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NANCY GRACE
Authorities Search for Body of Missing Salinas Newlywed
Aired February 18, 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, Salinas, California. A gorgeous 23-year-old bride -- talented, creative, a florist -- vanishes. She goes shopping that afternoon with a sister for their father`s birthday party and then never makes it to the party. Twenty-three-year-old Ryann Crow vanishes, never seen again, her Chevy Malibu abandoned 90 miles to the north. Investigators combing every square inch of that car for evidence.
The new groom lays out of the search for his wife and then completely avoids the bride`s family. Just hours after we first covered the 23-year- old bride missing, police close in on the groom 26 miles away, heading south. In the car, another woman, now named by police as an official person of interest. The groom, Jesse Crow, behind bars tonight on $3 million bond. The charge, murder one, the bride`s body missing.
Bombshell tonight. With the bride`s body still missing, police combing hilly terrain, mountains and farms, by land, by air, by water. But even without the bride`s body, they say they`ve got a case file over two inches thick that points to one thing and one thing only, the bride was murdered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are satisfied there is probable cause to believe that Jesse John Crow killed his wife, Ryann.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The investigation into the disappearance of newlywed Ryann Crow continues, even though Ryann`s husband, Jesse Crow, has been arrested on murder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The arrest of Jesse John Crow does not end this investigation. Detectives, as well as forensic experts and others, are continuing to process evidence, to follow up on leads, to determine if perhaps there may have been other persons involved in this crime.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The woman that Jesse Crow was with, Ms. Summer Donovan, is a person of interest in this case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When Crow returned to the home to clean it out, he wasn`t alone. This woman was helping him, and lying for him, telling us Jesse John Crow wasn`t there, but that`s him loading up a dumpster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me talk to Jesse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jesse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me talk to him. Come on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are on private property. Please leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This as the manager of a local hardware store tells Nancy Grace he`s been interviewed by law enforcement. He says Jesse Crow has come into the store multiple times, the store equipped with surveillance video.
GRACE: Right now, while the groom is behind bars on $3 million bail on a charge of murder, the wife`s body, the bride`s body, still missing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, the mystery surrounding the sudden disappearance of an entire family of four.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joseph McStay, his wife, Summer, and their two young boys, ages 3 and 5, haven`t been seen or heard from in two weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Neighbors didn`t really notice anything wrong because the McStays` truck is still in the driveway. But a telling newspaper flyer lies beneath it, dated February 5th, the day after the family was last heard from.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the patrol deputy was there, he seen certain things, and I can`t be specific about what they were (INAUDIBLE) somewhat alarming to him. He gave us a call, and that`s how we got involved in the case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just doesn`t look like a vacation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s correct.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Other things don`t add up, as well. The family car was towed from a parking lot near the San Ysidro border crossing February 8th.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was in a parking lot down there, and then it was towed from a parking lot as abandoned. We were told that he absolutely wouldn`t go to Mexico with his family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something else that alerted sheriff`s investigators is that when they checked the home, shoes were on the front porch and the energy meter was still running. It does not appear that the family was planning to go anywhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the thing was the family, they have two dogs, and the dogs weren`t being cared for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Breaking news tonight, Salinas, California. With bride Ryann`s body still missing, police combing hilly terrain, mountains, farms, by land, by air, by water. But even without a body, police say they`ve got a case file over two inches thick that points to one thing and one thing only, the bride was murdered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say Summer Donovan, the woman in the car when Jesse Crow was arrested, is still a person of interest because they`ve executed a search warrant on her home and questioned her multiple times, CNN affiliate KSBW reporting Donovan had a three-year relationship with Jesse Crow before he married Ryann.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It became evident to us that this was not a simple case of an adult dropping out of sight for personal reasons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police have not indicated why Ms. Donovan is a person of interest. They are just saying that she is a person of interest. They also say they have a motive in this case, but they would not discuss that with us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After numerous searches, interviews and the collection and analysis of a considerable body of evidence over the past few weeks, we are satisfied there is probable cause to believe that Jesse John Crow killed his wife, Ryann.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cops continue to follow leads and comb through evidence, as police say they believe there are people still out there who have details about what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Solid forensic evidence has been collected and analyzed by expert criminalists at the California Department of Justice Bureau of Forensic Services which supports our conclusion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is the body of Ryann Crow?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Mark Carbonaro, program director, KION News/Talk. Bring us up to date, Mark.
