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NANCY GRACE

Zahra Baker`s Prosthetic Leg Found

Aired October 27, 2010 - 20:00:00   ET

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


NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight, live, North Carolina. A 10-year-old little girl snatched from her own bedroom in the dark of night. The little girl, Zahra, is dependent on two hearing aids, can only walk using a prosthetic leg after losing a leg to childhood bone cancer, vanishes into thin air, her bedroom empty, prosthetic leg missing, hearing aids left behind. Last person to see her alive, stepmommy. Did stepmommy confess to writing a phony million-dollar ransom note?

Investigators yank stepmommy out of her private jail cell, hauling her handcuffed to a densely wooded area and deep creek bed. Simultaneously, Zahra`s father thrown behind bars, while we learn stepmommy gets rid of Zahra`s mattress in the 48 hours before she finally reports Zahra gone. Just uncovered by landfill workers, a mattress believed to be Zahra`s, containing DNA evidence. Does it reveal the blood of 10-year-old Zahra?

Bombshell tonight. In the last hours, Zahra`s little prosthetic leg discovered, discovered discarded in an overgrown area off a county back road. And then K9s, police, backhoes, search teams swarm the Baker home to start the digging. In a stunning twist, Zahra`s daddy gets out of jail. Advice, police! Watch the airports and the interstates!

In the last moments, as we go to air, about a half dozen FBI enter the Baker home. Hours ticking down. Are we one step closer to finding the body of 10-year-old little Zahra?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A key piece of evidence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A prosthetic leg.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there some sort of evidence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Discovered late yesterday afternoon.

GRACE: They`ve got evidence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Consistent with the description of Zahra Baker`s left prosthesis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s a big question, of course.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are attempting to positively confirm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Confirm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Confirm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The prosthetic leg is Zahra`s.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Inside the home.

GRACE: The Baker home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Search teams back to the family home in Hickory.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Digging into the earth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Recovering additional pieces of evidence.

GRACE: They seem so sure the girl is dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything`s a possibility at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve got two defendants.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zahra`s stepmom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Elisa Baker.

GRACE: Thrown behind bars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Adam Baker.

GRACE: Gets arrested.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Adam, did you have any involvement in her disappearance?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Putting one person against the other.

GRACE: Where is 10-year-old Zahra?

ADAM BAKER, ZAHRA`S FATHER: I don`t know.

GRACE: Where is Zahra?

BAKER: I don`t know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: North Carolina has the death penalty. It is lethal injection.

BAKER: I came back from looking at a job and decided to work in the yard. And her mother came out and started screaming that Zahra was missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did she tell you? What did she say had happened? What did she know?

BAKER: She didn`t know very much. She came out crying and panicking, just, like, telling me Zahra was gone. I went inside, searched the house, started a search around the block, and called the police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. A 10-year-old little girl snatched from her own bedroom in the dark of night. In the last hours, Zahra`s little prosthetic leg has been discovered, discarded in an overgrown area off a county back road.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A new search is under way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators have discovered a prosthetic leg.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is still searching going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Consistent with what Zahra`s would be like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The newest search site.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Baker home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zahra Baker was reported missing.

BAKER: It appears they may have taken my daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The information keeps leading back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Digging and digging.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To this location.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ll continue to follow every lead.

GRACE: Has stepmommy cracked?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And every tip we receive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She loves her daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is cooperating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She loves her daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She has been cooperating with the police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s tried to cooperate with the police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This woman is just like a shark.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Baker joined police in the search.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s always moving forward.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She has allegedly given them more information.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s destroying whatever is in her path.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The family got rid of a mattress.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether it`s relationships.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Started to point the fingers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether it`s a strangers bank account.

GRACE: Arrested on bad checks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or in this case, whether it`s a little girl.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) without them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Rupa Mikkilineni, standing by at the Baker home there in Hickory, North Carolina. Rupa, I understand that FBI have just entered the home. I`ll get to that in a moment. But first I want to hear about the prosthetic leg. Tell me.

RUPA MIKKILINENI, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Right, Nancy. We learned today from police, from authorities, that they found a prosthetic leg just yesterday, which they only chose to announce today. The prosthetic leg does match the description of Zahra Baker`s prosthetic leg. They are in the process of determining whether it is, in fact, Zahra Baker`s leg.

