Transcripts For HLN Nancy Grace 20100515

comb the st. johns river. no sign of haleigh's remains. as the search for haleigh's entire body and for the murder weapon goes on, bombshell tonight. he cracks. stepmother misty croslin's cousin finally confesses 5-year-old haleigh killed there in the trailer in the home. the little girl allegedly murdered by cousin overstreet as misty croslin stands by and lets it happen or worse. and tonight, is haleigh's father, ronald cummings, set to plea guilty? this as a stunning call from behind jailhouse walls emerges. pointing the finger directly at haleigh's killer. >> i need her to get my lawyer down here. >> your client knows what happened that night. >> yes. i am dying for an arrest to be made in this case. >> i have to do something. needed to be done, should have been done -- >> covered up their heads completely. >> i don't believe that anything that flo hallars is a complete lie. >> tommy croslin's attorney claims he admitted haleigh died inside the trailer in satsuma. >> newly released audiotape shows tommy croslin points the finger at cousin joe overstreet. claiming he's involved in haleigh's murder. >> got to pay. >> is the story misty's saying? >> yeah, but that's it. >> joe? >> yeah. >> you tell them where haleigh is. bring haleigh home. >> i can't just bring her home. >> ronald cummings has tried to arrange a plea deal on his charges. >> i'll get to for you, no problem. two weeks i can make the money. >> cummings is negotiating with prosecutors on a 15-year jail sentence for drug trafficking. >> if you do roxys or whatever, i can get them. >> it's joe, i've been knowing this all along. >> he tried to kill all of us. don't be telling him until they get his ass because they're going to get his ass. >> good evening, i'm nancy grace. i want to thank you for being with us. bombshell tonight. he cracks. stepmother misty croslin's cousin finally confesses, 5-year-old haleigh killed, murdered there in the home. the little girl allegedly murdered by cousin overstreet as misty croslin lets it happen or worse. >> i'm just scared. i don't want no one to hurt my kids. >> according to tommy croslin's attorney, james werter, tommy croslin says haleigh died inside her own home. >> your client can i.d. the killer. >> he's first of all not culpable but does know what happened that night. >> this as we obtain brand new audiotapes showing tommy croslin allegedly pointing the finger at cousin joe overstreet, claiming he's responsible for haleigh's death. >> it ain't me. no, it's not me. >> joe? >> yep. >> they think joe had something to do with it. >> put him in jail. >> i was told that ron come home and haleigh had took -- and ron calls to get you to come up and there and help misty clean the house up and. >> also today haleigh's father reportedly negotiating a plea deal on drug charges. >> i like to get high. that's why i was asking if you had powder. >> ronald cummings could be sentenced to 15 years in jail in exchange to testifying against his ex-wife misty croslin and croslin in the drug case. >> someone needs to get his ass. >> straight out to art harris, investigative journalist at artharris.com. with breaking news. art, what's the news? >> the news is shocking. this tape of tommy croslin, where he now fingers in his own voice cousin joe overstreet. we've heard rumors of this. misty has recounted this story to her grandmother and others. now tommy comes forward and in this tape we've been anticipating, because people have been doubting he had this conversation with his grandmother, he now says it was his cousin who killed haleigh. >> and where? where is he saying it happened? >> according to your sources, nancy, he's saying it's inside the trailer. doesn't say it on this tape, but that is consistent with possibly what people have been speculating about a blanket that was seized and other things in the trailer that was just too neat for a crime scene. >> to jean casarez, legal correspondent, "in session," what more can you tell me, jean? >> we can sea flo hollars on your show, talked about the call between she and tommy, that's what we hear in the phone conversation. hear tommy, he's breathless. hear the emotion in his voice. he talks about he has to get his attorney, tell his attorney something. he does say it is joe, but he admits no responsibility whatsoever. >> take a listen to the call. >> i was told that ron come home and haleigh had took one of -- found one of his pills and took it and was dead. and ron called you to get you to come up and there help misty -- >> that's. [ muted ] >> clean the house up. and while he -- okay. i'm glad you're telling me the truth because i've wanted to hear it a long time. i knowed it in my heart. all this time i knowed it. >> he got to pay. >> what scenario do you believe unfolded? what do you believe happened that night? >> exactly what misty told me. that rope and about the cinderblocks and her dropping her in the st. johns river. >> straight out to james werter, tommy croslin's attorney. what more does your client say? >> on the tape? or off the