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NANCY GRACE

Arizona Police Search for Missing 2-Year-Old And her Father; Missing Ava Enlow Had Burns and Bruises; Kennedy Accused in Scuffle with Maternity Nurses

Aired February 28, 2012 - 20:00:00   ET

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


NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: Breaking news tonight, live, Arizona. A beautiful two-year-old baby girl last seen at a local Starbucks, Phoenix suburbs, vanishes without a trace. Bombshell tonight. In the last hours, we uncover stunning abuse reports. Baby Ava had a pattern of bruises, cuts, severe diaper rashes, even burns after visits with Daddy. Tonight, we uncover the photos.

And tonight, desperate to find her baby girl, Ava`s mother with us live, making a national public plea to help find her baby, describing the final hours she had with her baby girl. Police say the child in extreme danger at this hour on the run with Daddy. Tonight, where is 2-year-old baby Ava?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police short on leads for where to find Ava.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this child alive or isn`t this child alive?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s the scariest part is not knowing, waiting for your child to come home!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two-year-old Ava, of course, dropped off with her father.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have no idea where she`s at.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At that north Phoenix Starbucks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police tell us Brent`s house had recently been through foreclosure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reportedly found Anderson`s house partially vacated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: News that terrified Athena.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brent, his whole life is Ava.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ava`s mom claims in court documents that Ava had numerous and unexplained injuries.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But when she went to pick Ava up, the father was a no-show.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Such as cuts, burns, bruises, and severe diaper rash.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s all he`s ever wanted to do was take care of her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When returning home from visits with Anderson.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No leads to where he or Ava might be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why in the world would he be taking this baby away from the mother?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your heart is pounding incredibly fast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s not a good dad. That`s a bad dad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are also bringing you another story tonight, another Kennedy back in trouble with the law. And it`s caught on tape! We have the video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New developments in the case against Robert Kennedy`s youngest son. Douglas Kennedy is charged with child endangerment after scuffling with maternity ward nurses when he tried to take his 3-day- old son outside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Douglas Kennedy was simply holding onto his newborn child.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you see Douglas Kennedy trying to take his newborn son off the maternity ward, he says for some fresh air outside. But watch what happens next. After the nurses block him from the elevator, saying he doesn`t have permission, he goes to a stairwell, where a confrontation ensues. Kennedy raises his leg, and Luciano (ph) falls straight on her back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was he defending his rights as a parent and protecting his child or refusing to follow a nurse`s order?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening, I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. A 2-year-old little girl last seen at a local Starbucks, Phoenix suburbs, vanishes without a trace. In the last hours, we uncover stunning abuse reports. Baby Ava had a pattern of bruises, cuts, severe diaper rashes, even burns after visits with Daddy. Tonight, we uncover the photos.

Straight out to Gregg Paul KFYA -- YI. Gregg, what is the latest?

GREGG PAUL, 550 KFYI RADIO (via telephone): Well, the latest, Nancy, is that with these allegations that were labeled by the mother, of course, with the cuts, the bruises, the severe diaper rush, that when baby Ava was coming back from his house back to the mother`s house -- this is what she was experiencing. And CPS, Child Protective Service, had been trying to get ahold of the father but were unable to because he did not have a phone and he would not contact them.

GRACE: OK, to Alexis Weed, also on the story. Alexis, why am I just hearing about these allegations now that the baby has disappeared? Were there reports made to DFACS, Child Protective Services?

ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: We`re hearing those allegations, Nancy, from the mother of Ava. She`s one saying that when she would come back from the dad`s home that she would have bruises and cuts. We don`t, however, have confirmation from child services as these kind of records are usually protected.

GRACE: OK, Clark Goldband, also on the story. Clark, take it from the beginning. The mother and the father have had, let me say euphemistically, a tumultuous relationship to the point where they couldn`t even have contact when they would hand the baby back and forth for visitation. There was a TRO, is my understanding, taken out because the interchange had become so violent, police would have to be called. So they`d have to have an intermediary hand the baby back and forth. Yes, that`s setting a heck of an example.

But in this case, how does the baby disappear from a local Starbucks? What`s she doing, in there getting a cappuccino? How does a 2-year-old baby disappear from a Starbucks?

CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, that`s right, Nancy. Mom`s husband walked in, this little 2-year-old girl Ava to the outside of the Starbucks from the car. The father`s wife was standing outside to take Ava back to their car. And in as simple as that, in just a few moments, Ava has never been seen again.

GRACE: Everybody, we are showing you the photos that we have uncovered. There`s bruises, scratches, allegedly even burns on the child`s fingertips after visits with Daddy.

Clark Goldband, what can you tell me about Mommy going to find the child? The child`s not at the Starbucks, where she`s supposed to pick the child up, and she goes to the Daddy`s home. What does she find?

GOLDBAND: She finds something very disturbing, that the home was partially removed of its furniture and contents. Now, this was a shock to her. She talked to some of the neighbors in the area, and they said on that same day, they saw this father, Brent Anderson, removing some of the belongings from the home.

She called law enforcement. Law enforcement searched all over for Anderson and wasn`t able to find him or the little girl.

GRACE: Tonight, joining us exclusively, making a national public plea to bring her 2-year-old baby girl home, is Ava`s mother. With us, Athena Manuma, Ava`s mother. And also with us is the mother of Brent Anderson, the bio dad of baby Ava, Melinda Barros. Ladies, thank you so much for being with us.

Athena, first of all, to you. The photos are very, very disturbing. I mean, all children will get a cut or a bruise now and then. But I want to hear about your allegations that when the baby would come home from visits with Daddy, there would be numerous cuts, bruises, severe diaper rash, even burning on her fingertips? Explain, Athena.

ATHENA MANUMA, MISSING CHILD`S MOTHER: Yes, there was some marks on her when she would come home, and we wanted to document it. We had brought it up to -- at one point in time, when CPS was involved, we had brought it up to them to see what we needed to do to move forward, to get it notated. They said to take her to the doctor and also let them know, too, so they could see it, as well.

GRACE: Were all of these on one occasion? And I`m specifically interested in the burns.

MANUMA: The burns were on two separate occasions. They were on, like, the top of her fingers near the joints.

GRACE: I don`t know what you mean by that, the top of her fingers. What is that?

MANUMA: It wasn`t on her fingertips.

GRACE: Show me.

MANUMA: It was on, like -- it was, like, on this top of her finger, like here, on the top of her finger here. And that was --

GRACE: That`s odd.

MANUMA: -- on two separate occasions.

GRACE: That`s extremely odd. What did the father say caused the burns?

MANUMA: I didn`t get an answer from the burn. I had asked, but --

GRACE: Did you ask him?

MANUMA: Yes. I e-mailed him about it.

GRACE: And did he answer at all or simply no answer?

MANUMA: There was no e-mail back.

GRACE: OK. Explain to me -- I don`t want to hear it from just a reporter, Athena. I want to hear it from you. You go to the Starbucks to pick up the baby, all right? Had Ava been with the father for five straight days? That`s what I was told.

MANUMA: Yes. Yes, she had.

GRACE: During those five days, had you called or e-mailed or texted to find out how the baby was doing?

MANUMA: Yes, I had e-mailed him twice.

GRACE: And did you hear back from him?

MANUMA: No.

GRACE: All right. Well, right there, if I didn`t hear back about my twins, I would have been camped out on the front porch. But you two have these TROs and you can`t really legally get near each other.

So you didn`t hear back. At the end of the five days, you go to the Starbucks that`s already arranged to pick up the baby. What happened then, Athena?

MANUMA: Well, we waited -- we had gotten there a little bit early, maybe, like, 8:50, and --

GRACE: Who`s we? Who`s we?

MANUMA: Oh, my father-in-law and my mother-in-law and then myself because my husband had been working that day.

GRACE: So the three of you.

MANUMA: Yes. And my mother-in-law was waiting outside to pick her up.

GRACE: Right. And you can`t actually approach your husband yourself. You`ve got to have an intermediary so the two of you won`t get into it. Is that correct?

MANUMA: Yes. His wife now is doing the exchanges, so I wasn`t able to get out of the car.

GRACE: OK.

MANUMA: We`re supposed to stay in the vehicle.

GRACE: OK. Well, good. God bless her. Now, one quick question. Is it true that he was a manager and you were a cashier at the same store? Is that how you met?