GRACE: OK, Rupa, just -- just save the niceties. How many child prosthetic legs do you think are out there? This is a sub-specialty. It`s more of a micro than a specialty. These things are only made in this specific way in a few places in the entire country. Of course, it`s her leg, Rupa Mikkilineni! Where did they find it?

MIKKILINENI: They found it in an area where they were searching just yesterday based on a tip. And of course, Nancy, let`s not forget that just in the last two days, Monday, the stepmother of Zahra Baker -- this is Elisa Baker -- was in a police vehicle, spotted in that area, pointing out areas where police should be searching. So it was on the heels of the search that they found the prosthetic leg.

GRACE: Liz, put up my map. I want to take a look -- we know that mommy is -- stepmommy is rousted out of her private jail cell, taken in handcuffs in the back of a squad car. Take a look at this. The prosthetic leg is found a very short distance from the Bakers` former home and a very short distance from where Elisa Baker was taken.

Explain to me, how close, Rupa Mikkilineni, was the leg found from where she was taken, to that densely wooded area in that deep creek bed?

MIKKILINENI: We`re only talking about seven to ten miles, Nancy. This area is not -- all the different locations where police have been searching and where Zahra was last seen and where the home is -- it`s really not far very from each other. So this particular prosthetic leg was found in an area where the Bakers used to reside. In fact, Elisa Baker, the stepmother, used to reside in that area.

So one part of her body was found yesterday. And now, Nancy, I`m standing by, waiting as FBI and police authorities are here in the house still tonight. They started early this morning, searching, digging with backhoes, digging with rakes, you know, sifting through the mulch and the dirt, looking for something that could appear to be small. Small pieces of what, we`re not sure. Could it be another part of her body that they are seeking. We don`t know, Nancy.

What we do know is that investigators pulled out some evidence which they put in a black bag and removed. And as soon as they found that evidence, they left. Now they`re back again tonight inside the house.

GRACE: For those of you just joining, the 10-year-old little girl, Zahra`s, prosthetic leg -- she lost her leg above the knee to child bone cancer. She has also battled lung cancer. The prosthetic leg has been discovered in the last hours.

To you, Ellie Jostad. You`re on the case. What can you tell me about what they`re searching for in the home? We`re showing you video right now. They`re back in the back area of the home with backhoes, with rakes. Some of the dirt, they`re digging up with a backhoe. Then some of it, they`re sifting through very, very carefully.

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Right.

GRACE: They`re not sifting through the dirt like they`re panning for gold to look for a body, Ellie Jostad. They`re looking for something else.

JOSTAD: Well, right, Nancy. And police wouldn`t say what led them there. They say only that they`re looking for evidence, that they`re gathering evidence. Actually, the word they used was that technicians are gathering evidence at the scene. They say information they`ve just uncovered led them back there. As you said, they were using backhoes, heavy equipment to dig, but also doing a fine search. And also, reporters were saying they could see them taking photographs as they were digging holes. What they were photographing, we don`t know at this point.

GRACE: Back to Rupa Mikkilineni. Liz, please (INAUDIBLE) I want to see what`s behind her. Rupa, what are you seeing? You`re there at the home. What`s happening?

MIKKILINENI: Well, investigators began early this morning, Nancy, and they started in the back yard. What you -- what we saw was a backhoe, one backhoe with several men, FBI, as well as local police, sheriff`s department, police department back there doing a big dig. And then as they dug the dirt up, then you would see men sifting through the dirt with rakes, and then squatting on the ground and looking through, looking for something that appeared, like, maybe minor -- minor meaning small. Small pieces of what, we`re not sure, fine-toothed comb, searching the ground. Mostly, the search during the daytime took place outside the house, in the back yard.

Then later tonight, we saw investigators return after, by the way, they did gather some evidence which was removed in a bag. They left the scene. Nobody was here. And they returned again tonight to investigate the interior of the house. And we`ve got officers inside. You can see lights on inside the house right now, Nancy, where they are searching and looking inside the home. For what, we don`t know.

GRACE: When did the FBI get there, Rupa?

MIKKILINENI: They got here a couple of hours ago, Nancy.

GRACE: So the FBI has just...

MIKKILINENI: It was after the...