tape? >> off. >> off the tape? i can't really say that. i mean, on the tape what i gave you was just a redacted version. we took phone numbers out of it. that's the entire tape you have. if you notice, he did not go through what happened that night with flo hollars. he pointed the fingers. he denied one version that flora put to him. now, off he told me it did occur in the trailer and that he and misty were not participations but were scared to death of joe's behavior. they grew up with this guy, say even though he doesn't have a criminal record he did have a very violent past and were afraid of him. and there was a weapon of intimidation there. i don't want to get into that because we're still trying to make sure everybody is telling the truth this time, finally, and getting the story as it should be. okay? with the truth. if i give you too much it will go over the air and then they can, you know, coordinate or collaborate their own stories together though they're not in communications. so i am hesitant in giving you more. >> well, mr. werter, basically it sounds like you're saying he told you more, but you can't commit to it on air because his story might change. >> no. no. i did not say that. i want a pure interview of both of these. my understanding through robert fields is that their stories now, even though they haven't been together to collaborate their stories, are pretty well matched up. you know, with reasonable amount of tolerance is that you would expect in normal witnesses. they're not mirror differences and not widely different. that's what you look like in trial. if you get a mirror image is causing suspicion. if they're too widely apart their correct is shot there, too. the thing is to see what the pure story is and if they have communications, third party, whatever, you know, it may taint the purity of their testimony. >> well -- >> such as it is right now. >> -- if it is true that tom croslin, your client told you that overstreet got very irate, things happened from there, i'm quoting. overstreet went into the bedroom where haleigh was and haleigh was no longer alive. overstreet was in a rage. >> yes, that's correct. he went in there looking for his gun they were going to go borrow. it was an automatic weapon. out there they do poach at night or shoot deer at night with the headlights and things of that nature. the gun was not there. that's what set him off. next thing i know -- >> hold on. hold on. ellie jostad, you've heard another story, right? >> we've heard a bunch of different stories. we've heard a version from flo hollars, where she heard a rope was wrapped around haleigh. she was thrown into river. she wasn't sure if she was dead or alive. another version, misty heard haleigh being sexually assaulted and hid under the covers. what's on this tape is the version that she says came from tommy. the version that he and joe got rid of the body somehow or -- even less than that, that joe was responsible for what happened. >> we are taking your calls. back to you, ellie jostad, when you are referring to the tape, be specific. >> yeah. on the tape, what tommy croslin tells flora is she says, you know, something to the effect of i think i know what you're going to tell me. she says, was it joe? and he says, yep. and he says repeatedly he needs to speak to his lawyer and that he needs to pay. >> you all don't say nothing to him, all right? >> i didn't. no, it's joe. i've been knowing this all along. i knew it was him. >> don't say nothing to nobody right now. >> oh, i'm not. i'm not. i'm not. >> i need to get my lawyer down here because you know what? >> what? >> to help me anyway, you know? i need to be put -- he needs to pay. >> that's it. that's it exactly. exactly. oh, you know that don't even hurt me to hear that that happened from him because i know it was him. i knew all along that it was him. ♪ ♪ ♪ ay, yay, yay, yay ♪ ay, yay, yay, yay ♪ ♪ ♪ baby, baby, baby, baby... uh-oh ♪ ♪ and at holiday inn express, you always can. holiday inn express. stay you. and stay rewarded with the hit it big promotion-- earn up to $500 dollars at over 300 retailers. those three grandkids of mine is involved in this and i don't know why. >> she is blaming joe and tommy. >> they're going to know. they're going to know. >> tommy croslin is blaming joe overstreet. >> got to be stopped. >> joe overstreet is saying i wasn't there. >> i didn't do it. >> all three are pointing the finger at each other. >> what tommy told me -- >> no, it's not me. >> he say, nanny, i've got to break down. >> very important. i got to do something. need to be done, should have been done already. >> i got to tell somebody. >> i had nothing to do with none of that crap. >> i said, are you going to tell me joe did this? he said, yes, nanny, joe did. joe? >> yes. >> that's what i've been thinking all along. >> she would have been awake when the brother came banging on the door. >> when i woke up she was gone. i was like, oh my god. >> one of them are lying. >> misty's going to get her little butt kicked. >> i know for a fact tommy ain't got the heart. >> i'm no drug