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NANCY GRACE

Missing Police Dispatcher`s Body Just Found; Mom Lying About Missing Infant Son

Aired January 3, 2012 - 20:30   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, Hot Springs. A young mom last seen at a Christmas party. Bombshell tonight. At this hour, we get confirmation the body of missing mom Dawna Natzke has been identified, the young mom`s body found partially submerged in water there in a remote part of a forest about five miles from where Dawna`s station wagon discovered completely burned out. Tonight, yellow crime tape stretched around tall pine trees, blocking access to the area, including a pond, Dawna`s family hearing some of the news off FaceBook rumors.

As we go to air, Dawna`s autopsy still ongoing. Tonight, what happened to young mom of three and police dispatcher Dawna Natzke?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Missing person.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A missing...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Missing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Missing mother of three and police dispatcher Dawna Natzke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one had seen her since leaving a Christmas party on the 21st.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last seen by her boyfriend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This girl would call me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Family members reported Natzke missing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A U.S. Forest Service worker found her car burned last week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She didn`t show up for work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who would do something like this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A mean, vicious, psycho.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Search for Dawna Natzke.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She would have never burned her own car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disappeared more than a week ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The car burned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Burned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just hope and pray everything turns out for the good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very loving.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They do say the body is female.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got a good tracker there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never said a cross word about anybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Close to 400 people signed up to search.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We care about our people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And tonight, South Carolina, police searching for an 18-month- old whose mother refuses to cooperate with cops. Tonight, where is the 18- month-old toddler Amir (ph)?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you have Amir...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zena Jennings (ph) is being held on $150,000 bond.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... you need to call law enforcement immediately.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police have had no luck locating the 1-and-a- half-year-old boy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At one hand, the baby was in Atlanta, and in the other hand, the baby was in Charlotte.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you have seen Amir, you need to call us immediately.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The young mother of 18-month-old Amir Jennings, whose whereabouts are still unknown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s still giving us inconsistent stories.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Charged with child cruelty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a criminal investigation at this point.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The disappearance of young Amir Jennings now involves state and federal authorities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our main concern is the whereabouts and the safety of this child right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. At this hour, confirmation the body of missing mom Dawna Natzke has been identified, the young mom`s body partially submerged in water in a remote part of a forest about five miles from where Dawna`s station wagon discovered completely burned out.

Tonight, crime scene tape stretched around tall pine trees, blocking access to the area, including a pond, her family hearing some of the news from rumors off FaceBook. As we go to air, the autopsy still ongoing.

We are taking your calls. Straight out to Olivia Deas, KARN. Olivia, what can you tell us?

OLIVIA DEAS, KARN NEWS RADIO (via telephone): I can tell you that she was found -- her car was burned in the Ouachita National Forest about five miles from her home, and the body`s partially submerged. And they are questioning people and they have no suspects at this time.

GRACE: OK, that much I know, Olivia. Why don`t we try taking it from the very beginning. Where was she last seen? What do you know, Ms. Deas?

DEAS: She was last seen at a Christmas party. One of her friends we had talked to that she was not doing very well that night, had been upset about something. We were told she left with her boyfriend, and he was the last one to see her. There`s some allegations that she had dropped him off at his house. And police were contacted on the 23rd. When she didn`t show up to work, her son contacted police.

GRACE: We are taking your calls now, live in Hot Springs. The body of a young mom and police dispatcher confirmed to have been found tonight partially submerged in water, last seen at a Christmas party.

There you`re seeing shots of the young mom, Dawna Natzke. No one knew her whereabouts. And stunningly, her family finds out details regarding her disappearance on FaceBook rumors.

Now, how did that happen, Alexis Weed?

ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, yes, the family is getting a lot of their information, so they`re telling us, through the media, unfortunately. For example, they were told that Dawna`s car was found in this remote forest about 10 miles away from her home. Her car was found, Nancy, completely charred. The family found that out on Christmas Eve through the news.

GRACE: You know, it`s stunning to me that the family is finding things out from rumors on FaceBook. So Joe Gomez, senior investigative reporter, KTRH, how is the information being leaked onto FaceBook? It`s hard enough to get information on this case, from police, but yet it`s making its way to FaceBook?

JOE GOMEZ, KTRH: Well, you know, Nancy, they had 400 volunteers out there searching for young Dawna Natzke. It`s possible that one of these volunteers, you know, might have leaked some information onto the Internet.