GRACE: ... entered the home. Go ahead.

MIKKILINENI: Correct. This interior -- this interior search just occurred in the last hour-and-a-half to two hours. It was after the press conference where police, of course, released the information about the prosthetic limb and released the information that they had been digging, although they would not confirm...

GRACE: Well, Rupa...

MIKKILINENI: ... what tip...

GRACE: Rupa, is anybody guarding the scene? The cops didn`t just leave it, did they?

MIKKILINENI: Yes. They left a police car here, Nancy.

GRACE: OK.

MIKKILINENI: So there`s police tape all around the scene.

GRACE: OK. Very quickly, I want to go to Marc Klaas, president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation. Marc, what`s your take on this?

MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: Well, this is so diabolical. This is a little girl who`s been discarded piece by piece. They discarded her mattress. They discarded her prosthetic leg. By marginalizing her from the rest of society, they`ve discarded her memory and they`ve discarded her history. And now I guess the question is, where did they discard her body? And from everything we`re seeing, they`re getting closer and closer all the time. Hopefully, soon they can bring peace to this child.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cancer patient.

GRACE: Hearing aid.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lost her leg.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is now being investigated as a homicide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Homicide.

GRACE: Murder case.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elisa Baker.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stepmom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Admitted she wrote a ransom note.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now her stepmom has been charged with interfering in the case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ten-year-old Zahra Baker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Presumed murdered.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rumors are circulating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators have discovered a prosthetic leg consistent with the description of Zahra Baker`s left prosthesis.

GRACE: Stepmommy gets rid of Zahra`s mattress.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No sign of Zahra.

GRACE: Before she finally reports Zahra gone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A mattress found in a North Carolina landfill is being tested.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The prosthetic leg is consistent with what Zahra`s would be like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Homicide investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s no body yet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: DNA evidence on the mattress is now at the lab.

GRACE: Last person to see her alive, stepmommy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The prosthetic leg was originally fitted in Australia. It`ll take some time to confirm if it`s hers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Arrested stepmother of 10-year-old Zahra Baker joined police in the search for the missing North Carolina girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zahra`s stepmom, Elisa Baker.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Decided to cooperate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She says that she is not a killer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will continue to follow every lead and bring peace to Zahra.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators have discovered a prosthetic leg consistent with the description of Zahra Baker`s left prosthesis. The prosthetic leg was discovered late yesterday afternoon off Christie Road in Caldwell County. We are attempting to positively confirm the prosthetic leg is Zahra`s by a serial number inside the outer cover. The prosthetic leg was originally fitted in Australia, and it`ll take some time to confirm if it`s hers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: For those of you just joining us, little Zahra`s prosthetic leg has just been discovered in an overgrown area off a county back road.

And joining me right now is Melissa Mahlenbrock. She lives just across the street from where the leg, the prosthetic leg, was found. You may recall her. Her husband is an American hero, specialist David Mahlenbrock died December 3, 2004, Army 25th Infantry.

Ms. Mahlenbrock, thank you for being with us. What did you observe?

MELISSA MAHLENBROCK, LIVES ACROSS THE STREET FROM SITE (via telephone): Yes. Hello, Nancy. My house is across the street from the gated area and the wooded area in which the police were looking yesterday. They had blocked off both entrances to get to down the street of Christie and to get to my house. And we did see a black SUV yesterday, and we did not know who was in there or we did not see anybody get out.

We do have a wooded area that`s completed brushed over and overgrown. People all the time are constantly throwing trash there, pulling over to dump their trash. I don`t know what they dump there, but it`s a constant all the time.

We did see them pull brush and pull things out of that area, enough to the point where behind the gated area, we were able to see a road that leads up to, I`m only assuming, a farm of some sort. We had not even known it was there. So they had pulled out feet and feet and just a huge length of all the brush, all the trees and all the trash.

GRACE: So you`re telling me that they came up, Melissa, and they cordoned off or blocked off an area. About how big was that area?

MAHLENBROCK: From where Pine Mountain and Christie start to the very end of Christie.

GRACE: Well, I`m not familiar with the area. How far is that?

MAHLENBROCK: I would say at least maybe two to three miles straight down.

GRACE: Did you say two to three miles?

MAHLENBROCK: Yes. They blocked off the entire road of Christie.

