NANCY GRACE TRANSCRIPT
Misty Croslin`s Jailhouse Conversations Released
Aired February 3, 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, 18-year-old Misty Croslin, who takes to the airwaves to claim she`s innocent. But even in one brief interview, Croslin can`t keep her stories straight, including a 180 on a lie detector she flunked.
Bombshell tonight. After Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and baby- sitter-turned-stepmother Misty Croslin both handcuffed, arrested, booked, Cummings talks first, and we learn stepmother Misty Croslin does the same. As we go to air, we get the jailhouse tapes, video and audio, hours and hours of Misty Croslin yakking away, including an hour-long visit with Mommy and Daddy, all caught on video. Croslin already cracking behind bars, desperate, sobbing to get out of jail now and admitting to her father to at least eight drug sales, even ratting out her own brother on a felony and claiming from behind bars that her drug deals are to blame for Haleigh`s disappearance.
Police convinced Croslin the key to that disappearance, especially since evidence emerges Croslin did not want to be bothered baby-sitting the night Haleigh disappears. With Haleigh`s father still in isolation, tonight, the pressure mounting. Where is the 5-year-old girl with the big brown eyes? Where is Haleigh?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: Mom, I want out of here!
LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: I know you want out, baby. I know it.
MISTY CROSLIN: I want out so bad!
LISA CROSLIN: I know.
HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: Oh, I know it`s hard. It`s hard for me to have you both locked up. Now, Misty, don`t -- don`t be -- don`t be lying about nothing because all it`s going to do is bury you deeper.
MISTY CROSLIN: Man, I miss you guys.
LISA CROSLIN: I miss you, too.
MISTY CROSLIN: I`m stuck in this one little cell all the time.
LISA CROSLIN: I know, baby. It`s hard, ain`t it.
MISTY CROSLIN: It is. They won`t even let me do anything!
TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: We`re out of this -- we`re out one at a time. And (EXPLETIVE DELETED) talking (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and the other cell blocks, Where`s Haleigh Cummings, talking all kinds of crazy stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s crazy.
TOMMY CROSLIN: I was going to go in general population, but I ain`t going to do it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think you should.
TOMMY CROSLIN: I`m going to stay right here. It`s all right. People in here are cool.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty said she`s going in general population. She`s crazy.
TOMMY CROSLIN: Yes, she`s -- Misty`s going to get her little butt kicked. If she goes in general population, them girls are going to have their way with her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes. I know.
TOMMY CROSLIN: She`s little, and they`re going to have her way. I`ll put a request in to see her. I can -- we can do inmate-to-inmate visits.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, you can?
TOMMY CROSLIN: Yes. This jail ain`t nothing like Putnam County jail. This is, like, maximum security (EXPLETIVE DELETED) .
MISTY CROSLIN: Oh, it sucks, man! I hope I don`t have to be here forever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening, I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. After Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and baby-sitter-turned-stepmother Misty Croslin both handcuffed, arrested, booked, Cummings talks first, and we learn stepmother Misty Croslin does the same. As we go to air, we get those jailhouse tapes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MISTY CROSLIN: I hope you guys can get me out.
LISA CROSLIN: I hope we can, too, baby. Do you get to watch TV?
MISTY CROSLIN: At 6:00 o`clock. Barely can see it. I have to lay my thing on the floor so I can see the TV because they have the TV facing the wrong way so we can`t see it.
HANK CROSLIN: They say you sold over 300 pills to the undercover.
MISTY CROSLIN: But I didn`t sell them the whole time. I mean, I was with the people, but I think some of my charges are going to get dropped.
HANK CROSLIN: How many times you do it yourself?
MISTY CROSLIN: Eight times.
HANK CROSLIN: How many times did you do it yourself?
MISTY CROSLIN: Eight to nine.
HANK CROSLIN: Told you to stay away from that stupid (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Told you.
MISTY CROSLIN: When I get out, I`m going to go back with you guys every day.
HANK CROSLIN: Our lives -- our lives are so screwed up here.
LISA CROSLIN: I saw Tina at Spinner`s, and she said she doesn`t not have your stuff.
MISTY CROSLIN: Yes, she does! It was in her car!
LISA CROSLIN: She said she don`t have it, that you had everything with you.
MISTY CROSLIN: No! It was in her car. When I got arrested, my camera, my phone, my I.D., my wallet was all in her car.
LISA CROSLIN: The police didn`t take it from her?
MISTY CROSLIN: No! She pulled off!
LISA CROSLIN: She`s not going to let me have it, then.
MISTY CROSLIN: That`s (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!
LISA CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE)
MISTY CROSLIN: I`m going to. I`m sorry. I was cussing.
LISA CROSLIN: Don`t get in trouble, baby.
MISTY CROSLIN: I`m not.
LISA CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE)
MISTY CROSLIN: I`m not going to. I didn`t mean that. I was just mad.
