Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Children tortured & killed after COVID

Episode Date: May 27, 2020

Reported cases of child abuse have spiked during the COVID-19 lockdown. Some doctors believe the stresses from the pandemic are linked to the jump. But what can be done?Joining Nancy Grace today: Ashley Willcott - Judge and trial attorney, Anchor on Court TV  Dr. Angela Arnold - Psychiatrist, Atlanta Ga Cloyd Steiger - 36 years with Seattle Police Department, 22-year Homicide detective, & Author of "Seattle's Forgotten Serial Killer: Gary Gene Grant"   Joseph Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, & Author of "Blood Beneath My Feet" Nicole Partin - CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter TIP LINE: National Child Abuse Hotline [phone] Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Hi guys, Nancy Grace here. At a time when we are all pulling together to fight coronavirus, COVID-19, I have something for you. An all-free e-chapter on coronavirus crimes and how to fight them. Don't be a coronavirus crime victim. From door-to-door sales of fake cures and tests, vaccines. That's not real. To robocalls that are trying to scam you. To fake ads.

To phishing you online. To fake cures that are being sold on the internet and on infomercials right now. You've got to arm yourself against these crimes. Please download our free e-chapter, Coronavirus Crimes, Don't Be a Victim. Go to crimeonline.com. You'll see it there. Hit the link and download it for free. Arm yourself against criminals and scam artists, cons that will not only take advantage of you, but take advantage of you, your parents, your grandparents, and people you love at a time when we are all fighting the virus. I hope you go to CrimeOnline.com and download this. It's been highly researched and presented for you for free.

Goodbye, friend. Keep the faith. We see it every day on the television. We read about it in all the headlines, the numbers of coronavirus victims mounting. But what about the victims that we never hear about? The victims that are dying behind closed doors? The victims that truly cannot be heard, that do not have a voice. I'm talking about child abuse victims during coronavirus lockdown and quarantine.

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. These cases I am bringing to you, I want you to brace yourself, are some of the worst I have heard of at a time so difficult for all of our country, our children are suffering. Take a listen to WCTV CBS 11 News' Erin Jones. Police were called to Lyra's home Sunday night after getting a tip that a child was being kept in the shed behind her house. They say she initially claimed her six-year-old grandson was with his mother, but when police ordered her to open the shed,

they found him inside with his hands tied behind his back. According to our source, the grandmother claimed it was the first time she'd left him in the shed. Her boyfriend said it had been happening for at least two weeks. The boy told investigators he's been made to sleep in the shed for as long as school has been out. A six-year-old boy found locked in a shed with his hands tied behind him and the grandmother's excuse is it's the first time that happened. Other neighbors and witnesses say oh no no no this is not the first time this has happened. Take a listen now to our friends, Andrea, Lucia, WBC, TV, CBS.

Shock, outrage, just some of the community reaction after a six-year-old boy was rescued from a padlocked shed in Dallas over the weekend. Today, we're learning more. Juan Vaquero Sunday night heard the voice of his landlord's six-year-old grandson. THE BOY WAS TAKEN TO THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT. THE BOY WAS TAKEN TO THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT. HE WAS TAKEN TO THE DALLAS SHED OVER THE WEEKEND. TODAY WE'RE LEARNING MORE. SUNDAY NIGHT HEARD THE VOICE OF HIS LANDLORD'S 6-YEAR-

OLD GRANDSON. HE TRACED IT TO THIS SHED BEHIND HIS TRAILER. HE'S THE ONE WHO MADE THE CALL TO CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES. HE COLLECTED EVIDENCE, TOO. .. THIS IS THE this is the conversation he recorded with the boy still locked in the shed. Dallas police soon arrived.

They say they found the boy standing in the pitch dark shed with rats and insects, his hands tied behind his back with shoelaces. They arrested the boy's grandmother, Esmeralda Lira, and her boyfriend, Jose Valderas. Their only explanation, an accusation. The boy stole food. Right there. Right there in a metropolitan area in Texas. Joining me, an all-star panel to break it down and put it back together again. Ashley Wilcott, judge, trial lawyer, Court TV anchor at AshleyWilcott.com, Dr. Angela Arnold, renowned psychiatrist joining us from the Atlanta area, Cloyd Steiger, 36 years Seattle PD, 22 in homicide and author

of Seattle's Forgotten Serial Killer, Gary Jean Grant at CloydSteiger.com, Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University and author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon. But right now to CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter Nicole Parton. Nicole, as a mother of, I think, four, this has got to outrage you to no end. I mean, a little six-year-old child. You know how small and frail a six-year-old child is? Locked in a shed day and night, hands tied behind him for weeks on end. Nicole, what happened?