You know, police have also been coming under a lot of criticism because they were dragging their feet, Nancy, and using search dogs to look for Dawna Natzke. So this whole search operation to try to find this beautiful mother has somewhat been botched.

GRACE: Well, what do you mean by botched?

GOMEZ: Well, I mean, they didn`t issue search dogs as soon as they should have, Nancy. It took them a couple of days after they discovered Dawna Natzke`s charred car. Now, when they found this car burned, they probably should have known something was wrong. They could have sent the dogs to look for Dawna earlier. They could have sent out crews to this...

GRACE: Well, wait a minute! Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Whoa, whoa! Gomez, isn`t it true that forest rangers were the ones that found the car burned out? It`s a station wagon, right?

GOMEZ: That`s right. Yes.

GRACE: So forest rangers find it. It sounds to me like they did not communicate with local police. Did they consider this, I guess, just their forest jurisdiction? What is it, a national park?

GOMEZ: It`s a national park, that`s right, Nancy. Yes.

GRACE: What park is that?

GOMEZ: Ouachita National Forest, Nancy. It`s one of the biggest parks in Arkansas.

GRACE: So the Ouachita forest rangers find a burned-out car and don`t report it to anybody? OK. I`ll scratch my head about that for a little while.

All the while, about five miles later (SIC) is a body submerged in water, we`re hearing tonight. And nobody thought to send a search team out at that point, when you find a burned-out car? Another thing, Gomez, do you know if they brought in an accelerant dog to determine was the car a victim of arson?

GOMEZ: I`m not clear. (INAUDIBLE) yes, Nancy. No, I`m not sure. But that`s a good question. If the car was burned...

GRACE: All right, Gomez -- put him up, please! Gomez, I don`t get what`s going on. She goes to a Christmas party. Nobody sees her after that. She`s not reported missing. Her car is found by rangers completely burned to a crisp. Nobody thinks, Gee was somebody in the car? Is there a human victim somewhere, not just a burned-out car? And now I`m hearing you say they put out a BOLO -- "be on the lookout" -- instead of a missing person? Do I have these facts wrong? Help me out here, Gomez.

GOMEZ: No, you`re absolutely right, Nancy. No, you`re right. I mean, Dawna went missing, and her boyfriend didn`t call police. Nancy, it was her son that had to call police two days afterwards to report that his mother was missing. Then they discovered this burned, charred vehicle. Then we find Dawna`s body not five miles away. I don`t know, Nancy. Can you connect the dots here? Because something isn`t sitting right (INAUDIBLE)

GRACE: Well, this is what I know. This is what I know. We don`t have a suspect tonight. We don`t even have a person of interest. But I know that Dawna`s having problems with the boyfriend. I know that she is separated from her husband. They`re in the midst of that ongoing drama. I know that that night at a Christmas party, was having problems with the boyfriend, according to one of her friends, one of her girlfriends.

You`re seeing shots right now of Dawna Natzke. She`s a gorgeous young girl, mother of three, a police dispatcher, last seen at a Christmas party, never seen alive again, her burned-out station wagon found in a remote area of a national forest.

We`re taking your calls. Out to Stephanie in Washington. Hi, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello?

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Hi. Absolutely love those kids of yours, Nancy. Thank you so much for (INAUDIBLE)

GRACE: Thank you. Thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The vehicle -- typically, when anyone is found in a vehicle, a burned vehicle, that`s somebody trying to cover up forensic evidence.

And you know, my -- you know, dealing with, you know, guys and girls and all those relationships, you know, I kind of can see a little thing going on here where she`s maybe having some trouble with this boyfriend, as was indicated, but then this husband maybe that she`s trying to leave -- maybe they`re trying to work it out, the boyfriend gets jealous, upset, enraged, and then all this stuff happens.

That is -- I mean, I`m just speculating, but you know what? I can`t believe that the police wouldn`t subpoena or get a warrant for both men involved because it -- it has to stem from them. I mean, that`s just the odds. And the warrants...

GRACE: Stephanie in Washington, are your a cop or an investigator?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, but I -- I -- no, I just...

GRACE: Because you`re absolutely right on every single thing you said. And just to put the icing on the cake, Stephanie in Washington -- back to you Alexis Weed. In a nutshell, what do you know about this boyfriend?