MARK CARBONARO, KION NEWS/TALK (via telephone): Well, thank you very much, Nancy. I had a chance to attend that news conference this afternoon and also had an opportunity to talk with both Police Chief Louis Fetherolf and Sheriff Mike Kanalakis about this. And a couple of things that I gained from this conversation. Chief Fetherolf indicated to me that in all of his years of police work, this was one of the best sets of circumstantial evidence. So the forensic evidence they had was so strong in this case that they feel very confident that this is a homicide and that this charge against Jesse Crow will stick. Sheriff Kanalakis indicated that they are searching throughout Monterey County, and both -- and Sheriff -- and Chief Fetherolf had indicated to me that they would search land and sea for her body.
GRACE: I`m sorry, I couldn`t hear that last thing you said, Mark. Repeat?
CARBONARO: Chief Fetherolf indicated to me that they would search both land and bodies of water looking for Ryann Crow`s body.
GRACE: Joining us right now, two very special guests, Shelley Bunnell and Pamela Pipitone, the sister and mother of the missing bride. Ladies, thank you for being with us. First, I want to go to Ms. Pipitone. Thank you, Pamela, for being with us.
I do not in any way want to compromise the police investigation, so anything you can`t talk about, just tell me up front. Could you go through the last known sighting of your daughter? What happened that afternoon?
PAMELA PIPITONE, RYANN`S MOTHER: That afternoon, she had gone to work Saturday, and I had -- she works as a florist. She answers the phone quite frequently, and I joke with her a lot. So I called her up, pretending I was some boyfriend that had just lost -- just had broken up with her girlfriend and I needed to order some flowers. I played a lot of pranks on her, you know? And she`s so sweet, she tried to counsel me as a boyfriend. Then I started laughing. She said, Mom, you need to quit doing that. So I talked to her Saturday during the day while she was at work before she went missing.
GRACE: And I want to go to Shelley Bunnell. Everyone, joining tonight us exclusively are the bride, Ryann Crow`s, mother and sister. Shelley, I take it that you are the sister she spent that last afternoon with, correct?
SHELLEY BUNNELL, RYANN`S SISTER: Yes.
GRACE: Now, you guys went shopping if your father`s birthday at the CVS to pick up some things for the birthday party that night, right?
BUNNELL: Right. My dad`s birthday was on Saturday the 30th. And she had to work that afternoon. She wasn`t feeling well, so had she requested that I pick her up a little bit earlier, and I went ahead and picked her up and reminded her that we had to go and purchase some cards and some other things. So we went ahead and went to the store and picked up those items. And she dropped me off, and that was the last time I saw my sister.
GRACE: Shelley, at that time, where did she tell you she was going?
BUNNELL: At that time, she said she would be going to my mom`s house, that she wasn`t feeling well, that she just kind of wanted to lounge on the couch and just relax over at my mom`s house.
GRACE: Ms. Pipitone, did she come to your home?
PIPITONE: No, she didn`t.
GRACE: What time was that, Shelley?
BUNNELL: I picked her up from work at approximately 3:17 PM, I believe, and you know, it took probably about a half an hour to shop, and you know, look around for cards. And so, you know, I would say approximately 4:00 o`clock is when I saw her last.
GRACE: OK. Is it correct, Shelley, that a friend called her at 5:00 o`clock on her cell phone and she answered?
BUNNELL: Yes, she did call from -- a friend of mine called from my phone and called my sister and did speak with her briefly. And that was the last, you know, phone communication from my phone with my sister.
GRACE: And that time, Shelley, everything was OK with Ryann?
BUNNELL: You know, unfortunately, I wish I would have been on that phone call, but I didn`t really speak with her at length. I really wish I would have been on that phone call, but unfortunately, I was not. I was preparing myself for my father`s dinner.
