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NANCY GRACE

Ronald and Misty`s Divorce Finalized

Aired October 16, 2009 - 20:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MIKE BROOKS, GUEST HOST: Breaking news tonight in the case of a 5- year-old Florida girl reportedly snatched from her own bed in the middle of the night, little Haleigh Cummings vanishing without a trade. Major developments as we go to air. Are the house of cards finally falling down around her? A Florida judge signs off on the divorce of Haleigh`s dad and the last person to see the little girl alive. Ronald Cummings`s and Misty Croslin`s brief seven-month marriage is officially over. With the divorce final, will Cummings finally break his silence about the holes in Misty`s story?

And in the last hours, Croslin`s mother bonds out of a Florida jail on forgery charges. What did she tell investigators about Haleigh`s disappearance?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER/STEPMOTHER: Just divorce. I mean, I don`t want a divorce, but it`s what he wants. So whatever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last person to see Haleigh alive is also the last person to finally sign divorce papers. Will it boost the investigation into what happened to 5-year-old Haleigh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole relationship right from the very beginning has been tumultuous from the time that he was -- the police report was taken. So maybe now that, you know, Ronald`s not there to protect her, if you will, maybe she`ll open up. But instead of going up to the morning show with CBS, she should have been with Putnam County sheriff`s, talking to them about where Haleigh is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now that Misty Croslin`s mom has been transferred out of a Tennessee jail, will she be questioned by Florida police?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have mom that`s in jail, and she`s got a $100,000 bond. And I clearly think that they will approach her and say, OK, do you want to get out of jail? You need to tell us something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think what we`re dealing with here with Misty and her mom are some pretty shallow people who don`t really think much before they speak and they pretty much blurt out anything that comes to mind. They are focused on each other. Nobody seems to be focused on the little girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... as over 4,000 tips continue to pour in, including possible Haleigh sightings caught on video.

TERESA NEVES, HALEIGH`S PATERNAL 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is such a travesty and such a circus that I`m waiting for the acrobats to come in. It`s one ridiculous story on top of another. It`s all very ludicrous. And what about Haleigh? Isn`t she supposed to be the focus?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: Good evening. I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. Are the house of cards finally falling down? A Florida judge signs off on the divorce of Haleigh`s dad and the last person to see the little girl alive. Will Ronald Cummings finally break his silence about the holes in Misty`s story?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ronald, do you feel that Misty has the key to this investigation?

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: No, I don`t. I think they`re barking up the wrong tree.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: I don`t believe you. I think you do suspect your ex-wife, soon-to-be ex-wife`s story. I think you don`t want to discuss it in the midst of a divorce.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So are you saying that you didn`t fail the polygraph, like people and law enforcement are kind of claiming that you did?

CROSLIN: No, I did not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So bottom line, you don`t know where Haleigh is?

CROSLIN: Bottom line.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty is just kind of digging herself in a deeper hole, to the point where her attorney has now dropped her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If this girl keeps doing what she`s doing, it`s only a question of time before she`s charged with something having to do with this kid`s disappearance. She just repeatedly, repeatedly contradicts herself.

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD, HALEIGH`S MOTHER: She was the last one to see our daughter, and her stories just don`t add up. Everything she says is crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tips flooding in from across the nation, possible Haleigh sightings caught on tape. This as Misty`s Croslin`s mom transferred out of a Tennessee jail. Will she be questioned by Florida police?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something`s going on and Mom may just have this heartfelt sympathy for this poor child that`s now disappeared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If this family is willing to betray each other over something like getting a "Get out of jail free" card, what does that say about her and who`s she willing to betray? Is she betraying Ron? Is she betraying Haleigh?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. Well, the bottom line here is, folks, it`s been a seven-month marriage between Ronald and Misty. But the question remains, Where is that little beautiful baby girl, Haleigh?

I want to go straight out to NANCY GRACE producer Marlaina Schiavo, who has been on this case from the very beginning. Marlaina, what`s the very latest that`s going on in Satsuma, Florida, right now?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Mike, the divorce between Misty and Ronald is finalized. And what does this mean? Well, it means a few things. Will Ronald finally come clean and tell us what he really feels about what Misty`s been saying all along? Will he admit the doubts that he has about Misty? But also, Mike, we learned today, right before we go to air, that Misty is now being represented again by her attorney and...

BROOKS: Well, wait a minute. This is the same guy that she just dropped after her appearance on one of the morning shows, and he says, Hey, I don`t want you anymore, you`re on your own because you won`t do what I tell you to do? Same guy?

SCHIAVO: Same guy, Robert Fields. And you know what? He sent an e- mail today to Ronald`s attorney saying that he does not want Ronald speaking to Misty without the attorneys involved. All communication now has to go through the lawyers.

