was apparently encouraged to make a mixture of sweet tea and gin to the point --

GRACE: Why?

CRUMLEY: -- where she was passed out. Her mom came home --

GRACE: But why would you feed a baby alcohol? I don`t understand it. The baby was encouraged to drink tea and gin? Why?

CRUMLEY: The why is still been the big question out here. Investigators say they have not been given any kind of reason by the stepfather of this little girl, Raymond Jackson.

GRACE: I guess not because that would be admitting he did it. OK. What more can you tell me, Jack Crumley?

CRUMLEY: Well, I do know that when he first went to the hospital, he told the doctors on the scene at the emergency room that the little girl had been sneaking drinks and it almost implied to me that he wasn`t aware it. Later on he did admit that he encouraged her to have drinks of the alcohol.

Mom came home later on that night, went to go kiss the little girl to sleep, went to go kiss her good night, and found that the little girl`s eyes were rolled into the back of her head and she was breathing very shallowly.

Took her to the emergency room in northern Kentucky. The doctors there were very concerned about her condition to the point where they had her transferred to children`s hospital just across the Ohio River in Cincinnati.

GRACE: To Dr. Jake Deutsch, doctor of emergency medicine, joining us out of Manhattan.

Dr. Deutsch, thank you for being with us. Doctor, what type of permanent damage could this cause the child and what about the possibility of alcohol poisoning? Three times the legal limit?

DR. JAKE DEUTSCH, M.D., DOCTOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE: I -- I`ve seen a lot of crazy things in the emergency department, but this really tops them off, Nancy. We`re talking about an ingestion that could have been fatal.

In terms of the immediate effects, you could have seen problems with the respiratory status, breathing, neurologic problems, going into a coma. Those are the immediate effects and hopefully the baby survived that and was able to be metabolized.

But when you talk about the long-term effects, you`re talking about brain injury, kidney injury. There was also reports of some broken bones. This clearly was an abusive situation and there`s going to be a lot of time to figure out the extent of this child`s underlying injuries.

GRACE: Tonight, a baby girl rushed to the hospital. Her eyes rolled back in her head, her breathing shallow. Now stepdaddy has been charged with getting the little girl drunk.

I want to go to Rupa Mikkilineni, our producer on this story. What more can you tell us, Rupa?

RUPA MIKKILINENI, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, he sits in jail tonight. He`s still in jail, he was given a $10,000 bond. We also know that the mother, Amanda Jackson, has filed for a temporary restraining order so he is not allowed to see these children or his wife if he does make bail.

GRACE: To Marc Klaas. Weigh in, Marc.

MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: This guy should be charged with a lot more than getting a little girl drunk. As adults, it`s our jobs to nurture, not torture our children.

This little girl didn`t have a chance with this guy. She could have easily died. If he ever gets his hands on her or any other child again, quite frankly, they could follow a similar fate. He needs to spend a lot of time behind bars.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. David Cooke, Raymond Giudice, Paul Batista.

OK, Batista, give me your best defense.

PAUL BATISTA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, AUTHOR OF "DEATH`S WITNESS": Well, you know, you`re representing an idiot when you represent a guy like this, and Nancy, it seems to me you go in and you try to get the best resolution you can for this guy, which may well be a year or two in jail.

GRACE: In other words, plead guilty?

BATISTA: Yes. It seems to me that that`s the case.

GRACE: Ray Giudice, what about the defense he`s already put out there that the 2-year-old was sneaking booze?

RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Look, his story stinks. You do what Paul says. You go to a good district attorney like Mr. Cooke. You try to surrender parental rights, you try to get the best deal you can, and you move on before the charges get elevated to a much more serious situation which could be pending.

GRACE: You know, that`s interesting. You said parental rights.

Jack Crumley, WLW 700 News Radio, did he even have any parental rights?

CRUMLEY: He -- not anymore. The mother of the child has been granted emergency custody and -- of both children. Both this little stepdaughter of Raymond Jackson`s and of the 6-month-old son that the two of them share.

GRACE: What`s this guy`s story? What do you know about 23-year-old Raymond Jackson?

CRUMLEY: Well, we do know that there was a history back in early 2009, this same little girl, when she was obviously much younger, at least 1 year old, was injured and he was cited for child abuse at that point.

