Body Identified as Missing 12-Year-Old Colorado Girl
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. Live, Colorado. A 12- year-old little girl tells her mommy, I love you, and heads to a little friend`s birthday party just eight blocks away. She never makes it. Bombshell tonight. A tip leads Colorado police to a flooded irrigation ditch just one mile from the missing girl`s home. Has the body of 12-year-old missing girl Kayleah been discovered?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want her home and safe.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A body was discovered by a ditch rider in an irrigation ditch.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kayleah Wilson was headed to a birthday party and vanished.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, safe is a given. But I want her home!</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Weld County coroner`s office has now identified the body as that of Kayleah Wilson.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news out of Colorado, a body found in the search for 12-year-old Kayleah Wilson. We`re told the body is badly decomposed.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We assume the worst.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to sources, he claims the body was naked, bloated and white...</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She left the house on Sunday afternoon. We`re confident of that. Her mother saw her leave.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... the body so badly decomposed, homicide investigators failed to initially ID a gender.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was the distance between leaving the house or the home and the birthday party?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re talking a distance of only a few blocks, not a huge distance.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s a baffling case, and it is urgent.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is dental records that identified the body.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m not doing very well at all!</s>GRACE: And tonight, live, California. A tourist walking the San Francisco Bay waterfront with his little niece gets to see the sights, all right. He spots a woman`s leg when he finds washed ashore a suitcase. Stuck inside, a young woman`s body. Tonight, her family with us live. Who`s the woman in the suitcase?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... a gruesome discovery...</s>GRACE: Obviously, this is a homicide.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... the body of a woman found stuffed inside a suitcase.</s>GRACE: Who is the killer?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... the body of a woman tucked in a fetal position.</s>GRACE: ... asking for your help in a case...</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... found tossed into the San Francisco Bay.</s>GRACE: Her body is waterlogged and she washed up on these rocks!</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want to make sure that we find out who did this to her.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The victim was Pearla Louis, a 52-year-old African-American woman, a San Francisco resident.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hard-shelled suitcase was found floating in the bay. Police examined the suitcase, the body found curled in a fetal position.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just want whoever did this to come forward, if possible.</s>GRACE: Warning to whoever did this! California is not afraid of the death penalty!</s>GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. A 12-year-old little girl tells her mother, I love you, Mommy, heads to a little friend`s birthday party just eight blocks away, never makes it. Tonight, has the body of 12-year-old missing girl Kayleah been discovered?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a homicide investigation, a murder investigation, at this point.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A decomposed body has been found in a ditch in Greeley, Colorado.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... every little piece of information...</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... just about a mile from the home of a 12- year-old girl who disappeared two months ago.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... every little piece of evidence. We`re combing through it.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was found by a worker checking the ditch for problems after heavy rain.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... going over it two or three times.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... confirming the worst, Kayleah Wilson, 12 years old, her body found in a ditch.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The day was Sunday, presumably like any other day for 12-year-old Kayleah Wilson. She left her suburban Colorado home to attend a friend`s birthday party just blocks away.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her body, badly decomposed, had to be identified through dental records.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She told her mom, Bye, that she loved her, and she was heading out the door to go to a party.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... but never arrived.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She never got there.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... they`ve seen anything, heard -- you know, know anything. Anything is -- even if it doesn`t seem like it`s anything, it might be something.