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NANCY GRACE

Day-Old Infant Abandoned in Shoebox in Long Island/County to Hold Inquest in Coleman Deaths

Aired June 23, 2009 - 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. A baby in a shoebox, a newborn girl left at 24 hours old, discarded in a Timberland shoebox, the tiny baby dressed in a onesie, umbilical cord still attached, tied with dental floss. Like a high school science project, several tiny holes cut into the top of the box so the baby could breathe. Tonight, the baby girl still in the hospital, hospital nurses giving the child a name since Mommy and Daddy never did. Tonight, as baby Jane Home hangs on to survive, police ask who -- who -- left behind a beautiful baby girl.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was inside this one-piece.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A detective held up the infant`s clothing in hopes of finding the newborn`s mother. The baby was wearing a tiny cap and bundled up in two onesies and a blanket. Police say it was just after 9:00 o`clock when a man discovered the baby girl in the vestibule of his apartment complex.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He noticed a yellow Timberland work boot box on the floor. He heard some noise coming out of it. He looked down, he noticed that there was an infant wrapped in a blanket.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say the baby was no more than 24 hours old, weighing just 5 pounds, 7 ounces. She was rushed to Nassau University Medical Center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She appears to be in good health. She had an umbilical cord still attached.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police officer Tim Jaccard is the president of Children of Hope and has dedicated his life to rescuing newborns, including this one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I fed the baby last night. She`s doing very well. She -- was well cared for. The baby was prepared properly. So in my event here, the mother was really concerned about this child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And breaking news tonight in the case of a beautiful young mother and her two little sons found dead in their white-finished two-story home, strangled each in their own bedroom. In a heart-breaking gesture, 31-year-old Sheri and her two little boys, Garett and Gavin, ages 9 and 11, laid to rest, the three of them side by side. Manner of death, ligature strangulation.

A glove discarded, flung along I-255, minutes from the Coleman home allegedly spattered with red spray paint, a possible direct link to a chilling message scrawled across the walls of the murder scene. Mother of two Sheri Coleman found left naked, face down in her own bed in the home. Airline boarding passes, a Home Depot receipt for red spray paint and latex gloves, also a hand-made noose linked to the family home. We also learn husband-slash-daddy, former Marine and preacher`s son who worked for worldwide televangelist Joyce Meyer Ministries, keeps a secret PO box unknown to wife and family.

Shocking details emerge. Not only were the home`s walls spray painted with ominous messages, the little boy, 9-year-old Gavin`s bed was spray painted with profanity, with the 9-year-old lying there in the bed! Bombshell tonight. The county coroner does a 180, announcing a jury will decide manner and cause of death. And we learn toxicology results will be revealed only under oath on the witness stand. Were murder victims Sheri Coleman and the two little boys drugged beforehand to make it easier to strangle the life out of all three?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris, did you kill your wife? Chris?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris, do you have any comments?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were little Garett and Gavin sedated while Mommy was murdered? The final determination of cause of death is expected to be announced as soon as the toxicology reports come back from the lab. Is the toxicology report the key to finding out how the family was brutally killed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators set to release toxicology results, results that could show evidence of drugs in the victims` bodies and answers soon to be released as an inquest commences.