BROOKS: That`s very interesting. You know what? Joining us tonight is Brandon Beardsley, the attorney for Ronald Cummings, joining us from St. Augustine, Florida. Mr. Beardsley, thanks for being with us.

BRANDON BEARDSLEY, ATTORNEY FOR RONALD CUMMINGS: It`s my pleasure, sir.

BROOKS: What is this -- what is -- what is this memo?

BEARDSLEY: It wasn`t really a memo. He just -- you know, we communicate a lot through e-mail. It`s a lot easier. And he just sent me an e-mail and requested that all communication between Ronald and Misty be cut off and that anything needs to go through him.

BROOKS: What does Ronald think about this?

BEARDSLEY: Ronald`s fine with it. I mean, if that`s what her attorney wants and that`s what Misty wants, he has no problem with it. I mean, they`re divorced. Their marriage is over. It`s fine with him.

BROOKS: Now, you know, they had been talking all up until now, from what we understand, and things were fairly amicable, even though there are irreconcilable differences in this, you know, looking at the -- at the petition for marriage (SIC). But does -- has Ronald told you what he really thinks Misty is holding out?

BEARDSLEY: He`s never came out -- first of all, you`ve got to understand. If Ronald knew anything or had anything that she`d ever told him, he would 100 percent go and tell authorities. Has he ever came out and told me that he thinks she`s hiding something, told me that he thinks that there`s disclosures she has not made to the police department, the sheriff`s department of Putnam County? No, he has not came out and said that. But I truly believe that he has concerns. I mean, you see her inconsistencies. You always see her on the news and everyone pointing out her inconsistencies. It`s -- it`s almost impossible not to question if she`s telling the truth.

BROOKS: You know -- you know, they were together not very long. I mean, how long totally have they known each other?

BEARDSLEY: To be honest, I don`t know the answer to that.

BROOKS: Yes, I -- but you know, from what I understand, it wasn`t that long before Haleigh disappeared they actually started dating, and then after she disappeared, they got married. Now, seven months later, they`re divorced. So you know, we were calling her Misty Croslin, Misty Croslin Cummings. But for seven months, shouldn`t have too much a hard time getting back to -- and she got her name back in a petition, back to Misty Croslin.

Now, Mr. Beardsley, you know, what is Ronald`s state of mind right now?

BEARDSLEY: Ronald`s state of mind has been the way it always has. His main concern is finding his daughter. He don`t care who it implicates, who`s responsible. His goal is to find his daughter. His state of mind is -- I think that he`s more relieved now from the day-to-day pressures of being with Misty and the media hype that surrounded their marriage and their relationship. So I think he`s a little more calm and relaxed. But he`s still very anxious and wants to find his daughter.

BROOKS: You know, in the marital settlement agreement, it says -- one of the lines -- "In consequence of dispute and irreconcilable differences, the parties intend to separate and live apart." So...

BEARDSLEY: Correct.

BROOKS: And now -- now they`re finally divorced. So what were the main disputes that they were having?

BEARDSLEY: Well, first of all, that`s standard language that I`ve used in every marital settlement agreement that I`ve ever drafted...

BROOKS: But there were disputes, though, correct?

BEARDSLEY: Well, every married couple has disputes. I mean, their main falling out, I guess you could say -- they needed to go their separate ways because of all the pressures that they receive day-to-day. And you know, Ronald, in my opinion, he does question if she had anything to do with it. Now, you know, keep your friends close, your enemies closer. I don`t know if he...

BROOKS: I think that`s a quote from Ronald, as a matter of fact.

BEARDSLEY: Yes. And I don`t -- you know, I don`t know if he stayed with her hoping that if she said anything or slipped that she would do it to the person that she was around every day. He`s never said that, but you know, common sense would tell you that that`s an option.

BROOKS: Yes. I want to go straight out to Art Harris, investigative journalist, and he has the Web site Artharris.com. Art, thanks for joining us.

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Thanks, Mike.

BROOKS: You have spent a lot of time down there and you`ve talked to a lot of folks in Satsuma and done a lot of your investigating yourself. What is the pulse now right now down in Satsuma surrounding this case and the search for Haleigh right now, that you -- in your opinion?

HARRIS: Well, there`s a collective sigh of relief, Mike, that this tension, this flash point between Misty and Ronald is not what it was. Misty is off with friends in an undisclosed location. And she is isolated. But I`m told that she has reached out to her family, and there may be a reconciliation, Mike. I understand there may be something in the works where she may be willing to drop her objection to Tommy being in touch with her. If she removes and drops that permanent restraining order, then she could go back to her family or he can leave the house.