LISA CROSLIN: I know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Now, recently we showed you the Ronald Cummings jailhouse interviews. We`re going to show you those again tonight. And they are exclusive interviews with Dana Treen (ph), reporter for "The Florida Times- Union." Now, we got that through WJXT, who filed a FOIA request, and I regret that wasn`t clear earlier.
I`m going to show you those jailhouse tapes later. But right now, we`re going to show you more of Misty Cummings, Misty Croslin-Cummings, from behind bars. If you will recall, up until tonight, she was charged with numerous counts, I believe around six. But after this jailhouse admission to her own family that she conducted at least eight to nine illegal drug sales, now more counts have been added.
Art Harris, investigative journalist, joining us, Artharris.com. What`s the latest?
ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: The latest, Nancy, is that unbeknownst to Misty Croslin, two more charges were filed against her for drug trafficking, adding $400,000 to her bond, bringing that to a total of $1.35 million that it will take to get her out. Same thing with Ronald. He has been charged with two more counts of drug trafficking, and he faces now another $400,000 in bond, raising his total bond to $900,000, Nancy.
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. And what I don`t get, Art Harris, is don`t these people realize they`re being taped, they`re being videoed? Don`t they get it? All their phone calls, their meetings, unless it`s with their lawyer or their preacher, it`s all fair game for law enforcement.
HARRIS: Nancy, it was painful to watch them talk to their parents. You`re waiting for them to say something else that incriminates themselves.
GRACE: Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LISA CROSLIN: She said she would, and she`s going to send you some money.
MISTY CROSLIN: OK. Mom, I want out of here!
LISA CROSLIN: I know you want out, baby. I know it.
MISTY CROSLIN: I want out so bad!
LISA CROSLIN: I know.
MISTY CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE) have you heard that my bond was -- got lowered or anything?
LISA CROSLIN: Yes, they took it from $100,000 to $50,000, or something like that.
MISTY CROSLIN: So it`s at $50,000 now?
LISA CROSLIN: Yes. And Art Harris called yesterday and said somebody in Nevada was trying to come up with the money to get you out.
MISTY CROSLIN: OK. Tell him...
LISA CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE) willing to do it.
MISTY CROSLIN: Yes. Yes. Do you know how long? Can you keep calling him and asking him?
LISA CROSLIN: Yes, he`s going to keep in contact with us.
MISTY CROSLIN: Man, I miss you guys.
LISA CROSLIN: I miss you, too.
MISTY CROSLIN: I`m stuck in this one little cell all the time.
LISA CROSLIN: I know, baby. It`s hard, ain`t it.
MISTY CROSLIN: It is. They won`t even let me do anything!
LISA CROSLIN: They`re not going to let you out in the population?
MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t know.
LISA CROSLIN: Have you asked them?
MISTY CROSLIN: Yes. They said give it a couple days maybe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That is video from St. John`s sheriffs.
To Caryn Stark, psychologist. I`ve to bring a shrink in before I go to the phone calls or even let loose the lawyers. Caryn Stark, we hear in one comment from Misty Croslin behind bars, the last woman, the last person to see 5-year-old Haleigh alive, that she personally conducted eight to nine sales of illegal drugs. And within the next hour, she says, I didn`t do anything wrong. Why do they have me here? When can I get out? And starts crying. What`s the disconnect?
CARYN STARK, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, she`s purposely doing that, Nancy. I mean, she really has holed herself up and kept it all inside, that part. So she`s trying desperately to talk around it and to make some kind of a deal here. It`s real clear that she doesn`t mention that at all. And if you notice, I don`t know too many criminals who ever said they did anything wrong.
GRACE: To Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, In Session. What more can you tell me in the developments we`re seeing tonight, hours and hours of baby-sitter-turned-stepmother Misty Croslin talking about her drug sales behind bars and more?
JEAN CASAREZ, IN SESSION: Well, you know, I listened to all of the tapes. Her entire state of mind is focused on herself, totally herself. Her father`s state of mind...
GRACE: Me, me, me, me, me!
CASAREZ: When her father comes to the jail, his state of mind seems to be, We can`t keep lying. If you know anything, you got to come forward. Even if you know it, it`s going to cause years for you in jail and prison. So his state of mind is that he believes his daughter knows something that she`s not coming forward with.
GRACE: Well, Marlaina Schiavo, our producer on the story, isn`t it true that from the get-go, the father has been very frank and said that he`s believed all along his daughter knows more than what she`s saying about the little girl`s disappearance?
MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: He did say that. And he flip-flopped a couple times on that, but that is what he used to say. And also, the mother said the same thing about her, Nancy. So this falls in line with that same thought, that she knows something, she needs to come clean. He, quote, "doesn`t understand why she didn`t already come forward."