GRACE: Right. Did the friend indicate that there was any problem, any distress, any urgency in her voice?
BUNNELL: You know -- you know, unfortunately, it was kind of a short conversation, so he didn`t indicate to me that there was any, you know, distress in her voice at that time. But it was quite a short phone conversation.
GRACE: OK. But we know she was alive and well at 5:00 PM on Saturday afternoon, correct?
BUNNELL: Correct.
GRACE: OK. What time was she supposed to be at the party that evening, Shelley?
BUNNELL: My dad`s dinner was in Monterey, which isn`t too far from here. At about 5:30, we were supposed to be there, so we should have been leaving the house about 5:00. She did indicate that she wasn`t, you know, feeling well, so there was a chance that she might...
GRACE: OK.
BUNNELL: ... not go to dinner. So yes, dinner was supposed to be at 5:30.
GRACE: And to Pamela Pipitone. This is Ryann`s mom. I`m not asking you to divulge what police have told you in any way. This is an ongoing investigation...
PIPITONE: Thank you.
GRACE: ... with one person of interest still out there. But Ms. Pipitone, are you satisfied? Do you believe -- without a body, do you believe police`s claim that your daughter is dead?
PIPITONE: That is what they have indicated to me, yes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We arrested Jesse for the homicide of Ryann Bunnell Crow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tuesday night, police moved in and arrested Jesse John Crow for the murder of his 23-year-old wife, Ryann, ending days of speculation that Jesse John may be involved in her disappearance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we believe that the evidence is sufficient to show that harm has come to Ryann, that she`s deceased, and that Jesse`s the one who`s responsible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But investigators not ruling out the possibility others may have played a role, including Jesse`s 32-year-old girlfriend, Summer Donovan, who we caught up with Monday and lied to us about Jesse not being at the Prunedale home he rented, despite us witnessing him cleaning out the house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me talk to Jesse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jesse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me talk to him. Come on!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are on private property. Please leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell Jesse I want to talk to him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can`t tell him. He`s not here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just saw him! He was out there moving stuff for you!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Summer Donovan was driving this silver Honda when Crow was picked up Tuesday night. She wasn`t arrested, but police immediately served a search warrant at her parents` Pacific Grove home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Summer is still a person of interest in this case. As I said, we`re continuing our investigation, and you know, we`re hoping to find some facts to prove one way or another whether any of the, you know, hundreds of people that we`ve contacted may be involved in this case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls live in the case of the missing bride. The groom now charged with murder. Even without a body, police say they have a case file over two inches thick that points to one thing and one thing only, this beautiful girl, 23-year-old Ryann Crow, was murdered. But can they prove a case without a body? Tonight, exclusively joining us, her mother and her sister, looking for answers.
We are taking your calls live. Out to Kristen in California. Hi, dear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nancy, if every mother, like the Mistys and the Caseys, had a little slice of Nancy Grace in them, those kids would still be alive. God bless you for the mother that you are.
GRACE: You know what? I want to thank you. In the commercial break, I was talking to Ms. Pipitone and she was telling me a little bit about her family. And the thought of loving your child, bringing them up -- tonight, I was -- just before air, actually, I was feeding Lucy ice cream in the bathtub.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh! (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: And I cannot imagine in 20 years, someone come along and do something like this! It`s just...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a 14-year-old, and I don`t know how the parents find the strength not to lose their mind or go after the people themselves. I give the parents credit. And it just sickens me. But anyway, my question is, does this scumbag have a criminal past and...
GRACE: Oh, Kristen, Kristen, Kristen, Kristen! Hit it, Clark Goldband!
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: He sure does, Nancy, and it goes all the way back as far as 1996. They include arrests for DUI and sale of marijuana.
GRACE: Now Clark, what can you tell me about the 300 plants growing on his property, a hydroponic marijuana operation? Go ahead, Clark.
GOLDBAND: Yes, Nancy, law enforcement described it as a sophisticated hydroponic operation involving over 310 marijuana plants. In fact, law enforcement from the sheriff`s department there in the county of Monterey, California, raided the home the same day that Ryann was reported missing. That case still pending, authorities trying to determine what to do there. But I can tell you this evening that the husband, Jesse Crow, sits behind bars on $3 million bond.