GRACE: Well, he`s got a prior misdemeanor. Child abuse conviction on the same child. What was the abuse?

CRUMLEY: She did have broken bones.

GRACE: Oh! OK, back to you, Rupa. What injuries do we know this child has sustained so far?

MIKKILINENI: We know that a year and a half ago, in the misdemeanor cause of action or charge against him, the injury that the baby sustained was severe spanking and bruising on the bottom.

Currently, what we know is that the child has been released from the hospital, is back at home recuperating, and we are -- the hospital and the doctors and investigators are awaiting news about, you know, future injuries, long-term effects.

GRACE: OK. When we first introduced the story, Rupa, there is a string of injuries this child has sustained in the past. There have been numerous times that she has had to go to the hospital.

You know, Jack Crumley, are you familiar with this child`s medical history?

CRUMLEY: No, other than the fact that she is just recuperating as best she can from this series of trips to the hospital like you say.

GRACE: OK, take a listen to this, Jack Crumley and Rupa Mikkilineni. The 2-year-old little girl has suffered fractured ribs, bruising to the head, a broken leg, and she`s still allowing this guy to live in the house. He`s got a misdemeanor conviction for abusing the child.

Jack Crumley, why should mommy get to keep her?

CRUMLEY: Well, certainly that`s going to be a question for courts down the line because depending on her awareness of the situation, but regardless of that, I mean, clearly the child is still being injured.

GRACE: To Dr. Patricia Saunders, what is wrong with mommy?

PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Mommy may be abused herself but like most --

GRACE: So what?

SAUNDERS: -- domestic violence cases, denial, it never happened, he loves me, he loves the kids.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A Kentucky man is behind bars, accused of giving a toddler a dangerous amount of alcohol. Police say 23-year-old Raymond Jackson allegedly encouraged his 2-year-old stepdaughter to drink a mixture of gin and iced tea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s pretty bad, feeding kids alcohol. No kid should be put in that situation.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: When the girl`s mother came home from work around midnight, she said she went to kiss her daughter on the cheek and knew something was wrong.

The legal limit for adults driving a vehicle is 0.08. This little girl tested three times that. Medical staff say the 0.25 alcohol level could cause long-term damage in a developing toddler.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Neighbors are dumbfounded learning a 2-year- old was fed liquor.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police say 22-year-old Raymond Jackson allegedly encouraged his 2-year-old stepdaughter to drink a mixture of gin and iced tea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To me that`s attempted murder.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Jackson remains behind bars on $10,000 bond. His next hearing in the case is June 1st.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Jerry Speziale, the state county sheriff, author of "Without a Badge."

First of all, police say the man gave his 2-year-old gin and tea over a period of time. How are they going to prove it?

JERRY SPEZIALE, PASSAIC COUNTY SHERIFF, AUTHOR OF "WITHOUT A BADGE: Well, I think there is probably statements that have already been made. The doctor`s report, the report that I looked at shows that there was some indication that he was allowing her to drink the iced tea and the gin. So I think that`s going to help the case itself.

GRACE: Well, also a statement to hospital personnel come in.

SPEZIALE: Correct. Absolutely, the statement to hospital personnel will come in.

GRACE: He wasn`t under custody at that time.

SPEZIALE: Yes, but that`s still going to be subpoenable (ph) and they would be able to obtain --

GRACE: But I`m saying he wasn`t under custody, so it`s not covered by Miranda. In order to get Miranda, you`ve got to be in custody to get under arrest, basically.

SPEZIALE: Not that -- if he goes in and he gives that statement voluntarily we can get that statement and utilize that in the prosecution, absolutely.

GRACE: What I`m so disturbed about, Marc Klaas, is that he`s already got a conviction for misdemeanor abuse on this same little girl. But mommy kept him in the house. I don`t understand that.

KLAAS: Well, I think that Dr. Pat hit it -- hit the nail on the head. It`s a clear case of denial. And we see in these domestic -- in these domestic abuse situations time after time that these things go on for years and years and years. And oftentimes even end up in the death of one of the players.

It`s a horrible situation. These children should probably be put some place where they will find a safe life and they`ll find the nurturing parents that they obviously deserve.