GRACE: Melissa Mahlenbrock with us. She`s just across the street from the area where Zahra`s little leg has now been recovered. Melissa, do you know how far off the road the leg was? Was it as if someone had just thrown it from a car passing by, or did somebody take time to walk back in there to discard the leg?

MAHLENBROCK: Well, what I can say to you is that people do pull off onto that section where the gated fence is and either put the trash there or they can throw it from their car. Either way, it will reach behind the gate. From where they have cleared, there`s a possibility that they could have put it right over the gate or maybe a couple feet back. They didn`t clear that far back...

GRACE: Does that mean, Melissa -- does that mean they could have thrown it from the car, or did they have to get out of car?

MAHLENBROCK: They could have thrown it from the car, but it would have been lost in the brush. It definitely was not on the side of the road.

GRACE: You are seeing aerial views and home (ph) views of searches going down as we speak. Little Zahra`s prosthetic leg just recovered. As we speak, the FBI still in the home of Zahra Baker and her parents. In a stunning twist, her daddy walks out of jail. Mommy -- stepmommy -- still behind bars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: They`ve got evidence that they are saying absolutely proves Zahra is dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators have discovered a prosthetic leg.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sleeping in her bedroom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her dad reported her missing 12 hours later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Consistent with the description of Zahra Baker`s left prosthesis.

911 OPERATOR: Your daughter`s missing?

BAKER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was originally fitted in Australia.

GRACE: They seem so sure the girl is dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`ll take some time to confirm if it`s hers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: To John Miller with "The Hickory Daily Record." John, what more can you tell me?

JOHN MILLER, "HICKORY DAILY RECORD": Well, as you said earlier, right before the break, Nancy, Adam Baker is now out of jail. He bonded out late this afternoon, and his bond was only $7,000, and apparently, he was out because someone paid his bond. We don`t know where he`s gone to. At "The Daily Record," we are trying to track that down. But it`s unusual for him to be out in such a short period of time. And as I said, we`re trying to find out where he is and what he`s up to.

GRACE: Well, on a $7,000 bond? Unleash the lawyers, Jennifer Knight, former prosecutor, Atlanta, Alan Ripka, defense attorney, New York, Remy Spencer (ph), defense attorney, New York.

Jennifer Knight, on a $7,000 bond, he`s only got to put up about 10 percent. That`s $700. His family`s here from Australia, you know, for the first time. They haven`t bothered to come see the little girl in life, but now they`re here. Jennifer Knight, it`s 700 bucks. He`s out of jail.

JENNIFER KNIGHT, FORMER PROSECUTOR: I think that`s absolutely ridiculous. He`s as much at fault as, Elisa, the stepmom, is. I mean, here we could have conspiracy, accessory after the fact. There are a lot of other charges that could be increasing the bond. It`s just way too low.

GRACE: What about it, Alan, Ripka?

ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: If he was responsible for anything, he wouldn`t be getting out of jail on that bond. Obviously, that`s an outside (ph) sort of crime, a small crime that he was let out on. The police would not be letting him out...

GRACE: Really?

RIPKA: ... if they thought he was responsible for this.

GRACE: What about tot mom, Casey Anthony? Remember, she got picked up for bad checks and fraud. She bonded out. And she went right back in when they got enough evidence for murder one charges.

RIPKA: Well, as long as they have him close by and they know he`s not going anywhere, maybe that`s their plan, to follow him around and see if they lead the police to the crime area.

GRACE: You know what, Alan Ripka? You`re absolutely right. Remember, Scott Peterson did it. Remy Spencer, what do you think?

REMY SPENCER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think that this bond is appropriate for the crime that he was arrested on. He has not been arrested or charged with any crimes involved in the death of his daughter.

GRACE: OK, you know, Caryn Stark, we know what the charges are. Caryn stark, what do you think the police thinking is in letting him go? Because they could have raised the bond if they wanted to.

CARYN STARK, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, I believe what Alan said has validity, that they`re probably trying to figure out where to find her, and maybe he`ll lead them. So that`s what they`s hoping for.

GRACE: Let`s just pray -- Caryn Stark, let`s just...

STARK: Yes, Nancy?

GRACE: ... they`ve got taps on all of his phones and they`ve got a locator on his car. Not that hard.