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The coroner`s office has told us this was not an accident.</s>GRACE: Straight out to Troy Coverdale, news director KFKA radio, joining us out of Greeley, Colorado. Troy, tell me about the location of the discovery of the body.</s>TROY COVERDALE, KFKA RADIO (via telephone): The discovery happened after we had had some heavy rains the night before, severe weather passing through the area. An irrigation canal in the west portion of Greeley, where a gentleman who was checking on that irrigation ditch, basically standard activity following heavy rainfall activity because the ditches tend to get clogged with all the detritus after a heavy rainfall -- he was checking on that early on Wednesday morning and came across that body. And the question is, did that wash out of a hiding place? Just how did people miss it? It happened to be an irrigation ditch that people looking for Kayleah Wilson had gone around and by a number of times.</s>GRACE: So bottom line, if it hadn`t been for all the flooding, her body may have remained hidden? To Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, "In Session." Jean, thank you for being with us. Jean, how did they identify this as Kayleah? Are we sure it`s Kayleah?</s>JEAN CASAREZ, "IN SESSION": Through the dental records, yes. And Nancy, it was two months ago right here on your show, this was a missing little girl -- the body just now found. So it was dental records that had to identify her.</s>GRACE: Everyone, breaking news tonight. The body of this little girl, 12-year-old Kayleah Wilson, found in a flooded irrigation ditch. Obviously, her body had been so hidden, so carefully secluded that only a flood dislodged the child`s body. I want to go back to when she went missing. What happened, Jean Casarez?</s>CASAREZ: You know, it was an afternoon about 3:40. She told her mother she loved her. She left. She was going to a birthday party eight to ten blocks away from her home, and she was going to meet another little girl and then they`d go on together. She never even met that initial little girl. That irrigation ditch, about a half mile from her home.</s>GRACE: And to you, Matt Zarrell. Explain to me about the search and about this 18-year-old boyfriend. How can a 12-year-old girl have an 18- year-old boyfriend? I don`t get that.</s>MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, I`ll go back to the search really quickly because what`s interesting is search dogs had searched that area before and never picked up a scent. Now, getting to the boyfriend, 18-year-old Robert Montoya -- he was arrested for allegedly having sex with Kayleah Wilson multiple times from October of 2009 until February of this year. He is in custody right now. He is a person of interest, not a suspect at this point. But he has admitted to cops to having this relationship with Kayleah.</s>GRACE: I want to go back to you, Jean, back to the day she went missing. Dana (ph), if you could, please put me up the map, the location of her home, where she was headed to, anything we know about the day she went missing. Go ahead. Explain to me again about that day.</s>CASAREZ: Well, she was on foot. She was walking. She had to cross a highway -- I know that was very, very important to investigators at the time -- to meet her little friend. So they were concerned that people could have seen her at that time. But as she was crossing, they think she may have gotten to the Greeley mall. Why? Because they scanned surveillance video. They saw a fuzzy image that could have been her. There was no confirmation. But she was on foot that day.</s>GRACE: Wait. Let`s go back to that fuzzy image, Jean. What more can you tell me about the fuzzy image?</s>CASAREZ: It was...</s>GRACE: Everyone, we are talking about 12-year-old Kayleah Wilson. She talked to her mom on the phone -- Mommy, I love you. She was headed just eight blocks away by foot -- eight blocks by foot! She was never seen alive again. Jean, before I go back to the fuzzy image, the party -- was the party eight blocks away, or was the little friend eight blocks away?</s>CASAREZ: I think eight to ten blocks away was where they were going, and she was going to meet the little friend in the midst, but they would have to go past the mall to get there. And that`s where the fuzzy image -- they thought they saw Kayleah in that fuzzy image, but...</s>GRACE: So Jean, she didn`t even have to go eight full blocks. Eight blocks was the destination of the little birthday party. She was going to pick up her friend and meet her and go on to the party between here and there, which means she never even made it. I don`t know. Just call it four or five blocks.</s>CASAREZ: So she didn`t make it very far at all. You`re exactly right. And her mother was expecting her home at 7:00. She didn`t come home. She was calling everyone. Finally, at 10:00 o`clock, she called police.</s>GRACE: Out to the lines. Paula in Rhode Island. Hi, dear.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Thank you so much for taking my call, and God bless you for all that you do. My question is, did Kayleah`s mom and dad happen to know this 17 or 18-year-old boyfriend? Were they aware of the relationship?</s>GRACE: Oh, yes, they did, Paula, Rhode Island. Apparently, the young man -- I think he was 17, he may have been 18 at the time, I guarantee you Jean Casarez knows -- had problem with his mother. His mother wants to have a relationship with a registered sex offender, so the boy has to leave the house. The boy leaves the house. Kayleah`s mother takes him in. This is Robert Montoya. What more can you tell me, Jean?