GRACE: Everyone, we have just obtained, after waiting for about 72 hours, these jailhouse tapes of baby-sitter-turned-stepmother Misty Croslin, the last person in charge of taking care of Haleigh that night. We also learn through Art Harris that she was loath to baby-sit that night. She had come off a three-day drinking and drug binge. The last thing she wanted was to take care of two little children. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MISTY CROSLIN: I hope you guys can get me out.
LISA CROSLIN: I hope we can, too, baby. Do you get to watch TV?
MISTY CROSLIN: At 6:00 o`clock. Barely can see it. I have to lay my thing on the floor so I can see the TV because they have the TV facing the wrong way so we can`t see it.
LISA CROSLIN: You watch anything recently?
MISTY CROSLIN: No. What was on?
LISA CROSLIN: Ron was doing a thing on there last night stating that you was his ex-wife and his friend only, that he had a girlfriend.
MISTY CROSLIN: Yes.
LISA CROSLIN: That`s what he was saying.
MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t care.
LISA CROSLIN: OK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MISTY CROSLIN: It sucks, man. I hope I don`t have to be here forever. Do you know how long Art Harris said that when (INAUDIBLE) people are going to bond me out?
LISA CROSLIN: He didn`t say. He just wanted to know if we was willing for them to do it, and I told him yes.
MISTY CROSLIN: Did he say it was a for sure thing?
LISA CROSLIN: He didn`t say for sure. He just said that he knows people in Nevada that was trying to get your bond (INAUDIBLE)
MISTY CROSLIN: You need to keep on him, be, like, Get her out.
LISA CROSLIN: Don`t worry. Every time he calls, I`m going to get onto him. I just wish I could get you out!
MISTY CROSLIN: I know. It`s $50,000 now? So what`s 10 percent of $50,000?
LISA CROSLIN: I think $10,000.
MISTY CROSLIN: So I need $10,000 to get out?
LISA CROSLIN: Yes.
You watch anything recently?
MISTY CROSLIN: No. What was on?
LISA CROSLIN: Ron was doing a thing on there last night stating that you was his ex-wife and his friend only, that he had a girlfriend.
MISTY CROSLIN: Yes.
LISA CROSLIN: That`s what he was saying.
MISTY CROSLIN: I don`t care.
LISA CROSLIN: OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: He has a girlfriend? They`re not in high school anymore! They`re all behind bars on multiple felony drug charges. They`re looking at about 180 years behind bars. They`re suspected in the disappearance of a 5-year-old little girl, and they`re talking about he`s got a girlfriend? Well, I don`t understand it, Art Harris.
HARRIS: Well, Nancy, what, you know, you have to understand that this is not a normal relationship that you would think about, except if you were in high school. Police tell me that they have been secretly seeing each other, Misty and Ronald Cummings, for the last month. She has the tattoo of Ronald on her back. But he also dates other people. She dates other people. And for some reason, this is preoccupying part of the conversation between herself and her mother in jail.
GRACE: OK, Art, excuse my obvious ignorance on this, but a secret from whom? Who are they keeping it a secret from? Neither one of them are married. Who cares? What`s the secret.
HARRIS: No secret to me, but you know, maybe they don`t want -- or Ronald doesn`t want the public to know for some reason. Maybe he`s afraid that they might imply or infer that they are in cahoots on...
GRACE: Well, you know what, Art? I appreciate that explanation, but the fact that they are on video selling dope together in a cop`s car I think pretty much puts them in cahoots, as you just described.
We`re going out to the lines. Leota in New Hampshire. Hi, Leota.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My inquiry is to her bother, who admits to being at that home the night the child went missing. He said she wasn`t there. Wouldn`t he know that home as well as anyone? Could he have gone in and taken that little girl?
GRACE: What do we know about that, Jean Casarez? And I recall that he told police that when he was arrested on another charge.
CASAREZ: Leota`s right, though. He did say that that night in question, he went over there around 10:00 o`clock at night. It was dark. It was still. It was quiet. He knocked. There was silence.
What`s interesting, though, is he said on this tape today, as I kept listening, You know, I don`t have anything to do with Haleigh. I have nothing to do. They arrested me because they`re trying to get to Misty and Ron. And he seemed pretty real, and I felt credibility in his voice when he said, I had nothing to do with this.
GRACE: OK, just released and we finally have obtained jailhouse videos of the baby-sitter-turned-stepmother, Misty Croslin, behind bars where she admits to dealing drugs. She whines about being behind bars, first saying she dealt drugs, then saying she didn`t do anything wrong. Never once do you hear her wonder or utter one sympathetic word about the missing 5-year-old girl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MISTY CROSLIN: Oh, it sucks, man! I hope I don`t have to be here forever. Do you know how long Art Harris said that when (INAUDIBLE) people are going to bond me out?
LISA CROSLIN: He didn`t say. He just wanted to know if we was willing for them to do it, and I told him yes.