GRACE: Very quickly, Patricia Saunders, I want to talk about mommy for a moment. I don`t understand it.

SAUNDERS: It is hard to understand, Nancy, because it`s not rational. She may have been a victim of child abuse herself.

GRACE: You said that before. I don`t care. She is the adult. She is supposed to care for the child, regardless of what may have happened to her in the past.

SAUNDERS: You`re right. And she should not have custody of this child.

GRACE: I don`t know why you even said that. You said it before. I gave you a chance to redeem yourself, and you said it again.

OK, let`s stop. Let`s remember Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Nice, just 19, (INAUDIBLE), Oklahoma, killed Iraq. Awarded the Purple Heart, National Defense Service medal, Sea Service Deployment medal.

Lost his life just weeks before returning home. An honor student, loved saxophone, drums, baseball, basketball, football. Dreamed of college and becoming a lawyer. Leaves behind grieving parents Marilyn and Lloyd, Uncle Charles, six siblings.

Joseph Nice, American hero.

Thanks to our guests, but especially to you for being with us. See you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

END

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http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1007/26/ng.01.html


Misty Croslin`s Parents Arrested on Drug Charges

Aired July 26, 2010 - 20:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

PAT LALAMA, GUEST HOST: Breaking news tonight in the Haleigh Cummings investigation. Little Haleigh is tucked into bed, and just five hours later, she disappears. The last person to see Haleigh alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin.

Well, tonight, Misty Croslin`s parents have been arrested. That`s right, Hank and Lisa Croslin now behind bars. Why? Will this pressure Misty Croslin to come clean? Will these arrests finally help find Haleigh? All this as a report claims Haleigh`s dad, Ronald Cummings, is making a plea deal to testify against Misty Croslin. What will he reveal?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: As soon as they get this Haleigh case wrapped up, they`ll let us alone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... received a tip...

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: ... answer any questions I have to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... that there was possible physical evidence in the Haleigh Cummings investigation.

HANK CROSLIN: Just want to just screw us up, the rest of our lives up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hank and Lisa Croslin were arrested.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: You better be honest with them.

MISTY CROSLIN: Mama, I`m being honest, OK?

HANK CROSLIN: If they want to put me in jail, they`re going to put me in jail. I don`t give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I ain`t do nothing wrong.

They say you sold over 300 pills to the undercover.

I told you to stay away from that stupid (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is!

I`m not hiding anything.

They just need to move on.

Dad, there`s nothing!

HANK CROSLIN: They just want to just mess with us and mess with us and mess with us. Regardless of what the outcome is. I want to know where Haleigh`s at.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re not going to rule it in or out.

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: Well, of course, I want to know if she knows anything.

HANK CROSLIN: They`re probably going to have us all in jail before it`s all over with.

MISTY CROSLIN: Dad, stop saying that. No, they`re not.

HANK CROSLIN: Well, that`s what they want.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LALAMA: And tonight, live to Arizona. A little 2-year-old boy camping with his soon-to-be adoptive mom, last seen at midnight in his sleeping bag, and two hours later, he`s gone, little Syler only wearing a diaper. Tonight, let`s find this beautiful little baby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little boy...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... remains missing after vanishing in the middle of the night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last time anyone saw the toddler was just after midnight Sunday morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s 2 years of age.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By 1:30, he was gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was wearing only a diaper.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two-year-old Syler Newton was last seen in his tent while on a camping trip...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are pictures of the campsite.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About 15 miles south of Flagstaff, Arizona...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... experts believing the boy could have made it on his own up to a mile.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Syler was on the trip with a family that`s in the process of adopting him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really horrible! My baby`s gone!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Until we speak to the biological mother, we just don`t know the full story, and that`s what`s going to be an important factor in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LALAMA: Good evening. I`m Pat Lalama, filling in tonight for Nancy Grace. Breaking news. Misty Croslin`s parents busted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really don`t care no more. Do my time. Get the hell out of here. They got us right where they want us.

MISTY CROSLIN: If I had something to do with it, I knew where she was, we wouldn`t be sitting here today!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We saw probably anywhere, like, say, between 12 to 15 divers.

