Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Mom's desperate 911 call as 'pet' pit ball mauls tot-girl dead

Episode Date: November 7, 2018

When a mom called 911 for help when a dog clamped its jaws down on her child, the dispatcher instructed her to slit the animal's throat to stop the attack. Nancy Grace discusses what you can do to protect your children from animal attacks with animal rights advocate & Atlanta lawyer Penny Douglas-Furr, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan, Atlanta juvenile judge & lawyer Ashley Willcott,  forensic psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Bober, and reporter John Lemley. Grace also puts out the alert for 13-year-old Hania Aguilar, a North Carolina girl kidnapped from her home. Her expert guests include psychologist & lawyer Dr. Brian Russell, private investigator Vincent Hill, and North Carolina lawyer Kathleen Murphy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Monday morning, November the 5th, 2018, at approximately 6.58 a.m. at Rosewood Mobile Home Park, located at 3525 Elizabeth Town Road, Lot 39. A witness saw a male dressed in all black and wearing a yellow bandana approach Miss Hannah Noella Agler, age 13, and forced her into a green 2002 Ford Expedition. And he stole the vehicle and drove away with Ms. Agler in the vehicle. Ms. Agler has been waiting on families to come out of the residence to take her to school

at the Lumberton Junior High School, where she is in the eighth grade. Every parent's worst nightmare has come true in North Carolina as the FBI joins in the desperate search for a little girl kidnapped outside her home by a man wearing a bandana. Witnesses saw her being forced into the back Back of an SUV. Right now, the family in anguish. Please help us find Hania. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us.

This is happening now. Take a listen to Lumberton Police Chief Michael McNeil. The suspect then drove the 2002 Ford Expedition, bearing the tag, South Carolina tag, Nor William Sam 984, out of the neighborhood and was last seen turning left onto the Elizabethtown Road. At this time, the investigators are interviewing witnesses, family, and friends, as well as conducting a door-to-door canvas in the neighborhood and checking area surveillances to find out any information we can. As you hear the police chief telling us, Hania was forced into a stolen green 2002 SUV with South Carolina license plate N-Nancy W-West S-South 984. N-W-S 984. to all of you on the roads right now we are looking for a stolen grain 2002 suv

with south carolina license plates n nancy w west s south 984 as all know, every hour that passes makes it less likely Hania will be found alive. Straight out to CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter John Limley. John, what happens? Start at the beginning. Otherwise, an unremarkable morning for this family. Eighth grader Hania Aguilar. It's just before seven o'clock, about 645. And it appears she might have been punching. Right there. Right there. Vincent Hill, cop turned P.I., author of Playbook to Murder on Amazon, creator of podcast Fall of a Titan. Vincent Hill, you're the former cop. I mean, you just don't expect a kidnapping at 7 o'clock in the morning. Well, Nancy, you and I both know that there's no perfect time for a crime.

Anything can happen at any time. And when you're looking for a young, vulnerable victim, that's the perfect time to go out and do this. Because, you know, these young people are getting ready to go to school. So I think this person was lying in wait to do exactly what they did. You know, Vincent Hill joining me along with Dr. Brian Russell, psychologist and lawyer and host of Investigation Discovery's hit series, Fatal Vows. Kathleen Murphy, renowned North Carolina family lawyer.

John Limley, reporting with CrimeOnline.com. Jackie Howard in the studio. Alan Duke joining me in L.A. You know, Alan, you and I, Jackie, we've all gotten children ready for school. It's a mad dash every morning no matter how much you plan it out. How often have I sent the twins to go get in the minivan while I'm finishing up and locking the door and getting their jackets or whatever I have to take to the car? They send this little girl out.

They're coming to get her. She's waiting for them to come take to the car. They send this little girl out. They're coming to get her. She's waiting for them to come take her to school. And this SUV just happens to pull up right then, Dr. Brian Russell, seven o'clock in the morning. Uh-uh. N-O. That guy knew her schedule. I guarantee you it's somebody in that community, Brian Russell. Not only did the person know her schedule. I guarantee you as somebody in that community, Brian Russell, not only did the person know her schedule, but statistically it is much more likely that the person had known or at least had some kind of prior contact with her than that the person was just sort of looking for any random girl and happened to see her and thought, okay, I'm going to abduct this girl. I'm with you on that. I agree 200% Dr. Brian Russell, Kathleen Murphy, family lawyer. I'm with you on that. I agree 200 percent, Dr. Brian Russell, Kathleen Murphy, family lawyer. I know where your mind races immediately, custodial issues. Is there a