MISTY CROSLIN: Did he say it was a for sure thing?
LISA CROSLIN: He didn`t say for sure. He just said that he knows people in Nevada that was trying to get your bond (INAUDIBLE)
MISTY CROSLIN: You need to keep on him, be, like, Get her out.
LISA CROSLIN: Don`t worry. Every time he calls, I`m going to get onto him. I just wish I could get you out!
MISTY CROSLIN: I know. It`s $50,000 now? So what`s 10 percent of $50,000?
LISA CROSLIN: I think $10,000.
MISTY CROSLIN: So I need $10,000 to get out?
LISA CROSLIN: Yes.
MISTY CROSLIN: All right. I hope that people get me out of here.
LISA CROSLIN: I hope they do, too.
MISTY CROSLIN: You guys, Art Harris -- Art Harris can get ahold of Cobra, too, because Cobra said he`d bond me out, too. I got...
LISA CROSLIN: Well, I`ll tell your dad.
MISTY CROSLIN: I got 49 minutes.
LISA CROSLIN: I`ll try to get -- I`ll try to get Cobra`s number myself.
MISTY CROSLIN: Yes.
LISA CROSLIN: I have it in my wallet.
MISTY CROSLIN: We have 49 minutes.
LISA CROSLIN: I`ll let you go and let Daddy come in, OK?
MISTY CROSLIN: OK. I love you.
LISA CROSLIN: I love you, too!
MISTY CROSLIN: Hey.
LISA CROSLIN: She said she would. She`s going to send you the money.
MISTY CROSLIN: OK. Mom, I want out of here!
LISA CROSLIN: I know you want out, baby. I know it.
MISTY CROSLIN: I want out so bad!
LISA CROSLIN: I know.
MISTY CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE) have you heard that my bond was -- got lowered or anything?
LISA CROSLIN: Yes, they took it from $100,000 to $50,000, or something like that.
MISTY CROSLIN: So it`s at $50,000 now?
LISA CROSLIN: Yes. And Art Harris called yesterday and said somebody in Nevada was trying to come up with the money to get you out.
MISTY CROSLIN: OK. Tell him...
LISA CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE) willing to do it.
MISTY CROSLIN: Yes. Yes. Do you know how long? Can you keep calling him and asking him?
LISA CROSLIN: Yes, he`s going to keep in contact with us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LISA CROSLIN: Oh, God, baby, I miss you so much!
MISTY CROSLIN: You guys are going to come see me every -- did you guys -- what about Talent?
LISA CROSLIN: I called Talent and Talent said he don`t think he can come up here.
MISTY CROSLIN: Why?
LISA CROSLIN: I don`t know. He didn`t tell me why. Lindsey talked to him.
MISTY CROSLIN: So he`s not going to come visit me?
LISA CROSLIN: I don`t think so.
MISTY CROSLIN: What about write me?
LISA CROSLIN: He said he`d try (INAUDIBLE)
MISTY CROSLIN: When are you guys sending mine out?
LISA CROSLIN: I sent yours out today.
MISTY CROSLIN: You did?
LISA CROSLIN: Grandma sent -- Grandma sent you one yesterday.
MISTY CROSLIN: OK.
LISA CROSLIN: OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK, Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, In Session. It was painful listening, between all of them, couldn`t figure out what was 10 percent of $50,000. And they got it wrong. But aside from that, the bail has not been lowered, Jean Casarez.
CASAREZ: No. Let us reiterate, the bail is now -- you ready -- $1.35 million for Misty Cummings. That`s the bail, not $50,000, $1.35 million because there are now eight counts of trafficking in prescription medications.
GRACE: You know, Art Harris, I think where she`s getting these figures from -- they must have talked to a bail bondsman because, typically, you have to put up 10 percent of your bond to get out. So 10 percent would be $100,000. I guess that`s where they`re getting the $50,000 from. I`m not sure.
HARRIS: In the past, Nancy, they have dealt with a local bail bondsman. They`re very familiar with bail bondsmen because they have been in and out of jail, Hank, his father, and Tommy. And so, you know, I know that I got curious because I heard a rumor that someone was trying to bail them out or was willing to put it up, and so I started making some calls. And the only person who I found was Leonard Padilla. He had been in touch with or left messages with her lawyer, who told me -- Robert Fields -- that he had been approached, he had messages left, but he had not called anybody back to -- you know, to talk about it.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight, high-profile lawyer out of Seattle Anne Bremner. Also joining us, expert in Florida law Mark Nejame. Also with us, Paul Batista, defense attorney out of New York, author of "Death`s Witness." Welcome to everyone.
Anne Bremner, they`ve got it all bass-ackwards. They`re not about to get out of jail, all right? They don`t need to be worrying about the bond being lowered, it`s been raised.