MANUMA: At one point in time, well, he was one of the night people. He wasn`t a manager at the time. But yes, I was a cashier and he was a night person.

GRACE: All right. Back to the story. You`re at Starbucks. What happens?

MANUMA: Well, I mean, we waited there for about 20 to 30 minutes. And I -- you know, I had let him know beforehand that what -- we were going to pick her up at 9:00, and you know, because that is our court-ordered time. And at that time, I told my father-in-law that I`ll go over and call the police just to see if they can do a well check on her and see what`s going on, why he`s not picking her -- or why he`s not dropping her off at the Starbucks.

So that`s what I did. I went over to Wal-Mart near his home and I called the police, and they were dispatched out.

GRACE: And what happened?

MANUMA: They came out. They knocked on the door, and there was no answer. There was -- I guess they had knocked on the door a few times. I`m not sure -- he has windows into his garage, and I`m not sure if they got to look into the windows because they told me to stay in the parking lot. But they knocked and they said there was no answer, that they heard a dog barking but there was no answer at the door.

GRACE: So the dog was left inside?

MANUMA: No, the dog was outside, is my understanding. And the dog sounded like it was outside, too, when I had gone over later on.

GRACE: All right. Did you go over to the home later?

MANUMA: Yes, I had gone over to the home --

GRACE: Did you look inside the home?

MANUMA: -- probably four times. I didn`t -- the blinds in the front were closed, and I didn`t go in the back yard.

GRACE: Then how do you know he`s partially moved out?

MANUMA: I didn`t say he was partially moved out. Somebody -- a neighbor had told me that they had seen him removing items, but I never said I knew he was partially moved out or anything.

GRACE: And when was that, Athena? When was that, that he removed furniture?

MANUMA: The neighbors were telling me that they had seen it -- one neighbor told me they saw him removing things on Saturday, and somebody told me they seen him removing items on Tuesday, Tuesday night.

GRACE: OK, Athena, as you were sitting there in the Starbucks parking lot and he didn`t show up, did you know instinctively something was wrong?

MANUMA: When he -- when there`s no answer? Yes, there`s something wrong.

GRACE: OK. Let`s go to his mom, Joining us tonight, the mother of Brent Anderson, the biological father of baby Ava. With us, Melinda Barros. Ms. Barros, thank you for being with us. Ms. Barros, have you heard from him? Because police are saying the baby girl is in, quote, "extreme danger" with your son.

MELINDA BARROS, MOTHER OF SUSPECTED ABDUCTOR: I disagree. I have not heard from my son, but I do know that he would not do anything to hurt her or harm her. And Athena, you even admitted that to my daughter days ago when we were at Brent`s house. She went over there and saw my daughter.

GRACE: What do you mean by that, Ms. Barros, that she has admitted what?

BARROS: Athena admitted that my son would not harm Ava. She knew that. She just wants her back.

GRACE: Ms. Barros, I find it very disturbing that he has not even been in touch with you. Why?

BARROS: He does not want to be caught. He`s not going to contact me.

GRACE: Why?

BARROS: He`s not going to -- because he does not want me to get in trouble. He does not want to get caught and does not want me in any trouble.

GRACE: So he -- you believe he realizes that what he is doing is wrong.

BARROS: Well, I -- I believe that what he is doing is not the right way of doing it. I`m not going to condone what he`s done. There is a different way of doing this.

GRACE: Ms. Barros, what is your response to these photos of bruises, cuts and burns on baby Ava`s body after visits with your son?

BARROS: They are not abusive by any means. My son took her to the doctor and verified and had the doctor verify. We have documentation that it was not abuse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s in extreme danger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s a pretty scary situation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The mother dropped Ava off with the dad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Being a father. That`s all he`s ever wanted to do was take care of her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She said they had joint custody and kept a strict schedule.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When she went to pick Ava up, the father was a no- show.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s when the alarm bells started going off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She knocks and she says she felt immediately something was wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He doesn`t have a phone. There`s no way of contacting him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Out of the ordinary for this father to just take off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What`s going on?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mom has wanted to alienate Brent, not allowed Brent to see Ava by manipulation of her time at work.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taking this baby away from the mother. That`s not a good dad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police desperately searching for the beautiful 2- year-old girl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are live and taking your calls. Tonight, where is 2-year- old baby Ava? She disappears from a local Starbucks. With me tonight, her mother in her first national appearance, begging desperately for the return of baby Ava.