911 OPERATOR: When did you last see her?

MISTY CROSLIN: We just -- like, you know, it was about 10:00 o`clock (INAUDIBLE)

I can`t wait. I want this to be over with.

HANK CROSLIN: It`s not going to be over with for a long time.

It`s bad when you got both of your kids in jail and worried to death about both of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re searching in front of the dock area.

911 OPERATOR: Does the door look like it was pried open?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was more divers being brought out by boat.

911 OPERATOR: Does it look like you had some sort of -- someone try to enter into your house?

MISTY CROSLIN: I just hate this, man! They`re trying to ruin our whole lives!

HANK CROSLIN: They`re going to wrap it up in the next few weeks.

MISTY CROSLIN: I hope they do.

I sit and wonder every day, thinking just trying to go back and just think if I missed anything.

HANK CROSLIN: Well, they`ll get to the bottom of it eventually. But when?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m tired of -- I`m tired of suffering for something I didn`t have nothing to do with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LALAMA: And the plot thickens in this case. I want to go right to Art Harris, investigative journalist, Artharris.com, my friend and colleague. Two more in the family now behind bars. The family that deals together -- I mean, this is not a laughing matter, but this is absolutely ridiculous.

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Pat, there`s going to be a family reunion in the Putnam County jail, where not only Mom and Dad, Hank and Lisa are, but also Tommy Croslin and their once son-in-law, Ronald Cummings. So this is going to be very un-cozy for several people.

I can tell you, Hank and Lisa were driving in a nearby neighborhood Friday night when he got out of the car to go into a crack house and bought $20 worth of crack from an undercover officer. Now, this was just happenstance. They arrest him down the road. He tries to throw it out the window. And they now have him not only for cocaine possession, buying cocaine, they have him for evidence tampering and also for felony violation of previous probation, both of them. So they are not getting out. They have no bond right now, Pat.

LALAMA: And Marlaina Schiavo, NANCY GRACE producer, as Art mentioned, these people were on probation. Their whole family`s in trouble. You`d think they`d stay home and watch television!

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: You would think. And actually, Leonard Padilla, the bounty hunter who tried to bail out Misty Croslin, gave them a car so that they could -- he could enable them to get a job and see their kids and maybe make a better life for themselves.

But honestly, Pat, at this stage of the game, it really doesn`t matter. They were already out on probation for other charges, one for drugs, the other for fraud checks. This family is just deep in it.

LALAMA: Unbelievable. And there`s no bond, as we mentioned. And back to you, Art, to go to the second prong of this story, and that`s that we understand that Ronald Cummings, who is the father of little Haleigh, is just about to lock up a plea deal. Do you know anything about the details of that deal? And what does it mean to this case in the bigger picture?

HARRIS: Pat, I can tell you that they`re going back to court. He`s going back to Putnam County circuit court on August 20th to talk about this plea deal. But he`s not going to be able to get the finality or the number of years until after Misty`s sentence. That would be three days later, if she has a trial.

So right now, they have offered him 15 years on three counts, and they`re going to drop two counts of 25-year drug trafficking. So that`s what he faces if he cooperates, if he`s willing to testify against Misty. And the implication, Pat, is that he`s got to help them pressure her and anyone to get information on Haleigh. Even though law enforcement says the two cases are not related, they`re using everything they can to get information.

LALAMA: They`re probably looking for a quid pro quo -- You give me some stuff, we`ll give you some stuff back, correct?

HARRIS: Absolutely. But you know, they`re not bargaining with Ronald now because they want to see just what he`ll give them. In fact, his lawyer, Terry Shoemaker, telling me that this is going to guarantee his cooperation.

LALAMA: Unbelievable. Paul Penzone, VP of prevention programs, Childhelp.org, former sergeant, Phoenix PD, you know how this wheeling and dealing goes. I`m sure you`ve been through this before. Can this provide us any glimmer of hope? Because all these family members are behind bars. Someone will finally crack and we can get to what we need to find out, and that`s, where is that child.

PAUL PENZONE, CHILDHELP.ORG: I think law enforcement out there is doing everything possible to make that happen, but we`re talking about a den of thieves here. And I`m not sure what Ronald will have that could actually contribute to this case or that he could force Misty to turn over. But they`re going to need substantial, some type of physical evidence because you can`t trust the words of anyone involved at this point.