BROOKS: Well, what -- why does she have a restraining order in the first place against her brother?

HARRIS: Well, there was violence, you know, in the yard when she was with Ronald, and you know, he had come over with the father and mother to try to, quote, "rescue" her from Ronald. She then changes his (SIC) mind. A fight ensues. You know, she gets punched accidentally, and then files these papers for a restraining order against her brother, Tommy. So anyway...

BROOKS: But now, Tommy -- now, Tommy was in jail. And I`m going to go out to Ellie Jostad, producer with the NANCY GRACE SHOW. Now, Tommy was in jail.

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Right.

BROOKS: What was he in jail for, Ellie?

JOSTAD: Well, Tommy Croslin and Misty`s mother, Lisa, were involved in the same incident. They apparently went over to a neighbors house, this neighbor in his 80s. They went over his house to use his phone. While they were there, Lisa Croslin, the mother, allegedly stole checks from the neighbor, and the brother, Tommy, allegedly took a gun from him.

BROOKS: So he took a gun. They stole some checks. She wrote some bad paper of this -- of this old -- of this old guy, and then she runs to Tennessee, gets locked up in Tennessee, gets a warrant against her. Now she`s back in Florida.

What will -- come back. We`re going to talk about what Tommy told police. And did Misty`s mom talk to police, and what did she tell them?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Ronald Cummings, did it ever disturb you that Misty Croslin`s story actually changed?

CUMMINGS: Yes, ma`am, it did.

BEARDSLEY: This couple had been in the media spotlight for months. They can`t go to the grocery store together. They can`t go to the supermarket. They can`t go out and eat. And any time they`re together, they get scrutinized, and it puts a lot of pressure on a marriage. I don`t know of any married couple that their marriage could last...

BROOKS: OK, you know, Mr. Beardsley...

BEARDSLEY: ... with all of this.

BROOKS: ... no offense, you have a wonderful reputation. I`ve checked you out thoroughly. But nobody gets divorced because somebody looks at them in the checkout line, all right? I`m not buying that for a minute. What I am buying is that you guys don`t want to tell me why the divorce or if Cummings wants to admit he does not believe Croslin`s story. That`s their business.

CUMMINGS: I can`t really recall the exact changes, and they`re real small. It`s not like she -- she pretty much tells me the same thing each time she -- I ask her about it, so -- there might be a difference in the way that it`s worded.

NEVES: There`s a lot of tension. It`s a very tough strain on a relationship when there is something that you think maybe needs to be told and you`re not getting that information. You know, it puts a very big strain on a relationship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. Well, right before we went to break, we were talking about Misty, this dysfunctional family, to say the least, Misty, her brother, Tommy, her mother, who Tommy and the mother went over to one of the neighbor`s house to use the phone and took a gun, took some checks. Momma got locked up. She got transferred to a prison down in Florida. She just bonded out. And now Misty is going to reconcile with her brother, Tommy. Isn`t that just a heartfelt story?

But here`s what Misty had to say about Tommy. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The last time you had seen her before then was when?

CROSLIN: At 10:00 o`clock, when I lay down to bed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You had put her to bed?

CROSLIN: She went to bed at 8:00 o`clock.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But your brother told police that when he went to the trailer that night that you were supposedly putting Haleigh to bed, you weren`t there. Did you go somewhere that night?

CROSLIN: No, I did not. I did not leave the house at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did he tell the police that you weren`t there?

CROSLIN: Trying to get out of jail. That`s what I think.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So your brother was in jail when he said that?

CROSLIN: Yes, he was in jail.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your own brother would betray you like that?

CROSLIN: It`s how my family is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: That`s Misty Croslin on CBS`s "The Early Show." Boy, does she look different! Looks like she had a little bit of a makeover, maybe some time in a salon. We will see if this little reconciliation between the family really comes to fruition.

OK. I want to go back out to Art Harris. Art, now, we see Misty and she looks a lot different than we see her right here. Now, tell (INAUDIBLE) there was this whole little undercover sting operation that Tim Miller and Equusearch had. And because we heard about Misty running off to Orlando twice with this mystery friend, we find out this mystery friend is actually a woman by the name of Donna Brock who is working for Tim Miller.

HARRIS: That`s right. Mike. This is someone who she met when she was down there taking the polygraph that she, quote, "flunked miserably," according to Tim Miller, and came up with the idea that because they bonded and she offered, Hey, Misty, you know, give me a call, if you want to go to the mall, I`ll take you to get your hair done, your nails done -- and suddenly, out of the blue, Misty calls her. So she calls Tim Miller and says, Tim, what do I do? Tim says, This could be an opportunity to find out...