ANNE BREMNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, yes, and that`s kind of a problem there. I love your saying, Nancy. But you know, I was thinking to myself murder for hire cases don`t see that high of a bail. But the fact of the matter is, there`s that saying -- I know you love my quotes -- Oscar Wilde...
GRACE: Oh, no.
BREMNER: ... I`m always thinking about myself, and I expect everyone else to do the same. She`s thinking about herself. She`s in jail, and that`s to be expected.
GRACE: Finally, Anne Bremner hits a home run with those quotes. What about it, Mark Nejame?
MARK NEJAME, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: She needs $135,000 just at 10 percent. (INAUDIBLE) forgets that she still needs $1,350,000 for collateral. How`s that going to happen?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MISTY CROSLIN: Hey.
LISA CROSLIN: She said she would. She`s gonna send you the money.
MISTY CROSLIN: OK. Mom, I want out of here.
LISA CROSLIN: I know you want out baby. I know it.
MISTY CROSLIN: I want out so bad.
LISA CROSLIN: I know.
MISTY CROSLIN: Have you heard that my bond got lowered or anything?
LISA CROSLIN: Yes, they took it from $100,000 to $50,000 or something like that.
MISTY CROSLIN: So it`s at $50,000 now?
LISA CROSLIN: Yes, and Art Harris called yesterday and said somebody in Nevada was trying to come up with the money to get you out.
MISTY CROSLIN: OK. Tell him --
LISA CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE) willing to do it.
MISTY CROSLIN: Yes, yes, yes. Do you know how long? Can you keep calling him and asking him?
LISA CROSLIN: Yes, he`s gonna keep in contact with us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re out of this. We`re out one at a time. And (EXPLETIVE DELETED) are talking in the other cell blocks. Where`s Haleigh Cummings, talking all kinds of crazy stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s crazy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was going to go into general population, but I ain`t going to do it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think you should. I don`t think you should.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ll stay right here. It`s alright. People here are cool.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty says she`s going in general population. She`s crazy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Misty`s going to get her little butt kicked. If she goes into the general population, them girls are going to have their way with her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yeah, I know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s little, and they`re going to have their way. I put in a request to see her. You can do inmate to inmate visits.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, you can?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. This jail ain`t nothing like Putnam Count Jail. This jail is like maximum security (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MISTY CROSLIN: I see Austin and Lindsey.
LISA CROSLIN: You see Austin and Lindsey?
MISTY CROSLIN: They`re.
LISA CROSLIN: Do you see Tommy?
MISTY CROSLIN: You can`t see hi yet. Is she talking to Tommy?
LISA CROSLIN: Yes.
MISTY CROSLIN: Mama, he needs to.
LISA CROSLIN: How do you see Tommy, Austin, and Lindsey?
MISTY CROSLIN: Oh, I thought I just seen them walk behind you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: And also, Jean Casarez, there is a very revealing interview between Misty Croslin, the last person to see Haleigh alive, and her father. What do we learn?
JEAN CASAREZ, HLN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we learned, what he said was number one, what you know about Haleigh, if you don`t come forward, it`s only going to bury you deeper. Don`t be lying about nothing. They say you sold over 300 pills. He asks her questions about the present charges. And then he says the Haleigh stuff has got to come to an end. The truth has to come out. And you don`t be talking without your lawyer.
GRACE: To you, Marc Klaas, president, founder of Klaas Kids Foundation. What do you make of the jailhouse tapes we`ve just gotten hold of?
MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT and FOUNDER, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Well, it clarifies a lot of things. First of all, these people don`t have a pot to spit it. They don`t have a nickel between them. And, in fact, they argue over nickel and dime types of things. But I think that there`s a potential revelation here in Art`s reporting.
Because what art is talking about, he mentions a pimp, a pimp name Jerome Williams who is the sugar daddy to one of Ron Cummings` ex`s, that he supported her. But here`s what I can tell you about pimps. They don`t support anybody. Women support the pimps.
These people are some of the most low-down, bottom-feeding creatures in our society. And if this guy is messing around with young girls, and pimping them out, then we`re talking about human trafficking here and this character is going to be Ron Cummings` new cell mate. That puts zero degrees of separation between the two of these guys.
And what we do know is that Ron has an interest in girls 15 to 16 years old. Apparently this character, Williams, is pimping girls in their teenage years. There`s a lot of problems here, and I think that that might introduce another potential suspect into this case.
GRACE: Art Harris, is that true?
ART HARRIS, HLN CORRESPONDENT: I can tell you, Nancy, that investigators have quizzed him. He offered to actually use his drug network to get information about Haleigh and could not come up with anything. So he`s been a disappointment. He is in the same jail Ron Cummings is, and there could be some interesting encounters if they do meet.
GRACE: Here`s the sound we were telling you about, the jailhouse, secretly recorded tapes of Croslin talking with her father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANK CROSLIN: They say you sold, sold over three hundred pills to the undercover.