non-custodial parent that would come take the child? The answer to that, Kathleen Murphy, because you've dealt with it so many times, is no. This is an unknown male wearing a bandana and a stolen green 2002 SUV with South Carolina plates. Kathleen Murphy, what now? Nancy, I think that this child was absolutely stalked and kidnapped. I don't think it was a random pickup. I think that it was a planned pickup, which leads me to believe that maybe she had contact on the internet once again and a minor child is on the internet and may have gotten into some trouble we're learning a little bit more kathleen murphy we're learning a little bit more as the minutes tick talk we know nothing right now about

any connection on the internet at all but kathleen is right police will be looking through any and all social media we know that the family sent the little girl out to start a relative's SUV to go to school here's more we're learning more about the vehicle everybody we're learning that it is a green Ford Expedition green Ford Expedition with South Carolina license plate and Nancy W. West as South 984, a Green Ford Expedition. The FBI on the case. Back to John Lindley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. John Limley, what more do we know? Well, that vehicle we've been discussing, we're learning, actually belonged to the aunt. That was the car that the teenager, Hania, went out to start.

And it's interesting the way this all unfolded. Hania was not actually sent outside. It appears she might have been punching her aunt's buttons. Her aunt was going to drive her to school. And Hania said, I'm going to go start the car. She's at that age where probably she's looking forward to driving. Can I tell you something, John Limley? My children actually like to get to school early. So if I'm not running like a maniac to get them there early to do their quote morning work, they will start riding me. Come on,

mom. I want to get there early. I want to get there early. I could just see her going, okay, auntie, I'm going to go out and start the car. Okay. I'm ahead of you. Five steps ahead of you. Go ahead. And the aunt kept saying, no, no, just wait on me. But Hanya being a strong teenager, she grabbed the keys and went out and started the vehicle, her aunt's vehicle, that green SUV we've been talking about. And it's quite possible, it appears, that the perpetrator just came up on foot. And he actually pushed the teen into the passenger side of the car, and that's when he took off and kidnapped her. Take a listen to our friend Morgan Norwood at WTVD-TV. This is senior FBI agent Andy De La Rocha.

The FBI now says a neighbor called 911 once she saw Anya being forced into that truck by a man wearing a yellow bandana. The girl's mother not quite ready to talk to media today, but during a press conference, the FBI shared this message from her to her daughter and her kidnapper. Quote, I just want my daughter back with me. I'm here waiting for you. I love you and only care about you. And I don't have anything against whoever did this to you. I just want you back. Can you get hold of anything?

Pot, pan, shovel, anything you've got around your house? Hit him with it. Hit him right in the center of the top of his head. If you hit him hard enough, you'll knock him out. He won't stop! Find something and hit him with it. I'm hitting him as hard as I can! Help me!

Can you run in the house and grab a steak knife or something? I can't leave her out here! It'll take you 30 seconds to run in the house and grab it. I need somebody to help me! Ma'am, I need you to go find a knife immediately. Okay, I got one. Okay, grab him by one ear and cut along the bottom of his neck. He's going to let go. It's going to release his jaw muscles. He won't have a choice but to let go. Can I just go dog-leap in somebody now? Ma'am, everybody's in route to you as fast as they can get there. I need you to do anything you can do with that to make that dog let go. The dog's life is not a concern to me at this point. Slit the dog's throat. A 911 dispatcher's horrific instructions

to a young mom while her one-year-old little girl was being mauled to death by their pet pit bull. The mom's screaming, I can't leave her out there. I can't leave her here to run in and get a knife. And the dispatch going, go, go, go. It's your only chance. Oh, what that mother lived through. And now her baby dead, mauled dead in front of her eyes. I can hardly even take that in.

I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. We're going to take a look at this case and figure out what can we do to stop this from happening again. I'm talking about little Trinity Harrell, just one year old, died in the hospital on Monday, lingering for a week after a pet, quoting that in the air, a pet pit bull attack. She was just simply playing with her family's pit bull when suddenly the dog attacked her. Her mother, Miranda's 911 call has emerged and is breaking hearts all over the country.