BROOKS: But Art...

HARRIS: ... what happened to Haleigh.

BROOKS: But Art, how did he -- how did she inject her -- how did Donna inject herself in this whole equation?

HARRIS: Well, Mike, she was part of the Texas Equusearch crowd that was baby-sitting Misty when she went to Orlando to take the polygraph. And for some reason, they hit it off. She`s 43, a mother of four, you know, has -- you know, has a -- has kind of an aura of calmness to her. Misty saw her as the, quote, "mother she never had." That`s according to what Tim tells me. And suddenly, they were bonded.

BROOKS: OK. So she knew that this woman, Donna Brock, actually did work for Tim Miller?

HARRIS: She did, but you know, just assumed that because they were going out together and she could call her anytime and spend time with her - - she took her out of town, spent money on her. And she told her a lot of very personal things. Donna was there every time Misty talked to Ronald on the phone that week and we reported they were fighting tooth and nail. And Misty got the news as we reported it on NANCY GRACE. She watched the show every night, I`m told, and was infuriated.

BROOKS: Joining us from Florida, I want to go straight out to Mark Nejame, attorney for Tim Miller and Texas Equusearch. Mr. Nejame, good to be with -- good to have you with us again.

MARK NEJAME, ATTORNEY FOR TIM MILLER: Nice to be back, thank you.

BROOKS: Did Tim kind of run this plan, this undercover, you know, Operation Misty, if you will, by you before they decided to go put some money into this?

NEJAME: No. There was really two parts to it. The first time, Misty wanted to take a polygraph, so we arranged it in my offices. And she did fail miserably. Later, when I think the...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROSLIN: I loved her like she`s my own! And I`ll do anything to get her back!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just being married, it can be stressful and there can be challenges. Add on top of that everything that they went through during their marriage, I think it would be virtually impossible for any couple to survive that.

GRACE: Ms. Neves, I don`t mean to grill you, but it just doesn`t all fit together.

NEVES: To me, it`s a very dysfunctional family. And that`s the best way I can describe that.

CROSLIN: They go out and look for the right person, maybe they -- they would be -- have the answers, but they`re trying to get all the answers from me that I don`t have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. Well, you heard Ronald`s mother, Theresa Neves, say a dysfunctional family. I think that`s kind of putting it mildly. But keep in mind, all along, Teresa Neves has always been behind the story that Misty was saying and believed that she was telling the truth. We`ll see if she really believes that anymore.

I want to go to back out to Mark Nejame, attorney for Tim Miller and Texas Equusearch. Mark, you were just getting into telling us a little bit about Operation Misty before we went to break.

NEJAME: Right.

BROOKS: So he did run this by you before he went ahead and did this.

NEJAME: Well, no. What happened is, is that Misty wanted to take a polygraph.

BROOKS: OK.

NEJAME: Teresa contacted me and I told her that I would only assist if it led to finding out whatever happened to the child. So she agreed. So we were -- whether that led to Misty or to anybody on the face of the earth, too bad, we were looking for the child. And we then got some new national publicity, some new attention brought to the case. They came in. Misty agreed to take a polygraph, told us she didn`t have an attorney. It was scheduled in my offices. We found the top polygraphers we could in the central Florida area.

And I left for the evening. She failed miserably. And then from there, as your previous individual had indicated, that was pretty much correct. Tim then went ahead on his own and set it up because at that point, Misty started coming out and saying that Tim was a liar, I was a liar.

BROOKS: Right.

NEJAME: There was nothing to lie over. She failed the polygraph.

BROOKS: Exactly. Now, I want to go straight out to our attorneys, Sue Moss, family attorney, Dan Horowitz joining us from San Francisco, and noted defense attorney Elizabeth Kelly (ph) from New York.

Sue, anything -- anything that she told Donna Brock, can it be used in court?

SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Oh, absolutely. Just ask Joran Van Der Sloot.

(LAUGHTER)

MOSS: And of course it`s not a big shock that they got a divorce. Only Helen Keller didn`t see that coming. But they had nothing to divide, so there`s nothing to decide. They didn`t even own the trailer where they would reside. So this was an easy case. The divorce is done, and now we can get back to looking for this little girl.

BROOKS: Dan, do you have issues with it? I really don`t.

DANIEL HOROWITZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I really do. I mean, Tim Miller to me has no credibility. I`ve heard what he said about Marc Klaas, that childish outrage that he unleashed. And how do you believe anybody in his camp or associated with him? They`re all media hounds, and he has no credibility.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN-CUMMINGS, RONALD CUMMING`S WIFE, LAST SEEN HALEIGH: I did take a polygraph.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you passed it?