MISTY CROSLIN: But I didn`t sell them the whole time, I mean, I was with the people, but I think some of my charges are gonna dropped.
HANK CROSLIN: How many times did you do it yourself?
MISTY CROSLIN: Eight times.
HANK CROSLIN: How many times did you do it yourself?
MISTY CROSLIN: Eight to nine.
HANK CROSLIN: I told you to stay away from that stupid (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I told you.
MISTY CROSLIN: When I get out, I`m gonna go back with you guys, every day.
HANK CROSLIN: Our lives, our lives are so screwed up here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANK CROSLIN: Terrible baby, God I hate this. I don`t wanna lose their one of you guys. If you guys had some do with.
MISTY CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE)
HANK CROSLIN: Yes, but that right there doesn`t matter. The dude Haleigh case is a whole different ballgame. I don`t understand why you didn`t come forward before. Yes. Damn you, man. You had to go -- I know baby, I`m goin` crazy myself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANK CROSLIN: You shoulda left when I told you to. You shoulda went up there to Michigan. Ya know, the Haleigh stuff has got to come an end. It`s got to Misty. Whatever the truth is, it`s got to come out. And you don`t, you still don`t be talking without your lawyer. He gettin` pissed off? Ah, he`s the only thing -- hope that you got.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls, live. To Shirley in L.A. Hi, Shirley.
SHIRLEY (via telephone): Hello, Nancy, how are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
SHIRLEY: Oh, it`s more of a comment. When this all first started, Misty said when she got up to go to the bathroom that the backdoor was propped open with a cinderblock.
GRACE: Yes.
SHIRLEY: When your producer went in there, she went to -- and showed where the backdoor, the screen door was propped open with a cinderblock. When she turned lose the big door, it automatically shut. You know, like some trailers get of balance.
GRACE: Yes.
SHIRLEY: And if the backdoor was shut, how did she see the screen door open?
GRACE: Marlaina Schiavo, you were there. You toured the home including that backdoor. What do you recall?
MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: I recall that there was a ton of laundry on the floor, and there was a theory that possibly it was propping the inner door open and that`s how she saw the outside door propped open.
GRACE: Did Misty Croslin ever say that, or was that just a police theory?
SCHIAVO: That was a theory amongst police and some people also close to the investigation.
GRACE: Well, Shirley`s observation, about the door, is it accurate?
SCHIAVO: Yes. Both doors do close automatically. Yes.
GRACE: So there would be no way unless that door was propped open, the heavy metal door, unless that was propped open that she could have seen that the screen door was open as well?
SCHIAVO: Right. The screen door was propped open. That`s the one that shut hard and closed immediately, slammed shut. The one that we`re looking at now, the brown door, the inner door would have to be propped open with an object. And if it wasn`t, no, there`s no way she would have seen that, Nancy.
GRACE: Why would you have the door to the outside propped open with laundry?
SCHIAVO: Well --
GRACE: That doesn`t even make sense.
SCHIAVO: Well, the idea is that if someone came in and propped open the first door that goes through the outside, and then walks through the next door, you know, there`s all the stuff on the floor, then, you know, they`re trying to, like, quietly go through the door with a child possibly, that they would need something to prop open that inner door.
GRACE: OK. I understand.
Out to Lily in Alabama. Hi, Lily.
LILY (via telephone): Hello.
GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?
LILY: I know that on the night that she came up missing, there was talk about that they were not there when her brother --
GRACE: Yes.
LILY: OK. And that maybe they were at a party and maybe she had given Haleigh some drugs.
GRACE: Right. oxycodone.
LILY: Did they by any chance drug test junior?
GRACE: That is an excellent question. What, if anything, do we know, Art Harris?
HARRIS: Nancy, I do not know if they did drug test junior. But I know that he spoke with a child psychologist and has been interviewed by child welfare after the incident, and said that he saw the man in black.
GRACE: With squeaky shoes.
Everybody, as we go to break, congratulations to Molly Roberson and the family on the birth of a beautiful baby girl, Piper Daisy Grace Roberson, born Monday, 1:55 and 7 pounds, 12 ounces. Piper`s father CIA security officer Michael Scott Roberson, gave his life serving our country. Afghanistan. His photo in the delivery room during the birth now over Piper`s crib in her nursery watching over his baby.
Welcome home, Piper. Your father, Scott Roberson, American hero.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LISA CROSLIN: I saw Tina at Spinner`s and she said she does not have your stuff.
MISTY CROSLIN: Yes, she does. It was in her car.
LISA CROSLIN: She said she don`t have it, that you had everything with you.
MISTY CROSLIN: No! It was in her car. When I got arrested, my camera, my phone, my I.D., my wallet was all in her car.
LISA CROSLIN: The police didn`t take it from her?
MISTY CROSLIN: No. She pulled of.