</s>CASAREZ: He was 17. And it was last fall. And so because his mother had basically thrown him out of his own house, Kayleah Wilson`s mother brought him in. She thought they were just platonic friends. She saw them in December in a bedroom together. Still thought they were platonic friends. In January, she caught them red-handed in the home. So she made him leave the home in January. In February, she saw them at an abandoned car lot being romantic. She told her daughter, You`re not going to see him anymore. And her daughter actually moved on. She was upset at the moment, but she moved on. But what the mother is saying is that Robert Montoya went to Kayleah`s middle school and hid in the bushes and looked in the window. Police were called that day, and in February even came to their home, hid in the bushes, looked in the window. And Kayleah called him the "stalker freak."</s>GRACE: So even at her young age of 12, she realized something was amiss. But at this point, he`s just a person of interest. For all we know, he may have an alibi at the time she goes missing. Somewhere in those few blocks, this 12-year-old girl is kidnapped and found murdered. We are talking about 12-year-old Kayleah Wilson. The breaking news tonight, a body discovered in a flooded irrigation ditch about a mile from her home has been positively identified as the 12-year-old little girl. The tip line 1-800-CALL-FBI, 1-800-225-5324. What happened to Kayleah?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This case started with the report of a missing juvenile reported to the Greeley Police Department.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twelve-year-old Kayleah Wilson was headed to a birthday party and vanished.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her body was found in a ditch. This is in Greeley, Colorado, just one mile from where Kayleah vanished.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tracker dogs searching for clues outside, combing roads and ditches...</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a homicide investigation, a murder investigation, at this point.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A homicide investigation is now being conducted.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news out of Greeley, Colorado, where a body was found in a ditch, and it has been identified.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The death does not appear to be accidental in nature.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The community now comes to grips with the death of a 12-year-old, Kayleah Wilson.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say she left home Sunday, was supposed to meet up with friends for a birthday party. She never showed up.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She never did arrive there, and that was not known to the mother until later that evening.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have recovered items of evidence at several locations.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is urgent. This is the top priority right now for the Denver division of the</s>FBI.  UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re going to find out who did this to her.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re leaving no stone unturned and we`re ruling out no suspects.</s>GRACE: It seems like everything converged. Everything wrong in this child`s life converged. This 12-year-old little girl -- her body has been found in an irrigation ditch about a mile from where she was last seen. Her body was partially submerged in water. The ditch worker that found her said that she was completely nude and her body was bloated from having been in the water for such a long period of time. Out to Pat Brown, criminal profiler, author of "The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths." Pat, I don`t feel that we can rest until we know who killed this little girl. And I want to know your thoughts.</s>PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, first of all, I would say, Nancy, that Robert Montoya, the 18-year-old, is a person of interest because he does not have an alibi. So that`s why he`s stuck up there, along with the other information that`s come along with him. And it always seemed to me that it had to be somebody that Kayleah knew because she was grabbed so quickly from coming out of her house. I just didn`t believe in the broad daylight, this size girl was going to be grabbed by a total stranger. So of course, they`re looking at Robert very, very heavily because they did have that relationship. And even though she called him a "stalker freak," she sort of -- she knew him and she probably had an emotional bond to some extent. And he may have pulled up and said, Hey, get in the car, let`s talk. And she says, No...</s>GRACE: Well, you know what?</s>BROWN: ... all that goes on.</s>GRACE: It reminds me of Nicole Brown and Orenthal James Simpson. She knew him. She thought he might come up...</s>BROWN: Right.</s>GRACE: ... and, you know, or verbally assault or maybe hit her, but probably didn`t think that at any point...</s>BROWN: Exactly.</s>GRACE: ... that he would slit her throat...</s>BROWN: Exactly.</s>GRACE: ... just the way this child -- I mean, Montoya had been allowed in the home, had been living there, was a friend of sorts. She was too young to know any different.