STARK: Nope. I don`t know. I think -- I think it`s really crazy that they did let him out, and sad that they found her leg.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The frantic search is on to find Zahra Baker.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Zahra is hearing-impaired and she has a prosthetic leg.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Police say no one has seen the 10-year-old.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Has seen Zahra --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn`t even know they had a little girl.

GRACE: For weeks.

MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: So what are police expecting to find if not Zahra`s remains.

CHIEF TOM ATKINS, HICKORY POLICE: Investigators have discovered a prosthetic leg.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A key piece of evidence.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She lost her hearing and her lower left leg to cancer.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The prosthetic leg was originally fitted in Australia.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The search for 10-year-old Zahra Baker, police in Hickory, North Carolina --

ATKINS: It will take some time to confirm if it`s her.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The 10-year-old has not been seen in public since late September.

ATKINS: We have not found her body. Investigators have also uncovered information that led search teams back to the family home in Hickory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The equipment moved the mulch piles. Investigators with rakes would sift through it. There is no slowing down by investigators now. Everyone is hoping the mystery will be solved soon.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Out to Brenda in North Carolina. Hi, Brenda.

BRENDA, CALLER FROM NORTH CAROLINA: Hi, Nancy, I love your show.

GRACE: Thank you and thank you for calling in, dear. What is your question?

BRENDA: The question I have, why didn`t they give him a polygraph test while they had him under arrest?

GRACE: Oh Brenda, I wish it was that easy. Long story short, you cannot force a target, a suspect, a person of interest, to take a polygraph anymore than you can force them to give a statement against their interest under the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

While the Constitution doesn`t read you don`t have to take a polygraph, it does read you have the right to remain silent. That has been interpreted over the years in cases to mean that, in addition to not having to speak out against yourself, you don`t have to provide any information that incriminates you such as failing a polygraph.

How I wish it were that easy, Brenda.

Nancy in Pennsylvania, hi, Nancy. What`s your question?

NANCY, CALLER FROM PENNSYLVANIA: Hi, Nancy. I have a question and a couple of quick comments.

GRACE: OK.

NANCY: My question is, do we know why the father took her away from Australia in the first place? Because she would have been safer if left there.

And my comments are, she had two different types of cancer. And it ended up that her cancerous parents -- you know, that`s how it ended up. And I think this stuff or these people just don`t care about their own kids. That`s the cancer that finally did her in.

And I also hope that the judge eventually says, hi, how are you? Now you`re going to get the death penalty.

GRACE: You know what, we can only pray, Nancy in Pennsylvania.

First question goes to Jean Casarez joining us in the field, legal correspondent, "In Session." What do we know, Jean, about why Daddy thought it was in her best interest to rip her away from her grandmother where she was very happy in Australia?

JEAN CASAREZ, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": Nancy, because of Elisa Baker. Her had met Elisa Baker who was from North Carolina, at least living there. She had gone to Australia. They had met on the Internet. They dated.

And he, Adam Baker, who is an Australian citizen, moved from Australia with Zahra to North Carolina, all because of Elisa Baker.

GRACE: And she was so happy with her grandmother, Caryn Stark. And Caryn, what about this analogy Nancy in Pennsylvania makes that she has fought -- that she fought and was victorious over two forms of cancer, bone cancer and lung cancer, which is astounding. Really beating the odds.

And now the malignancy in the hearts of her parents have done her in.

CARYN STARK, PSYCHOLOGIST: That is so true, Nancy. Don`t you wonder where is some kind of a maternal instinct, a paternal instinct? People treat their animals better than this girl was treated. There was no attachment.

And what about her mother? There has to be a mother out there who allowed her to move across world. That -- so nobody really was committed to taking care of this little girl.

GRACE: Hold on, Caryn Stark, don`t move.

Liz, put up the picture you were just showing of little Zahra and her prosthetic leg. There you go. Leave it.

Think about it, Caryn Stark. Look at the little girl with trying to make one leg look like the other leg, trying to wear tights, trying to put on a little sock and her little shoe, so she could blend in. So she could, you know, be happy.

STARK: Nancy, that`s the heartbreak. The heartbreak is that when you look at that leg, somebody actually treated her like she was a doll and ripped her apart. What kind of insanity would allow people to just take her leg? Where is the rest of her body? Did they just separate all of her body?