I do, Nancy, and this really hits home. I have a six-year-old child, and as I was reading over this story, it hit me to the core. Here is this helpless six-year-old little boy found inside this nasty rat-infested shed, piled high with junk from floor to ceiling. Police found him standing in a blue Rubbermaid container, hands tied behind his back with shoelaces, ligature marks on his hands, so scared, so hungry, a plastic bag beside him that he was supposed to use to go to the bathroom in. He had been there for two weeks at least. And then as some sort of defense, they say he tried to steal food. Why does he have to steal food to start with? Why does he believe he, the six-year-old little child, has to steal food? And then the punishment for stealing food

is they lock him with a padlock in a shed with his hands tied behind him, ligature marks on his little hands, his wrists, where he's trying to get free, but he can't. And he's in there with a plastic bag with his hands behind his back to try to TT and poop in a plastic bag with rats, insects in the dark. Joe Scott Morgan, how can I prove this case? Give me everything you would look for in that shed to help me get felony child abuse on not only this grandmother, but her boyfriend, too. It's I tell you what, the evidence is going to begin with this little boy's body. And I hope that the child welfare people have taken really good photographs. This child is going to have multiple injuries that are going to extend back in time. That means that they will be evidence of injuries where they're healing and then you've got new ones. Nicole just mentioned just a second ago that not only were his hands bound behind his back with

shoelaces, but he also had ligature marks on his hands as well. That means that these bindings have been readjusted probably multiple times. Another major thing here is going to be probably malnourishment. This child is supposed to fit within your mama. You know that children are supposed to fit within a certain range at six years of age. my suspicion is he's going to be greatly diminished his body will have begun to literally digest itself all the fat stores and everything else dehydration is going to kick in and then on top of that all the injuries that he may have sustained as a result of being around this vermin you've got rats in there you've got

bugs people don't realize this i've covered uh covered just tons and tons of child abuse cases. Did you know that cockroaches actually bite people? They bite children. This happens repeatedly over and over and again. So he will probably have insect bites all over his body, and these will be in various stages of healing. So this is going to go to time. And as you know, as a prosecutor, time is a big deal because you can show how long this has been going on. You know, Joe Scott Morgan, I'm sure you remember the first time you ever heard of a blowfly. Yes. And what that is is a state, a stage of a maggot, I think. And depending on the stage of development of that insect,

medical examiners, scientists, etymologists, forensic etymologists, yes, there are forensic etymologists, can determine how long a body has been where it is. Agree or disagree, Joe Scott? Yes, I agree. depth with the death of a little girl named Danielle, murdered by her neighbor, Westmoreland. And what you're saying, based on the bites on this child's body, and the healing stage of the bites, can also tell us how long the child had been there. To Dr. Angela Arnold, renowned psychiatrist joining me from the Atlanta jurisdiction, I'm so glad that all of you are here, but I need to shrink right now because how could an adult sit down to dinner while they know a six-year-old child is out in a shed, tied up, unable to eat,

having to urinate and defecate on themselves with roaches and no food and bug bites and rats in the shed. How do you do that? What do you call that? Compartmentalization? Yes. Yes. First of all, to be able to be so mean, you would have to compartmentalize that to some extent, wouldn't you?

Guess that's one way of putting it. And, you know, Nancy, the thing that bothers me about this is that it takes so much to be a parent. It takes so much to be a good parent to children, doesn't it? And we all know that. Those of us that are good parents know that. It takes some smarts, too. And I hate to say this, but oftentimes we're dealing with people who are not very well educated. Oh, no, no, no. La, la, la, la, la, la, la. Okay. I don't believe. I can't believe I'm doing this to Dr. Angela Arnold, who I adore and actually learned something from. But you're going to have to cut her mic right now, Jackie. No. Don't start with me about they may be uneducated.