GRACE: Clark, tell me something we don`t know. We already know about the $3 million bond. But what we don`t know about is what the daddy does for a living. The suspect`s father runs one of those medical marijuana stores?
GOLDBAND: Those are some reports we are seeing, Nancy, this evening. Also, we spoke to the manager of a hardware store who tells us that law enforcement was talking to him about this case. He asked that law enforcement didn`t disclose what exactly what he sold to Mr. Crow. However, he did say there are surveillance cameras inside the store.
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Very quickly, before we go to break, Eleanor Odom with us. Eleanor, 300 marijuana plants, is that trafficking?
ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: Yes, it could be, Nancy, depending on the weight of the marijuana plants.
GRACE: Everyone, quick break. We are taking your calls live. Joining us tonight, Ryann`s mother and sister.
But as we go to break, I`m personally asking for your thoughts and prayers for the greatest mother there`s ever been -- and yes, I`m biased -- my mother, Elizabeth. Mother, please get well. The twins need their meema (ph).
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police arrested the husband of a missing California woman, and they say they want to question his on-again, off- again girlfriend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Action News has learned that Jesse Crow has been living on and off with another woman even before his wife, Ryann, went missing. We want to know if she`s the reason Crow isn`t talking about his missing wife or taking part in any efforts to find her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jesse Crow is booked on suspicion of homicide, his bail set at $3 million. Crow reportedly went back to his old girlfriend, Summer Donovan, sometime before his wife, Ryann, vanished.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Out to Mia, Louisiana. Hi, Mia.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. We just love you and your twins. It`s so good to talk to you.
GRACE: Well, hello to all my Cajun friends. Thank you for calling in, dear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. And I also wanted to tell you my niece had twins in January, and they`re just such a blessing and -- but my question was, if the girlfriend had anything to do with the -- like, helped him murder her or maybe even helped dispose of her body, can they make some kind of deal with her if she`ll lead them to her body?
GRACE: Absolutely, Mia. In fact, that`s my call on the case.
Unleash the lawyers! Joining us tonight, felony prosecutor specializing in crimes on women and children, Eleanor Odom, who is no stranger to trying death penalty cases, to defense attorney, Atlanta jurisdiction, Peter Odom. Also with us, high-profile lawyer out of the Seattle jurisdiction Anne Bremner.
Weigh in, Bremner.
ANNE BREMNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I`m thinking this is California, Nancy. And the thing is, we saw in the Jackson case, if there`s circumstantial evidence and one explanation indicates innocence and the other guilt, in California, they`re told you have to go with the one that indicates innocence.
GRACE: Well, they`re told -- except you left out one word...
BREMNER: Right.
GRACE: ... with that jury charge...
BREMNER: Right.
GRACE: ... two equally reasoned theories, one toward innocence, one toward guilt -- equally.
BREMNER: You`re right, Nancy. You`re right, Nancy. But one more thing...
GRACE: But if...
BREMNER: One more thing on that also is with the girlfriend. If she`s found to have willfully testified falsely before a jury in California, the jury can throw away all of her testimony. These things are important in a case which is supposed to be right now largely circumstantial, with no body, in terms of defense.
GRACE: You`re absolutely correct, Anne Bremner.
BREMNER: Thank you.
GRACE: What about it, Peter Odom?
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, circumstantial cases are difficult. It`s going to depend on...
GRACE: Oh, blah, blah! You always say that. You always say that, Odom!
PETER ODOM: Well, but it -- I say it because it happens to be true. Convictions are gotten on circumstantial cases, but it`s much harder for the prosecution without a body.
GRACE: Yes, they certainly are!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ryann Bunnell Crow was last seen during the late afternoon or early evening hours on Saturday, January 30th. Ryann`s disappearance was reported to the (INAUDIBLE) Police Department on Tuesday, February 2nd.
Our investigators have been working nonstop on this case since that time. And as time has passed and information continued to surface, it became evident to us that this was not a simple case of an adult dropping out of sight for personal reasons.