Take a look at this map. Baby Ava disappearing from the Phoenix suburbs. How far did Daddy get? We believe the father, police say putting the child in extreme danger, has the baby now.

When Mommy gets to the home, she finds it partially empty, furniture missing, neighbors describing in the hours before the baby`s disappearance, Daddy moving out furniture, also quitting his long-time job and skipping town.

Is the baby in danger? The biological father refusing to call his mother or family back home. Why?

We are taking your calls. But to Ben Levitan, telecommunications expert. Ben, I think that right now, this guy, the bio dad, has a jump on the cops. I don`t know how many hours he was gone with the baby before it was discovered. It could have even been in the days before.

As a matter of fact, hold on, Ben Levitan. Back to Brent Anderson`s mother, Melinda Barros. When was the last time you heard from him preceding to Ava`s disappearance?

BARROS: The 14th of February.

GRACE: I`m sorry. I couldn`t hear you. Repeat?

BARROS: I`m sorry. The 14th of February.

GRACE: And the baby goes missing on the 18th. So it had been four full days?

BARROS: I don`t talk to Brent every day. He lives up in Anthem, and he does his thing. And I usually go up on the weekends and see him and spend time with him and Ava.

GRACE: So for all we know, they could have been on the run for nearly a week before Mommy even finds out. Tonight, baby Ava in extreme danger.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Missing 2-year-old Ava Enlow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have no idea where she`s at.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her father, Brent Anderson --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Accused of disappearing with the little girl.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your heart is pounding incredibly fast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a court filing, Ava`s mom alleges that when her daughter would return home from visiting her father --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thirty-one-year-old Brent Anderson.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Ava allegedly had unexplained bruises, cuts, burns and repeated severe diaper rashes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Neighbors say they saw Brent packing up and leaving his home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something wasn`t right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He quit his job. I found out after the fact that he was already gone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re thinking, OK, what`s going on?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Tonight, the warning signs are there. He quits his job, angry, disappears, hasn`t been heard from by family in almost a week. Mommy goes to pick up her baby, Ava, the home is partially evacuated. Daddy is gone.

Straight out to Ben Levitan, telecommunications expert. Ben, our best chance right now is to track him down by cell phone, by phone calls back home. Either he or his wife have go to have a cell phone, for Pete`s sake. They`ve got to be in touch with somebody. Levitan, how can you do it?

BEN LEVITAN, TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPERT (via telephone): That`s right, Nancy. The best way to do it is to get a wiretap order from a judge. Law enforcement can get a wiretap order called a "pen register." And what that allows them to do is the second the father turns on his phone, police will know where he turned on that phone, what city, what cell tower.

And then further, it will let them know every time he dials a phone number what phone number he`s calling, how long that call lasted, and where he was when he dialed that number and who he called, as well. Every time a call comes in to him, they`ll be able to know where he is. So --

GRACE: OK, what if he`s using public pay phones? Can a similar device be used on landlines such as the mother, friends, other relatives` landlines in their homes?

LEVITAN: Absolutely, Nancy. This wiretap system is in place in every single phone system in the country. If he calls his mom and there is a pen register order on the mom`s phone, it will signal police in real time that a call is coming in to his mother from him.

If you have a pen register order on all his friends and family, who he could -- he will call somebody. It`s likely he`ll let his child call Mom at some point. And if you have a pen register, we`ll know exactly where he is, even if it`s a phone booth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- say be on the lookout for a two-door Chevy Silverado truck with Arizona plates 038-KSV.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My adrenaline was running.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The truck could be carrying missing 2-year-old Ava Enlow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brent Anderson, who Athena says was supposed to return Ava, but he never showed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She dropped her daughter, Ava, off with her father, Brent Anderson.

ATHENA MANUMA, MOTHER OF ABDUCTED 2-YEAR-OLD AVA ENLOW: Had the best smile.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Brent Anderson is accused of disappearing with the little girl.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Everyone just wants to see Ava back home safely. This is 31-year-old Brent Anderson who Athena says was supposed to return Ava on Wednesday but he never showed

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: With no sign of Ava.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Athena tells me neighbors witnessed Brent moving furniture out, news that terrified Athena.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Phoenix Police say be on the lookout for a two-door Chevy Silverado truck with Arizona plates 038 KSV.