She hears the dispatch instructing her to slit the dog's throat and beat it to death she grabbed a knife and tried to kill the animal but the blade was not sharp enough to have any impact well finally the sheriff's deputies arrived they shot the animal twice before it would let go of the baby straight out to john limley crime onlineOnline.com, investigative reporter at CrimeOnline.com. You can find this story and all other breaking crime and justice news. John, what happened with baby Trinity? I just don't get it. The mom that we heard there, the young mother, Miranda Harrell, was playing outside with that one-year-old daughter, Trinity.

Trinity had just turned one back during the summer back in July. Also in the yard as we've heard their family pet a six-year-old pit bull mix. No one is certain what led the dog to attack but what is clear is that it was not going to let go of the child on its own. I'm so distraught. I am just so distraught about this. A lot of you guys know my dog, Fat Boy. He was first nitro, but then he fell asleep in the food bag one night and his tummy got so big, it just hung over to one side. And I told him he was a fat boy and it stuck. Fat Boy, they promised me at the pound, excuse me, animal rescue, that he was a thoroughbred dachshund. Okay. He's not, I think he's maybe Doberman from the neck up and dachshund from the neck down.

Would you agree, Jackie? That's yeah. That's what he looks like. Well, when we take him on a walk, he thinks he is a Doberman and he starts fights with Rottweilers or whatever he sees. And when in your, my point is when you're in the middle of this, you do things, you may freeze or you do things that are completely ridiculous. The last time he started a fight with two Rottweilers, I went over there and grabbed him from between the Rottweilers. He got off his leash. That was his last walk in the neighborhood, by the way, and pulled him out. I could, if they had bitten my arm or my wrist, that would have been all she wrote, and the twins would be raised without a mother right then and there.

You know, I've got to figure out this whole dynamic of why you would have a dog that would attack people. To Ashley Wilcott, you're the juvenile judge, lawyer, and founder of ChildCrimeWatch.com. Ashley, you've got a dog and it's precious and it doesn't kill. Well, here's the problem. Pets, animals are unpredictable. And so the best you can do is make sure it has a temperament that it can be around kids, but unpredictable things can still happen. And you have to be cautious of the breed of dog and the way the

dog is raised and whether or not there's aggressive tendencies or they're allowed to act aggressively because if so they're going to act aggressively with a child. In this case she the mom begged a dispatcher to hurry up hurry up and send help. It was for nine minutes John Limley to Judge Scott Morgan. Is that a tiny bit too long? I mean I don't want to blame the sheriff's for what happened but that's kind of a long time to Joseph Scott Morgan. Is that a tiny bit too long? I mean, I don't want to blame the sheriff's for what happened, but that's kind of a long time to beg for help. Yeah, it kind of is Nancy.

But again, we have to consider, I don't know how isolated this family is relative to where, what the response time would be and where they would be coming from and this sort of thing. So that's certainly something to take into consideration, but nine minutes, uh,

that's, that's a moment. That's a moment, Tom, that, uh, you know, this child just languished there and eventually died. I wonder if fire and rescue could have gotten there earlier, because I grew up in a very rural area, and calling police, that would have been a 25-minute drive for them going 90 mph. Yeah, yeah, you're right, and lots of times what will happen is that fire rescue and the police will simultaneously be activated.

So if they're rural, you're going to send, you know, there might just be a volunteer fire department in that area. So you never know. You know, the mom says she was hitting the dog in the head and it would not let go of the baby. Let's listen to what we can learn from that 911 call. Can you get hold of anything? Hot pan, shovel, anything you've got around your house? Hit him with it. Hit him right in the center of the top of his head.

If you hit him hard enough, you'll knock him out. He won't stop! Find something and hit him with it. I'm hitting him as hard as I can! Help me! Can you run in the house and grab a steak knife or something? I can't leave her out here. It'll take you 30 seconds to run in the house and grab it.

I need somebody to help me. Ma'am, I need you to go find a knife immediately. Okay. I got one. Okay, grab him by one ear and cut along the bottom of his neck. He's going to help me. Ma'am, I need you to go find a knife immediately. Okay. I got one. Okay, grab him by one ear and cut along the bottom of his neck. He's going to let go. It's going to release his jaw muscles. He won't have a choice but to let go.

Why did your dog leave somebody's hand? Ma'am, everybody's around to you as fast as they can get there. I need you to do anything you can do with that to make that dog let go. The dog's life is not a concern to me at this point. I'm trying to figure out what, if anything, she could have done. Joining me right now is animal rights advocate and veteran trial lawyer Penny Douglas-Furr out of the Atlanta jurisdiction. Penny, let me just frame this. The first time I ever delivered some legal documents and research to Penny Douglas-Furr.