trafficker or anything. you know that. i cannot prove nothing. >> oh my god, i know it's funny. >> i'm glad you're telling me the truth. i've been wanting to hear it for a long time, but i knowed it. >> we are taking your calls. out to vita in idaho. hi, vita. >> caller: hi. >> hi, dear, what's your question? >> caller: i have a comment and a question. >> okay. >> caller: okay my comment is i'm really proud of the way you stand up for the children. >> thank you, vita. thank you very much. >> caller: i have four children that have passed and my question is how can this woman, misty croslin, pretend she knew nothing about this? marry the father of this little girl, and still hold it in herself all the time she knew where that baby was? >> you know, i don't know how she's done it, but in my mind, in light of her failing four distinctly separate polygraphs, she has lied from the very beginning. dr. bethany, psychoanalyst, author of "deal breakers." if she had passed out or she was high on drugs or she wasn't there that night, she could have said that on the polygraph. >> that's right, but vita brings an excellent point up. how does someone hold a lie this long? what is the mechanism by which the lie stays afloat? i think it's a couple of things. i think people like misty tell a lie to cover their tracks and then the lie becomes their truth. they become to believe the lie and it becomes so much their truth, that when they're questioned about it, they actually become indignant. and i think there's an intergenerational pattern of lying in this family and that's why all three of these people are lying. part of it could even be genetic, a genetic predisposition toward sociopathy and anti-social behavior and you have all the drug use mixed in and then an anti-authority attitude and then them believing their own lies and turning on each other. it is the perfect storm for holding on to a lie forever into the grave. >> i think it's a lot -- not that i'm disagreeing with you, dr. bethany, but i think there's the simple element, eleanor odom, that the truth could result in the florida death penalty. now, that is an incentive to lie, eleanor. >> exactly. and what tommy may be saying is a complete lie as to what happened in the trailer because he's trying to exonerate himself. he's trying to get out of trouble, so i don't know that i believe him 100%. >> and this is a huge bombshell tonight. if believed that tom croslin says the murder, the death of 5-year-old haleigh happened there in the family home, what about it, renee rockwell? >> well obviously you can check that story out with any forensics, nancy. >> well, i don't know about that, peter odom, because the child's dna would be in the home anyway. to find her dna might not be that unusual depending on the location and the nature. >> they have been through that house, nancy, with a fine-toothed comb. i'm not sure that this really adds anything to the story, it's just -- i mean there's such a huge vapor of lies out there, it's so difficult to tell what's true that they're not any closer to solving this. >> when you finally hear the truth, peter, you may not know whether to accept it or not, there's been so many lies amongst this bunch. >> and nothing is going to happen in this case without physical corroboration. >> i have to do something that i should have done a while ago. >> the first thing that i was told was that joe had killed her. >> i have to do something that i should have done a long time ago. >> this is a huge river. >> i don't want to hear that answer because i already know it. throwed her in the river. >> i'm just scared. ♪ throughout our lives, we encounter new opportunities. at the hartford, we help you pursue them with confidence. by preparing you for tomorrow. while protecting what you have today. you've counted on us for 200 years. let's embrace tomorrow. and with the hartford behind you, achieve what's ahead of you. wrong move! you. you can save up to half off that sale when you name your own price on priceline. but this one's a deal...trust me. it's only pretending to be a deal. here, bid $79. got it. wow! you win this time good twin! there's no disguising the real deal. determine if a car is a best buy? first they drive it in the real world. and put it through its paces. they rate its fit and finish. and the amenities inside. they factor in purchase price and operating costs, fuel economy and resale value. in short, they do what you do to test its quality. the consumers digest best buys from chevy. put them to your own test. and may the best car win. gaue grmatains heyesy.rc g this is crazy. >> the only ones that knows is the people that was there. >> he tried to kill all of us. >> tied haleigh up with a yellow rope. >> done be telling them. >> and tied a brickle block to the rope. >> they're going to get his ass. >> a brick. >> and dropped her into the st. johns river. >> i never seen any bricks at all. >> you don't never know. >> no, baby, he won't know. he won't know. >> bombshell tonight, we now learn that the cousin of misty croslin is stating haleigh cummings dies in