MANUMA: What`s going on? Why is -- why is there no answer at the door?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The truck could be carrying missing 2-year-old Ava Enlow.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Athena knew something wasn`t right.

MANUMA: When he didn`t show up, that`s when the alarm bells started going off and that`s when my adrenaline was running.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So far no leads to where he or Ava might be.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Now desperately searching for the beautiful 2-year- old girl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are live and taking your calls. Baby Ava disappearing from a local Starbucks. Mommy now desperate. Joining us live, making a public plea for her girl`s return.

To Marc Klaas, president and founder of KlaasKids Foundation, also with us tonight, Marc, is Brent Anderson`s mother, speaking on his behalf.

You know, Marc, we are being told by police that this child is in extreme danger and all the red flags are there. He abruptly quits a longtime job. He leaves town, moves his furniture out. For all I know, he could have had a four-day lead on police.

MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Well, Nancy, he`s trying to -- he`s trying to get off the grid. And as Ben pointed out, that`s incredibly difficult to do in this day and age. There are some other things that need to be done. The police need to stake out his friends and family. They need to post fliers in relevant neighborhoods in or out of state. If he has people out of state.

They have to circulate vehicle information. They have to circulate graphic information. And they have to do the same thing for the new wife as well.

My advice, because this -- Nancy, this happens hundreds of thousands of times a year. My advice to the custodial parents is to know as much about the noncustodial parent as you possibly can. Know their vehicle make, their model and their license plate number. Have credit card information. Have cell phone information. Have any social networking information that you can get.

And if it`s an international situation, have the child`s passport and have a joint passport and you keep it on your person. That way you can mitigate some of the damage that otherwise might be done by these situations.

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Out to Linda in Mississippi. Hi, Linda, what`s your question?

LINDA, CALLER FROM MISSISSIPPI: Hi, Nancy. Last night when I watched your show, the grandmother came across as maybe not being quite truthful. Has she taken a polygraph?

GRACE: Good question. To you, Melinda Barros, you`re Brent`s mother. Linda in Mississippi wants to know --

MELINDA BARROS, MOM OF MAN SUSPECTED OF KIDNAPPING TOT: Be more than willing to take a polygraph.

Have you taken a poly?

BARROS: No, I haven`t.

GRACE: OK --

BARROS: And I`m more than willing to.

GRACE: Miss Barros, what do you know about Brent`s new wife, Roxanne? Where are her relatives? And are your relatives in another state?

BARROS: I have a sister in Iowa and I have a sister in Minnesota. That`s all the family I have.

GRACE: What about Roxanne?

BARROS: Her relatives, Roxanne`s mom is here in Arizona as far as I know. I don`t have contact with her at all.

GRACE: Does your son use a cell phone or does his wife, Roxanne?

BARROS: He used to have a cell phone, but he has not had the money to have one. And Roxanne --

GRACE: Well, you know, he quit his job, so --

BARROS: Yes. He couldn`t afford it when he was working.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: What about her? Does she have a cell phone?

BARROS: She did have at one point and she no longer has one.

GRACE: I also know, to you, Athena Manuma, you`re Ava`s mom, that he has been known to check his e-mail at libraries on occasion. Do you know friends or relatives that he may be in touch with via e-mail?

MANUMA: I -- no, not really. I don`t know really anybody. I would think --

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: OK, Athena, it`s my -- it`s my understanding that you have taken out TROs against him. Restraining orders. You stated that you`re actually afraid of him. Why?

MANUMA: Our relationship was really rocky, and it was very short, but it was very rocky, and, you know, we didn`t end on a very good note and that`s, I mean, the fear is his anger. His anger is pretty, pretty intense. He never got extremely physical with me, but his words were very --

GRACE: You stated his anger was raging. When we were together, he would monitor my phone calls. His anger was one of the huge reasons you were so afraid of him. That when you broke up, he -- something -- he threw something in your face? What happened? I don`t quite understand why you took out so many TROs against him.