M. CUMMINGS: I mean, my understanding is that I passed it.

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF MISSING 5-YR-OLD HALEIGH CUMMINGS: I pulled in to the yard. The front door was wide open. She was standing in it. I asked what she was doing up. She told me that the back door was wide open and Haleigh was gone.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Misty`s brother was taken from his jail cell to be questioned by police. That`s when deputy say Croslin`s brother told them it looked like no one was home that night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He tells police that he banged on the door and he got no answer. He looked inside through the windows, saw no lights, no television, did not hear a sound.

TERESA NEVES, GRANDMOTHER OF MISSING 5-YR-OLD, HALEIGH CUMMINGS: This statement by Tommy Croslin, to me, it doesn`t hold any water.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Why?

NEVES: I`m sorry, but, why wait seven months? Why say that he -- you know, if he went down there -- my personal opinion, if I went there and knocked and everything was off, I would think they were sleeping.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S MOTHER: She said she woke up and she noticed -- she was going to the bathroom. But she noticed that the kitchen light was on and she said she made it around the corner because you have to like go around the corner. She noticed that the back door was open and that`s when she ran back to the bedroom and Haleigh wasn`t in there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE BROOKS, GUEST HOST: I`m Mike Brooks in for Nancy Grace.

Well, did Tommy Croslin, Misty`s brother, really go over to the trailer that night and pound on the door like he said he did? And didn`t hear the TV, didn`t see anybody, didn`t hear anything?

We`re not talking about a mansion here, folks. We`re talking a trailer that probably would -- he would have been able to hear something standing outside, if the TV had been on like Misty says it was.

Let me go back out to Marlaina Schiavo. She has been in that trailer. She`s been down there since the very beginning.

Marlaina, has law enforcement talked about giving Tommy a polygraph, possibly, to see if he really was being forthcoming?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: You know, that`s interesting, Mike. They haven`t talked about giving him a polygraph at all. You know, they took his statement. They put it out there and that was that.

I`m not saying that they won`t be doing it in the future. But, you know, law enforcement hasn`t exactly been forthcoming with, you know, many details of this investigation.

BROOKS: Yes.

SCHIAVO: So who knows? It might be in the works, but no, they haven`t said it publicly.

BROOKS: As an investigator I would want to get him on the box, myself. And you know what? I don`t blame them. As a former investigator, I wouldn`t be telling everybody everything either. I`d be holding things close to my vest as you make -- as you get your lead, and you go and you make -- do your investigation, do your interviews. You know, then that`s how you build your case and make somebody a good cake for going to trial.

I want to go back to Tim Miller. Talking about Tim Miller. We heard Dan Horowitz, our defense attorney, said that he thought that Tim`s credibility was shot. I want to go back out to our attorneys.

Elizabeth Kelley, defense attorney from New York, do you agree with Dan that Tim Miller, who orchestrated this Operation Misty, as I call it -- do you think that he`s lost his credibility because of this?

ELIZABETH KELLEY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, you know, Mike, I feel as if I`m hearing all about Linda Tripp all over again. I`d like to stick up for Misty in large part because no one else is. First of all, I don`t read anything into the divorce between her and Mr. Cummings. These are two very young people who made a hasty decision to get married during a very emotionally rot time in their lives.

BROOKS: Yes, but Elizabeth, you know what? Instead of get married, you know, they should have been focusing their attention on finding the little girl. I think it distracted a lot of attention away.

I want to go back out to Art Harris. Art, you were down there and talked to Tim Miller about all this. Now let`s talk a little about what Tim Miller told you about Ronald Cummings.

ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, WWW.ARTHARRIS.COM: Yes.

BROOKS: And his state of mind.

HARRIS: Yes. Mike, he was very concerned because after the polygraph, he went over to the trailer with Ronald and says that Ronald went into the closet, pulled out an assault rifle with two banana clip 32 rounds.

BROOKS: And what kind of assault rifle did he say that he had?

HARRIS: You know, he didn`t know the make, I`m assuming something like an AR-15, semiautomatic. Two clips and he said I`m going to blow her teeth to the back of her head and then kill myself and take some others out with me if it turns out she had anything to do with this, Mike.

He was really worried. He`d seen cases that had lost when witnesses had been killed, had died. He wanted to get Misty out of there, he told me. And that is why he used Donna Brock as a vehicle to keep her away from Ronald. That was his motivation according to Tim Miller.

BROOKS: I want to go back out to Brandon Beardsley, the attorney for Ronald Cummings joining us from Jacksonville, California.

Mr. Beardsley.

BRANDON BEARDSLEY, ATTORNEY FOR RONALD CUMMINGS: Yes, sir.