the home there in the trailer. to sheryl mccollum, cold case analyst, what do you make of it and why is this so important to the case? >> this is crucial. and i don't look at this as a lie, i look at all of them as half truths. tommy has told you from the beginning, he interjected himself at the crime scene, then later he tells grandma, i was there when she died and now she's telling -- now he's telling the police even more information about what occurred inside the house including the weapon of intimidation, he's telling you bits and pieces as he gets more comfortable, nancy. i'm going to stay on my mantra. tommy croslin is the key to breaking this case, period. >> you have said this from the very beginning, sheryl mccollum. why? >> he's the one. he's the one who talked. he's the one that wants the story to come out. tommy feels bad, he's got kids, nancy, and i'm going to tell you, they watch your show, so i'm going to speak directly to tommy, tell them. tell them where the weapon is. tell them who killed her. tell them where haleigh is. let's get this done. and i bet he does it within eight weeks, nancy. eight weeks. >> the thing, sheryl mccollum, the truth may implicate him. >> and he knows that, but he also knows the first one to talk gets the deal. he said he's scared for his kids, you know what he really cares about? what they think about him. bloody tell them what happened. man up right now. >> when tommy called me he was sort of whimpering like crying. i said, you failed your lie detector test, didn't you? he said, yes, nanny, i did, and i said it's time to come clean now. >> he's got to pay. >> what? >> i said he's got to pay for it. >> he's got to pay for it. he's got to pay for it he says. >> he can't hurt nobody. >> he can't hurt nobody. did you know tommy? >> what? >> do you know? >> all i know is that he's got to pay. he can't get to none of us, so it don't matter. >> he's got to pay, and he can't get to none of you all so it don't matter. 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[announcer] learn to speak the language of energy efficiency at bgesmartenergy.com, where you'll find plenty of energy-saving tips. ahhhhh. the passion. you all don't say nothing to him, all right? >> it's joe. i been knowing this all along. i knew it was him. >> tommy croslin points the finger at cousin joe overstreet, claiming he's involved in haleigh's murder. >> all i know is he's got to pay. he can't get to none of us so it don't matter. >> i want that little girl to be put to rest. >> i know for a fact tommy ain't got the heart. i don't care what anybody says. tommy had nothing to do with that. >> we were on the dock with tommy and law enforcement. >> [ bleep ] dude. i want out of here so bad i'd do anything to get out of here. >> i do believe joe overstreet is involved in the disappearance. >> she says nanny, tommy and joe took a rope, a yellow rope, and wrapped haleigh up with a yellow rope, tied it around her. >> i don't believe tommy and misty could do anything to harm a child. >> they tied b brickle blocks to the other end of it and dropped her into the st. johns river. if they dropped her into the st. johns river, how did she know? how did she see it? >> i said i can't help you find her body, i don't know where she is. i don't want no one to hurt my kids. >> i know it. i know it. oh my god. >> drug defendant tom croslin now admits that 5-year-old haleigh was killed there in the family home, in the trailer. that is a major, major achievement in this case if it is found to be true. this as we learn haleigh's father, ron cummings, set to plea guilty. all the while lindsay croslin finally going through with her plan to divorce tom croslin. what, if anything, will it mean to the investigation? first, to ron's guilty plea. what about it, eleanor? >> well, he's pleading guilty to the trafficking and allegedly getting 15 years to serve, however his sentence won't come down until he truthfully testifies in a trial against misty and tommy. so you know, there's a lot more to come. >> why do you say that sentencing won't occur until after his testimony? >> because his plea bargain depends on him testifying at the trial of misty. if he plays by the rules and does what he's supposed to do then he'll get his 15 years. >> out to the lines. alma, california. hi, alma. >> caller: hi, nancy. >> hi, dear. >> caller: great to talk to you. >> likewise. >> caller: i live in northern california, and you know, we see these kids being killed and all this. and i just think to myself that the cousin, or the other guy, storm -- what was his name? not tommy, but the cousin? >> oh, joe overstreet? >> caller: overstreet. i think he did it. i think either the baby got ahold of an oxycontin and she took it and overdosed, and they threw her in the river. instead of calling 911. >> well, that is a -- >> caller: that's what i don't understand. >> that is a working theory that police have based on letters, based on drug use, based on the use of and the selling of oxycontin-type pills. right, ellie jostad? >> yes, nancy, that's one of the possibilities. we