WEED: Nancy, his name is Kevin Duck. He`s 28 years old. He does have a criminal history. It includes no contest plea to domestic battery. That`s in 2008 and 2009. He was convicted, Nancy, of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to three years probation in 2010. A not guilty plea dismissed for harassing communication.

And most notably, Nancy, in 2010, his former wife, who he`s now divorced from, alleged in divorce documents that he had abused one of the couple`s minor children.

GRACE: All right, let`s back it up to the aggravated assault. That`s a conviction in 2010. What happened in that case?

WEED: Right. That was -- his then wife -- the boyfriend of the wife at that time, Nancy, alleged that her boyfriend...

GRACE: Why do you keep saying "alleged"? It`s a conviction, Alexis!

WEED: Right. Right. We don`t have the details of what -- whether or not the allegations were all proven up in that case, Nancy.

GRACE: OK, wait! Wa-wait! Wa-wait! Stop a minute! Unleash the lawyers, John Manuelian, Lorna Owens, Lorna Miami, Manuelian LA. OK, neither one of you -- don`t launch into a manifesto. But Lorna, when you have a guilty plea, it`s not an allegation anymore. The person -- it`s either a guilty conviction, which means they went to trial or a bench trial, or it`s a guilty plea. You pled guilty to it. There`s not a question as to whether it happened anymore. Is that right, Lorna?

LORNA OWENS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, that is correct. I`ll concede that, Nancy, as it relates to that case in...

GRACE: 2010.

OWENS: ... 2010. It`s not an allegation anymore, it is conceded by the defendant.

GRACE: And you made a good point in the way you answered that, Lorna. John Manuelian, that was the 2010 case, not the current case. But what`s interesting, John Manuelian, is that in the 2010 aggravated assault conviction, it was domestic-related. It was his ex-wife`s boyfriend that was the victim, Manuelian.

JOHN MANUELIAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes. It looks like that`s the case, and that may be used for the investigators as a part of this investigation.

GRACE: Tonight, this woman`s family hearing details of her disappearance on FaceBook, her body discovered, we believe, partially submerged in a remote area of a forest, her car five miles away completely burned out, leaving behind three children.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All over Garland (ph) County showed up to search.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mother of three and police dispatcher Dawna Natzke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police investigators believe they found what they feared.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The effort ended early when one searcher found a body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You literally have to fight through it to get to the area where the body was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When searchers found the body, the word spread quickly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who would do something like this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A mean, vicious, psycho.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did locate a deceased person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reported a burned car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The car belongs to Natzke.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She would never burn her own car. This girl would call me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Criminal aspect of this investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Missing co-worker Dawna.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was very loving.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Authorities are not saying it`s the body of Dawna Natzke, but they do say the body is female.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re awaiting a positive ID.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The body will be sent to a state crime lab to be identified.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls. The body of this woman we believe to have been found partially submerged in a pond, in a remote area of a national forest there near Hot Springs. What`s amazing is that authorities, the park rangers, found her burned-out car, her station wagon, days before the body was found. They didn`t even bother to call cops. Was she still alive at the time her body (SIC) was found? This mom and police dispatcher last seen at a Christmas party, never seen again. Even after finding her cremated car, forest police not calling local authorities. Could it have saved the life of mom of three Dawna Natzke?

We`re taking your calls. Out to Joe in Florida. Hi, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Nancy. You know, it`s so obvious that the last person that she saw was her boyfriend, so-called. And I don`t mean to blame the victim, but do you think she had any idea of his history, his police record?

GRACE: You know, Joe in Florida, stay right there. I`ve got a feeling she didn`t know anything about it. But let`s go to Hot Springs now. Joining me is Vicki Hegyi. This is Dawna`s sister. Vicki, thank you for being with us.

VICKI HEGYI, SISTER (via telephone): Thank you, Nancy.

GRACE: I know that you guys must be on pins and needles now, waiting to hear the next discovery in the case of your sister. Did she have any idea about this boyfriend`s rap sheet?

HEGYI: You know, I don`t know nothing about her boyfriend. And she did not relay any negative information about her boyfriend. And that is just Dawna`s way. You never hear a negative word out of her. And she always gives people the benefit of the doubt.

GRACE: You know, Vicki, it`s my understanding this was a new boyfriend?

HEGYI: Yes.

GRACE: How long had she been dating him.

HEGYI: I believe just as of February of this year -- of last year, rather.

GRACE: So you know, almost a year. Almost a year.

HEGYI: Yes.