One, we don't have to have a Ph.D. to know not to lock a six-year-old in a shed and tie them up with ligatures, leave them out there for at least two weeks straight with rats and cockroaches. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, we're talking about a little boy who has been tied up in a shed, starving, defecating, urinating on himself, hands tied behind his back and according to what we are learning the child had been out there ever since school was let out because the coronavirus take a listen to our friends at wctv cbs doug dunbar shock outrage just some of the community reaction after a six year old boy was rescued from a padlocked shed in Dallas over the weekend. Today, we're learning more about the nightmarish conditions. According to court documents, the child was often left tied up with shoelaces and left in that darkened shed with no food, no water. He was given a bag, apparently, to use as a restroom.

The shed is said to also be infested with rats and insects. The boy's grandmother and her boyfriend are now jailed on felony child endangerment charges. Meanwhile, local advocates are urging the community to put their outrage to work. Just keep your eye out. You know, if you're at the grocery store or if you're walking your neighborhood and you see something suspicious or something that makes your gut just not feel well, make a report. Two other children, by the way, were also removed from that home. They have been placed in CPS custody. Yeah, I want to go straight to cut three, WCTV, CBS 11, if you could play that, please.

A man and woman are in jail after a six-year-old boy was found in a shed in Dallas with his hands tied behind his back. Police first spoke with the boy's grandmother at the home on Costin Drive around six-year-old was with his mother, but a man living in the back of the property pointed toward the shed where the boy was found. The grandmother said he was only there that one time as punishment, but her boyfriend said for at least two weeks the boy had been punished by being confined to the shed for stealing food. The six-year-old told officers it all started when he, quote, got out of school for this corona thing. I just let it in my head, imagining the twins out in a shed like that.

Guys, here's another question, one I don't get to you. Ashley Wilcott, judge, trial lawyer, Court TV anchor at AshleyWilcott.com. Ashley, why aren't we stacking them with charges such as lying to police? The grandmother lied to police when they first got there, lying about where he was. And we saw in cult mom Lori Vallow, a charge against her that's worth about 12, 14 months behind bars for lying to police about the whereabouts of her children. Why is this one not charged? And how long can they face?

P.S. it's just a little pit stop on their way to hell. We all know that. But if you could answer that for me, Ashley, why aren't we stacking up charges against these two devils? I've got so much to say on this, Nancy. When I'm on the bench, I see cases like this on a regular basis because I'm in juvenile court. What I also see, in my opinion, is that those who perpetrate these heinous crimes against children are not prosecuted to the full extent. What do I mean by that? They often face charges like child endangerment, but they don't often face all of the other charges that could go with it.

Just like you're saying, interfering with a law enforcement investigation by lying to law enforcement. I don't know the answer to that. What I do know is it's not enough to prosecute for one charge of child endangerment, for instance, because you may face as few as two years two years nancy and then get out on probation that's nothing for this type of climate because especially now with coronavirus i don't know that they would ever do jail time at all for what they did to this child and catch this just to top it all off cl Cloyd Steiger actually is absolutely correct in everything she just said. Catch this, though. The guy, it wasn't the boyfriend, grandma's boyfriend that called police.

It was a neighbor, Juan Vaquero. And now, guess what, Cloyd? You just heard that reporter saying, if you see something, say something. Yeah, right. People are now struggling to stay 10 feet apart. They're covered in face masks. Nobody's going to say anything. We already know that.

But this neighborhood, this neighbor, Juan Vaccaro, calls police. And now he's going to have to move out. He's getting kicked out of his apartment because these people were his landlords. How's that for justice, Cloyd Steiger? Yeah, it's pretty outrageous. And, you know, one of the things that Ashley Wilcox said about the charges, I mean, you could charge a kidnap in this, because he was restrained in that shed for a long period of time,

maybe torture charges of some sort of serious assault. But this is an outrageous thing that unfortunately happens way too often. This one you heard about because they got caught, but it happens way too often. Because they got caught. And now with people hiding out from coronavirus, who's going to raise the alarm when people say, if you see something, say something.

Yeah, that's true, but nobody's doing it, much less now. And this guy, the carer that does speak out, is now kicked out of his apartment. Guys, I want to switch gears to a Florida case. Take a listen to our friend at Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office, Bob Johnson. She kept them at home. She cut them on the arms, the head, made them sleep on a concrete floor, a dirty floor. And when she bathed them, she would make them get naked, get out in the front yard, and she'd spray them off with a hose. She did everything to include punching him, beating him with a dog chain, and going as far as chipping his teeth with pliers.