do know many of the players in this case are involved in the drug trafficking. so it makes sense that there may have been drugs in the home. >> to dr. deutsche out of our manhattan studios. thank you for being with us. >> thank you, nancy. >> over and over we hear the defense attorneys arguing about the lack of evidence or dna, is what they're referring to, in the home. however, there are many modes of murder that would not leave dna behind. >> absolutely, if this was a suffocation, you wouldn't expect to find any dna evidence, poisoning, as we have just mentioned, that would fall into the category where there wouldn't be much forensic evidence. this drug use is interesting to me because it suggests possible roots of contaminating or -- actually killing the child. maybe that leads insight into why this guy is starting to confess. maybe he's been using drugs for a long time, he has some permanent brain injury, starts to hallucinate and become paranoid and have more admission of guilt. i'm curious what kinds of drugs they were using and trafficking. that may be a clue into the answer here. >> art harris, what kind of dogs? >> misty croslin was using roxies. which is another form of oxycontin. and now we have, you know, the whole drug -- the drug dealing backdrop. nancy, i want to also look at the reason tommy may be coming forward now is he was involved in this gun deal, i'm told, along with misty. and they were planning with joe to steal the gun and take and split the profits. if that's the case, they had to be afraid, what would ronald do if he found out? and now if it comes out, what could happen? >> out to the lines. bobbie, missouri, hi, bobbie. >> caller: hi, nancy, how are you? >> i'm good, dear, what's your question? >> caller: i'm so glad to speak with you. >> likewise. >> caller: you are a sharp lady. >> thank you. >> caller: i'll tell you what, i've tried to call many times. there's something that lays heavy on my mind. >> okay. >> caller: the day that the little girl went missing, they made a comment there was an air conditioner man there working on the air conditioner, because it was out of use. it was not working. and i know from experience that a lot of times they'll prop open the backdoor and they'll have to go in and out and with that door being propped open with that brick and no one ever mentioned, you know, questioning the air conditioner guy. who was the air conditioner guy? it's been totally left out of the picture and besides, they -- all of them are lying so much and i can't understand the father living there. i have a huge home, but i know what's around my home and he was not aware of any concrete blocks. he plays dumb to that question. and you just don't know what to believe. but what about the air conditioner man? >> that's a good point, bobbie in missouri. rosie, don't we have the photos of the concrete blocks, the cement blocks around the home? and to you, jean casaras, what about an air-conditioning repairman being at the home that day? >> you know, i think i remember something of that early on. but the sheriff's department has an entire room that's devoted to the case file of now this homicide case. they have left no stone unturned, they haven't arrested anyone that they have investigated and they obviously believe this man, if there is an air conditioning man that he's not a part of this. everyone, quick break, but tonight, best wishes and congratulations go out to jolyn and bruce. they're getting married, finally. they were back in 1968 very much in love. jolyn got cold feet, returned the dear john letter. here they are, 1968. well, jolyn and bruce found each other again 40 years later. better late than never, you know, love finds a way. here's a true love story, congratulations jolyn and bruce. ♪ ♪ ♪ do u gonna be there? ♪ are u sure u gonna call back? ♪ ♪ when am calling up and all that? ♪ ♪ ♪ can't u hear i'm sick? ♪ i'm lovesick ♪ can't u hear it explode? ♪ all down, all down and at holiday inn, you always can. holiday inn. stay you. and stay rewarded with the hit it big promotion-- earn up to five hundred dollars at over three hundred retailers. congratulations jolyn and bruce. ronald, stanley is not as good as everybody thinks they are. >> i've been slandered into a sorry father. >> they all take pills. >> haleigh's father ronald cummings is trying to arrange a plea deal on his drug charges. >> i was a dope boy and must have ripped somebody off. >> the catch? ronald cummings could be sentenced to 15 years in jail. in exchange for testifying against his ex-wife, misty croslin. >> i'm not hiding anything for anybody. >> and former brother-in-law tommy croslin. >> if somebody has something to do with it, so be it. whoever it might be. >> i would never hurt her. >> that's who it is. >> what does ronald know in this, too? >> her and ron had fought that day. and she told him she didn't want to baby sit. >> they look at me like their mom. >> and he told her, yes you are going to baby sit. >> my grandchildren love misty and misty loves my grandchildren. >> i think he knows more of what he's