GRACE: You`re seeing shots right now of Dawna Natzke, young mom of three, also a police dispatcher. Vicki, when exactly did the forest police find her burned-out station wagon?

HEGYI: They found it Thursday. And see, the BOLO wasn`t issued until Friday at 6:38 AM, when she was determined a missing person. So they issued it right away. The police did not botch this. They were looking for her. They love her. That`s what is so aggravating in all this. We -- this police department come to our house and give us reports all the time.

GRACE: You know what? I`m glad to hear that, Vicki. I am really glad to hear that the local police are all over it.

HEGYI: They have been from the get-go.

GRACE: I hate that the hours were missed from the discovery of the vehicle...

HEGYI: No.

GRACE: ... until the search began for her. But that`s not the local police`s fault.

HEGYI: No.

GRACE: How did you guys find out about the car being burned out, discovery?

HEGYI: It was rumors that -- because I was so -- I was in Indiana. I didn`t find out she was even missing until Friday morning and...

GRACE: How did your family find out about the car being burned?

HEGYI: Through me, through me because I was searching, searching, searching for any information. I was clicking on Dawna`s FaceBook because we -- she recently friended me. I`m the only family member she had that was -- because she...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: So did you find out about the car on FaceBook?

HEGYI: Yes. Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The body was about 200 yards off of West Hall Road nearly Highway 298 in Jesseville (ph). Garland County officials say the body will be sent to a state crime lab to be identified.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A U.S. Forest Service worker reported a burned car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.S. Forest Service found it in these woods off highway 298 burned. It belonged to Natzke.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Natzke has been missing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last seen by her boyfriend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Criminal aspect of this investigation started when family members reported Natzke missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come up in this area to search for Dawna, did locate a deceased person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Take a look at this woman, Dawna Natzke, a young mother of three. Also, she`s a police dispatcher. Her family learning news of her car, her station wagon, found completely charred, on FaceBook.

You know, I don`t understand that. Back to her sister. Vicki Hegyi is with us. What was it on FaceBook that alerted you to the condition of her car?

HEGYI: What I was doing, I was clicking on various friends in her FaceBook account, just clicking on every profile I could find that was still public -- and because you can be private or public -- and I would find comments -- I heard they found her car, and this, I will try and find out information, I will get back to you.

And I`m -- so I called my mom, you know, saying, Mom, did you hear anything about them finding her car? And she was very, very upset. She goes, No. How did you find out? And I said, Well, Mom, it`s just a rumor right now, you know? But -- so Mom went to the police, you know, and asked them, did they find her car. And then that night, that`s when it hit the local news that her car was found.

GRACE: Well, did the police know at that juncture that her car had been found?

HEGYI: Well, from what I gather, they didn`t find out until Saturday.

GRACE: So that would be, I think, a no.

HEGYI: Yes.

GRACE: So the forest police had not told local authorities her burned-out car had been found. That`s hours and hours lost...

HEGYI: Right.

GRACE: ... in the search of -- for Dawna Natzke.

We are taking your calls. To Lisa Lockwood, former police detective, author of "Undercover Angel." Lisa, thanks for being with us. Lisa, weigh in.

LISA LOCKWOOD, FORMER POLICE DETECTIVE: Well, where there`s smoke, there`s fire. Bottom line is that. You`ve got a man who`s got a criminal history with domestic violence. He was the last person seen with her. And that needs to be investigated very deeply.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The search of Dawna Natzke has ended.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one had seen her since leaving a Christmas party.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very loving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Individual searchers did locate a deceased person.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to see justice!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The Garland County Mountain Unit saddles up while the State Police Air Unit takes off, all to search for mother of three and police dispatcher, Dawna Natzke.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But the effort ended early when one searcher found a body.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A body found in an Arkansas pond.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grown up with underbrush and briars and -- you literally have to fight your way through it to get to the area where the -- where the body was.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Family members reported Natzke missing the same day she didn`t show up for work. No one had seen her since leaving the Christmas party --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Last seen by her boyfriend. A U.S. Forest Service worker found her car burnt last week.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: There have been reports of conflicting stories from her boyfriend. But police say there are no official suspects in the case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: Welcome back. For those of you just joining us we can confirm tonight the body of this young mom of three, also a police dispatcher, has been found about five miles from where her burned out station wagon was discovered in a national park there in Arkansas.