MANUMA: No, actually the last thing for the thing -- he threw a piece of - - he threw a schedule in my face basically and that was during -- after Ava was born. That was last year I think, or, I`m sorry, no, in 2010.

GRACE: To Dr. Patricia Saunders -- go ahead and make your point, please, Athena.

MANUMA: I was just going to say, you know, his anger, his words and his demeanor is very frightful.

GRACE: Out to Dr. Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist.

Dr. Saunders, it seems to me that all the warning signs are here. The police are telling us pointblank the child is in extreme danger. Weigh in.

PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, the danger signs are this guy`s flight, his avoidance from CPS investigation. The fact that he packs up -- we don`t know whether he was fired or whether he quit. He may have having a meltdown. Another sign is that the rage at his wife -- ex-wife may be transferred to the baby. And most alarming of all, even if grandma says that they have proof there was no abuse, severe diaper rash is a clear and present sign of neglect. God knows what else he can to do to this baby.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. John Manuelian, L.A., Lorna Owens, Miami.

John Manuelian, other than kidnapping, what charges will he be facing?

JOHN MANUELIAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Aside from kidnapping and child abduction he may be child endangerment charges depending on the nature of the injuries. It may be some sort of battery charge, it could be a felony or misdemeanor depending on the extent of the injuries to the child.

GRACE: Lorna Owens, defense attorney, Miami, weigh in.

LORNA OWENS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Basically that`s a sum total of what might happen. Kidnapping, some child endangerment. I don`t know about battery. We hear that he`s a loving father, so I don`t know. But definitely kidnapping, child endangerment.

GRACE: So bottom line, Manuelian, the defense says I was angry about my visitation schedule?

MANUELIAN: Look, he could be sending a message to his wife that he`s fed up with his wife and he`s just trying to upset her. Remember, Roxanne is with Brent right now. Why would Roxanne agree to be an accomplice to kidnapping? There may be more to the story than it seems. So at this point in time it could be that he`s upset at his relationship and sending a message to his wife and he`s not actually harming his child.

GRACE: Everyone, as we go to break, the family album back with your photos. Here are South African friends, the Graham family. Chris, Nicole, 5-year-old Bailey watch the show all the time from Singapore. Little Bailey loves little animals, drawing, swimming and Scooby Doo.

Send your family photos straight to iReport Family Album at hln.comTV.com/Nancygrace. Click on "Nancy`s Family Album."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN ABRAMS, ABC NEWS: Technically if someone kicks someone else, that is the crime of harassment in the state of New York.

GRACE: If I had my child in my arms and someone tried to take the child away from me, fur would fly.

ABRAMS: This is going to be resolved at some point based on various eyewitness accounts, based on the videotape, et cetera. But I am surprised that --

GRACE: Of course it`s going to be resolved. But --

ABRAMS: Right.

GRACE: It`s a Kennedy. It`s going to go away mysteriously.

ABRAMS: Nancy, I was expecting you to come after me on this. In fact I really was. I don`t think the --

GRACE: This is not about you.

ABRAMS: No, I understand. I don`t think --

GRACE: This is about an infant and his father.

ABRAMS: I understand, Nancy. OK.

GRACE: A Kennedy at that.

ABRAMS: Right. OK.

GRACE: But I think he was totally out of control. You don`t kick a baby nurse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Another Kennedy in trouble with the law, again. This time Douglas Kennedy, age 44, son of RFK, facing charges there in White Plains, Mt. Kisco area, that he attacked two baby nurses. Yanking one by the wrist, kicking the other one in the pelvic area. But in his defense, he claims they were trying to take his newborn baby boy away. The child just 2 days old.

To Matt Zarrell, what happened, Matt?

MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE STAFFER, COVERING STORY: Nancy, Robert Kennedy`s son Douglas Kennedy was trying to take his baby out for fresh air. The baby was just 2 days old. Now the hospital staff including two nurses would not let him leave. Apparently what happened is the nurses need written consent from the doctor to allow the baby to leave. He did not have that. He was apparently escorted by a longtime family friend who`s also a doctor.

But Nancy, the nurses would not let him leave. He tried to use the elevator. He tried to use the stairwell. And it eventually resulted in a physical altercation where he kicked one of the nurses in the pelvis, knocking her to the ground.