</s>BROWN: And even if she had that inkling, I say they don`t use -- as you say, they don`t think anything would happen that bad. But then it becomes volatile, a person like, you never know. Of course, we don`t know that it`s him, but that`s why he`s the number one -- I would say the number one suspect, although they`re just saying a person of interest.</s>GRACE: To Sheryl McCollum, crime analyst, director of the cold case squad, Pine Lake PD. Sheryl, thank you for being with us. It`s very difficult to try to piece together a scene when water is involved. Explain.</s>SHERYL MCCOLLUM, CRIME ANALYST: Absolutely no question. The water`s going to wash away a lot of the evidence. If there`s fiber evidence, some of the hair, if she had been sexually assaulted, a lot of that would be washed away. But Nancy, one thing they`ve got to look at is this crime was quick. She was taken, assaulted and disposed of and hidden within a mile. That is a tremendously fast event.</s>GRACE: Everyone, we are going to break. We are taking your calls. But tonight, we still want answers, answers in the murder of a 13- year-old little boy, Chuckie Mauck. February 1986, Chuckie riding home on his bicycle, Warner Robbins, Georgia, stopped to talk to a man, a man in his car. As Chuckie gets back on his bicycle, the unknown driver guns the little boy down in broad daylight near a convenience store. This Saturday, he would be 38. Take a look at a life cut short. He could be a grown man with children right now. If you have information, please call Houston County sheriff, 478-542-2080.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every day, he is my thought when I get up and my last thought when I go to bed. And that`s not changed for 24 years. He`s always on my mind. Please, please come forward. Put some kind closure to this. I can`t imagine what it must be like for him to have kept this to himself, or whoever, for all this long. And it just needs to come to some kind of closure. He -- Chuckie deserves that. Chuck`s family deserves that. And he -- this person, whoever did it, he deserves it, too. It needs to come to an end.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A decomposed body has been found in a ditch in Greeley, Colorado.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Weld County coroner`s office has now identified the body as that of Kayleah Wilson.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was found by a worker checking the ditch for problems after heavy rain.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to sources, he claims the body was naked, bloated and white, the body so badly decomposed, homicide investigators failed to initially ID a gender.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Homicide detectives we know are on the scene now, but we`re talking about Kayleah Wilson. She was last seen leaving her home to walk to a friend`s birthday party March 28th. She never made it there.</s>GRACE: The body of little Kayleah Wilson has now been discovered. The 12-year-old -- her body, anyway -- was left in a flooded irrigation ditch, probably somehow secreted down underneath one of the sewers. The body became dislodged after flooding. We are taking your calls. To Wendy in Missouri. Hi, Wendy.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. First I have a comment and then a question for you. I wanted to tell you, you are an angel sent straight from heaven. And for people out there that don`t believe in prayer, seeing you behind that desk and seeing those pictures of those beautiful, adorable, gorgeous twins at the firehouse and how big they`ve gotten just proves that prayer works because I prayed and prayed and prayed. And praise the Lord that you guys are all -- you made -- you made it.</s>GRACE: Wendy, I got to tell you something. Right before I delivered, we had no idea how sick I had gotten. We didn`t know about the blood clots in the lungs. We didn`t know about the pulmonary edema. I just knew I couldn`t breathe. You know, I really felt God`s presence there in the room with me. And the doctor told us that if we had waited, that Lucy would not have lived. It was a matter of hours that she could have hung on. So...</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That just sent a chill up my spine for you hearing that. Oh, my goodness!</s>GRACE: Your prayers -- I`m just telling you, God hears our prayers. And that`s an example. And when I`m thinking about this little Kayleah Wilson, just how much her mother must have loved her and how much she must just be, you know, blaming herself, thinking she was doing a good thing by giving a home to this young man, a 17-year-old that had been thrown out of his home. Wendy, what is your question, dear?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I wanted to know -- I heard your guest talk about the -- a lot of DNA might be gone away because of the water. Could there possibly, if the boyfriend did do it and there`s DNA, could he have just maybe say, Well, we were together, because they had been...</s>GRACE: Hold on. Wendy, don`t hang up. We`re going to commercial break, but I want to keep you on the line and we`ll answer that question when we get back.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did do specific searches in the area near her home where she would have crossed the highway.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s just a great 6th grade kid. She`s a typical middle school kid.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kayleah Wilson, 12 years old, her body found in a ditch, confirming the worst.