I mean they couldn`t even keep her together. She was so disregarded and uncared for.

GRACE: You know, the way you put that, when I`m thinking of what the little girl had to go through every day of her life, you know, tending to her leg, she`s been fighting cancer, you know.

She`s in a weakened state, getting up every day, trying to -- don`t you know she would just like pick out clothes that she thought the leg would not be so obvious in. People, other children, you know how cruel they can be, probably made fun of her and in every picture, practically every picture, she`s smiling.

STARK: Yes. She`s smiling and she`s also making herself look pretty. Did you notice, Nancy? It`s so sad. She has little barrettes in her hair and she always seems to be playing around with her hair, trying to look pretty. And she dressed like she was trying to look pretty. This is a heartbreaking, horrific story.

GRACE: You know, every morning, Caryn, you know, you have been -- you know Lucy, my little Lucy, very well. You know every morning we have to get sometimes four or five, but usually two or three barrettes that match the outfit kind of. And they`re all right here right in the front.

And of course I think it`s beautiful. But I can just imagine, just like you said, Zahra trying to look beautiful.

I want to go back to Rupa Mikkilineni. She`s standing there outside the home.

Rupa, my heart is just broken right now. That they are actually in their backyard. They have been back there with backhoes. The lights are still on in the home. The FBI is apparently still in there.

What are they after? They`ve got -- they know something, Rupa. They knew where to go find that leg according to Melissa Mahlenbrock. They cordoned off a specific area then they went in and found the leg.

Now they are in the home. That is where the murder happened. I`m just telling you. That`s where the murder happened. Then they got rid of the body. By the way they`re digging in that backyard. Was the body dismembered? That`s where I`m leaning.

What do you know, Rupa?

RUPA MIKKILINENI, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: That`s right, Nancy.

Just behind me, I just want to point out. You see this red fire truck. Just -- can we get a shot of this right here? Behind this fire truck is actually where the digging took place all day long.

The view is hampered now. So we can`t see what`s going on there. But what we do know is that police and FBI are inside the house.

And now let`s just take a look over here. You can see a little light peering right here in the house. They are finishing up their search inside the house, Nancy.

Earlier on, the house was lit up entirely. Now they are in the back room. I don`t know if that room is Zahra`s bedroom. I don`t know if it`s the kitchen. We`re not quite sure. It`s a little backroom. The only light in the entire house that`s lit right now.

And here`s what I also know. Today I went out speaking with neighbors, we noticed -- I noticed a pile of split wood. A huge pile of split wood behind this truck. I think that pile is still there, Nancy.

And I asked neighbors what do this -- we know he split wood for a living, he was a landscaper. But I asked, did he do work at home? And the neighbors said, yes. From time to time, he worked from his home and he had a wood cutter or wood splitter, a machine, a mechanism here in the backyard, where he worked from home from time to time.

So then we asked the question, could this machine have been used to somehow dismember poor little Zahra?

GRACE: I want to go to Angie Scott, former chief of police, Florida, president of AJS Consulting.

Weigh in, Andrew. What do you think?

ANDREW J. SCOTT, FMR. CHIEF OF POLICE, BOCA RATON, FL.; PRESIDENT, AJS CONSULTING: Well, this is a very interesting scenario. And clearly, the stepmother has some significant information that is assisting the police and the FBI with this investigation.

What troubles me is the fact that the father was released from on the bail for such a less amount than you would think. And clearly, either they don`t have enough information to hold him and/or they are tailing him and/or putting a GPS underneath whatever vehicle he might have to follow his whereabouts.

But clearly, I think there`s complicity between the two. It`s just a question of corroborating more additional information and obviously finding Zahra.

GRACE: Well put.

Jean, what is stepmommy`s bond? Do we know how much her bond is?

CASAREZ: My memory is it`s over $90,000. And she had conditions that if she met that bond, her passport would have to be surrendered. Now with Adam Baker making his bond, I don`t remember any conditions about his passport.

GRACE: You know what, Jean, what`s interesting is whoever`s got the money, they bonded him out, but not her. So I`d put money on that it`s his blood relatives out of Australia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What happened to 10-year-old Zahra Baker?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zahra Baker.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Who fought cancer. Zahra Claire Baker.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Lost her leg.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Zahra.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Zahra.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And her hearing.