GRACE: A killer left 31-year-old mother of two Sheri Coleman to be found face down, rigor mortis already setting into her body, naked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Think about this manner of death, ligature strangulation. Who does that? Somebody who wants low noise, low mess, no blood, gunshot residue or anything like that. Imagine how cold and calculated that father would have to be to do that to his kids?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And the search is on for a 2-year-old Indiana toddler girl vanishing without a trace. The baby-sitter heads to a local convenience store, darts inside to buy milk and cigarettes, 9:30 PM. When she gets back to the car, 2-year-old baby Jada gone. The critical first 72 hours are over. The reward is climbing. Tonight, where is 2-year-old baby Jada?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jada Justice has yet to turn up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jada is almost 3. She was last seen with her 18-year-old baby-sitter, who is also her cousin. Angelica Castillo Folbar (ph) told authorities she left little Jada in her unlocked car while she ran into this Gary gas station to buy milk. She says when she returned, Jada was gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It don`t check out. It don`t check out to me. It don`t seem right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Castillo was taken into custody as a person of interest but released. They wanted to charge her with neglect, but the Lake County prosecutor declined the charge. Both family members and police officials remain skeptical about details surrounding Jada`s disappearance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I know is my daughter`s out there and she needs to be brought home. I`m not here to crucify, and you know, blame nobody or nothing like that. I just -- you know, I`m just here to bring Jada home. That`s it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. A baby in a shoebox? A newborn girl left at 24 hours old discarded in a Timberland shoebox. Tonight, as baby Jane Hope hangs on to survive, police ask who -- who -- left behind a beautiful baby girl?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A day-old newborn girl was found alive in a Timberland shoebox in the vestibule of a Hempstead, Long Island apartment building, and tonight, police are asking for help locating the baby`s parents. A hole had been cut in the lid of the box, and the baby`s umbilical cord was tied with dental floss. Police say she`s in stable condition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She appears to be in good health. She had an umbilical cord still attached.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Neighbors were saddened to hear that the baby had been abandoned by its mother. Jenny Bortex (ph) was raised in an orphanage and says now women have so many options.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give it to the police department, the fire department, a hospital or some charity, some church.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Safe haven.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, where somebody who wants a child so bad can have a child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Terry Sheridan with 1010 WINS Newsradio. Welcome, Terry. What happened?

TERRY SHERIDAN, 1010 WINS NEWSRADIO (via telephone): Well, Nancy, Sunday night at about 9:20, a man was walking into a lobby of an apartment building in Hempstead, Long Island, and he heard something, turned around and saw this shoebox, opened it up, saw there was a baby in it. He immediately contacted the building super. They contacted police, and the baby was rushed to Nassau University Medical Center and was treated, thankfully, is in very good shape.

GRACE: A baby in a shoebox. And it`s my understanding, Terry Sheridan, that it was almost like a science project, like an elementary school child or a mid-school, middle school child would have, where you catch a bug or a tiny animal and you put it in a jar and puncture holes in the top so it can breathe. I understand the -- the little shoebox had holes punctured in the top.

SHERIDAN: There was a -- if you want to call it a breathing hole, yes. But it was punched into the top. The baby was clean. The umbilical cord was still attached to baby Hope, but it was tied off with dental floss. Baby was clean. The clothes were clean, even had a wool hat on. So it`s almost as if someone who -- the person -- the mother who left the baby in the vestibule was looking for someone to find it.

GRACE: With me right now, Timothy Jaccard. He`s the president of National Safe Haven Alliance, who actually has held the baby, the baby in a shoebox. Welcome, Timothy. You were there on the scene. What did you observe?

TIMOTHY JACCARD, NATIONAL SAFE HAVEN ALLIANCE: Yes, Nancy. How are you? It`s nice to be on your show again.

GRACE: Thank you.

JACCARD: The baby was in excellent condition, well cared for, the heat so the baby wouldn`t lose any body temperature with the hat on. We believe that the box -- the cover was actually to try to protect the baby when she was carrying it either into the building with the heavy rain that was going on outside. She did, in fact, have -- tied the cord off properly using dental floss. In many of my cases that I`ve been involved in, I`ve had birth mothers use dental floss as a way to tie off the cord prior to cutting the cord to prevent the bleeding.

GRACE: Timothy, you keep saying she, she, she. Why do you say that?

JACCARD: Well, it would be the birth mother would possibly do this. She`s the only closest person. (INAUDIBLE) say the individual. But if the mother is there giving birth, she appears to be the one that would be the most likely to nurture this child and in her circumstances that she was facing.

GRACE: With us right now, Detective Lieutenant Ray Cote with the Nassau County Police Department. Detective, what can you tell me about the clues you found in and around the shoebox? What evidence can you obtain?

DET. LT. RAY COTE, NASSAU COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, certainly, Nancy, the clothing itself is going to be analyzed by our forensic experts to determine whether or not there is anything in there that would lead us to either the parent, the father, the mother, or someone else that may have given the clothes to this young woman who gave birth to this baby child.

GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. We are taking your calls live. Jack Ford, former prosecutor, is joining us. He`s an anchor with In Session, author of "The Osiris Alliance." Raymond Giudice, defense attorney out of Atlanta, Joe Lawless, defense attorney, author of "Prosecutorial Misconduct."

Ray Giudice, whoever left this baby could have left it at a safe haven. Instead, the child could have died there in a shoebox, Ray Giudice!

RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, Nancy, even as a defense lawyer, you wonder how many times we`re going to cover these stories on this show where people don`t know about the safe haven law. That being said, as Timothy just said, there`s plenty of indications that this lady was trying to save the child and get it to a healthy spot.

GRACE: Look, Giudice, you`re certainly using "lady" in a loose sense. What about it, Jack Ford?

JACK FORD, IN SESSION ANCHOR: You know, as we said, Nancy, you just wish people knew what the law was out there. They`ve got five days to deliver a child, no questions asked, to a hospital, police department, a firehouse. And now what these people did, even though they tried to protect her, it is still against the law. They`re looking at some problems.

GRACE: And Joe Lawless, let me hear your story.

JOE LAWLESS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: We don`t know anything about the mother yet, Nancy. She could be needing treatment herself. We just don`t know her state just yet.

GRACE: Right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A detective held up the infant`s clothing in hopes of finding the newborn`s mother. The baby was wearing a tiny cap and bundled up in two onesies and a blanket. Police say it was just after 9:00 o`clock when a man discovered the baby girl in the vestibule of his apartment complex.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He noticed a yellow Timberland work boot box on the floor. He heard some noise coming out of it. He looked down, he noticed that there was an infant wrapped in a blanket.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say the baby was no more than 24 hours old. Weighing just 5 pounds, 7 ounces, she was rushed to Nassau University Medical Center.

GRACE: That`s right, there at ritzy Long Island, home to the Hamptons, the vacation getaway to celebrities and superstars all over the world, someone discards, abandons, a 24-hour-old baby girl, treating her as if she`s part of a science project in high school, leaving her in a shoebox with holes punched in the top. Thanks, Mom!

We`re taking your calls live. Brooke in New York. Hi, Brooke.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy.

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want to say thank you for everything you do. You are just such a blessing to everyone. We`re here in central New York and we just really appreciate everything that you do for the victim.

GRACE: Well, Brooke, thank you. And I certainly do not deserve that praise, but I`m very grateful for it. What`s your question, dear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is -- two, really. One, could they check for fingerprints on the box and things like that? And today, with today`s technology, since the umbilical cord is still attached, I mean, there`s DNA of the mother, and also, you know, the father and of the baby, and just, you know, get those tests going right away to try to see if there`s any matches, or any hairs or anything in the box. I`m sure the police are checking that, but just to get this baby, you know, to safety and things like that.

GRACE: What about it, Ron Shindel, former NYPD deputy inspector? Of course, you`ve got to be able to have someone to match the DNA to. Yes, they can extract DNA. But you know, you`re stabbing in the dark because you`ve got to have somebody to match it to.

RON SHINDEL, FORMER NYPD DEPUTY INSPECTOR: Well, Nancy, first they`re going to gather all the forensic evidence they possibly can. If they then take all that forensic evidence and start as a foundation, now they`re going to go out, they`re going to conduct interviews, they`re going to ask questions, they`re going to look at hospital records to see if any woman recently has gone to the hospital, where she might be post-birth, have some post-birth complications or anything...

GRACE: Well, I guarantee you this...

SHINDEL: ... and they`re going to put it together.

GRACE: ... Shindel, this baby was not born in a hospital. They don`t tie umbilical cords with dental floss. But I understand you`re saying, Has a woman been to the hospital that was about to give birth? You`re absolutely correct.

SHINDEL: Or post-birth complications. This would be the biggest lead they could go for out there.

GRACE: Yes. To Maya in Illinois. Hi, Maya.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Thanks for taking my call.

GRACE: Thank you for calling in, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you just said part of it. I have a comment. I thought somebody might have been bleeding or had some post- birthing problems. Also, Nancy, the clothing looks as if it was from a -- used clothing and very nice clothing, but for a baby boy.

GRACE: Interesting. You`re right. You`re right. It does look like it`s from a baby boy. Now, what does that suggest to you, Marc Klaas, that it does look like a traditional baby boy`s onesie?

MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: Well, it might suggest that there was a baby boy in the household where this mother lived or that she somehow otherwise had access to clothing from a baby boy.

I think it`s instructive, though, Nancy, to inform your audience and to let everybody know that there are safe haven laws in every one of the 50 states, and they`ve all been enacted in the last 10 years. And they have been enacted so that people that have these desperate situations have a safe place to take their little children within one to five days, either a police department, an emergency room or a fire department, so that these children do have opportunities to have good lives and so that they don`t end up like so many of the kids that we`ve talked about on this show who are either erased or eliminated and then the crime is covered up.