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kayleah Wilson, age 12, is reported missing to Greeley Police Department. A body was discovered by a ditch rider in an irrigation ditch near the intersection of 35th Avenue and the Highway 34 bypass in Greeley.</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She went missing on March 28th. We believe she was walking to a friend`s birthday party who live in the neighborhood. Never arrived at that birthday party and now our worst fears have been confirmed.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had surveillance video of her at the Greeley mall in between her house and the birthday party that she was heading to. But that was it. No other clues until this body turned up. And when it did, of course, everyone began to speculate that this was the body of Kayleah.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now the community, the family, we can put her to rest. And she is going home.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was the dental records, we hear, that really allowed them to figure out that this was Kayleah.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Help us find the person that`s done this.</s>NANCY GRACE, HOST: A 12-year-old girl has now been identified. Kayleah Wilson. Just absolutely precious. Look at her. That little smile. She was headed out that day to a friend`s birthday party. She talked to her mom and said, I love you, mommy. And then her mother never saw her again. We are taking your calls. The tip line is 1-800-CALL-FBI, 225-5324. Back to you, Troy Coverdale, joining us from Greeley, Colorado, with KFKA Radio. Tell me what are police saying in the search for the killer?</s>TROY COVERDALE, NEWS DIRECTOR, KFKA RADIO (via phone): They are labeling Robert Montoya, of course, as a person of interest. But thus far, he is the only one that has been identified in that. He was arrested, interestingly enough, the same morning that the body of Kayleah Wilson was found in that irrigation canal. He was arrested on charges of sexual abuse against a child and sexual abuse against a child with a pattern. And those two felony counts landing him in jail. And immediately, the police were making sure that it was very clear to everyone that he is not a suspect in this case but rather a person of interest. But yet they`ve not said who else may be a person of interest, other than just to out and out say that there are a number of people that they`re looking into in this case.</s>GRACE: With us, Wendy in Missouri. Wendy, I want to go back to your question. Repeat, please.</s>WENDY, CALLER FROM MISSOURI: Well, I wanted to know if I heard your guest say that because of the water, that both the DNA would probably be washed away. Now I wanted to know if they possibly, if she was sexually assaulted, which I`m sure she was, the poor baby was naked. But if it has -- if it is this boyfriend, could he say, well, you know, it`s because we had a relationship in the past or we just met up and try to wheel out of that. And also, would there still be maybe a little bit -- if she tried to fight back, a little bit of skin under her finger nails? Did they find any clothes?</s>GRACE: Good question, your question, Wendy, Missouri. To Dr. Marty Makary, physician and professor of public health, joining us from Johns Hopkins. Dr. Marty, what do you make of that question? What`s your answer?</s>DR. MARTY MAKARY, PHYSICIAN, PROF. OF PUBLIC HEALTH, JOHNS HOPKINS: Well, when there is sexual assault or a sexual activity before a homicide that is absolutely discoverable by any good forensic medicine pathologist. That will be a treasure trove of DNA evidence. The problem is, the timing is not good enough to be able to say that that activity occurred just before the homicide. So it could represent, say, consenting behavior, or a casual contact much prior, if there is a hair or fluids from a body cavity that --</s>GRACE: OK, let`s talk about sperm. That`s what we`re talking about. Sperm. DNA found and spermatozoa. Now, Dr. Makary, if her body had been found sooner, much sooner, there may have been able -- you may have been able to tell how long the sperm had been there. The sperm lasts, as I recall from prosecuting, a good 72 hours. It is still alive. It is still mobile. Then the tail falls off. The head falls off. It becomes dismantled. But even after a long, long period of time, the DNA will still be there.</s>MAKARY: The DNA can stay there for years. But within those first three days, that`s the critical period you talked about. That`s when you can really use a timeline to backtrack within a matter of several hours or days prior. And that may be missing.</s>GRACE: As to when the sex activity -- I mean if you can place the sex activity -- in this case it would be statutory rape -- within a couple hours or around the time of the murder, then you`ve got murder and sex activity at the same time. That points a very strong finger at the young man, 17-year-old Montoya. But we don`t have that here. If there is sperm, if there is DNA, we won`t be able to date it the way you could within that first 72 hours. Is that correct, Dr. Makary?</s>MAKARY: That`s absolutely correct. You may be able to conclude only that there was sexual activity in, say, the week or a few weeks prior to the homicide.</s>GRACE: What about skin or particles under her finger nails? What about that?</s>MAKARY: That would absolutely tell whether or not there was a struggle. Whether or not there was a struggle or not is easy.</s>GRACE: Would it still be there, Dr. Makary? Would that DNA still be under her nails?</s>MAKARY: It`s hard to say, Nancy. If the body were put in a suitcase immediately, yes. If there was water damage, it may have washed off.