BROOKS: Does he, in fact, have a weapon in his house?

BEARDSLEY: He does not have an assault rifle. That is just -- that statement is absolutely ludicrous. You know? No. He does not have an assault rifle. Does he have a pistol, I believe he does. I don`t know. I`ve never searched his house. But I know he didn`t have an assault rifle.

BROOKS: Have you talked to him about this?

BEARDSLEY: Yes.

BROOKS: You have?

BEARDSLEY: Yes, sir.

BROOKS: And have you been out to his house and asked him.

BEARDSLEY: I have not been to where Haleigh was taken from. When we started representing him he had already relocated residents.

BROOKS: Do you think that Ronald Cummings is a danger to himself or others, from what we are hearing from Art Harris?

BEARDSLEY: Now from what you are hearing from Art Harris, if it was true, then of course. But I have many, many clients that I am concerned over their emotional and mental state and I always refer them to therapy.

If I believed Ronald Cummings was emotionally or mentally unstable I would have him in therapy. And there is no doubt in mind that he is emotionally and mentally as stable as he can be for the circumstances that he`s in. He`s not a threat to himself or anyone that`s around him.

BROOKS: I want to go straight out to Pat Brown, criminal profiler.

Pat, you`ve seen cases like this before and as Mr. Beardsley said a lot of people, because he`s going through a lot of stress, has become very emotional. What do you make of all this?

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER, AUTHOR OF "KILLING FOR SPORT": Well, I think we should go back and take a look at a lot of the circumstances. I have an interesting viewpoint on this marriage and divorce. I`m not saying it`s accurate. But I`m saying that it`s interesting and the police are probably looking at it.

One thing is Ron marries a woman that`s questionable as to losing his child. And his child is missing, being -- maybe being raped and tortured and he says oh this is a time to go get married. My daughter would like this.

Well, that`s ridiculous. I guess his daughter would like the divorce, too. But he goes ahead and marries this woman. And one of the questions is, did he marry her because he thought it would keep her from being able to testify against him. In other words, if she was involved in something, they could be testifying.

Secondly, if he gets divorced now, maybe he can now say if he was involved, that she`s just -- and she goes to police, she`s just ranting and raving. And she says getting back at him for the divorce. So it might have been a good strategy on his part both ways.

BROOKS: I want to go out to clinical psychologist Patricia Saunders. Pat, weigh in on this. We definitely need you right now.

PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, I see a family that has these unstable attachments to everyone. So it would not be out of consideration that Misty is someone who doesn`t attach to anybody in any substantial kind of way.

I do want to agree with part of what Pat Brown is saying that I think we`ve had a tendency to kind of whitewash Ronald Cummings as a victim in this. I`m sure the man is suffering because of the loss of his daughter. But Misty is such an obvious target and makes herself more so. I thought we have.

BROOKS: Well, yes, she`s going to be a target. I mean that`s what police said. The only thing consistent about what she`s told them are her inconsistencies.

SAUNDERS: Well, that`s true, Mike. But there`s a lot that we don`t know that the police have withheld. I don`t know that Ronald Cummings is capable of making the kind of decision to keep her close to his side, but I do question his stance as a victim, too.

BROOKS: But why, Pat, would they decide to go ahead, in the midst of all that`s going on, decide to get married? It just doesn`t make sense to me.

SAUNDERS: Well, they`re two highly immature people who act on impulse. And she might be his idea of the child bride, a woman who he can mold and shape and not give him any problems.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Why won`t she come and sit down with police and talk to them?

R. CUMMINGS: That, Miss Nancy, I can`t answer for you. I`m sure that maybe her attorney can answer it for you. Hopefully she will.

GRACE: Uh-uh. Uh-uh. No. You have to have talked to her about talking to the police. What does she say?

R. CUMMINGS: We have talked to her about talking to the police.

GRACE: What does she say?

R. CUMMINGS: She says she`d talk to them.

GRACE: They want to talk to her again. Why won`t she do it?

R. CUMMINGS: I have no knowledge of them wanting to talk to her and she wouldn`t do it.

GRACE: After the divorce, do you believe Ronald Cummings will have more to say to police?

TERRY SHOEMAKER, ATTORNEY FOR RONALD CUMMINGS: I don`t believe so. I know that, you know, in all the times that we`ve met with law enforcement I know that he is -- he`s been very forthright and the number of times he called her, when he called, what the conversations were all about. So I don`t think that he`s really going to come out with any, you know, bombshell as to I was holding this back.

NEVES: We have all encouraged her to speak with police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks in for Nancy Grace.

We just want to find where is Haleigh Cummings. I want to go back out to Mark Nejame. He`s the attorney for Tim Miller of Texas EquuSearch.