LISA CROSLIN: Huh. She`s not going to let me have it then.
MISTY CROSLIN: That`s bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
LISA CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE)
MISTY CROSLIN: I`m going to.
LISA CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE)
MISTY CROSLIN: I`m sorry. I was cussing.
LISA CROSLIN: Don`t get in trouble, baby.
MISTY CROSLIN: I`m not.
LISA CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE)
MISTY CROSLIN: I`m not going to. I didn`t mean that. I was just mad.
LISA CROSLIN: I know.
MISTY CROSLIN: I got 52 minutes and 44 seconds.
LISA CROSLIN: You do?
MISTY CROSLIN: Yes. Do you see it on the bottom of the screen?
LISA CROSLIN: No.
MISTY CROSLIN: Oh, OK. Well, I can see it.
LISA CROSLIN: Well, make sure when it`s 3:30, let me know.
MISTY CROSLIN: I will.
LISA CROSLIN: So I can go get Dad.
MISTY CROSLIN: Alright.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMMY CROSLIN: Because I`m not drug trafficker or anything, you know that.
LISA CROSLIN: Oh, my God. I know it`s funny. I mean, it`s not funny, but you know.
TOMMY CROSLIN: Yes. They try to say that this stuff wasn`t.
LISA CROSLIN: (INAUDIBLE)
TOMMY CROSLIN: Yes. They try to say that this Haleigh stuff had nothing to do with it. That`s all it had to do with.
LISA CROSLIN: Exactly. That is all it had to do with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANK CROSLIN: What are you dong baby? Oh, don`t start crying please. I know. I wish I could get you out. I don`t know. He said there were some people in Nevada that wanted to bond you out, but, you know, I don`t know. I believe you`re trying, baby, but. They reduced your bond, I guess. How you doing? I love you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To you, Ron Shindel, former NYPD deputy inspector, thank you for being with us.
Am I the only crazy one here? Nobody has commented. Nobody in this whole scenario is talking about, tell them where Haleigh is, tell them what happened that night. What happened that night? What do you remember?
No one is talking about the missing girl. That`s what this is about. It is not about some oxycodone pills.
RON SHINDEL, FMR. NYPD DEPUTY INSPECTOR: Nancy, you have, what, now we have arrested drug dealers. We have multiple drug deals. We have a missing child. I mean, everything is going wrong in these people`s lives at their own hands.
We can`t expect any normal activity out of them whatsoever. They`re going to keep looking in their own world, in their own little world of what they think is important when the big picture, of course, here, is a missing 5-year-old.
But time in jail, time away from drugs, time with lawyers and time with prosecutors is going to make them think about the big picture a lot more than time on the street.
GRACE: To Dr. Leigh Vinocur, doctor out of University of Maryland School of Medicine, thank you for being with us, doctor.
DR. LEIGH VINOCUR, M.D., UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: My pleasure.
GRACE: Doctor, how long will it take for a complete dope head, somebody that`s taking oxycodone or OxyContin every day for a long time, how long will it take them to get totally dried out?
VINOCUR: Well, it`s not -- the drug doesn`t stay in your system forever and ever. So, within a couple days, you know, they go through the symptoms of withdrawal.
It`s not a dangerous withdrawal like alcohol or benzodiazepines, which can cause seizures. It`s mostly just uncomfortable and they`re feeling miserable, but usually it`s out of their system. I mean, unless there are these longer-acting ones, they can be a few day more, but.
GRACE: How would this affect her memory of the night Haleigh went missing?
VINOCUR: Well, you know, if she was really doped up, and the key is, you know, she supposedly drank alcohol, too. We know that there`s blackouts and memory lapses with alcohol. So if you combine that with a drug, and she`s practically comatose somewhere, she could have memory lapses.
GRACE: But back to you, Art Harris, recall, she was describing doing the laundry the evening, putting the children to bed, all sorts of things, taking a shower. If any of that, if any of that was true, then she was not comatose.
HARRIS: Nancy, she was moving around, if that`s true. Now, we don`t know that that is true. We really have no verification that anything happened except at a certain time Haleigh vanished and Misty says she had nothing to do with it.
GRACE: To you, Caryn Stark, a lot of what they`re talking about behind bars is so foreign to so many people. I mean, a lot of people, Misty Croslin`s age don`t know anything about oxycodone, transactions, OxyContin, sales, how you pick up a phone and get a dealer to give you several hundred pills. It`s so foreign to so many people especially at that young age.
CARYN STARK, MEDIA PSYCHOLOGIST: And we want it to be foreign to so many people, Nancy. But this is their milieu hood. This is what they`re comfortable with. He was talking about another jail and how this one compares to the other one and the father is talking about missing both of his children who are in jail.