</s>GRACE: And another thing, Dr. Marty, it also depends on how she was taken on to the gurney. I have actually seen murder victims taken in without their hands being bagged. Paper, brown paper bags put over the hands and rubber banded so any evidence under the finger nails remains intact. If you don`t do that, you can lose that DNA in -- on the gurney.</s>MAKARY: Every medical doctor will tell you in forensic medicine, there are good and bad extractions of human bodies that they`ve seen. And it -- it is -- can be disgusting or it can be a very good meticulous job.</s>GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Sue Moss, New York. Alan Ripka, New York. Peter Odom, Atlanta. Weigh in, Sue Moss.</s>SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY & CHILD ADVOCATE: This obscene 18 sleeping with a tween may have caused this murder scene. And we want justice. Look at the facts. This child was found naked. This child also had had a sexual relationship with this 18-year-old, a very inappropriate one. The fact that she was found naked, well, you do the math. Chances are she knew her attacker. She knew her abuser. And there`s a reason why he`s a person of interest.</s>GRACE: Person of interest. That`s putting it lightly. We`ll be back with Ripka and Odom. But as we go to break, please send your thoughts out for Sheeba. Sheeba from Illinois. She`s having back surgery, Memorial Hospital, Carbondale, Illinois. A former V.A. nurse. Sheeba, please stay strong. And thoughts and prayers for a tiny crime fighter, 7-year-old Ciara. A first grader at Ohio State School for the Blind. She loves the outdoors, learning music and Braille. She is suffering from a broken leg. Beautiful sweet Ciara, please get well. And thank you to Facebook crime fighters, Nebraska friend, Heather, always wearing her "I love Nancy Grace" t-shirt. Thank you. Georgia friend Ken says he doesn`t sleep at night until he watches the show. New Jersey friend Johnna. She checks in on her Facebook page every day. And Florida friend Marshall never misses the show. Thank you, Facebook crime fighters. Submit photos, CNN.com/Nancygrace. Click on Facebook.</s>GRACE: Who`s the woman in the suitcase?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pearla Ann Louis was a mother. She was a daughter.</s>GRACE: She was murder and stuffed in a suitcase.</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The body curled in a fetal position inside the hard-shell luggage has been positively I.D.`d as 52-year-old San Francisco woman, Pearla Ann Louis.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a very challenging time for us.</s>GRACE: Washed ashore, a suitcase.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because you only got one mom.</s>GRACE: Inside, a woman`s body.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That this one is a reality that she`s not here.</s>GRACE: Out to Matt Zarrell, our producer on the story. What happened, Matt?</s>MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE STAFFER, COVERING STORY: Well, Nancy, in the last few minutes, we`ve learned a lot more about this story. We`re learning about the timeline. Now on Sunday, the last day Pearla was seen about 9:00 a.m. she calls one of her daughters to talk to her. She`s got four kids, two grandkids. She then proceeds to go about her day. Monday, 3:00 p.m. when no one sees her, she`s reported missing. Her body found less than 24 hours later.</s>GRACE: Joining me right now, two very special guests out of San Francisco. Ayesha Louis, this is Miss Pearla Louis`s daughter, and Kareem Marshall, this is her son. To both of you, thank you for being with us. Ayesha, first to you. How did you learn that it was your mom, the lady in the suitcase?</s>AYESHA LOUIS, DAUGHTER OF WOMAN MURDERED, FOUND STUFFED INSIDE SUITCASE: The detectives came to my job on Wednesday afternoon to tell me that the woman that they have been talking about on the news, in the suitcase, that was found in the San Francisco bay was my mom.</s>GRACE: You must have been stunned. I mean, how long hit been since you talk to your mom?</s>LOUIS: The last person that talked to her was my younger sister. And she talked to her about 3:00 on Sunday. And so when the detectives came in, I was absolutely stunned. Shocked and devastated.</s>GRACE: Kareem Marshall, before I go any further, as a crime victim myself, I am so sorry for what you and your family are going through. Please give us any information you can, Kareem, about how to identify who did this to your mother. Was she seeing anyone? Was she in a relationship? Who was she last with?</s>KAREEM MARSHALL, SON OF WOMAN MURDERED, FOUND STUFFED INSIDE SUITCASE: We don`t know anything about that. What I can say about my mother was that she was a very friendly woman. She was very friendly. And she loved people. So I can`t imagine who would have done this to my mother. Because she was very friendly, very accepting. She just had a light around her every time she walked around where you can just tell that she was a very, very beautiful woman. And I just can`t imagine who would do something like that to her.</s>GRACE: Ayesha, what are police telling you at this point?</s>LOUIS: The police are not giving us much information, except for, you know, that it was our mother, Pearla Louis, and that it is a homicide. But besides that, they`re keeping the investigation pretty much under wraps and very tight-lipped about any circumstances surrounding it.</s>GRACE: Have they told you cause of death yet?