Which, you know, I'm not making this up. I mean, it's just, it's incredible what people can do to other people. It really is. It's so disturbing. So, Detective Denny with major crimes got it, hit the ground running. Two days later, put her in jail on one charge of aggravated child abuse, which is a first-degree felony, but more are coming. He has gone so far as to interview other kids she adopted that grew up and left the home. And they are talking about similar abuse. So this is not just one case. This is several kids. And of course, DCF has custody of all four kids now. And hopefully, you know, I don't even know what to say. I don't know how you fix something like that with a child

after you do something so horrendous to them. Okay, Dr. Angela Arnold, renowned psychiatrist, joining me out of Atlanta. I'd like to kiss and make up, but you're here by satellite, so I can't quite reach you. But I'd like you to jump in on this, because guess what, Dr. Angela? This woman, Patricia Heiler,

arrested for beating her adopted son and i'm sure others chipping his teeth i hope you're if you're not sitting down you may want to lay down dr angela because she worked at a church daycare center as a teacher talk about dr jekyll and mr hyde weigh in dr angela help me out well it's she was hiding behind she was hiding behind that wasn't she how do these people get to adopt children i don't understand it i thought it was hard to adopt children so she's hiding behind us and in the meantime she's working as a daycare worker but she could be doing that because she actually hates children. Oh,

that's not a good thought. Can you even imagine Ashley Wilcott, how I would freak out as would you, if you find out your child's been at the church daycare, which mine went to Jackie Howard for years at our, our Methodist church, we go to long story short, you find out that she's a child abuser and of this magnitude.

Ashley. Listen, it happens, Nancy. This is not the only case of this. I know. And here's the point. Is that supposed to make me feel better, Ashley Wilcott? No, no, but you do what every parent should do. I know, but you do what every parent should do, Nancy. You research, you visit, you drop by, you do surprise visits, wherever your children are, to make certain that they're not with an abuser. Washing him in the front yard with a hose as he stood naked? It just, ugh! Nicole Parton, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter.

What happened? Nancy, another horrific, I mean, the details of this just blow me away. And as an adoptive mom who fought like H-E-double-L to adopt, I can't imagine a mother doing this to a child. 14 years old. She had pulled him out of school because she knew she was going to get caught. Cutting him with a kitchen knife on the upper arms, on his legs, on his torso. Cutting them on the back of the head.

Jabbing a kitchen knife into his head to the point that it stuck in his skull and she pulled it out. Whipping him with a metal dog chain. And as we heard, taking pliers and chipping his teeth. Telling him that he wasn't loved by his birth mom, telling him that she didn't love him either, all while she was abusing him, and telling the siblings in the house, I treat him this way because I don't like redheads, and he's redheaded. Hi guys, Nancy Grace here. At Crime Stories, we work so hard every day to stay in touch with you and broadcast our program with the very latest crime and justice news, Crime Stories.

Our friends at SiriusXM now making it even easier to get Crime Stories while so many of us are doing our part to stay home and stay safe. If you don't have a subscription to Sirius XM, here's your chance to listen for free. That's right, free. Just go to SiriusXM.com slash stream free. SiriusXM.com slash stream free. Go now. You can listen through your phone, your computer, your laptop, or any of your connected devices. Don't miss Crime Stories every weekday at high noon Eastern. It's on SiriusXM channel 111, the Triumph channel. Free listening runs till May. SiriusXM. Thank you for being our partner. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Guys, I know this is difficult to hear. But this is happening now. right under our noses. This devil, I don't know, I guess she's Beelzebub. She is a devil's henchperson, beating an adopted child, going through all the effort to get the child, in treating in this way, I just can't say rot in hell enough for this woman. It's making me physically sick to my stomach. And you know the one thing I hate the most, Jackie, not the most, but it's right up there, is the dentist. No offense. Turns out my dentist was on one of my juries once. I think it was bank robbery. Anyway, this child had his teeth chipped off with pliers.