GRACE: Well put. To Dr. Joshua Perper, chief medical examiner, Broward County, author of "When to Call the Doctor." Dr. Perper, welcome. What potential health damage may have already been done to the child?

DR. JOSHUA PERPER, CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, BROWARD COUNTY: Well, obviously, the child was exposed to the elements, but we know that he (SIC) was examined and he was OK. Somebody could have stepped on the child. People don`t always look where they are walking. An animal or a dog could have attacked the child. The child could have been exposed to the rain or to the elements or to hot temperature, so...

GRACE: What about if a child doesn`t get proper nourishment when it is first born?

PERPER: Well, the first day, they usually don`t eat anyway, or they eat very little. There`s really no food given to them. So of course, this child was just 24 hours old. I don`t think that this made any impact on his health. And as we are told, the child is healthy, thank God.

GRACE: Everyone, tip line, 800-244-TIPS, 244-8477.

Very quickly, to tonight`s "Case Alert." A 5-year-old cancer patient gets a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disney World from Make-a-Wish Foundation. She comes home to a home burglarized, ransacked, the TV, electronics, gone, the burglars even stealing money from little Mena`s school backpack. To top it all off, the family van used to take Mena to Children`s Hospital for treatment damaged. Please help. Donations go to the trust for Mena Small, care of Dollar Bank, PO 765, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. If you have info on the burglary, 412-798-2035.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The most important thing in your life is your family. And if you`re in security and you`re being threatened, you take care of your family first. I don`t know where he was on that morning and I don`t know why he wasn`t there. But you know, we`ve gone over this a million times in our collective minds here about what happened and how it happened. We`ll be patient because patience is something we need to be. But we`re looking forward to a resolution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to our chief editorial producer, Ellie Jostad. Ellie, is it true that there`s a possibility that all of the victims were drugged before they were strangled?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, the coroner in the county has decided that they are going to hold an official inquest into their deaths. And at that inquest, we will get those toxicology reports which have not yet been revealed. Apparently, those results are in. And at that inquest, we will find out if there were any drugs in the systems of the victims.

GRACE: All three of them found dead in their own beds. And now the specter that the killer may have drugged them beforehand to make it`s easier to strangle the life from all three of them as they lay sleeping. To Ellie Jostad. Is it unusual to have a coroner`s inquest?

JOSTAD: Well, actually, in the state of Illinois, any death that was ruled suspicious or out of the ordinary in any way, they were required by law to have an inquest. However, that`s recently been changed. Now it is up to the coroner to decide if they want to hold one of these official inquests with jurors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She had never complained about infidelity. She had not complained about any verbal or physical abuse to any of the family members. Surprise is one emotion. Betrayal is another emotion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Breaking news in the case of Chris Coleman, accused of murdering his wife and two children, 11-year-old Garrett and 9- year-old Gavin. Will the toxicology report be the break in the case?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The police revealed what they found when they got there at the crime scene.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: The mom, left to be found naked faced down in her own bed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The final cause of death is expected to be announced once the toxicology reports are back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police who said Sheri, Gavin and Garrett Coleman were strangled with an object. Not with someone`s hands. Discovered a piece of twined fashioned into a noose during a search of Interstate 255 near the JD Bridge. The twine was orange.

Behind the Coleman home they found four bales of straw wrapped in orange twine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had planned this quite a bit. He prepared for it. He had evidence in place to make it look like a stranger was going to do it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If this evidence proves true, this was a remarkably cold, remarkably calculated killing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the time of Mr. Coleman`s arrest, Sheri Coleman`s family had a message for him. It was simple. Let justice be done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris Coleman said that he went to the gym at 5:30 a.m. to work out. He became nervous around 7:00 when he couldn`t reach his 31-year-old wife, Sheri, and two sons, Garrett, 11, and Gavin, 9.

Coleman called police for a welfare check but found the family dead in their own house. All the victims of strangulation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our investigation to me reveals who`s responsible for these deaths.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police zone in on him from the beginning with his alibi going to the gym. If you look at the timeline here, he`s calling back to the house, not even an hour later and then he`s calling the cops within the hour to check on the family?