Let's see. I think it was one night we had an HLN show and I wanted to give you something. I can't even remember what I was delivering. I went to your front door. I actually jumped back because when I rang the doorbell, the door was attacked by five Rottweilers. I think it was five. All I could see was like saliva dripping from their fangs. Then I found out one was named Pretty Girl. Okay, so I think I know where you're coming from. You let them sleep with you. You give them peanut butter bombs for treats.

I'll just leave it there. Penny Douglas-Fur, I guess you're going to say it's not the dog's fault. Well, no. What I was waiting for the 911 operator to say is kick him in the testicles. He'll drop anything. If you'd just gone behind him and kicked him in the testicles he'll drop anything if you'd just gone behind him and kicked him in the testicles he would have let that baby go and another thing nancy this dog is not a pit bull and there's a problem now because they have these backyard breeders which we need to get rid of and they try to breed these dogs that have pit in them, but they're bigger and more powerful. From the pictures I've seen, this is not a pit bull. This is one of those bigger,

more aggressive dogs. Let me ask you a question, Penny Douglas-Furr, not to confuse anyone with the facts, but do you have any scintilla of evidence to suggest this is not a pit bull? Because the police and journalists and the family all say it's a pit bull. You are the only one that says it's not a pit bull. No, they said it's a pit bull mix. They didn't say it was a pit bull. So your defense is it's not a thoroughbred pit bull. Okay. Thanks, Penny.

No, it is not. But the bottom line is, Nancy, you cannot leave these animals with little children. And what these backyard breeders do, which a genuine good breeder would never do, is if they get a male and a female who are both very aggressive, a good breeder would immediately neuter and spay those dogs because they do not want that in their bloodline. So if they get a dog that's crazy and aggressive, they fix the dog. If you have one of these backyard dog fighting breeders, when they see aggressive dogs, they immediately mate them to hope they get puppies that are more aggressive. And that has to be stopped. You know, Penny, I hear you making the very fine distinction

that it wasn't a thoroughbred pit bull, but even you, not on the scene, must admit it was a pit bull mix at the very least. Let's just question why this breed, pit bulls, have been banned in 12 countries around the world. New Zealand, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Poland, Norway, and Puerto Rico. Think about that. Window treatments is one of those terms for something necessary but boring.

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for you. There's no excuse to leave up mangled blinds to make your whole home look cheap and tacky. Don't do it. Go to Blinds.com. And now for a limited time, get 20% off everything at blinds.com. When you use promo code Nancy, repeat 20% off everything at blinds.com if you use the promo code Nancy. That's blinds.com promo code Nancy for 20% off everything. Faux wood blinds, cellular shades, roller shades, everything. Blinds.com, promo code Nancy. Rules and restrictions do apply. The Davis family was home at the time one-year-old Trinity Harrell was attacked by a dog. Sean Davis tells us he couldn't quite figure out where the screams were coming from. Heard the baby cry about three times, and after the fourth time, that was it.

One-year-old Trinity Harrell died after fighting for her life at UNC Children's Hospital. The child was attacked by the family's six-year-old Pitbull a week ago. The Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office responded, shooting the dog so it would release baby Trinity. They shot the dog like three times and then when I like got over there to the fence, the police and everyone were running to the back and then they brought the baby out on the ambulance and everybody was crying. Oh my stars, that hurts me to even hear it. That's our friend at WRAL-TV, Casey Cunningham, interviewing neighbors of Trinity Herald. That was Sean Davis and others, Zinnia Horn, describing the scene, what happened when the baby was mauled dead. To Dr. Daniel Bober, forensic psychiatrist.

You know, Dr. Bober, before I go to you, John Limley, for those just joining us here at Crime Stories, give me a recap about what happened to the baby. The mother, Miranda Harrell, her daughter, Trinity, that's the toddler who had just turned one, were in the backyard playing with a six-year-old pit bull mix. And all of a sudden, from the mother's account, the dog lunges and grabs the daughter with its jaws. And no matter what the mother did, even after being guided by a 911 operator to go through various steps to get the dog to let go, nothing will do the trick until a deputy arrives and shoots the dog. You know, one thing, have you heard of a brake stick? A brake stick? It is a device inserted into the mouth of a pit bull behind the molars to make them release their grip on another dog. Now, here's the thing.