I want you to take a listen to our friends at Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office. Listen. I'm in year 38 of law enforcement, and I've seen a lot of bad things, but this is pretty bad. It's a child abuse case, and we received it back on the 22nd of April. It was given to major crimes on May the 6th, and they made an arrest May the 8th. The individual in question, you're going to see her picture up here, Patricia Diane Heiler, 47 years old, lived in Chalet Circle, Pace. She adopted four children, and all four were abused but there was one that interesting and she abused this child um pretty severely and then took him

out of school homeschooled him for two years because she knew if she sent him to school obviously somebody reported man how evil so let me ask you this. In your opinion to you, Ashley Wolcott, how is coronavirus, the pandemic, affecting child abuse? Oh, gosh, it is a horrible, horrible indicator of, I don't know, that's not the right word, Nancy. It's escalating. Absolutely. Escalating. Yeah. Through the roof.

Because the stresses are higher and people have children home all day instead of sending them to school. And so those who are likely to abuse are doing it even more. Or those who may not think that they're going to abuse their child are ending up abusing their child. There are fewer reports because of the schools not being in session, because teachers aren't laying eyes on children, because children aren't out and about. They're in their house. And so now a neighbor may not think anything of the fact they never see a child in the neighborhood

because all the children are supposed to be inside. And so they're inside being abused and nobody can report it. So it is a very, very scary time for children. You know, to Dr. Angela Arnold, psychiatrist joining us, Dr. Angela, I see three things. I'm certainly not an MD like you. I'm just a JD. But looking at it as a lawyer, if I were to try to prove the nexus between coronavirus lockdown and escalating, skyrocketing child abuse stats, a friend of mine at the Battery Women's Hotline, where I used to work, says they can't take, physically take, all the calls that are coming in right now. That's how bad it is. And Nifty, those are the people that have access to a phone. And that will call. What about people that don't have

access to a phone? But as it relates to children, Ashley pointed out one prong, the schools are closed. I can't tell you how many teachers and school workers have alerted me to child abuse. So that layer of

protection is gone. Number two, there's more time for the abuser to be with the target, the victim, the child, because there's eight, 10 hours, they're home now that they weren't home before. And three, escalating tension. I'm out of work. I don't have money coming in. I can't pay the rent. There's my child. I think I'll beat him. It doesn't make any sense. It's like kicking the dog when your boss yells at you. That's what's happening. Let's add a fourth one to those that you might, that you may not have thought about. What about people who have to go to work, who are, who are essential, let's say, healthcare workers, and they have to ask someone to watch their children, maybe a boyfriend, who doesn't have any patience with those children because they're not that person's children.

What do you make of this target child, Dr. Angela? Because I first saw this when I was actually prosecuting a murder case, the murder of a brother of an APD, homicide. I believe that the— I noticed it's a big family, I think eight or 11 children, and one girl was targeted for child abuse by the dad. And many people—well, she told me she thought the mom knew long story short why is one child target i don't buy this business about she didn't like redheads something else why is one child often singled out for the heinous abuse i think that they can i think that they can scare

all of the other children by the horrific things that they are able to keep on one of the children. Now, oftentimes they abuse other children in the house also. It's just not to the same extent that they abuse the target child. But perhaps it allows the other children, instead of ganging up on them and abusing the abusers, right? It allows the other children, well, maybe there's some sort of hope because maybe I'm going to get out of this because they abused this one more than they abused me. There are all kinds of psychological reasons where there could be a target child, but I do agree with you. I don't believe it's necessarily because that child is a redhead. I do believe that as the abuse continues, Nancy, that it becomes easier and easier to heap all of that abuse on that poor child.

That is just becoming, it's horrific to leave them out in a woodshed for two weeks at a time. You know, this child actually had his teeth cracked with pliers on purpose by this adoptive mom. To Nicole Parton, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, we understand that there were other foster children that had aged. Let's find out about this 14-year-old adoptive child. How'd they find out about the abuse? It was one of the other children in the home who actually contacted authorities via text message, I believe, began to communicate that the abuse was taking place. They were trying to sneak food to their brother, trying to get food to him. And when she would find food in his mouth, she would literally open his mouth up and remove the food from him. And I think the other

siblings saw it to the point that they had to reach out for help. They have all since being interrogated and questioned. They've all said, yes, we were all abused, but not to the extent of him. The older children who aged out of the home are now being interviewed. And they too are saying through the years we were abused as well. You know what's amazing to me? Not only did she work at a church daycare, listen to this. This woman, Heiler, was arrested and charged with just one felony account of aggravated child abuse in Pace, Florida.