saying. >> i don't think she knows any information that's going to find haleigh. >> the fact that him leaving those kids with her and her still high on pills. >> nobody knows where there's a psycho, sicko. >> would you leave your kids with somebody that's all doped up? >> there really isn't a relationship. >> baby, get in. >> wife/friend. >> i still love him. >> i know you do, baby. >> ronald cummings set to plead guilty. this as a divorce is brewing. what can you tell me about the divorce, jean casaras? >> i believe they are divorced now. at least they were going through a divorce, but the thing is, this is what i've been told, is he's going to plead guilty but he has to do a statement. give a statement to the florida department of law enforcement. that statement will be used as evidence against the other defendants. i think that could be more pressure to misty, even before there's a trial and testimony, that even ronald cummings has turned against her. >> to james werter, is it true your client, tom croslin, is soon to be divorced from wife, lindsay? >> no, that divorce action is on hold, lindsay is giving it second thoughts, so that's not happening at this time. >> why did i know you would say that? what about it, ellie jostad? >> well actually art harris had been reporting that they were planning to file, that lindsay had eventually -- or given up, i guess, and had decided to file for divorce. >> is that true, art harris? >> that's right, papers were filed, she felt very betrayed, she stuck by him until the end then found out he flunked a polygraph test and now filed and as we hear mr. werter saying, has second thoughts. >> so you believe, art harris, she filed the divorce papers because her husband failed the polygraph? >> and she learned that he had been lying to her over and over again and she was so loyal to him and many conversations i had with lindsay, she was not going to believe this unless she had something concrete, nancy. >> out to the lines, ryan in north carolina. hi, ryan. >> caller: hey, nancy. >> hi, dear, what's your question? >> caller: is there any new evidence to test if the ropes and cinderblock found in the water, is there any evidence to watch the original location by chance? >> the fact that it's all been under water would probably remove any fiber or blood evidence. what do you make of that, dr. deutsche? >> yeah, that doesn't bode well. if this is a very active river that they're describing, all of that evidence would be washed away. the things that i would be interested in finding given the circumstances is any evidence of trauma to the skeleton which may lead to a cause of death at this late stage. >> unleash the lawyers. eleanor odom, felony prosecutor, with multiple death penalties under her belt. renee rockwell, defense attorney, atlanta. peter odom, also a defense attorney in the atlanta jurisdiction. first to you, eleanor. how would a plea, a guilty plea on the drug case from ronald cummings, and a divorce between tom croslin, who was there the night haleigh goes missing and his wife, lindsay, how could those two events shape this case? >> i think somebody mentioned earlier, it's going to put a great amount of pressure on both tom croslin and misty croslin to come forward and tell the truth because those people are getting the best deals upfront. they're the first ones to plea, they're going to get the best deals. i'm hoping it will put some pressure on so that misty and tom will finally tell the truth. >> are you referring to the plea deal by ron cummings or the divorce between croslin and lindsay croslin? >> both, because you've got the plea deal by ronald cummings which he could say something about misty and then the divorce, guess what, there's no marital privilege. you have to be careful about that. that could put some pressure on tom croslin. >> well, it's my understanding, eleanor, that the way the marital privilege would work, even if they're divorced, tom croslin could invoke husband/wife privilege because it was protected at the time the comment was made. >> and i think that would be between communications between them, but not necessarily between certain actions, things that she saw, so you got to look at it that way. >> what about it, renee rockwell? how will ronald cummings' guilty plea and a divorce between tom croslin, behind bars right now, how will that affect the case? >> first of all he's got on a great chance to make a move, because i have said all along nancy, that i felt the sorriest for him because i didn't think he had anything to come to the table with, but this is a fantastic move by law enforcement saying, hey, you come to us, you come to the table. we'll give you a lesser sentence if you agree to testify. all he has to testify in is against these two in the drug case. >> right. what about it, peter? >> if he testifies in the drug case -- >> right. of course. they have great cases against all these drug defendants without ronald cummings' testimony. >> they don't need his testimony in the drug case, he could get a light deal in the drug case in exchange for testimony in