Why would you even want a pit that you have to stick something in its mouth to make it let go of another dog or a baby? To Dr. Daniel Bober joining me, forensic psychiatrist. Now, pit bulls and rottweilers are associated with crime. They're associated with crime because dopers, drug lords, thugs of all sorts have them and are frequently seen with them. That's a bad look, Dr. Bober. Why would a regular family have a dog whose reputation is for violence? Nancy, this is a no-brainer. In 2009, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia did a study looking at dog bite injuries. They looked at over 30 breeds, and what they found was that over half of those injuries

were from pit bulls. 51%, and then 9% were from Rottweilers, and then 6% were from a breed of a pit bull and the Rottweilers. So the Pit Bulls are responsible for an overwhelming majority of these injuries, and they are an aggressive breed. And you, you know, as Ashley said, dogs are unpredictable anyway, but when you have an aggressive breed like this, you're just asking for trouble. I believe it was in the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Penny Douglas for Animal Rights Advocate and Lawyer. Go ahead. It is very true that with a lot of these large breeds,

they don't bite any more than your little Dobie dog that you have. But when they do bite, they can cause a lot more damage. I call them Adobe dogs, and I wouldn't go on the record as being the first one to say that. And so they're no different than he is. But because they're big, powerful, and strong. Well, Fat Boy hasn't killed anybody. I understand. They are different.

Fat Boy hasn't killed anybody. Because they're big and strong, they can cause a lot more damage. So I speak to people who are getting Rottweilers, who are getting any of these very large breeds, that they have to be guarded and they have to protect their dogs. They have to protect the public. They have to protect their children. They have to be extremely careful if they want one of these breeds of dogs.

And why would you want to live like that? Why would you want to worry about that all the time? A lot of people love big dogs. I love big dogs and but i'm very careful with mine mine have never hurt anybody mine are very careful mine are great wait a minute wait a minute whoa whoa penny douglas fur though you keep yours locked in the house all day and then until you personally can take them out they don't really have a chance to attack anybody. No, they don't. And they never will because I'm protecting the public and I'm protecting my dogs. And that will never happen with my dog. Well, I'm glad you are, but not the whole world doesn't know the realities

of what happens when you have a dog like this. Joe Scott Morgan, explain to me what happened to baby Trinity exactly. Joe Scott Morgan is a professor of forensics at Jacksonville State University, a longtime death investigator, author of a brand new book, Blood Beneath My Feet, which is available on amazon.com. Joe Scott, help me out. Yeah, my thought is, Nancy, is that this child sustained severe crushing injuries. The fact that the child lingered as long as she did is a miracle in and of itself. And I think that one of the things here that you have to think about is that when these dogs engage the target that they're after. The reason this woman is having a difficult time getting this dog to disengage from this child is that the strength of these jaws, it's very prohibitive to be able to get them to turn loose. This isn't a light little nip or something like

that. They're going for blood at this moment in time they perceive this child to be a threat maybe the child pinched the dog in some way initiated this this is a one-year-old child god only knows we have many parents on the air with us right now god only knows what a one-year-old child might do to a dog to frighten the dog and if the dog is already at a heightened state of alert has a proclivity for biting that sort of thing thing, the child's going to clamp down. I would like to hear what Penny would have to say relative to how many foot pounds of pressure the jaws of this dog can exhibit because, you know, you can't get this in. And the child, the child itself, one-year-old Nancy, one-year-old, this child is not fully, you know, the bones are not completely

ossified at this moment in time either. So structurally, the child is going to be very, very vulnerable. Guys, we are talking about a beautiful baby girl, one year old. Her mother out in the front yard with her playing. The family dog is there. Suddenly, the dog attacks. John Lindley, very often you will hear people say, oh, it's not the dog's fault. The child did X, Y, or Z, threw a rock, pulled its hair, this, that. There is no but when it comes to blaming a one-year-old child, John Lindley.