But for some reason the Forest Police didn`t bother to call local police. We don`t know. We can`t estimate how many hours were lost in the search for Dawna or whether her life could have been saved.

Joining us taking your calls, her sister.

To Joe Gomez, KTRH, I want to go back to the night she was last seen alive, the night of the Christmas party. Give me the details of what happened that night, Joe.

JOE GOMEZ, REPORTER, KTRH RADIO: Well, apparently Dawna and her boyfriend had returned back home. She was watching TV so her boyfriend says. And when her boyfriend woke up the next morning she was gone without a trace. He thought she went to go to work but apparently she had the day scheduled off.

GRACE: Put Gomez up, please.

GOMEZ: And then the next --

GRACE: Gomez.

GOMEZ: Yes.

GRACE: I just wanted to make sure that you`re reporting that with a straight face. I repeat. I want to look at Gomez.

So, Gomez, once again we have the story that hey, we went to sleep and the next morning she just vanished from the bed, right? That`s what you`re telling me.

GOMEZ: That`s --

GRACE: Yes. All right. Obviously I need to go back a little bit further.

OK, Alexis Weed, what happened at the Christmas party itself?

ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, they go to this Christmas party around 7:00 in the evening. They go together and as far as we`re hearing from the family they also brought Dawna`s mother to the party but didn`t leave with her. They then leave the party all alone at about 11:00.

GRACE: OK, you know what? I -- let me repeat to everybody on the panel. I`m just a JD. I`m not a DDS. I don`t know how to pull teeth.

WEEDS: So, Nancy, a friend of Dawna`s tells us that she was at this Christmas party with the couple and she saw that this Kevin Duck was being aggressive with Dawna, that he had grabbed her by the arm at some point. She also says that at one point he barged in on the two women while they were using the bathroom at the same time.

GRACE: To Wendy Walsh, psychologist, co-host of "The Doctors." Wendy, thanks for being with us. What is -- what do you make of that?

WENDY WALSH, PH.D., PSYCHOLOGIST, EXPERT ON MOMLOGIC.COM: I make of this as a major potential crime of passion, Nancy. OK. Here we`re talking about a guy who has a history of sort of -- they call it harassing communication, what is that? Like stalking? So you know he has sort of an anxious attachment disorder. OK, that just means, he thinks his love is his love line and if she`s not going to be loving him back it`s going to be a problem.

So now we`re seeing violence exhibited in public? Well, if he does this public imagine what does in private, Nancy?

GRACE: And another thing, Wendy, of course, he`s not a suspect, not even a person of interest, but you and I both know, all right, and I don`t know if this is the advice you give your clients, but as my mom says to me, it`s not going to get better, OK. They start -- men start off -- don`t take any offense because women are the same way, we`re all the same.

You start off putting your best foot forward. You know? At the beginning in a relationship, women fix their hair, they put on hair makeup, they dress up, you know, they cook dinner, blah, blah, blah. After a year or two that`s out the window, OK. That`s not going to happen anymore, right?

WALSH: Nancy, so true.

GRACE: And here, if all this is happening in the first year of the relationship what`s going happen next? So, of course, that`s not a crime, that`s just an anecdotal reality.

Back to Joe in Florida. What was your second question, Joe?

JOE, CALLER FROM FLORIDA: Questioning this guy, obviously they`ve questioned him already, but how can they get him back as developments proceed to question him again? Can he refuse? I mean --

GRACE: Good question. Good question, Joe in Florida.

John Manuelian, L.A., Lorna Owens, Miami. You know, at this point you really think this guy is going to answer questions? To you, Manuelian?

JOHN MANUELIAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I would advise him highly not to speak to the police because obviously he may be connected somehow indirectly or directly and even if he wasn`t the police officers could interpret his version of the story differently or he could actually give inconsistent statements. So it`s not in his interest to speak to the police in my opinion.

GRACE: What about it, Lorna?

LORNA OWENS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I would advise him to get a lawyer and not speak to the police. We already know of his background. We already know that there was some argument that evening. And we know that the police is going to come to this investigation with that kind of baggage, that kind of background. It behooves him to speak to an attorney and then work through this with his attorney.

GRACE: I think at this juncture no way is this guy going to cooperate.

To Dr. Vincent Dimaio, former chief medical examiner, Bexar County, forensic pathologist, joining us tonight.

Dr. Dimaio, thanks so much for being with us. This body partially submerged in water from what we are being told. What will cops be looking for and what will the medical examiner be looking for? The autopsy still ongoing. What will they be looking for? Why is the autopsy taking so long? How does water complicate that?