The arrest of Jesse John Crow does not end this investigation. Detectives as well as forensic experts and others are continuing to process evidence to follow up on leads to determine if perhaps there may have been other persons involved in this crime.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The family brought to our attention the fact that they were having trouble locating Ryann and requested an attempt to locate contact at the residence. In North County.
It was at that time that our sheriff`s deputies arrived on the scene, made an inquiry and subsequent probe and search of the residence with the permission of Mr. Crow. And failed to locate Ryann at that time.
But during the course of that search of the residence, it was discovered that there was a strong odor of marijuana coming from the residence and the deputies backed out, obtained a search warrant and the search warrant was executed the following day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Search warrant executed not only at the groom`s home, uncovering 300 hydroponically grown marijuana plants, an entire marijuana operation, but also the home of his girlfriend.
That`s right. The other woman who was actually driving the car when police apprehended him heading south, about 26 miles out of town. This woman now named an official person of interest. There she is. Summer Donovan.
To Shelley Bunnell -- this is Ryann`s sister, she`s joining us along with their mom tonight, taking your calls. Did Ryann have any idea that her new husband was still involved with his ex?
SHELLEY BUNNELL, SISTER OF MISSING NEWLYWED BRIDE, RYANN BUNNELL: No, Ryann -- I`m not sure -- Ryann never indicated that to me. But I don`t know about that, but Nancy, I was wondering really quick if I could mention, we have set up an account for Ryann, the Ryann Bunnell trust fund, and we`re trying to raise funds for a reward money, and I was wondering if we could talk about that real quick?
GRACE: Please do. How can people access it? Do you have a Web site?
PAMELA PIPITONE, MOTHER OF MISSING NEWLYWED BRIDE, RYANN BUNNELL: Yes. And also, Nancy, what I really wanted to do -- the reason I really wanted to come on this show is to find Ryann. And to talk a little bit about Ryann and what a wonderful girl she was and how creative she was and, you know, we just loved -- everybody loved her.
And we`re just -- you know, we`re -- well, of course, you know, we`re just devastated by all of this. But we are at this time trying to gather funds for possibly -- for having a reward later on. And so if you could just let me tell you that it`s at Pacific Valley Bank, 422 Main Street, Salinas, California, 93901.
And people can make checks available to the Ryann Bunnell Probe Trust Fund. And also if you would like to wire any money, you know -- people have been asking me, what can we do? What van we do to help you guys? And this is what you can do to help at this time.
The routing number is 121143833. And the account number is 021100738. And basically, that`s why we wanted to come on the show, and just say how much we miss her.
(CROSSTALK)
BUNNELL: And I think it`s important to note the family doesn`t gain from any of the funds. They all go towards Ryann`s reward fund.
GRACE: Shelley, what is the name of the bank? Pacific what?
BUNNELL: Pacific Valley Bank.
GRACE: Pacific Valley Bank.
BUNNELL: Located in Salinas.
GRACE: 422 Main Street, Salinas, California, 93901. The Ryann Bunnell Crow Trust Fund.
BUNNELL: That`s correct.
GRACE: And we`ll get the routing number and the account number and put that on our Web site, ladies. But I want to go back to you, Miss Pipitone. You were saying that you want to talk about Ryann. What about her?
PIPITONE: You know she was -- she didn`t have an enemy in the world. She`s just a joy. Everybody wanted to play with her when she was little everyone. Everybody wanted to hang out with her as she got older. Wonderful sense of humor. Spiritual. Creative. I have no idea where she got these things from because that is not me.
GRACE: Miss Pipitone, could you tell us your most vivid recollection of her, your most vivid memory of her? When you think of her, what do you see?
PIPITONE: I think when I -- when I look back, I mostly see her when she was 2, 3, 4 and 5 is when I think of her. Going to her fifth grade -- or excuse me, her kindergarten parent-teacher conference. She was a handful, and her teacher said boy, you`ve got your work cut out for you.
She`s very precocious. And she was. You know she was just a wonderful child, just had her own free will and high spirited. And I just see her smiling all the time. Just a happy go lucky. She loved to play with -- she`d cut her hair and dye her hair and just experiment with makeup and stuff.