ZAHRA BAKER, MISSING 10-YEAR-OLD: I can actually hear more than without my hearing aid.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police in Hickory, North Carolina, believe she is dead.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM BAKER, FATHER OF MISSING 10-YEAR-OLD GIRL ZAHRA BAKER: Yes, ma`am. She has above-the-knee amputation.

UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: OK. She has one leg?

A. BAKER: One leg. Yes, ma`am.

UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: That`s partially amputated?

A. BAKER: Yes. She has a prosthetic leg which apparently that`s taken with her.

UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: Prosthetic leg was taken with her.

A. BAKER: Yes, ma`am.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Neighbors say that this is the hill Zahra Baker would be forced to walk up on her prosthetic leg while her stepmother Elisa Baker would taunt her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She would slap her. She would pull her hair. She would cuss at her.

KLAAS: It`s evil. It`s just downright evil.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Breaking news in the search for 10-year-old Zahra Baker. Police say they found a prosthetic leg similar to Zahra`s. They found it near a home where her stepmom used to live.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls with us. If you`re just joining us, Zahra`s prosthetic leg has been found on a back country road not far from the road itself. And at this hour, the FBI inside the Baker home searching it into the night.

I want to go back to Melissa Mahlenbrock who lives across the street from where Zahra`s little leg was found.

Melissa, isn`t it true that a couple of weeks ago, somewhere between -- oh, we`ve lost Melissa.

Try to get her back, Liz.

Between three and four weeks -- Rupa Millikineni, I`ll throw it to you. They smelled a horrible stench in the area.

MIKKILINENI: Nancy, that`s right. But what we understand now about this horrible stench is this is an area where there were deer carcasses and animal carcasses in that area which they did later find. So we don`t believe that that`s actually human dead body stench.

GRACE: To Dr. Joshua Perper, chief medical examiner and author of his second book, "When Doctors Kill."

Dr. Perper, thank you so much for being with us. Dr. Perper, you have been a party to so many autopsies, so many searches. Explain to me what you are interpreting from how they are searching the backyard, not only with backhoes but then sifting through the debris like they`re panning for gold.

DR. JOSHUA PERPER, MEDICAL EXAMINER, AUTHOR OF "WHEN DOCTORS KILL": Well, it`s very clear that this child has been murdered. That the child is dead. And therefore, what they do now, they try to recover the remains. And because the leg has been thrown away, most likely the remains had been buried.

And that would be a possibility that they had been burned, but it`s very unlikely. And the -- and the examination of the remains is going to be difficulty, which I`m sure is going to be overcome in terms of identifying the body. But perhaps there will be sufficient indices anthropological and DNA to do that.

Then the determination is going to be what`s the cause of death? Some of the causes of death could not be hidden if this is a result of blunt force trauma which is certainly a possibility. Then the autopsy would reveal that.

If there`s stab wounds, also it would be easy to do it. If it`s a strangulation or asphyxia this would be much more difficult.

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Out to Romy in Washington. Hi, Romy.

ROMY, CALLER FROM WASHINGTON: Oh, Nancy, we just love you so much up here.

GRACE: Thank you.

ROMY: Good luck to you. And my first thing is kudos to the people who put together the music for your show.

I have two questions.

GRACE: Thank you.

ROMY: I have two questions. What led them to the leg? And number two, it takes time to cross reference the leg with Australia, but can`t they do a DNA testing from the leg?

GRACE: Excellent question, Romy in Washington.

Jean Casarez, answer. I know you`ve got them.

CASAREZ: I`m sure they can do a DNA testing, forensic testing, even latent print testing for fingerprints that would be on that leg. And as far as what led them there, we heard earlier in the week that Elisa Baker was with authorities in a dark SUV going to three undisclosed locations near where she used to live three years ago.

This is one of those areas, it`s believed. And Melissa confirmed tonight, Nancy, she saw a dark SUV right across the street.

GRACE: Out to Lorie in North Carolina. Hi, Lorie.

LORIE, CALLER FROM NORTH DAKOTA: Hello.

GRACE: Hi, dear, what`s your question?

LORIE: Well, my question is -- actually, I`m from North Dakota.