DR. VINCENT DIMAIO, M.D., FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, BEXAR COUNTY, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: That`s a lot of questions. Water actually will cool the body quick or is it will preserve it. It looks like that the crime lab there doesn`t work weekends and they just put off the whole handling of the body for -- you know, for a couple of days until they got around to it.

GRACE: And so you think that it didn`t have anything to do with the condition of the body that had to do with being off?

DIMAIO: Oh, no. I mean you can get a markedly decomposed body in autopsy immediately if you want. There`s no problem about doing the autopsies, just having somebody there to do the autopsy. They probably were off for the weekend.

GRACE: You think so?

DIMAIO: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

GRACE: And another thing, Dr. Dimaio, what do you think about the car? What can we learn from the car?

DIMAIO: Well, actually it`s a good -- if you want to destroy trace evidence you burn it. It actually was in that picture about bank robbers in Boston. If you have a vehicle where you committed a crime in or transported a body and you wanted to break the chain of evidence, burn it up. Because, you know, maybe she had been murdered in the car. Maybe the car was a transport mechanism. Maybe there`s trace evidence of the perpetrator in the car. Burn it. It`s gone.

GRACE: We are taking your calls. To Jared in North Dakota. Hi, dear, what`s your question?

JARED, CALLER FROM NORTH DAKOTA: Yes, I`m confused why you all are saying crime of passion or the boyfriend did it. How do we know she just didn`t run away and she just wanted to be alone and she burnt her own car?

GRACE: Jared, did you just say -- are you from North Dakota?

JARED: Yes.

GRACE: Planet earth, right?

JARED: Yes.

GRACE: All right. I don`t mean to be rude in any way but Jared, you`re suggesting that she burned her own car, hiked five miles, and threw herself in the water, and drowned to death. Yes. Not feasible.

Everyone, as we go to break our Family Album is showing your photos. Tonight Colorado friends the Opstein family, Aaron and Rachel with three children, Caleb, Noah, and Emma Grace. What a beautiful family.

Mom, Rachel says Caleb is a great athlete. Noah makes everybody laugh and Emma Grace is the little mommy in the family.

Now I want to see your photos. You can go to our iReport Family Album, you can go to hlnTV.com/Nancygrace, click on Nancy Grace`s Family Album.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our main concern is the whereabouts and safety of this child right now.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police in South Carolina on a frantic search to find baby boy Amir Jennings.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Whose whereabouts are still unknown. Zinah Jennings was asked about her son who was not in the car. She gave conflicting stories. Investigators say her son has not been seen since Thanksgiving.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has not been very cooperative and very inconsistent with law enforcement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Given us inconsistent stories.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Zinah Jennings is being held on $150,000 bond charged with child cruelty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you have Amir, you need to call law enforcement immediately. This is a criminal investigation at this point.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Where is Amir Jennings?

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GRACE: Straight out to South Carolina, what has happened to this toddler boy? Police keep getting conflicting stories from mommy.

To Keven Cohen, host on WVOC. Keven, thank you for being with us. Take it from the top.

KEVEN COHEN, HOST, AFTERNOON DRIVE, 100.1 FM WVOC, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA: Well, this 18-month-old little baby boy, Amir Jennings, has been gone since Thanksgiving. Grandma first reported him missing in December -- beginning December 8th. And then she --

GRACE: Whoa, wait a minute. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Keven Cohen, WVOC, you say grand mommy reports him missing, not mommy?

COHEN: That`s correct.

GRACE: Who did he live with?

COHEN: He lived with mommy as far as I know but grandma is the one who reported him missing. Mommy was missing herself for a while until mommy got into a car accident and was taken to the hospital at which time they knew that she was on a list of people kind of being looked at for what`s going on with baby Amir. They said well, where is your baby, and she said, I don`t have a baby.

And then the nurse said, what`s this little scar from a C-section you just had. And she said oh, yes, I do have a baby. The baby is with the father. Father has had no contact with the baby for 18 months so he`s not with father. Then she says to law enforcement baby is in Atlanta with family, sister. No, that doesn`t work out. Baby is in Charlotte with somebody else. That hasn`t worked out. So the big consistency is the inconsistency.

GRACE: Keven Cohen joining us there on the scene, WVOC.