LALAMA: All right, we have Leonard Padilla with us now, bounty hunter. Welcome to you, and thanks for being with us. Now, my understanding from Marlaina is that you provided the car for these parents of Misty. You were hoping they`d clean up their act?

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: Well, at the time, it wasn`t so much to clean up their act, but it was a situation where, by them being able to visit Misty and Tommy, perhaps something productive would come of their visits with these two kids. At the time, it seemed like they were talking.

And then after a while, it became kind of a thing where they didn`t really visit them anymore and there was other things going on in their life, I think, that became more important. And the ultimate situation I think developed when they got arrested. I think they got back into drugs pretty heavy and decided, Well, we don`t want to go visit the kids anymore. And that basically was the end of it here the other day when they got arrested.

LALAMA: OK.

PADILLA: But the purpose of the car was so they`d visit the kids.

LALAMA: Got you. Christopher Amolsch -- I hope I`m pronouncing that properly -- defense attorney, as a defense attorney and sitting back and watching all this play out -- we`ve got plea deals, we`ve got these people in jail and that person in jail. As a defense attorney, what would you be doing representing any of these family members? Because think about it. If somebody gives up information, it`s only going to help your client, correct?

CHRISTOPHER AMOLSCH, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Oh, truthful information. But the reality is that you wouldn`t trust anybody in this case to tell you what time it is, or set aside anything to do with Haleigh`s disappearance. If they`re waving 25 years in front of Ronald to get him to say what they want him to say, it`s a horrendous miscarriage of justice.

LALAMA: And Joey Jackson, defense attorney, welcome. Honestly, credibility is the issue here, no matter who you`re representing. Who the heck do you believe? We`ve got failing, you know, lie detector tests. This woman`s writing (ph) out that -- I mean, it`s unbelievable. It must be such a quandary for police and anyone who`s trying to investigate this case.

JOEY JACKSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It really is, Pat. And you know, this is a dream for defense attorneys because as a defense attorney, when you`re representing a client, what do you want? You want someone on the witness stand who is state`s evidence. Why? Because you could say, Sir, you`re here to testify not because you`re giving truthful information but you`re helping yourself. And if you say anything that is helpful to the prosecution, it diminishes the time you spend here. And that`s why there are credibility issues and that`s why it`s going to be problematic to use this unreliable information, Pat.

LALAMA: Dr. Janet Taylor, psychiatrist, we`re talking about a whole clan of people with history of drug buying, drug using, drug trafficking, everything you can think of. Give us -- paint a picture of the family album for us.

DR. JANET TAYLOR, PSYCHIATRIST: Well, you know what? The family album looks pretty bleak right now. I mean, if you ever wanted to understand how a 17-year-old high school dropout could become a stepmother and get into the trouble that she has, just look at her parents. And it`s an opportunity for parents to say, You know what? It`s not do as I say, not as I do. You have to do the right thing. You can`t be a drug-dealing, drug-using parent and expect to raise a child who really follows the law. It`s a disaster.

LALAMA: And back to Art Harris. Let me get the lay of the land here at the jail -- who they`ll probably name after this family ultimately. Are they separating...

HARRIS: (INAUDIBLE)

LALAMA: Yes. Exactly. Are they separating the son from the mom and the dad? How does that work?

HARRIS: Sure. Well, there`s...

LALAMA: They probably don`t want them...

HARRIS: Yes, there`s a women`s side...

LALAMA: They don`t want them to get together.

HARRIS: No, there`s a women`s side, Pat. But it`s not as if they`re charged with similar transactions. So they`re not so worried that they will compare stories. You know, for all we know, they could easily run into each other on the yard, especially Tommy and Daddy and Ronald Cummings. Now, that would be an interesting fly on the wall conversation to hear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: Everybody in here is, like, Famous Misty Croslin (INAUDIBLE)

I woke up and she was gone!

CUMMINGS: I come home from work and my child was not there!

How the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) can you let my daughter get stole (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

MISTY CROSLIN: Me being in jail has nothing to do with Haleigh.

HANK CROSLIN: It`s just because of who we are. (INAUDIBLE) white trash.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK CROSLIN: They say you sold -- sold over 300 pills to the undercover.