Mark, you heard what Dan Horowitz, our defense attorney from San Francisco said, that Tim Miller`s credibility is shot. What`s your response?

MARK NEJAME, ATTORNEY FOR TIM MILLER, TEXAS EQUUSEARCH: Quite the opposite. Tim just found his 102nd victim yesterday. This man`s life is dedicated to finding the lost and the deceased when nobody else would do it. He didn`t care. He was doing something unorthodox.

Without question, he was looking to find this child. As far as the publicity seeking, nobody knew he was doing it. Where is the publicity? He did it for one reason and one reason only. Because he wanted to help find this child. So anybody that claims otherwise, they really don`t know what they`re talking about.

BROOKS: Now has Tim talked to you about Ronald and possibly, you know, him having the gun?

NEJAME: Sure. In fact, we were with Ronald and we spent time. And the one thing I can tell you, I genuinely believe that Ronald absolutely does not know what happened to his child and is dedicated to finding the child.

BROOKS: Yes, I do, too.

NEJAME: His manners and the way he acts, a lot of people may not accept it. But I believe he`s totally committed. And the issue as it relates to Misty, if I could refer to what was just being discussed.

BROOKS: Sure.

NEJAME: Ron believes, in my opinion from the time that I`d spent, that Misty might have known something about it. And if she ended up going elsewhere with other family and she was gone, he believes he would have lost that single opportunity or the best opportunity to best find out what happened to his child.

So all the psychological gibber jives that I`ve just heard, respectfully, it`s not that complicated. He knew that his best chance of finding his child was keeping her close by. Because he`s got questions like everybody else does about her continued discrepancies.

BROOKS: I want to go straight out to Marlaina Schiavo again, our NANCY GRACE producer who has been on the case from day one.

Marlaina, going back to Misty`s mom. She was just bonded out. Number one, who bonded her out and has she spoken with police?

SCHIAVO: OK. First of all, police did not say who bonded her out, Mike. And she has spoken to police. They interviewed her before she left the jail and they questioned her about the night Haleigh went missing.

And honestly, Mike, she -- all she said was that she still thinks that Misty is holding something back. She`s sticking to that story. You know, Misty, as -- you know, as we talked about last night, you know, said that her mother only said that because she was mad at her. But apparently that`s not really the case because she reiterated that to police last night before she bonded out.

BROOKS: Now where did she come up with the money to get out of jail?

SCHIAVO: Well, that`s a good question, Mike. I mean, you know, the family obviously has resources. There is extended family that doesn`t live in Satsuma that might be helping them but where that money is coming from exactly.

BROOKS: Is Hank Croslin in the picture?

SCHIAVO: Hank Croslin is in the picture. He has left Tennessee. He came back to Florida once Lisa got transferred. Now do they have plans to return to Tennessee, that remains to be seen.

BROOKS: Boy, we talk about a dysfunctional family, but you know, maybe, maybe she knows a little bit of something that will help law enforcement find Haleigh Cummings.

I want to go out to the Dr. Alanna Levine joining us from New York, a pediatrician. All right. You know, we hold out hope, Doctor, that Haleigh is still alive, somewhere. You know, there`s been speculation that maybe some friends of Misty`s had taken her that night. When Tommy went over, didn`t hear anybody, we don`t know the real story is.

But, if she is alive, Doctor, she has Turner syndrome as we`ve talked about before. Does she need medication on a daily basis to sustain her? It`s been a long time now.

DR. ALANNA LEVINE, PEDIATRICIAN: Right. It really depends on her own Turner syndrome. There`s a wide variety of symptoms. And some of them can be very mild and some of them can be more severe including involvement of the heart, including involvement of the kidneys. So if she has a more severe form, absolutely, she would need medication for that. But it`s hard to know specifically in her case without knowing her exact medical history.

BROOKS: I want to go back out to Mr. Brandon Beardsley, attorney for Ronald Cummings.

Mr. Beardsley, do we know how serious of Turner syndrome Haleigh has?

BEARDSLEY: My understanding is it wasn`t that severe. That at the time that she went missing, she actually didn`t even have to take medication for her -- the Turner syndrome.

BROOKS: So she was not taking daily medication?

BEARDSLEY: Correct.

BROOKS: OK. I want to go back out to Ellie Jostad, producer for NANCY GRACE. Ellie, now there`s been talk of the night that Haleigh disappeared, that Ronald was trying to get -- was trying to call Misty a number of times in the cell phone. Do we know, for sure, from cell phone records, if this was, in fact, true?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Yes, we do actually. Police say that they do have Ronald Cummings` cell phone records. That they have evidence that he tried to call her over 20 times that night between about 8:00, 8:30 and when he got home from work a little after 3:00.