So, Jean Casarez, let me get this straight. The only thing consistent about mommy`s story is that it`s always inconsistent. The only thing that doesn`t change is that it keeps changing. She can`t keep her story straight.

I don`t like it, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": You know, Nancy, originally this was a dual missing person situation because it was Zinah Jennings and her son Amir that were both missing, the December 8th report, and as a fluke, Nancy, she got in a car accident on Christmas Eve. And that`s how she was discovered but her son wasn`t there and that`s when the inconsistent stories began.

GRACE: To Chief Randy Scott, special guest joining us from Columbia, South Carolina. Chief, it`s great to have you with us. Chief, I`m just sick about this. Because you know the one person you expect to be out there lying on the front steps of the police station is mommy. You guys don`t even find mommy until she crashes her car and whoever the patrol guy was or patrol woman put two and two together went hey, hey, hey. Aren`t you supposed to be missing? And where is your baby? You know, we wouldn`t have this much if you`re -- if you`re -- what was it a motorman? What, sir?

CHIEF RANDY SCOTT, COLUMBIA, SC POLICE DEPT.: I said that`s -- you`re absolutely correct. And that`s the problem with the entire case is because the mother of the child, just like Keven said, she keeps changing her story. She will not give us anything to give us where we can go and check and say, is Amir OK? Have you seen Amir?

And every story she`s given us, our investigators have checked out up until last night talking to family members in Atlanta. Then they have also concluded that Amir is not with them. So, you know, I`m very concerned about Amir`s safety at this point. I don`t know his whereabouts and that`s where we need to get to the bottom of.

GRACE: I don`t like her, Chief. I don`t like her one bit.

Let`s just take it back to the beginning, Chief.

SCOTT: That`s the problem. That`s the problem.

GRACE: Yes, Chief, what was it, a motorman that pulled up on a motorcycle or a squad car pulls up when she crashes her car and then when they run her license and they figure out who she is, and they see that she`s missing, she`s supposed to be missing and there she is in a car crash?

SCOTT: Right. She was reported missing by her mother which is Amir`s grandmother. And when she had the one car accident, the officers did what they were supposed to do.

GRACE: Whoa, wait a minute, Chief. Wait a minute, Chief. I`m looking at some shots of her.

Liz, did I just see her with blue hair or purple? What is that? Not that. No, no, there`s something intensely purple. Let me look at that. OK. All right. Just let me drink that in.

Chief, who is this woman and when was the baby last seen alive?

SCOTT: Well, the baby was last seen with the mother on Thanksgiving. I just recently up to about an hour ago spoke to the grandmother and, you know, the grandmother is very concerned, very worried and, again, we`re just not getting any stories from Zinah that will lead us back to the baby.

GRACE: Chief, please tell me that she`s behind bars for something tonight, I don`t care what it is. I don`t care if it`s for spitting on the sidewalk. Please tell me she`s behind bars.

SCOTT: You`re right, Miss Grace. She was arrested. She was arrested a couple of days ago. And she was basically charged with unlawful conduct towards a child and she -- you know, even now behind bars she still not giving us anything to find Amir. And it`s not about Zinah at this point. It`s about Amir, finding out that he is safe, that we know where he is and that we can return him back to family members that really is going to care for him.

The grandmother is very upset, very concerned so we just need --

GRACE: Well, you`ve got a cold case. You got a cold case on your hands, Chief Scott, because he wasn`t seen alive since Thanksgiving.

To Gaetane Borders, advocate, missing minority children, president of Peas in the Pods.

Gaetane, you know expect the mom to be on your side. She`s the big problem tonight.

GAETANE BORDERS, PRESIDENT, PEAS IN THE PODS, ADVOCATE FOR MISSING MINORITY CHILDREN: She`s the biggest problem tonight. Bottom line is the last person that was seen with Amir is his mom and she beyond anybody else is the sole person on this earth that should be protecting him. Dipping and dodging police questions suggest, in my opinion, Nancy guilt.

The other thing about this, her affect and the story line are very reminiscent of another very troubled mom, dare I say it -- Casey Anthony, perhaps? Just saying.

GRACE: You know don`t start on tot mom with me this soon in the new year, OK.

BORDERS: I`m sorry, Nancy.

GRACE: But you`re right. You`re absolutely right. The child has been gone a month and here`s mom changing all of her stories.