That's Santa Rosa County. That's down on the panhandle near Fort Walton and Destin. Beautiful, sugar white beaches and this evil is going on there. The sheriff says it's one of the worst cases of child abuse they have ever seen in 38 years. Listen to this. The mother of four's most recent place of work is teacher at Capstone Academy for young children with disabilities. How much do you think she abused them and they could never say anything because they're disabled? Maybe some of them autistic. Maybe some of them with handicaps that make it hard for them to speak or communicate. Can you imagine what she has been doing with them?

Also teacher at local church daycare center as a church secretary. Oh, man, look at that sad sack face. Oh, boo-hoo. Don't look sad at me. Target child, chain leash, chip front teeth with pliers, and cut him with a knife, according to Florida D-Facts. Well, once again, Department of Family and Children late to the scene. She's looking at right now one count of aggravated child abuse.

Nicole Parton, isn't that 20 years max or is it 20 to life in that jurisdiction? It's 20 max. And as was said earlier, yeah, as was said earlier, unfortunately, most of these people never serve the time that is deserved. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, we're now switching gears and crossing the country to an Indiana story about a little girl just eight years old. Let me hear our Dave Mack, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter in cut 14. Cumberland, Indiana police were called just after 4 p.m. on April the 6th to assist an emergency medical crew with an unresponsive eight-year-old girl at the apartment of Kimberly Gross Close. Gross Close and her boyfriend, Derek Dale, told officers that shortly after the girl went to take a bath,

they heard a thump from the bathroom and found the girl unconscious slumped over the side of the tub. The couple said they moved her to a bedroom where they began CPR. Gross Close and Dale told police that the girl had been sexually molested outside of the home about a month before. Although she didn't seem to want to talk about the incident, they were afraid the girl may have tried to drown herself, and she'd spit up water while they were trying to resuscitate her. During their investigation, Gross, Close, and Dale both admitted that they didn't call 911 immediately after finding the girl unresponsive in the bathtub.

Afraid? Did I just hear that correctly? Afraid? They didn't do CPR because they were afraid she'd spit up water. Did they just say that? What, they were afraid they were going to get water on their bedspread? And how do you say with a straight face, your eight-year-old daughter has been sex molested and you never call police? I may not call police. I would go out and buy a gun because you know how I feel about guns and take care of the molester myself. I know that's wrong. So they didn't even bother to call 911. Did I get that correct, Nicole Parton? That's correct, Nancy. They waited at least 10 minutes from the time

that they found her unconscious, saying that they removed her from the bathtub to the bedroom, wanted to dress her because they're trying to cover up their crime, dressed her, and finally, minutes later, they called 911. Guys, take a listen now to Dave Mack, cut 15. In further interviews with police, Grosklo said that she had left for work around 7 a.m. that morning. At some point during the day, one of the kids used a green marker to make a mess on the bathroom counter, and Dale found an empty marker in the girl's closet. Groskos says that she confronted the girl about the incident when she arrived home around 3.30 p.m. and that the girl had lied when asked who made the mess. Groskos explained that she is the only one to discipline the children

and that she uses a belt because, quote, she has very sensitive hands. She also added the kid's bruise easily. Medics transported the 8-year-old girl to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. A nurse notified police that the child had extensive fresh injuries that indicated physical and sexual abuse. Also, there was no water in her lungs and her death was determined to be caused by non-accidental trauma and suffocation. An autopsy revealed the girl had severe trauma to her torso, back, buttocks, legs, arms, hands, genitals, and the back of her neck and head. Looping marks on her abdomen led investigators to believe that she may have been beaten with

jumper cables. The child also had trauma to her face that is consistent with someone holding her nose and mouth shut. During a search of the apartment, a set of jumper cables found in the master bedroom. Gross Close's 32, charged with the murder of her 8-year-old daughter, also charged with aggravated battery, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, and battery resulting in serious bodily injury. Her boyfriend, 29-year-old Derek Dale, charged as a co-defendant with neglect of a dependent resulting in death. Somebody better get charged with sex molestation,

because I'm not going to rest until they are. You know, to Cloyd Steiger, 36 years Seattle PD, 22 without homicide. Cloyd, I don't know how you did it. When I defend it, it would say something like, you've got a dead 8-year-old child who's been sex molested, beaten with jumper cables, and they say, the mom says, oh, I had to beat her with whatever she said, a whip or jumper cables because I, the mom, have sensitive hands and it would hurt my hands if I hit her with my bare hand. I mean, how do you not just hit her right in the face? And I'm against police brutality.