MIKE BROOKS, FMR. DC POLICE DETECTIVE SERVED ON FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: He`s saying that he called back to make sure the kids were getting up and getting ready for school. Had he done this before? Had he ever called back to check on his family when they didn`t answer the phone?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A forensic pathologist has put the time of death for the family between 11:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. way before Chris Coleman ever left for the gym.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Back to Ellie Jostad on the story. Ellie, it`s my understanding that the coroner`s inquest is going to include for the first time the revelation about what is in the toxicology report.

Now, typically autopsy reports are public documents. Why are we only going to hear this under oath on the witness stand?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Well, that`s not clear, Nancy. But we do know that originally the coroner said there would not be an inquest because Dr. Michael Baden had done an independent autopsy on the bodies. However, they had a discussion with the state`s attorneys, the police agencies involved, and they changed their minds and decided to have this inquest.

GRACE: And not only that, Ellie, what am I hearing sources saying that money that was to be funneled to a bereavement fund may have now been used for Christopher Coleman`s defense?

JOSTAD: Right. Well, attorneys for Sheri Coleman`s family say that they were tipped off that at the visitation and the funeral held at Christopher Coleman`s father`s church, donations were taken, essentially, for this bereavement fund. Now the attorneys for Sheri`s family say they don`t know where the money went and they want to make sure it`s not going to Chris Coleman.

GRACE: OK. Right when you think things couldn`t be worse, now we find out that money for a bereavement fund may be funneled to Chris Coleman`s defense. The Marine/husband who worked for an evangelical leader around the world, Joyce Meyer Ministry, charged in the three murders.

Out to the lines, Sherry in California. Hi, Sherry.

SHERRY, CALLER FROM CALIFORNIA: Hi. God bless you and the baby.

GRACE: Thank you. Thank you.

SHERRY: Yes, I have five of my own so this is really bothersome. My question is, is that I do watch Joyce Meyer Ministry. And I also know that he was a Marine. There is a psychological testing done. Will those psychological tests that they present through to become a Marine and to work for the ministry -- will those go against him in court given the circumstances of this case?

GRACE: You know, Sherry, that`s excellent question. Let`s unleash the lawyers. Jack Ford, Raymond Giudice, Joe Lawless.

Ray Giudice, I can only imagine prior mental evaluations coming in if an insanity defense is raised.

RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right. Nancy, he would have had a full battery of physical and more importantly psychological studies upon his admittance to the Marines. That will hurt him. Obviously, he was inducted. He was probably very mentally sound. That`s a problem for the defense.

GRACE: Let`s put the lawyers back up. Out to Jack Ford, what about it? What`s the possibility that those psych evaluations when he was in the Marines, also in the military police, Jack Ford -- could they come into evidence?

JACK FORD, FORMER PROSECUTOR, ANCHOR, "IN SESSION`, AUTHOR, "THE OSIRIS ALLIANCE": I dare not, Nancy. If his defense is I didn`t do it, then the state of mind doesn`t become an issue and you don`t get to delve back into all of these assessments that might have been done that can be used to cross-examine somebody if you were claiming some sort of a state of mind defense.

GRACE: Jack.

FORD: So it might be very interesting.

GRACE: Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack.

FORD: Go ahead, Nancy.

GRACE: You know what, Jack? You and I were colleagues for a long time. And now you are saying that -- right now insanity is not the defense, I didn`t do it is the defense? Jack, that can -- that -- change in the turn of a dime.

FORD: Sure. Absolutely. We know that. And all of a sudden.

GRACE: Come on, please.

FORD: All of a sudden the evidence starts to pile up and you get that toxicology and something else.

GRACE: Suddenly? He`s crazy.

FORD: And as you know, very quickly, all of a sudden, instead of saying well, he didn`t do it, you might have an insanity defense. And if you, if you`re then talking about state of mind then all of that is fair game for the experts to take a look at, Nancy. Depends on where they decided to go with this as a defense.

GRACE: What about it, Joe Lawless?

JOE LAWLESS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, AUTHOR OF "PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT": I agree with Jack. It doesn`t become irrelevant unless an insanity defense is presented. And the more I`m hearing about the circumstantial evidence in this case, the more I`m starting to think they might want to start looking at the possibility of insanity defense.

GRACE: Now put Lawless back up for a moment. Joe, you know that very often -- typically autopsy reports are public.

LAWLESS: Right.