MISTY CROSLIN: ... 70, 80, 90, 100.

HANK CROSLIN: Drugs are a bad business.

MISTY CROSLIN: I should have listened to you.

HANK CROSLIN: I told you it wasn`t no good.

LISA CROSLIN: I wish you would have just listened to your dad!

MISTY CROSLIN: I have a drug problem.

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: The damn pills ruined my life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know better than to do it again?

HANK CROSLIN: I tried to warn you.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m not smoking cigarettes. I`m not smoking weed.

TOMMY CROSLIN: I want nothing to do with marijuana, no drugs around me.

HANK CROSLIN: I told you to stay away from that stupid (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

MISTY CROSLIN: Got to learn from my own mistakes.

HANK CROSLIN: They`re probably going to have us all in jail before it`s all over with. If they want to put me in jail, they`re going to put me in jail.

MISTY CROSLIN: We ain`t bad people.

HANK CROSLIN: No, we`re just stupid.

Now your brother`s (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and you`re (EXPLETIVE DELETED), and I can`t handle it, man!

MISTY CROSLIN: Stop cursing.

HANK CROSLIN: Should have listened to me.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know!

HANK CROSLIN: They got us right where they want us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LALAMA: I`m Pat Lalama, sitting in for Nancy Grace. I want to go to Marc Klaas, president and founder of the Klaas Kids Foundation. I want to be as optimistic as possible. But this story began in February of 2009. There isn`t a suspect. There isn`t an arrest. There isn`t a lead. What can we hang onto, Marc?

MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: Well, I don`t think we`re going to get anything out of these particular characters. They`ve been Van Der Sloot-ing the authorities, the media, and anybody else who will listen for a year-and-a-half now.

But I firmly believe that the key to this case lies within the community that these people came from, their friends, their associates. For instance, Ronald Cummings likes young girls. It`s obvious. We all know that. He had a baby with a 14-year-old. Misty was hardly much older than that when he got involved with her. Perhaps he has other friends that like young girls or even very young girls.

They should be looking at their friends. They should be looking at their associates. If they do that, ultimately, they`re going to find out what happened to little Haleigh.

LALAMA: Dr. Titus Duncan, general surgery, Atlanta Medical Center, the longer the clock ticks, ticks, ticks, evidence is practically impossible but for a miracle, correct?

DR. TITUS DUNCAN, ATLANTA MEDICAL CENTER: Right. The longer a person goes without being found, if there are, indeed, not -- not a lot (ph), then you`re going to have less and less clues available for you. What you`re going to eventually find, if the person -- if she is, indeed, dead -- and I hope she`s not, if she`s, indeed, dead, you`re going to find the results will be just skeleton, hair and teeth left. And so all you`re going to have is some DNA evidence that you can get. There begins to be more difficult, but we still can get that evidence to be able to help us try to solve who the person is that we`re going to find.

LALAMA: This case has just touched so many people for so long. And it`s proof in the pudding is the many callers who have questions.

Thanks for waiting. I want to start with Lisa in Ohio. Good evening, Lisa. And your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good evening. I have a couple comments and a question. My first comment is, do they really think they`re going to get Misty to talk? She`s been to jail. She`s been in there for quite a while. She seems to have the type of personality that she might even believe her own stories.

And my second -- my question is, when they were out selling dope to undercover cops, were they supposed to be out looking for this child that they miss so much and has been gone for 18 months? And I`ve been furious since the day it happened.

LALAMA: Well, Joey Jackson, I`ll ask you first about Misty ever talking. She hasn`t talked so far. Apparently, she`s going to plead no contest in her drug cases. it doesn`t sound like suddenly, she`s going to wake up one day and say, Gee, I see the light. I`m going to say everything I know. Right?

JACKSON: Absolutely not, Pat. I think -- it`s a tough scenario because, certainly -- look, what they`re trying to do is to try to pressure her to the extent that she can to say something, to break the case so that she would otherwise come to terms or come to grips and say, Look, this is what happened. It hasn`t worked. I don`t know that it`s ever going to work. But law enforcement has to continue the pressure, and they`re going to do it by doing exactly what they`re doing now, getting the family, getting them in any way they can with respect to these drug charges or any charges, to come forward.