GRACE: Oh.

LORIE: Yes. My question is, early on in the search when they had the cadaver dogs and they were -- it actually hit on the wood chipper, did they ever check inside that for DNA or is that something that`s impossible to do?

GRACE: Lorie, I think they tried to check within it for DNA.

But, you know, Marc Klaas, president and founder of KlaasKids Foundation, joining us tonight out of San Francisco.

Marc, to go through an industrial wood chipper and actually obtain DNA after it`s been used again and again for chipping wood is going to be very, very difficult, if they could in fact do it at all.

KLAAS: Well, somebody put it together so somebody can take it apart. There`s no question about that. It depends on how solid those hits were, on how many dogs hit upon it. I suspect that -- listen, Nancy, it was within three days of this girl disappearing that they clearly changed their minds.

This was no longer a missing child case. There was no ambiguity about this. They knew this little girl had been murdered. They`re holding a lot of information back. Maybe it has to do with the wood chipper, maybe it has to do with something else. But they`re very, very clear about what they`re looking for here.

GRACE: I believe I`ve got Melissa Mahlenbrock back who lives across the street from where Zahra`s little prosthetic leg has been discovered in the last hours.

Melissa, isn`t it true that about three or four weeks ago you and others noticed a horrible stench from the area but you didn`t know what it was?

MELISSA MAHLENBROCK, LIVES ACROSS THE STREET FROM AREA LEG WAS FOUND: Yes. Hi, Nancy. About three -- three or four weeks ago, we had noticed a stench, both me and my neighbors. I have noticed it.

We are used to smelling different things from different animals who are unfortunately ran over. That whole area where they were searching and behind where my house is -- by my house is completely dark. Turn very sharply. And there`s actually no lights.

So unfortunately, there is a lot of roadkill. We are used to smelling things like that. We also called the county a few times with the animal smell. And they did not come since it`s outside the city limits. So when we did smell that smell, we did not call anybody. We`re not aware at the time that she was -- a homicide case. So we did not call anybody. But we did smell something, yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Investigators also say they have new evidence that`s led them back to the family`s home.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The equipment moved the mulch piles. Investigators with rakes would sift through it.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Could they be getting closer to finding Zahra Baker?

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ATKINS: Investigators have discovered a prosthetic leg.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Zahra Claire Baker, she`s hearing impaired, also has a prosthetic leg.

ATKINS: Consistent with the description of Zahra Baker`s left prosthesis. The longer this thing goes, the likelihood this outcome will not be positive. It was laying in a brushy area.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The stepmother --

ATKINS: Elisa Baker.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Dr. Joshua Perper, in your expertise, how are most children -- yes, Dr. Perper, you. Can you hear me? In your experience --

PERPER: I can now.

GRACE: OK. How are children usually murdered by their parents, asphyxiation, beating?

PERPER: Well, usually the children are unfortunately killed and (INAUDIBLE) by their parents sometimes by shaking and banging them against hard objects or against the wall. And strangulation is usually very rarely seen.

GRACE: I want to go back to Rupa. What is happening in the house right now?

MIKKILINENI: Nancy, the lights are out. It`s completely dark. We believe they`re no longer in the house searching. We saw a couple of cops pull away. So tonight, right now, in this moment, it looks like for the evening, the search has stopped.

GRACE: And to you, Caryn Stark. After all the child has overcome, all the heartache, now this.

STARK: Nancy, when you think about how hard it is for an adult to deal with cancer, and now we have a little girl who survived it twice and was killed, and it really looks like this is true, by her own family, what`s worse than that?

GRACE: I`m just sick. Just think of this little brave child going through all the chemo, all the shots, all the radiation and now this.

Let`s stop and remember Marine Lance Corporal Christopher Lyons, 24, Shelby, Ohio, killed Iraq. Awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Action ribbon, National Defense Service medal, Marine Corps Reserve medal.

What a sense of humor. Loved Scrabble, poetry, literature, dreamed of being a journalist. Leaves behind parents, Paul and Phyllis, stepmother Debbie, widow, Bethany, daughter, Ella, who he never got to hold in his arms.

Christopher Lyons, American hero.

Thanks to our guests but especially to you. And tonight, God bless Zahra.

I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, goodnight, friend.

END