And she was just -- she was just a beautiful, beautiful person inside and out. And I was telling one of your producers as well, we used to volunteer -- or I was volunteering at a woman`s homeless shelter. She would come with me at times and lead the homeless women on a meditation. Bring her incense, bring her music and lead these homeless on a meditation. And they loved her and she loved going.
GRACE: You know, I`m just trying to take in everything you`re saying. I`ve only had my little Lucy and John David for two years and when I try to think of one vivid memory, it just rushes to me like drinking out of a fire hydrant. It`s just so much.
And when I think of you now asking for money for a reward fund to help find her, it is heart breaking.
I want to go to Dr. Bethany Marshall.
Dr. Bethany, the duplicity, the duplicity, the known duplicity. This is not an allegation of the husband. These two have a whirlwind relationship. They run off to Vegas and get married. She comes home and reality sinks in. Her husband is carrying it on with his ex-girlfriend and she`s quite the catch with her own criminal history.
Show a shot for me, Liz, of Miss Summer Donovan.
And to top it all off, for a living he grows pot. Now that`s a fine how do you do to wake up to. There they are. The happy couple.
Hit me, Bethany.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": Well, first of all, my thoughts and prayers go with the Bunnell family. I`m so sorry for this loss and tragedy. And when I hear you thinking about Ryann, I think what happened is she`s so gorgeous and beautiful and vivacious in this evil, horrible, dysfunctional couple, Jesse and his long-time girlfriend Summer.
I think they entrapped her in some evil web. And I`m not overstating it when I say evil. They had some dysfunction between the two of them, whether it was jealousy, revenge, fighting. And I would not be surprised if Jesse married Ryann to exact some revenge on his girlfriend or make her jealous.
And then the girlfriend incited him in order to punish Ryann, and this jealous revenge hostile thing went round and round. And if Ryann wasn`t just the poor unwitting victim in all of this.
Because potheads don`t have energy to do much of anything, let alone kill someone unless they`re inciting each other.
GRACE: Look at these shots of this beautiful girl. Right now, the bride`s body is still missing.
As we go to break, the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Foundation is fighting the number one cancer killer in the world. Lung cancer. Claims more lives than breast cancer, colon, prostate, melanoma and kidney cancer combined.
Joan Gaeta, beloved wife. Mother of five. Teacher. Lost her battle with lung cancer. In her honor, the annual Dancing for Joan Fundraiser for lung cancer research this Saturday, February 20, Marietta, Georgia.
For info or to make a donation, please go to forjoan.org.
And happy birthday to special friend of the show, Martha. Isn`t she beautiful? She loves crafts. She watches her show every night. And her greatest joy, her beautiful granddaughter little Emma.
Happy birthday, friend, Martha.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m shocked, you know? And hope everything is OK.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They had moved to this Bonsall home from Orange County just two months ago, but now Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and their two young boys, ages 3 and 5 haven`t been seen or heard from in two weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s always outside, always on the driveway with the kids running around and everything. The garage door is always open, you know? And pretty much on a daily basis.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: In this YouTube video shot by Joseph McStay, you see the family`s white Isuzu Trooper. That car was mysteriously discovered in San Isidro on February 8th.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Other things don`t add up as well. The family car was towed from a parking lot near the San Isidro border crossing February 8th. A pair of Ugg boots and children`s sandals remain on the front porch and their two dogs, seen here in a home video with Summer, were left in the backyard unattended.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Teri Figueroa, writer with the "North County Times." Teri, an entire family vanishes, including small children? Their Isuzu found at the border? What do we know?
TERI FIGUEROA, STAFF WRITER, NORTH COUNTY TIMES (via phone): Well, we know that they haven`t been seen since February 4th. We know that four days later, before anybody realized they were missing, the car had just been towed as abandoned. It didn`t raise any red flags because nobody knew they were missing.
But forward two weeks, the brother can`t find them, police are called, they go into the house, find something that triggers them to call homicide investigators who investigate when there`s a suspicious missing case, and here we are.