GRACE: We`ve just have gone through this in the tot mom case. Now -- but now we`re not going to learn the toxicology reports until this case goes to coroner`s inquest. They`ve done a 180. They`re now demanding an inquest. They`re having an inquest.

We`re not going to learn whether these people were sedated, a mother and her two little boys, sedated before they were ligature strangled in their own bed. Now, for somebody to have that much a forethought, that much premeditation, where could you possibly find insanity defense in that?

LAWLESS: Don`t know. I`ll be perfectly honest with you. I don`t even know why they are having the hearing unless they are trying to create a little bit of publicity for the release of information under circumstances where they don`t really need the hearing.

It`s not relevant to the prosecution. But anyone who would ligature strangle their wife and their two sons clearly isn`t playing with a full deck. Whether or not they meet the legal test of insanity that`s another issue.

But I think there`s the possibility that it`s going to be out there somewhere in the future. There just is an awful lot of circumstantial evidence pointing to this defendant.

GRACE: Joe Lawless, I think you`re right. I think the three of you are right that the insanity defense is a distinct possibility.

Out to Dr. Lillian Glass, psychologist and author of "I Know What You`re Thinking." Dr. Glass, this suggestion that the three may have been sedated beforehand, to make the killer`s work that much easier, what does it mean to you in a psychological profile?

LILLIAN GLASS, PSYCHOLOGIST, AUTHOR OF "I KNOW WHAT YOU`RE THINKING": Well, it means a lot. It means that he wanted them to be quiet, so it would be easy for them. Kind of no fuss, no must, so to speak.

When you look at the photographs of these children, they are so dynamic, they seem to pop out of the photograph. They seem so lively. And so that may have been a handful for him. So he may have possibly sedated them to keep them quiet, to keep them in a swaying where it would be easy to kill them.

GRACE: To Nicole Partin, investigative reporter, also on the story. Nicole, what can you tell me about the possibility that the donations of good people all across the country to a bereavement fund may have now been funneled to the defense?

NICOLE PARTIN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (via phone): Good evening, Nancy. We are being questioned and we`re learning so much about this. According to the reports that we`ve been given, at the funeral, and at the memorial service, which were held at Reverend Ronald Coleman`s church, Grace Church, there was an offering taken or donation taken and so the family of Sheri is saying where did this money go?

By all means did this go to Chris? Did this go to fund his defense? Where is the money going?

Nancy, I have been raised and I live in a home where my parents are pastors. I have been to hundreds of funerals. Never have I seen an offering taken or donations taken at a funeral.

GRACE: Very quickly. Back to you, Ellie Jostad. Ellie, what can you tell me about where is all the money? Was Chris Coleman using every last penny to whine and dine his girlfriend in Florida?

JOSTAD: Well, a couple of things have come out of that wrongful death lawsuit that`s being pursued by Sheri Coleman`s family. They say that during this whole attempt to keep Chris Coleman from hiding or selling or getting rid of any assets, they found out that the house was in foreclosure.

Not only that but they found out that a home equity, or I`m sorry, a second mortgage taken, bringing up $30,000 in home equity. They don`t know where that money went either.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ENRICO J. MIRABELLI, COUSIN OF MURDER VICTIM SHERI COLEMAN, FAMILY SPOKESPERSON: I know my cousin, the minute we found out about the murders, he called for two straight days to get a response from Chris and he spent two days to get a call back.

We felt very disrespected and the whole episode of having to hire lawyers including myself to go down to St. Louis and bring the bodies back to Chicago. Shouldn`t have to be like that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jada was last believed to be seen at this gas station with her 18-year-old babysitter and cousin said she left her in the car while went in to buy a gallon of milk. Police and FBI had canvassed the woods near the babysitter`s Hobart home. Search dogs didn`t pick up the child`s scent here. And extensive search of nearby woods came up empty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not going to stop until my daughter is, you know, I get closure or I find out where she is at, you know, whatever the case may be.

MELISSA SWIONTEK, MOTHER OF MISSING 2-YR. OLD TOT, JADA JUSTICE: We are waiting for anybody with any information to bring her home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jada Justice will be 3 in August. She is described as 2`3" tall, 35 pounds, with dark hair, brown eyes. Last seen wearing an orange skirt and white, orange and green tank top.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This investigation authorities say continues around the clock.