So, this is another world that we`re discussing. And also, I was thinking about what you said with the oxycodone and, in fact, if she was used to taking it, she could take an awful lot of it and still be functioning very well.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Mark Nejame out of Florida; Anne Bremner, high profile lawyer, Seattle; Paul Batista, defense attorney and author "Out of New York.
First to you, Mark Nejame, these tapes will absolutely come in at trial. Yes, no?
MARK NEJAME, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes. Just simply yes. There`s no right of privacy. There`s no expectation of privacy while you`re in a jail.
And I think it`s not only telling as far as it being the last shovel of dirt that goes on the coffin, but it`s pretty obvious that she`s still holding on to hope. There`s going to be, you know, she`s going to get a bond, that the charges are going to be dropped.
It doesn`t make any difference. One count in Florida is a 25-year mandatory minimum. Not maximum, minimum. So, the range of the sentence is 25 to 30 years.
So I think when the reality hits her about whatever bond, if it gets lowered at all, is still going to be unattainable. And that even if all the charges are dropped, she`s still looking at a mandatory minimum of 25 years.
GRACE: What about the Youthful Offender Act in Florida?
NEJAME: There`s a Youthful Offender Act. It`s up to the judge judicial discretion. But it can allow, if the judge deems her to be a youthful offender, she could get a maximum of six years. So there`s a lot of room to play, either under substantial assistance, providing law enforcement information or allowing her to be eligible for Youthful Offender. If she wants to give the information that everybody is looking for.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOY BEHAR, HLN HOST: Coming up next on "THE JOY BEHAR SHOW," a new report says that John Edwards allegedly hit his life, Elizabeth. Can this story get any worse? Andrew Young, author of the Edward`s tell-all "The Politician," joins me.
Then Mel Gibson says he`s done apologizing for his anti-Semitic remarks. Fine. So when is he going to apologize for "Lethal Weapon 4?"
And officials may be ready to charge Michael Jackson`s physician with involuntary manslaughter. But is this the end of the story or just the beginning?
All this right after Nancy.
GRACE: And Paul Batista agree or disagree with Nejame.
PAUL BATISTA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, you know, Nancy, I`ve been struck by these people are almost beyond stupid. They have no understanding of where they are. The bail bondsman in Nevada is the Wizard of Oz. He doesn`t exist. Unfortunately, if the police think at this stage they`re going to get real information from any of these people, they have not sat in jail long enough. And I think it`s going to be very difficult for the police to extract information about Haleigh.
GRACE: What about it, Ann Bremner?
ANN BREMNER, ATTORNEY: I agree. But the fact of the matter is they are talking, and I think after seeing this, they`re probably watching your show right now, Nancy, like everybody does, and they shouldn`t speak anymore if they have any sinter of a brain in their heads.
GRACE: Marc Klaas, where do police go from here?
KLAAS: Well, Nancy, I think I have to agree with everything that`s been said here so far. And I also believe that these people don`t have sense enough or the ability to keep secrets. And I also believe that this is a very small world, a small population of individuals and maybe the police need a fresh set of eyes on all of the evidence that`s been presented because I wouldn`t be surprised if in that body of evidence, there`s going to be the kernel of information that leads them to where Haleigh is and what happened to Haleigh.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Debora, Oklahoma.
Hi, Debora.
DEBORA (via telephone): Hi, Nancy. I have two scenarios.
GRACE: OK.
DEBORA: The first one is, I honestly believe the trailer incident, all that was staged.
GRACE: OK.
DEBORA: I don`t believe it just happened. I don`t believe her story. And could her and Haleigh`s dad been in cahoots all this time and thrown this all off, and traded that baby for drugs and possibly that drug dealer trafficked her out?
GRACE: To Art Harris, what do you make of it? You have been working with these people for months on end. Do you really think Ronald Cummings would have anything to do with the sale of his baby?
HARRIS: I really -- I just don`t believe that. I don`t want to believe it, Nancy. You know, as disreputable as he`s proven to be, as much of a liar as he`s proven to be about drugs, he loved his children. I got to believe that. And he was associating, though, Nancy with some very dangerous people. As you know, look at all the drug dealers he helped Misty contact. And so in that world, anything is possible. I talked to the sheriff today. He said he`s keeping all the options open. He does not want tunnel vision.
GRACE: Everyone, let`s stop and remember Marine Lance Corporal Jonathan Thornsberry, 22, McDowell, Kentucky killed in Iraq. Lost his life weeks after arriving in Iraq. Award the Purple Heart. Iraqi campaign medal, global war on terrorism service medal, national defense service medal, a coal miner like his father, would give you the shirt off his back. Loved hunting with dad, four wheeling, fishing, dream of college and a career in the law. Leaves behind grieving parents, Jackie and Judy, brother, Jeffrey, widow, Toni, and 4-year-old little girl Haley, who has her father`s green eyes. Jonathan Thornsberry, American hero.
Thanks to our guest, but especially to you for being with us. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
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