And you know, look, at the end of the day, we can only hope and pray that there`s some success. But I share your -- you know, I share your pessimism, Pat. I don`t think it`s likely.

LALAMA: Art Harris, investigative journalist, here`s what gets me. You`re talking about a very tiny town. You`re talking about not sophisticated people who could transport this child to another country. You`re talking about people just ridden with drug abuse, not even thinking clearly. How is it this child has not been found? How can that be?

HARRIS: This is being held closer than a CIA cell, Pat, and it`s because of fierce clan loyalty. It`s because of drugs. Police tell me that, you know, interviewing the people is like interviewing a rock. They don`t remember. Maybe now some memories coming back. Misty says that she has been squeezed harder than a Florida orange, every drop of juice gone, only pulp left. Police would say pulp fiction.

LALAMA: It just confounds me. I would have thought better in this case that we could have come up with something by now.

Nancy Grace`s brand-new book, "Death on the D-List," comes out on August 10th. To preorder your copy, go to CNN.com/nancygrace and click on Nancy`s new book. Hurry up! Order your copy of "Death on the D-List." This has got to be good. It should be another "New York Times" best- seller. Proceeds go to Wesley Glenn to give a loving home to the mentally handicapped (INAUDIBLE) Congratulations, Nancy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty had been out on a drug binge for three days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Misty Croslin is in jail on drug charges. Well, it turns out so are her parents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re trying to bring somebody to justice for this little girl right here and her family. And that`s what this is all about.

HANK CROSLIN: They`re probably going to have us all in jail before it`s all over with.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hank and Lisa Croslin were arrested Friday.

MISTY CROSLIN: I wish I had powers, man. I would be, like, poof, out this place.

HANK CROSLIN: People make mistakes in life, yes, but nothing like they`re trying to make us out to be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you leave your kids with somebody that`s all doped up?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LALAMA: Marlaina Schiavo, NANCY GRACE producer, I`ve got a tough one for you. The cops believe this is a murder, am I right?

SCHIAVO: They do. They turned this into a homicide case in April.

LALAMA: All right. Here`s what I don`t get. They know it`s a murder, yet there`s no person of interest, there`s no suspect, there`s no leads. How do they come to that conclusion?

SCHIAVO: Well, Pat, there was a lot of talk back in April. There were a lot of confessions happening back then. And they obviously found out some information, information that they weren`t sharing with the public, that led them to believe that this was now a homicide case.

Now, we know that they scoured the river where they were told the body was dumped. They never found human remains. But that hasn`t changed anything in their opinion. As a matter of fact, they asked Ronald Cummings and the biological mother of Haleigh to actually go to the courts and get a death certificate for little Haleigh. That`s how much they believe it`s a homicide.

LALAMA: Right. Very good. Art Harris, back to you. You happen to know about some pressure being placed on family members behind bars.

HARRIS: Yes, Pat, I can...

LALAMA: Tell us about that.

HARRIS: Well, I can tell you that before Hank Croslin was arrested, he`s been calling me over the last two weeks. We`ve had long talks about - - about his long drug addiction, about the problems. He`s felt desperate. Anyway, he`d been visiting Tommy in jail and said that on one visit, law enforcement told him that he had better pressure him to give them more information because they did not find the body in the river where he said it had been dumped. And he was looking at possible -- possible lethal injection, that they were going to go for murder charges against him if he didn`t cough up some information. So Hank Croslin is now likely to get another visit from law enforcement, and you can expect Mom, too.

LALAMA: And Leonard Padilla, what is your role now that all of this has happened? Are you still involved? Have you talked to these people at all?

PADILLA: Well, I talked to Lindsey (ph) here a couple days ago, which is Tommy`s ex-wife, soon to be. I spoke to Timmy`s wife up in -- she was up in New York. I believe she was...

LALAMA: But are you still involved, Leonard? Are you still involved?

PADILLA: Not to a large extent, no. I follow the case. If I thought I could do some good, I`d definitely jump in with both feet. But right now, I think they`ve got the answer in Misty. And Misty`s the only one that`s got the answer, and she`s not talking.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

<end of Haleigh coverage>

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1007/26/ng.01.html