SWIONTEK: I want to know everything they know. Of course, they can`t tell me everything they know. I just -- I just want somebody to know -- I want to know where my daughter is. I want my baby home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Christine Kraly, with "The Times of Northwest Indiana." Welcome, Christine. What happened?

CHRISTINE KRALY, REPORTER, THE TIMES OF NORTHWEST INDIANA, COVERING STORY: The latest we`re hearing is the search continued today. Just like you had said a week ago today Jada Justice went missing. Her cousin and babysitter Angelica Castillo was with her.

Police and some family members are questioning her story. They are not quite sure if that adds up. Again, they say that they have doubts whether she was there. There was no scent picked up but police today are still searching. Family members were out there again today.

The area is very wooded around the house where Angelica lives, where Castillo lives. And the police have been searching around there and the gas station in Gary and it continues today.

GRACE: To Clark Goldband, our producer on the story. Clark, take me back. What happened to start with?

CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: OK, Nancy. Well, it was about this same time one week ago, 9:30 p.m. when Angelica Castillo who was the child stops for some milk and cigarettes at a convenience store.

Apparently she was in there for just a few minutes when she came back out, the child who was in the back of the car in a car seat, was gone. Now investigators say they have some problems with that story. They held her.

GRACE: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Says who? Who says the child was in the back of the car in a car seat when the babysitter goes in? And what time of the night was this, 9:30 p.m.?

GOLDBAND: Yes.

GRACE: Why was the child out at nearly 10:00 at night so the babysitter could go get cigarettes? And who besides the babysitter saw the baby back there?

GOLDBAND: Well, as far as we know, only the sitter saw the child back there. In fact, it`s our understanding law enforcement questioned people around that time at the convenience store and they said they saw no one around her `91 Cadillac.

GRACE: When you say nobody is standing around, did anybody go look in the windows? Did they not see the child in the car or did they not see anyone around the car?

GOLDBAND: As far as we know no one saw anyone standing around the vehicle. Also, the dad has told us he doesn`t think Jada could have opened the doors.

GRACE: With me right now in a prime time exclusive interview, Melissa Swiontek, this is the mother of little Jada.

Miss Swiontek, thank you for being with us.

SWIONTEK: Thank you.

GRACE: Miss Swiontek, what are police telling you tonight?

SWIONTEK: They are not telling me a lot. They are telling me, you know, they are working around the clock. You know, they are following up on every lead they have. Every call. And just -- they are looking until my baby is found.

GRACE: Miss Swiontek, tell me what did the babysitter told you about when day Jada went missing?

SWIONTEK: She told me she went to the gas station to go and get milk so she`d have milk for the morning. That she had just finished up the milk, they had chocolate milk with their dinner. She had wanted to have milk for the morning. Her and Jada went to the gas station. She parked there, went in, and when she came out my daughter was gone.

GRACE: Miss Swiontek, has the gas station confirmed that she actually went there that evening and at 9:30 p.m.?

SWIONTEK: Yes.

GRACE: And you said it was for milk. I understood it was for milk and cigarettes.

SWIONTEK: Milk.

GRACE: For the babysitter.

SWIONTEK: It was actually milk and cigarettes and she was actually trying to get water as well. A case of water. She says. They didn`t have them so she just got the milk and the cigarettes and went back out to the car and my daughter was gone.

GRACE: And that has been confirmed that she was there?

SWIONTEK: Yes.

GRACE: Now.

SWIONTEK: As far as -- I mean, yes, I mean I talked to the attendant myself. And this is what he told me. And the police as well have said that that`s what they told him as well.

GRACE: Miss Swiontek, did the attendant who waited on the babysitter describe her demeanor? How did she act when she came in?

SWIONTEK: He told me her demeanor was, you know, she came in and, you know, she appeared normal and, you know, everything was fine. And when she came back, and then -- she was -- she was hysterical. So -- I mean, as far as I know, what he says, she said -- you know, she came in fine.

GRACE: Had she explained to you why she left the baby in the car while she went in the store?

SWIONTEK: No. No.

GRACE: Have you asked her?

SWIONTEK: I`ve asked her. And she just keeps telling me, I don`t know, I don`t know. I was just running in real quick. I don`t know. She don`t know. I don`t know. I wish -- I wish she would have never. She hasn`t said, you know, she don`t have any answer for that.