Has there been any suggestion that it was, quote, the child's fault? We have no insight into exactly what was happening other than the fact that the mom and the child were playing in the backyard and the dog was nearby. That's all we know as far as the moments leading up to the attack. Tell me more about what you know about the family, about the home. Had there been any other incidents of violence, any problem within that home that we don't know about. The last report we had from Edgecombe County deputies, and this was one of the initial press conferences, was that they were going back to review their records when it came to the dog and any child safety issues. They have yet to report back on those findings if there were any. We are talking about a beautiful little girl now dead after her family pet attacks and kills her with the mom

standing by screaming calling 911 but our friend Jim Ray at Inside Edition has spoken with one of the world's top leading vets that has a suggestion listen. Little Trinity was rushed to the hospital but didn't make it. Veterinarian Brett Levitsky says there's a way to stop a dog attack that not many people know about. If you pick them up by the hind legs, they're off balance. Their first reaction may be to let go and then turn around. I've never heard that. I did not know that. To Penny Douglas, fur animal rights advocate and Atlanta trial lawyer.

Penny, I didn't know that you picked them up by the hind legs. I've never heard that. Oh, absolutely. That's why I said kick it in the testicles. They protect that area. And if you're going for that area, they'll immediately turn to see what's going on and they will let go. So that's a very good way to get them to let go. To Ashley Wolcott, Atlanta juvenile judge, lawyer, and founder of childcCrimeWatch.com. Ashley, I'm going to put it out there. Nobody wants to touch it with a 10-foot pole, and I'm not saying yes or no, but where does this leave the parents when you have a dangerous dog around your children and the dog attacks? So, you know, legally, first bite free. I hate that

expression, but what it means is if you have a dog who bites, legally, you know, legally first bite free. I hate that expression. But what it means is if you have a dog who bites legally, you may not be responsible or liable or criminally liable. But if it happens again, if there's been an aggressive incident where the dog has bitten someone and it happens again, then I think these parents could be subject to civil and criminal liability for allowing this child to excuse me, this dog to live and maul the child to death. And to you, John Limley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, that's what I was getting at. Whether there had been previous complaints about the dog within the neighborhood, around other children, or really at all. Because that is the status of the law, John Limley, in many states, one bite free.

In other words, the owners may not know the dog has a propensity to bite, but then once it does bite, it's on the owner. That's absolutely true. In fact, at one of the press conferences, one of the reporters there point blank asked the sheriff there in Edgecombe County if there were charges pending, if there was any history of trouble with the dog, if 911 had ever been called from that residence before concerning the dog, the child, both. And he said that they were investigating that and they have yet to come back with word on that. What happened to the family dog? After the 911 call was placed, it was about nine, 10 minutes before deputies arrived. And one of the first detectives to arrive

was not even on call at the moment. He had just heard the dispatch and was not far away. And he was able to arrive there first. He saw that the dog was shaking the little child like a baby doll. And he didn't think twice. He got out his gun and it took two shots, but was able to kill the dog. Is it, on another note, amongst criminals that think it looks cool to have Rottweilers and Pit Bulls all around them? What is that thinking? I think it's an image, Nancy, right? I think they want to be feared. They want to be admired. They want to be the bad boy. And I think that the dog just completes the whole picture.

And then that leads me to the next question to Ashley Wolcott, founder of childcrimewatch.com. When a dog, I know this sounds crazy, but a dog breed has a reputation to be the chosen dog for thugs and criminals and dopers. Why would you want that around your child? Yeah. And here's the problem. A lot of the reasons that those criminals have those dogs is those dogs can, huge dogs, powerful dogs can be trained to be very aggressive. And so a lot of people have them quite frankly, as protection to protect their things. And because people are scared of them for a reason. So if you're going to have one of those dogs, you sure as heck better not adopt it because you don't know how they've been trained. And you sure as heck better have professional help training one of those dogs to ensure they're not aggressive. I wouldn't have one of those dogs at all because

of the aggressive nature, but that's just me. I want to make it very clear. The mother and the father in this scenario are not criminals at all. They're loving parents and their baby Trinity was the joy of their life. Why'd they get a pit bull? I don't know. Maybe they didn't know it had a reputation for violence. Maybe they got it for that reputation to protect the baby or to protect the home. But again, this is not the parent's fault. In fact, the mother risked her own life and jumped in and tried to stab the dog. She didn't stand back and go, oh, no, somebody help me. She begged for help, and she went in, she got a knife, and she tried to kill the dog herself.