Ellie Jostad, has she lawyered up yet?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE CHIEF EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, we haven`t been able to find out if she has a lawyer. It didn`t appear that she did when she was at her bond hearing. She had somebody with her there. But it`s not clear if she`s got a lawyer at this point. She`s still in jail however.

GRACE: Well, Chief Scott, if she`s had a bond hearing then she`s got a lawyer, they probably given her a public defender who told her not to speak. What do you know, Chief?

SCOTT: Well, you know, I don`t know if she has a lawyer. I know investigators have spoken back with her, investigators spoke with the family members in Atlanta. And, you know, again, I`m concerned about Amir at this point.

GRACE: Man, I`d be trying to question her every other hour trying to get something out of her.

To Katie in Illinois. Hi, Katie, what`s your question?

KATIE, CALLER FROM ILLINOIS: Hi, Nancy. Thank you for taking my call. I wondered why she would possibly hurt this child if there could be something mentally wrong with her? If she has postpartum, something like that?

GRACE: You know, Katie, I ask that in every case where a child is the victim. I don`t know, if there is a motive, a decent motive for hurting your child. We have no indication she had mental problems.

Do you have any indication of that, Chief Scott? Any mental problems?

SCOTT: No, ma`am. You know, we did talk to the grandmother about that. And she did not indicate anything. From what we understand, that Zinah was a college student. She was doing well, to the point she had the child, had Amir. So, you know, I don`t know if any evaluations are going on at this time.

GRACE: OK.

SCOTT: But I do know Amir has a very concerned family.

GRACE: To Fred in Michigan. Hi, Fred. What`s your question?

FRED, CALLER FROM MICHIGAN: Yes, this does sound a lot like tot mom, but I was just wondering why can`t the cops just charge her anyway even if they don`t find the body of the baby?

GRACE: You know, Fred, you`re one step ahead of everybody here. Even though we may think she killed the child, until there`s more evidence, I would look in her car, look in her car trunk, bring out cadaver dogs. You name it, all around the car, and the grandmother`s home and the home of the mother to see what we can find.

Right now there`s not -- there`s just not enough to make a formal charge. Tonight, where is this toddler, 18-month-old Amir? Tip-line, 888-274-6372. There is a reward.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT: Still giving us inconsistent stories. And it`s unfortunate. Our main concern is the whereabouts and the safety of this child right now. And that we just don`t have any concrete idea that she said that, you know, one -- at one hand, the baby was in Atlanta. And another hand the baby was in Charlotte. We`re researching both of those ideas, but you know, this is a child. So I didn`t want to take anything to chance. So I called in every resource that was possible.

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GRACE: Last night Chief Randy Scott from Columbia Police Department.

Chief, what do you do when you have someone like this mom, Zinah Jennings, who changes her story -- now she`s gone through four story changes to where Amir is. Have you brought out cadaver dogs yet?

SCOTT: Miss Grace, you know, honestly, I will tell you that we have, in this child`s case, we`ve done just about everything possible. We have the FBI involved. We have South Carolina Law Enforcement Division involved. But I can`t directly answer your question at this time.

GRACE: We are taking your calls. To Keven Cohen, WVOC. Also joining us from Columbia. What more can you tell me? What`s being done to find the baby?

COHEN: Well, one thing that`s being done is people are finally getting this out into the media. And I`m so thrilled, Nancy, that you`re doing this because so often the case, we`ve got situations where beautiful, blond haired, blue-eyed little girls are being talked about nationally, but you don`t hear about the 18-month-old little 1 1/2-year-old black boy.

And with your hope, we`re going to get the word out there. I`m going to devote as much time on my radio talk show as necessary to try and find out something. Because this is something that smells. I mean no one wants to say it, but there`s only two realities here. Either someone has this child and he`s been abducted, or obviously the worst is possible. And we fear that he`s not with us anymore. Whatever the case --

GRACE: I tell you what, I`d let that grandmother go visit that daughter. I bet she`d get some answers out of her daughter. Tipline, 888-CRIME-SC, 888-274-6372.

Let`s stop and remember Army Corporal Aaron Griner, 24, Tampa, Florida, killed Afghanistan. Awarded Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation, Good Conduct. Loved playing soccer and time on the beach. A combat medic. Planned to become a nurse. Leaves behind mom, Anita, father Ernie, wife Silvia, four sisters, Megan, Annie, Gabrielle, Jillian, brother, Xavier. Wife, Amanda, son, Austin.

Aaron Griner, American hero.

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

END