GRACE: To Joe Gomez, KTRH, senior investigative reporter.

Joe, what is disturbing about this, number one, if you approach a parent with their newborn child and try to take the child away, you can expect, you can expect a fight. All right? Number one. Number two, however, in his defense, he had an ER doctor from that hospital with him. If you take a look at this video very carefully, you see the doctor trailing along. So also I know that the two baby nurses have already hired personal injury lawyers. That doesn`t look good.

JOE GOMEZ, REPORTER, KTRH RADIO: That`s right, Nancy. This is all coming together very eerily here. The fact that he had a doctor with him and he had a 2-day-old baby in his arms. Nancy, a 2-day-old baby in his arms. As fragile as that little baby was, as he`s trying to rush out the door, the nurse blocks the doorway, of course he`s probably going to fight for in order to protect his dear baby`s life. Now allegedly he wanted to go out and --

GRACE: Wait a minute, wait a minute. Whoa. Whoa. Gomez, Gomez. Who said anything about protecting the baby`s life? Are you -- you`re trying to tell me with a straight face you think the baby`s life was in danger from a threat by a baby nurse?

GOMEZ: If the baby was being shaken, Nancy, and it was cradled in his arms, I mean that little baby`s neck, something could have happened very badly at that kid. Something really bad could have happened, let`s say, if the nurse had pushed him or something.

GRACE: OK. Matt Zarrell, it`s my understanding that it`s the nurses claiming that the baby`s head was shaking and that they were the ones trying to help the baby, not the reverse.

ZARRELL: Nancy, you`re correct. In fact, it`s even police that are backing the nurses up, saying the baby`s head, and I`m reading from the police report, began to move from side to side and in an attempt to stabilize the baby`s head, the nurse reached toward the infant`s head to try and stabilize it. The nurse told cops that she raised both her arms instinctively toward the neck of the baby to steady violent shaking of the baby`s head and neck.

GRACE: To Dr. Bill Lloyd, board certified surgeon and pathologist, I can remember when my twins were newborns. It did seem like their neck -- I was so worried about it because it would go back. It looked like it would just crack. I would constantly be holding the baby under the neck and the head just by instinct. Who`s right here? The nurse or the Kennedy?

DR. BILL LLOYD, BOARD CERTIFIED SURGEON AND PATHOLOGIST: All newborn babies have poor muscle tone, Nancy, so you have to protect the baby. Whenever there`s an admission, you sign the statement saying, I will abide by the policies of this hospital. A total breakdown of communications, compounded by that Kennedy, "I`m above the law" routine.

GRACE: You know what, that`s actually a very good point.

To Dr. Patricia Saunders, it seems to go on and on and on. You`ve got, let me see, the Kennedy cousin, William Skakel, who just went to jail for murdering Martha Moxley in her youth. He`s behind bars. You had the rape claim debacle down in Florida with William Kennedy Smith. Then you had, of course, you know, Jo Kopechne, that`s going way, way back, the death of a young girl.

It does seem that they appear to be above the law. On the other hand, though, Dr. Saunders, if you get a jury full of parents and you have a nurse trying to take the baby away, I could see the bad reaction. But to kick a baby nurse in the pelvic? Isn`t that a little over the top, Patricia?

SAUNDERS: Yes. It`s way over the top. The Kennedys do have some sense of entitlement. Whether they`re trained that way or the public has helped make them that way is moot. But he -- his actions actually put his own baby at risk. Paternal instinct or not. And he certainly injured a nurse. So he may have started off being a protective daddy, but something got out of control.

GRACE: You know, to Brent Brown, CEO of Chesley Brown`s Company, former cop. Brent, in this case, if he were not a Kennedy and he kicked one nurse to the floor in the pelvic area and yanked the other nurse by the wrist, would he have been arrested?

BRENT BROWN, FMR. ATLANTA POLICE OFFICER, CEO, CHESLEY BROWN COMPANIES, INC.: I think he would see charges. You might see a little bit of the delay in a sense seeing and looking at the security tapes. But ultimately, yes, I think they would have been charged. This is a situation where they were protecting the baby. The baby was in good hands in hospital. Parental rights or not, he put his own child in harm. He`s wrong.