GRACE: OK. Out to Kathy Chaney with the "Chicago Defender." Cathy, what more can you tell me?

KATHY CHANEY, REPORTER, CHICAGO DEFENDER: Pretty much I talked to the father earlier. And he said that they are going back out searching and they`re going to keep going every day. They`re going to tie red ribbons around the tree to make sure that they don`t go back to some of these places. When they put a flier in someone`s hands they`re going to, you know, question them, have you seen my daughter? Do you remember anything?

They just want the baby home. And so my understanding Angelica parked on the side of the gas station where it was kind of dark. So the likelihood of someone seeing the car, anyone around the car, is kind of slim. That`s what my sources are telling me.

GRACE: And back to Miss Swiontek, is that true? Did she park on the side of the gas station?

SWIONTEK: She did park on the side of the gas station. She parked on the side.

GRACE: You know, that doesn`t make sense to me, Miss Swiontek. If you`re leaving a baby in the car which in itself is insanity, if you had to leave the baby in the car, wouldn`t come up to the front, even park in the fire lane so you can keep your eye on that car when you go in?

SWIONTEK: Absolutely. That is what would make sense. She tells me there was a car parked there already so she just parked where she pulled in which happens to be on the side.

GRACE: Yes, I know. Have you taken a polygraph?

SWIONTEK: Yes.

GRACE: And the father has taken a polygraph?

SWIONTEK: Yes.

GRACE: And the two of you get along fine. He has regular visitations with Jada. No problems with custody, correct?

SWIONTEK: Correct.

GRACE: Has the babysitter taken a polygraph?

SWIONTEK: No, not as far as yesterday. No.

GRACE: Has she been asked to?

SWIONTEK: They couldn`t tell me for sure. They asked but I`m assuming if they asked me and him, they`ve asked her. But she has not, as far as I know.

GRACE: Everyone, we are taking your calls. Tracy in Pennsylvania, I`ll be right back with you. Tipline 800-CALL-FBI.

As we go to break, happy 25th birthday to New York friend of the show, Kristy. She never misses a show.

Happy birthday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Straight out to the lines. Tracy, Pennsylvania, hi, dear.

TRACY, CALLER FROM PENNSYLVANIA: Hi. How are you? I love your show.

GRACE: Thank you for calling in. What`s your question?

TRACY: Yes, I have a quick comment and a quick question. Why anyone would leave a child asleep in a car at 10:00 at night and go in and get cigarettes is beyond me. But if they find the child, can the babysitter be charged with child neglect?

GRACE: Well, I guess so. Tracy in Pennsylvania, you know, you should be a prosecutor.

Out to the lawyers, Jack Ford, Ray Giudice, Joe Lawless. What about it, Lawless?

LAWLESS: Child neglect, not to mention -- neglect, not to mention criminal stupidity. No question about it.

GRACE: You know if only, if only that were a charge. Giudice?

GIUDICE: Yes, unless that baby was strong enough to swing open the door of a `91 Caddie but I don`t think that`s possible.

GRACE: Hey, hey, Ray. I asked that very question. The child could not open the car door.

GIUDICE: Yes. That`s a heavy car.

GRACE: Melissa Swiontek, yes, no, could the baby open the car door?

SWIONTEK: She`s never opened my car doors.

GRACE: OK. I find that very difficult to believe that a child could open that door.

Jack Ford, possible charges?

FORD: Absolutely, Nancy. And perhaps one of the good messages from a terrible story. Hopefully it doesn`t end up being very tragic is to let other people know you just can`t leave children in cars while you wander in to do anything.

GRACE: You know, Jack, I appreciate the lecture, but I`m not to the point where I`m ready to dispense wisdom out of this.

I want to find baby Jada. Look at her. The babysitter says she left her in the parking lot. Dashes in for milk and cigarettes, 9:30 at night. No more baby. Tip line, 800-CALL-FBI.

I want to especially thank Melissa Swiontek and Marc Klaas for joining us tonight.

Let`s stop and remember Army Private First Class Aaron Gautier, just 19, Hampton, Virginia, killed Iraq. He never met a stranger. Appreciated small things in life. Loved time with his little sisters, dreamed of continuing his education, starting a family with his new wife. He leaves behind parents Tina and Daniel, sisters Trisha and Alexis, widow Lindsey.

Aaron Gautier, American hero.

Thank you to our guests, but especially to you for being with us. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.

END