GRACE: So do you have any idea, Teri Figueroa, what police found that made them suspicious?
FIGUEROA: You know, they are not saying. But we do know that the brother did go to the house. They did find the family`s dogs had been unattended. Highly unusual for them. The dogs were -- they referred to the older dog as their first child and they had just gotten a new puppy. So it was very unusual for them to leave the dogs out at all, much less unattended.
GRACE: To Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer. Ellie, how old are the children?
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: These little boys are just 3 and 4 years old, Nancy. And a couple other details to add. Apparently when the family`s car was found, the boy`s car seats still in the car.
Some other things, police say that they didn`t apparently take things that they would take with them on a planned family vacation.
As Teri explained, the dogs left at home, highly unusual. The brother said that they`re not answering their cell phones and now Joey McStay`s phone appears to be dead.
GRACE: So, Ellie, how far, approximately, is their home from the Mexican border? Where did they go missing? Where is their home?
JOSTAD: Right, right. Well, they -- I`m sorry, they live in Bonsall, California. And the border is just 60 miles directly south. The place where their car was found right on the Mexican border.
GRACE: Right there at San Isidro?
JOSTAD: Yes. Exactly, Nancy, right.
GRACE: OK, to Bill Golodner, former NYPD detective, president of Kindershield Agency. Bill, what do you make of it?
BILL GOLODNER, FMR. NYPD DETECTIVE, PRESIDENT OF KINDERSHIELD AGENCY: I`ll tell you, Nancy, I`d like to know a couple of things. Are they missing or are they hiding? This is something that has to be determined. One thing that we know for sure is that he had a start-up business less than a year ago, starting out of his garage.
And within a year, his business was growing to such a point that he moved into a commercial space. Let`s take a look at that house. It seems like that`s not an inexpensive house, I believe $330,000 for that house after only one year of a start-up business?
And then all of a sudden the car is now found on the Mexican border? This raises an enormous amount of questions. Like I said, Nancy, let`s go back and look at this. Are they missing or are they hiding?
GRACE: Well, Teri Figueroa, what was his business?
FIGUEROA: He designs interior water features. Like fountains and waterfalls, et cetera. He also has his realtor license. A realtor license. He`s a license realtor as well. She is, too. Summer is as well.
And she had been a stay-at-home mom. But she`s now, as friends say and colleagues say, she was just getting back into it. She was just getting ready to start working in that field again.
GRACE: OK. I don`t find anything unusual about that. But Bill Golodner, you`re right, you`re right. You`ve got to cross every T, dot, every I.
To Dr. Evelyn Minaya, women`s health expert joining us out of New York, what would these children`s basic needs be right now? And the fact that those car seats were left in the car, that tells me they didn`t hop in a rental and take off in it or they would have taken those car seats.
DR. EVELYN MINAYA, M.D., WOMEN`S HEALTH EXPERT: That`s right. And you don`t leave ever the house without your diaper bag and all the other paraphernalia that we usually run around with.
The car seats leaving by themselves because you know that you`ll get a ticket if you do not have your children in a car seat for both of them. Remember they`re 3 and 4 years old. I think that speaks a ton of information.
GRACE: To the lawyers, Eleanor Odom, Peter Odom, Anne Bremner.
Anne Bremner, to just disappear is not a crime.
ANNE BREMNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It`s not a crime. A lot of us probably want to sometimes, but it`s not. And Nancy, I want to give my best to --
GRACE: No.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Actually, I`ve never wanted to just disappear.
BREMNER: I know you didn`t. And I want to give my best to your mom. I didn`t know she was sick and I know you call her after every show. And you`re so close with her and with the twins with her, and David, John David and Lucy. So our thoughts and prayers from out here with you and your mom.
GRACE: Anne, thank you. Eleanor, what about it? It is not a crime to just disappear, but I`m just not getting that sense. Why wouldn`t he tell anybody in his family? Why wouldn`t he take everything they needed for the children?
I mean the fact that they`ve got these two kids, these two children, that changes the entire complexion of the case.
ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: Exactly, Nancy. But if it`s just one person trying to hide or disappear, that would be easier. But you`re trying to hide a whole family, that just doesn`t add up. It seems like cops found something in the house, too, that would lead them to believe otherwise. Maybe it was some type of who knows? Bodily fluid, blood, something that leads them to suspect sinister motive.
GRACE: Peter Odom, not one lawyer on this panel tonight has not dealt with a kidnapping, a disappearance or a murder of a single person. But an entire family of four? What about it?
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, this might be an abduction. It`s actually very difficult to arrange your own disappearance. Most people that try and do it are actually found out. You have to amass cash, you have to get a vehicle. You have to leave no electronic trace. These are all things that -- it takes a great deal of planning to do it.
The police are going to be looking to see if there are signs of that kind of planning with this family. If they don`t see them, they may be looking at foul play, perhaps some kind of an abduction when the whole family was in the car.
GRACE: Everybody, you`re seeing home video of the McStay family from YouTube. I just don`t see them taking off to Mexico without leaving a trace, leaving the car seats behind with these two little children.
Ellie Jostad, what more can you tell me?
JOSTAD: Well, Nancy, neighbors are saying that they didn`t see any signs that this family was planning to go on any kind of trip in the near future. They said they often saw the kids playing outside, saw their dad watching them. Nothing seems amiss.
GRACE: Tipline, 888-580-8477. A whole family disappears.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the patrol deputy was there, he seen certain things and I can`t be specific about what they were, that thought were somewhat alarming to him. He gave us a call and that`s how we got involved in the case.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It just doesn`t look like a vacation?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: An entire family goes missing. Back to Teri Figueroa, joining us from the "North County Times." What are police saying, Teri?
FIGUEROA: You know, they`re not saying much. They`re saying that this family went missing, that they`re -- it is very unusual for them to have left without contacting anyone. And they issued a special bulletin saying heads up, this family is missing and we don`t know what happened.
GRACE: OK. To Dr. Evelyn Minaya, what would you expect to take if you`re hitting the road with a 3- and a 4-year-old?
MINAYA: Lots of things. First, you have to --
GRACE: Come on.
MINAYA: Your toys.
GRACE: There`s no such thing as traveling light.
MINAYA: Absolutely not.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I mean just to live.
MINAYA: Absolutely. You have the toys, you also have the snacks, you have the DVDs, you have a whole bunch of stuff just to keep them even entertained. You know that. You know -- you traveled with your twins. I`ve traveled with my children.
GRACE: Look, you got to take the car seats.
MINAYA: Yes. You`ve got to.
GRACE: You`ve got to take diapers. You`ve got to take formula if they need it. You`ve got to take baby food. I mean, and the DVDs and all that, yes, you want to take those. But I mean just to exist, especially heading to Mexico. What are you going to find down there?
MINAYA: Yes, clothes. Just even simple clothes because it`s a change in temperature also.
GRACE: I don`t see it. I do not see this being voluntary.
Out to Cindy, Ohio, hi, Cindy.
CINDY, CALLER FROM OHIO: Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?
CINDY: I love you.
GRACE: Thank you.
CINDY: Who reported them missing?
GRACE: Who reported them missing? I think the brother got suspicious. Tell me, Ellie.
JOSTAD: Nancy, the brother became concerned when he realized that he hadn`t heard from them. Apparently, Joy McStay had him checking his work e-mails which is very unusual. So he called the sheriff`s department and asked them to do a welfare check.
GRACE: Please help find this family. Think of the 3 and 4-year-old children. 888-580-8477.
Let`s stop and remember Army Staff Sergeant Daniel Newsome, 27, Chicopee, Massachusetts, killed Iraq. Awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart. Dreamed of the army since the day he could talk.
Laid to rest one day before his son`s first birthday. Loved fast cars, restoring his Acura, making people laugh. Loyal to family and friends, dreamed of tech school. Leaves behind grieving parents Joanne and (INAUDIBLE), stepfather Eric. Four brothers, two sisters.
Daniel Newsome, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. And tonight, we ask for your prayers for New York friend, Michael McFadden, heading in the morning into surgery.
Michael, stay strong. And I`ll speak to you when you wake up in a couple of hours.
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
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