GRACE: To Dr. Bill Lloyd, surgeon and pathologist. Dr. Lloyd, why would you take a baby outside? It`s two -- it`s 48 hours old, in Mt. Kisco, New York, in January.

LLOYD: It`s a great riddle, Nancy. It would be very chilly out there. The baby should not be exposed to such extreme cold weather. Any mother who brings their newborn babies home during the winter has them bundled up to the max. They bring the vehicle right up to the hospital to protect the baby from the extreme temperatures.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. John Manuelian, Lorna Owens.

OK, Lorna, give me your best defense in a nutshell.

OWENS: Nancy, he should be prosecuted and yes, the nurses can lawyer up. Hospital has policy. I have been a midwife in three different countries. I`ve been a nurse. I`ve never seen a parent take their child outside. This is vintage Kennedy.

GRACE: OK, Manuelian, defense for Kennedy, please?

MANUELIAN: Yes, he`s a dad, this is his son. He saw his son being born, he has an every and absolute right to defend his son. And whether or not he kicks somebody in the pelvis --

GRACE: Defend him from what?

MANUELIAN: -- may not have been intentional, but the act is self-defense of others.

GRACE: Defend him from what, Manuelian? I mean, if I slap you, you can`t shoot me with an oozy. Did he overdo it to the point of breaking the law?

MANUELIAN: As long as he reasonably believed that his child was in danger, then the answer would be no, Nancy.

GRACE: OK. Look, this is what I know. Manuelian, if you or I had kicked the baby nurse in the pelvic area, and knocked her to the ground, we would be in jail tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Douglas Kennedy was visiting his wife in the maternity ward, apparently wanting to take his baby outside for some fresh air.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only aggressors were the nurses. He removed their hand and twisted it off so severely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: A beautiful two-year-old baby girl last seen in a local Starbucks, Phoenix suburbs, vanishes without a trace. Tonight where is baby Ava?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: This is 31-year-old Brent Anderson. Everyone just wants to see Ava back home safely.

MANUMA: I have no idea where she`s at.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Dad was supposed to have her for about five days.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But when it was time to pick her up, Athena knew something wasn`t right.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Brent Anderson who Athena says was supposed to return Ava on Wednesday but he never showed.

BARROS: First of all, Brent his whole life is Ava.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And mom said when she dropped her off at that Starbucks location.

MANUMA: It wasn`t like they were really hastily moving away or anything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very dangerous.

BARROS: That`s all he ever wanted to do was take care of her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The mom has said in his request for the restraining order that he was harassing her.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The house where the toddler should has been partially empty.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Neighbors say they saw Brent packing up and leaving his home the weekend before Ava was supposed to be back with her mom.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And there is no sign of the little girl.

MANUMA: When he didn`t show up, that`s when the alarm bells started going off and that`s when my adrenaline was running.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This guy is part of a sinking ship, he quit his job, I heard that it`s foreclosure on his house.

MANUMA: Ava gave the best hugs, and she had the best smile.

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER, AUTHOR OF "THE PROFILER": A pretty scary situation. We see a lot of emotional problems, I think, on this man`s part.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he really cares about his baby, the question is why in the world would he be hurting her this way and taking this baby away from her mother?

BROWN: This is often the scenario we see when a man loses his job and house going into foreclosure that he kills himself and his child.

BARROS: There is nothing to contact him on. He doesn`t have a phone.

BROWN: So is this child alive or isn`t this child alive?

MANUMA: She gave the best hugs and she had the best smile.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Phoenix police say be on the lookout for a two-door Chevy Silverado truck with Arizona plate 038 KSV.

MANUMA: My adrenaline was running.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The truck could be carrying missing two-year-old Ava Enlow.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Brent Anderson who Athena says was supposed to return Ava but he never showed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Let`s stop and remember Army Sgt. Robert Rapp, 22, Sonora, California, killed in Afghanistan. Bronze Star, Purple Heart, three Army Achievement Medals, Meritorious Service. Loved outdoors, skiing, cross- country running. A ski run, Vietnam vets Chapter and an elementary school annual race back home all named after him. Dreamed of getting married, buying a house down the street from his parents and raising a family. Leaves behind parents Theodore and Jennifer, brother Patrick.

Robert Rapp, American hero.

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

END