But to say I have sensitive hands while your daughter is lying there dead and you're lying to police about the COD that she tried to drown herself because she'd been sex molested. Gee, I wonder by who. She's eight years old, Cloyd. Can you believe this mom said, I have sensitive hands? Yeah, you know, I've investigated a lot of murderous children, and

people always say, how do you sit there and listen to them? Well, you know, I could reach over and punch them and have that one second of pleasure, or I could just let them reel out the rope. Yeah, because once you punch them, that could ruin the case.

That comes in, case is thrown out, bam. No, no, no. I'd rather them rot in prison en route to hell. So I'm just trying to figure out, you know, you have extreme self-control, Cloyd Steiger, extreme. You know, as my husband always says when I go, oh, I'll call the cable company. He goes, no, no, no, no, no. Let's not let the cable company get too close to the flame, okay?

Because I want to watch Midsummer Murders tonight, and if you call cable, it will be cut off. You know, I'm just thinking about what this child went through to you. Joseph Scott Morgan, forensic expert. Did you hear that litany of evidence? Yes. Yes, I did, Nancy. It's a laundry list of things that's gone on forever and ever and ever. And it's a multitude of things.

You don't just have a strike, a single strike. You've got all of these and they're all over the body on multiple planes. You've got these injuries on her back, on her front, on her sides, her legs, her thighs, her arms, all the way up her chest. That looping injury that they're talking about on the abdomen is particularly glaring. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Just got to hold on. Just tell me that they have a death penalty in that jurisdiction. Please Google it.

Okay, go ahead. Please, it. Okay, go ahead, please, Joseph. Yeah, the looping injury that they have on the abdomen is an indication of the jumper cables being used to strike her with. I've worked a number of these cases where water hoses are also very popular with abusers, and this is ongoing behavior. This is not something that just started. Uh, and also the other troubling part that you had mentioned, there's evidence of sexual abuse here. And we're not going to go into the graphic nature of that. I refuse to do that on the air, but let me tell you something. This will be thoroughly documented at autopsy. Okay. And they will have a plethora of photographs. Yeah. This is going to escalate from, uh, from, you know, this kind of vanilla thing that they've got

that they're going on here with the charges to something much more horrible. I'd also be curious to know if this child had been photographed by these two people, if there was filming going on. You've got two people that don't have the same last name that they're adults in charge in the house. It always raises a red flag with me anytime I see this sort of thing because I think that the child is a pleasure.

And so this is going to escalate even further if the cops apply the pressure to this and do what they need to do to really do a deep dig on this. You know, I'm getting conflicting reports as to whether this little child, this eight-year-old little girl, died from blunt force trauma or asphyxiation. I'm getting two conflicting reports. What do you know, Joe Scott? Well, I got to tell you, they talked about an indication that her mouth had been held shut. And if folks at home, and you're aware of this, Nancy, but if folks at home, between the gum and the lip will feel that little piece of tissue that's up there. It's called a frenulum.

You have them on the lower and the upper gums. This gives us an indication that this has been ripped. The individuals have had pressure applied to this area, and it rips away over a period of time, and this is being documented. They've done their job here. The child has been struck in the head multiple times. I'm thinking that they're probably looking for petechiae in this case. They're saying that she was essentially suffocated as opposed to like a ligature strangulation, they may very well have put a bag over this child's head, Nancy.

I don't understand this. To Nicole Parton, is it true that the live-in is not charged with murder? That's correct, Nancy, because the mother admitted to authorities finally saying that she was the only one who physically struck the child. I expect that's all going to change after grand jury. Do they have the death penalty? Yes. Okay, they've got the death penalty.

Let's see if they use it. You know, if you're going to have it, don't start arguing with me about whether we're going to have it or not. If we are going to have it, this lady is the perfect candidate. An eight-year-old girl dead at the hands of this evil mother. Is it because the child is home due to coronavirus escalating the violence in the home? We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace Crime Story signing off. Goodbye, friend.