She put her own life in jeopardy to try to save her little one-year-old child. Penny Douglas Furr, animal rights advocate, Atlanta lawyer, something Ashley said, Ashley Wilcott, very interesting. Don't get a dog of this breed that may have been mistreated by others because you don't know how it's going to react after it's been mistreated. Nancy, I have a very good dog trainer. And if I have a Rottweiler or a pit, I would send the dog to Mr. Story. His name is Mark Story. He also works

with police departments. And I say, Mark, if there's a problem with this dog, you tell me, and we'll euthanize the dog. I will have Mark work with the dog for a few weeks. And if he says it's a great dog, it's fine. Then it would go to the family. As of right now, Penny Douglas-Furr, no charges have been filed. I'm going to circle back to that. My question to you, Penny, is do you believe that we, or many people, have an undeserved fear of this breed? Absolutely. I think that you're looking at, you have to look at the dog individually

and not just at the breed. I think the reason this dog has gotten this reputation is because we have dangerous breeders who are breeding aggressive dogs to aggressive dogs. Then you get more. I don't think there's a problem with a pit bull that's a true pit bull. Ashley Wilcott, you're a dog lover. There's a reputation for a reason, Ashley. There is a reputation for a reason. And I think that those dogs can be trained to be very aggressive and the aggressive

tendencies can be encouraged or promoted by the owner. And that's what's happened. And so they have this reputation because they can be that way depending on how they're treated. Authorities have confirmed little Trinity did pass away. She was at UNC Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill. The little girl was attacked when Edgecombe County deputies say that the mommy, Miranda, and her daughter were playing on the back porch there at their Highway 43 home, and suddenly this six-year-old pit bull mix attacked Trinity. The mom risked her own life trying to jump into the fray and stop the attack, even trying to stab the dog. Now, there was a sheriff, Clee Atkinson, said when the first deputies arrived, the dog was shaking the baby like she was a baby doll, back and forth. To Joe Scott

Morgan, Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics at Jacksonville State. Joe Scott, what were the injuries to Trinity? The injuries were crushing injuries, Nancy. And, you know, when you hear about how they really highlighted a second ago how the baby was being thrashed about, essentially. This is the way, primarily, that an animal like this would kill something, say small vermin, this sort of thing, kind of shake it to death. And that's what's going on with it's replicating this, this, this, this behavior by shaking this child. So you'd have the crushing injuries and that's going to be compounded with severe head injuries as well. This kind of concussive event that's going on. It's, it's a very sad, tragic way for this, this family to have to live with this for the rest of their lives, this mom and dad and all of the friends that we've heard from on the air today. I think that, you know, coming away from this, I view dogs

in a kind of a different way. I love firearms, that sort of thing, but I have a lot of respect for firearms, and I assume that every single weapon that I come across is in fact loaded. With this particular breed of dog, they are bred for a specific reason. And you really have to look at that when you're going to have them around small children. My assumption is, working assumption is always that there's a potential they could do great harm. And unfortunately in this case, they did to this little baby. No charges are pending against this family who are suffering so, so much. On Monday morning, November the 5th, 2018, at approximately 6.58 a.m. at Rosewood Mobile Home Park located at 3525 Elizabeth Town Road, Lot 39,

a witness saw a male son dressed in all black and wearing a yellow bandana approached Miss Hannah Noella Agler, age 13, and forced her into a green 2002 Ford Expedition. And he stole the vehicle and drove away with Miss Agler in the vehicle. Miss Agler has been waiting on families to come out of the residence to take her to school at the Lumberton Junior High School where she is in the eighth grade. Every parent's worst nightmare has come true in North Carolina as the FBI joins in the desperate search for a little girl kidnapped outside her home by a man wearing a bandana. Witnesses saw her being forced into the back of an SUV. Right now, the family in anguish. Please help us find Hania. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. This is happening now. Take a listen to Lumberton Police Chief Michael McNeil.

The suspect then drove the 2002 Ford Expedition bearing the tag, South Carolina tag, Nor William Sam 984 out of the neighborhood and was last seen turning left onto the Elizabethtown Road. At this time, the investigators are interviewing witnesses, family and friends, as well as conducting a door-to-door canvas in the neighborhood and checking area surveillances to find out any information we can. As you hear the police chief telling us, Hanya was forced into a stolen green 2002 SUV with South Carolina license plate N-Nancy-W-S-South-984. N-W-S-9-8-4. looking for a stolen green 2002 SUV with South Carolina license plates in Nancy W. West S South 984.

As we all know, every hour that passes makes it less likely Hanya will be found alive. Straight out to CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter John Limley. John, what happened? Start at the beginning. Otherwise, an unremarkable morning for this family. Eighth grader Hanya Aguilar. It's just before 7 o'clock, about 6.45, and it appears she might have been punching... Right there. Right there.