So we do know that he was trying to call her and apparently wasn`t able to get through, whether because her phone was off or she wasn`t answering.

BROOKS: Mr. Beardsley, what has Ronald told you about that time -- during that time frame where he tried to get in touch with Misty?

BEARDSLEY: He just couldn`t get ahold of her. That, you know, he called several times because he couldn`t get ahold of her. It was typical for him when he was at work like that to call her cell phone throughout the evening.

BROOKS: 23 times? 23 times?

BEARDSLEY: I don`t know about that many times but I mean, I know every night that he was at work, he would call to check in to make sure she was OK, the kids were OK. And on that particular evening, he was not able to get her on the phone.

BROOKS: Ellie, other nights. How many times does he usually call? Did they say?

JOSTAD: No. We didn`t know that. We didn`t know what was a typical night, how many times he would call.

BROOKS: You know, to me, as an investigator, 23 times is a -- quite a few times to call somebody in just a few hours, period. I just -- something is not right here. And we still have not heard the true story from the one person who knows that I think knows and that`s Misty Croslin.

But tonight, "CNN Heroes."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Heroes.

TEA LEONI, ACTRESS: Hi. I`m Tea Leoni.

As one of CNN Heroes` blue ribbon panelists in 2007, I helped recognize the extraordinary work of everyday people who are changing the world. As both a board member and Goodwill ambassador for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, I advocate for the world`s children and work to increase awareness and funding for their needs. I see clearly just how much the world needs heroes.

Now I am thrilled to help CNN introduce one of this year`s top 10 honorees.

BRAD BLAUSER, CHAMPIONING CHILDREN: Disabled children, they`re really the forgotten ones in this war.

I came to Iraq as a civilian contractor. There were a lot of children that either dragged themselves on the ground or have to be carried. There were so many people willing to reach out and touch the lives of these kids.

My name is Brad Blauser. I bring pediatric wheelchairs to Iraqi children in need. People donate on my Web site. The wheelchairs are brought over, and I distribute them to the different military units and help fit these children into the wheelchairs.

There`s no paycheck. It`s not really safe here, but I made a difference in the life of these families. Definitely, the sacrifice has been worth it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKS: And now a look back at the stories making the headlines this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

R. CUMMINGS: The two of us have agreed to go separate ways.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They are splitting up.

R. CUMMINGS: With the family problems and everything else, it`s just -- it`s too much on the relationship. We can`t go anywhere without being questioned or people staring at us or anything like that.

M. CUMMINGS: I don`t want a divorce, but heck, that`s what he wants, so whatever. I`m not going to fight him.

GRACE: Sources reveal Cummings threatens to shoot Croslin dead if she`s responsible.

HARRIS: He threatened to blow Misty`s teeth at the back of her head and then kill himself and take others out with him.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The 3-year-old baby Xavier Nelson was left by an unidentified woman at a South Los Angeles bus stop after midnight on Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: LAPD released this video to the media in hopes someone would recognize this toddler. And someone did. Angela Thomas says her mother called her from the South Land saying she saw her grandson on TV.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My heart dropped and I was about to cry, not because I saw him, because of the story that they were telling.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police are desperate to find 31-year-old Stephanie Fischer. Stephanie was last seen with her new husband Dennis Moe who authorities say is armed and dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With criminal complaint then he actually stuffed a shotgun in her mouth and said he wanted to use the biggest shells possible so she would die a slow and painful death.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The judge has said unless you come to some agreement, you`re going to be back here on the 26th. You`re clenching your jaw, Jon.

JON GOSSELIN, REALITY TV STAR: That`s because it`s cold out here. For her to call me a criminal for stealing money? No. She thinks I stole. I mean, it`s just -- it`s gotten so ridiculous.

SUZE ORMAN, FINANCIAL EXPERT: I think she was being incredibly dramatic there, she only has $1,000 left and she couldn`t even pay the bills that were in her purse. Give me a break. She has many accounts, she has said so. Don`t tell me that she didn`t have money somewhere to be able to pay those bills but it sure made great TV, didn`t it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: Tonight let`s stop to remember Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class James Layton, 22 years old, from Riverbank, California. Awarded the Purple Heart, he lost his life giving medical care to a wounded marine. A Cherokee Nation Citizen, he loved traveling, heavy metal music, he dreamed of being a radiology tech, leaves behind parents, Nicky and Brent, grandmother Shirley, three brothers, two sisters.

James Layton, a true American hero.

Thank you to all our guests and you at home for being with us. See you tomorrow night, 8:00 p.m. sharp Eastern, until then, stay safe.

END