a possible haleigh case. what about that rope, sheryl mccollum? >> nancy, let's say the 15-foot rope in the package tommy had in his house and there's five foot missing from it and that's the exact same length they found and pulled from the river, same color, same make, same width, that's pretty good evidence to me. he described it to grandma. he led them to it. >> we're taking your calls, but now cnn heroes. >> when i learned to surf, it was amazing. you feel such a powerful connection with the earth and the water. i'm a veteran, i served in the gulf war, i came back without injury. in 2002, i was in a car accident and lost my leg. when you become disabled, you feel trapped and when i felt that first breath of freedom of riding that wave, it felt so good, it was so inspiring. so i wanted to share that feeling that i had with others. i'm dana cummings. i started an organization to help people focus on their abilities, not their disabilities, through surfing. we work with people with disabilities. a lot of our veterans, we just want to feel the rehabilitative power of the ocean and surfing. >> i got hurt on my way home in the navy. i remember waking up in the v.a. hospital and not being able to move my legs. >> it's the amazing recovery he's made. he was told he would never walk again and now he's surf. >> i owe a lot to dana and what it does physically for me, emotionally, mentally is priceless. >> here you go, ryan. this way, buddy. >> i was a little nervous but once we got started i wasn't scared anymore. it's really great. >> i actually got up on the first wave. definitely coming back to do this again. >> we always want to give our participants the power and passion for life we have. they have to push themselves to the best of their ability and if we can give them that self-confidence that is the gift that no one can take that away from them. 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[ male announcer ] the offer letter. if you're going to college, or back to college, that's your bullseye. it is for devry university students. in fact, each year thousands of our graduates find themselves right where they want to be -- employed in their field of study. and all those offer letters up there? that's just from last year. devry university. discover education working at devry.edu. hello. this is a "showbiz tonight" news break. here is what is coming up at the top of the hour. too sexy too soon? the response now from the parents of one of the girls. kate hudson versus cameron diaz. that is your "showbiz tonight" news break, tv's most provocative news show friday night at the top of the hour. right here on hln. what a week in america's courtrooms. take a look at the stories. and, more important, the people who touched our lives. >> at approximately 9:15, a woman walking her dog in the remote area of napa county found a body. >> the body of a 24-year-old nursing student. an absolutely gorgeous young girl, her whole life in front of her. >> we have a homicide with no deputies in custody. >> just released, nearly 50 pages of graphic text messages. prosecutors say it was exchanged between accused murder-for-hire bride and her lover. >> lol. nice. you're great. thanks for everything. so do you approve of my books? >> police are investigating the death of a pro woman golfer. >> something happened. she was supposed to leave for a tournament. that morning she did not. >> she was found inside of her henderson's home. >> the details have not been released. >> we're going to have to bury our 25-year-old daughter. >> apparent blood stains found in her car. breaking news. a friend of the 16 that was raped by lawrence taylor comes forward. she says the girl said no intercourse happened at all. >> lawrence taylor did not have consensual sex with anybody. >> did you hear the defense attorney? just said he did not have consensual sex with anybody. >> for almost ten minutes this teacher was caught on cell phone camera. >> look at the little boy cringing. this is a sixth grader. the teacher is beating and other teachers stood by and watched. i can hardly stand to look at it. the way she approached him, she looked like she was a professional wrestler. let's stop and remember army specialist kareem khan killed. unofficially joining the army with her dad's permission before he was 18. loved the ocean and video games, dallas cowboys, and flea markets with dad. leaves behind grieving parents and a stepmom and stepsister. kareem khan, american hero. thank you to our guests and especially you. remember, may 16th, cnn espanol has a spellings program on handicapped children. founded by a father of a daughter with special needs. and, tonight, good night with the new york control room. good night, brett, rosie, norm. everyone, i'll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp, eastern. until then, good night, friend. we believe you're at your best when you can truly be yourself. and at holiday inn express, you always can. holiday inn express. stay you. and stay rewarded with the hit it big promotion-- earn up to $500 dollars at over 300 retailers.