Vincent Hill, cop turned PI, author of Playbook to Murder on Amazon, creator of podcast Fall of a Titan. Vincent Hill, you're the former cop. I mean, you just don't expect a kidnapping at seven o'clock in the morning. Well, Nancy, you and I both know that there's no perfect time for a crime. Anything can

happen at any time. And when you're looking for a young, vulnerable victim, that's the perfect time to go out and do this because, you know, these young people are getting ready to go to school. So I think this person was lying in wait to do exactly what they did. You know, Vincent Hill joining me along with Dr. Brian Russell, psychologist and lawyer and host of Investigation Discovery's hit series, Fatal Vows. Kathleen Murphy, renowned North Carolina family lawyer. John Limley, reporting with CrimeOnline.com. Jackie Howard in the studio. Alan Duke joining me in L.A.

You know, Alan, you and I, Jackie, we've all gotten children ready for school. It's a mad dash every morning, no matter how much you plan it out. How often have I sent the twins to go get in the minivan while I'm finishing up and locking the door and getting their jackets or whatever I have to take to the car. They send this little girl out. They're coming to get her. She's waiting for them to come take her to school and this SUV just happens to pull up right then Dr. Brian Russell seven o'clock in the morning uh-uh n-o that guy knew her schedule I guarantee you it's somebody in that community Brian Russell

not only did the person know her schedule, but statistically, it is much more likely that the person had known or at least had some kind of prior contact with her than that the person was just sort of looking for any random girl and happened to see her and thought, okay, I'm going to abduct this girl. I'm with you on that. I agree 200 percent, Dr. Brian Russell, Kathleen Murphy, family lawyer. I know where your mind races immediately, custodial issues. Is there a non-custodial parent that would come take the child? The answer to that, Kathleen Murphy, because you've dealt with it so many times, is no. This is an unknown male wearing a bandana in a stolen green 2002 SUV with South Carolina plates. Kathleen Murphy, what now? Nancy, I think that this child was absolutely stalked and kidnapped. I don't think it was a random pickup. I think that it was a planned pickup, which leads me to believe that maybe she had contact on the internet once

again and a minor child is on the internet and may have gotten into some trouble. We're learning a little bit more as the minutes tick talk. We know nothing right now about any connection on the internet at all, but Kathleen is right. Police will be looking through any and all social media we know that the family sent the little girl out to start a relatives SUV to go to school here's more we're learning more about the vehicle everybody we're we're learning that it is a green Ford Expedition green Ford Expedition with South Carolina license plate and Nancy W. West as South 984 a Green Ford Expedition. The FBI on the case. Back to John Lindley CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. John what more

can you tell us in the search for this little girl, there's a $15,000 reward. Tip line 910-272-5871. 910-272-5871 or 910-671-3845. Repeat, 910-671-3845. John Limley, what more do we know? Well, that vehicle we've been discussing, we're learning actually belonged to the aunt. That was the car that the teenager, Hanya, went out to start. And it's interesting the way this all unfolded. Hanya was not actually sent outside. It appears she might have been punching her aunt's buttons. Her aunt was going to drive her to school, and Hanya said, I'm going to go start the car. She's at that age where probably she's looking forward to driving. Oh, can I tell you something,

John Limley? My children actually like to get to school early, So if I'm not running like a maniac to get them there early to do their quote morning work, they will start riding me. Come on, mom. I want to get there early. I want to get there early. I could just see her going, okay, auntie, I'm going to go out and start the car. Okay. I'm ahead of you. Five steps ahead of you. Go ahead. And the aunt kept saying, no, no, just wait on me. But Hanya being a strong teenager, she grabbed the keys and went out and started the vehicle, her aunt's vehicle, that green SUV we've been talking about. And it's quite possible, it appears that the perpetrator just came up on foot and he actually pushed the teen into the passenger side of the car. And that's when he took off and kidnapped her.

Take a listen to our friend Morgan Norwood at WTVD-TV. This is senior FBI agent Andy De La Rocha. The FBI now says a neighbor called 911 once she saw Anya being forced into that truck by a man wearing a yellow bandana. The girl's mother not quite ready to talk to media today, but during a press conference, the FBI shared this message from her to her daughter and her kidnapper. Quote, I just want my daughter back with me. I'm here waiting for you. I love you and only care about you.

And I don't have anything against whoever did this to you. I just want you back. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.