</s>LOUIS: Not a thing. They haven`t told us anything.</s>GRACE: Everyone, the tip line. Please, take a look at this beautiful daughter and this beautiful son. Ayesha and Kareem. They are the children of Miss Pearla Louis. Her body discovered after it wash ashore on the San Francisco bay. To Alan Ripka and Peter Odom, what would you advise now to whoever did this to Miss Louis? First to you, Ripka.</s>ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Whoever did this ought to turn themselves in right away and try to make the best deal they can because when they get caught, they`re going to get the death penalty.</s>GRACE: You know, Peter, I agree with Ripka. Whoever did this is going to be caught. There is going to be so much evidence police can get from that suitcase, from her body. So right now, if they go to a lawyer, they could get a surrender in exchange for not seeking the death penalty.</s>PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, the death penalty under California law has to be alleged and proven. And right now, there are no facts indicating that.</s>GRACE: Yes, Peter --</s>ODOM: And that wouldn`t be an incentive for someone --</s>GRACE: I know that.</s>ODOM: I`m sorry.</s>GRACE: I`m talking about how to find out who did this and what can be offered to get someone to turn themselves in. If you have anything informative on that subject, please tell us now.</s>ODOM: Well, Nancy, if someone came to me and said that they had done this, I would have an obligation not to have them turn themselves in because that`s the lawyer`s code of ethics.</s>GRACE: OK, Peter, that was really helpful. Susan, can you weigh in?</s>MOSS: Absolutely not. If somebody comes and tells you that they did it, you need to tell them the fact that there is going to be so much evidence because there is -- her body wasn`t that decomposed. If anything was done to this lady, there is going to be DNA evidence. And look, unless she is Houdini, she didn`t put herself in that suitcase. There is going to be evidence. It`s going to be forensic evidence and it`s going to catch whoever did this.</s>GRACE: Out to Sheryl McCollum, crime scene analyst with the Cold Case Squad PD. Excuse me, Pine Lake PD. Weigh in, Sheryl. What do you advise?</s>SHERYL MCCOLLUM, CRIME ANALYST, DIR. OF COLD CASE SQUAD AT PINE LAKE P.D.: Well, obviously, turn yourself in because that suitcase being a hard cover is like a treasure chest of evidence for us, Nancy. The trace evidence is going to be there. His DNA is going to be there. The manner of death. If something was wrapped around her neck, if her hands were bound, if her ankles were bound, if her clothes were on or off, all of that is going to be indicative of who did this crime.</s>GRACE: You know, to you, Ayesha and Kareem, we`re going to stay on this story. Tonight is not the end of this. But as we go to break, can you tell me about your mother? Tell me about her, Ayesha. I heard Kareem tell me a little.</s>LOUIS: She was a daughter, she is a mother, she`s a grandmother. But she was one person who was just full of life. And like Kareem said, everyone liked her and she loved hard and loved people. So that`s why we`re really shocked and devastated by somebody doing this to her because she --</s>GRACE: Well, I know this, Ayesha. I don`t know her but I`ve seen you. I`ve seen your brother. And I know this. She did a good job raising you. And that`s the highest compliment a mother can ever have.</s>LOUIS: Thank you.</s>GRACE: Everyone, the tip line, 415-575-4444. And tonight, happy 91st birthday, Mattie Adams, Crestview, Florida, mother of one, grandmother of two, great grand to two. Happy birthday, beautiful Mattie. And happy second birthday to Tennessee crime fighter Emma. Loves her Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse. She loves spending time with her grandmother, Martha. Happy birthday, Emma. And happy birthday to special friend, Joe Fienberg (ph). You`re not getting older, Joe, you`re getting better. And now "CNN Heroes."</s>GREG KINNEAR, ACTOR: Please stand up and honor CNN Hero Roy Foster.</s>ROY FOSTER, CNN HERO: I was overwhelmed at the tribute. There will be no man left behind as long as we are this nation. To be honored in something that you love doing, showcased internationally was tremendous. And still reaping benefits as we speak today. We did come up with Stand Down House 10 years ago to provide assistance and services for homeless veterans. But every day they would bounce to another place, go to the hospital, go to the V.A., trying to meet their criteria. It`s a natural run-around and there was never that support for the family or the female veterans. This year, we`ve been fortunate enough to complete that vision. We were looking to establish a one-stop center. A place where we can move them through the process under one roof. That`s what it is about. Hello. How are you?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is my living room.</s>FOSTER: The second part is the housing component for our female veterans and families.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My pride is restored. I`m able to look for jobs. Not worry about where am I going to go when I come home.</s>FOSTER: CNN put us where I could share the full dream with people and play a pivotal role and actually being able to bring that dream forward.</s>GRACE: What a week in America`s courtrooms. Take a look at the stories and more important, the people who touched our lives.</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Kentucky man has been arrested for allegedly giving his 2-year-old stepdaughter enough alcohol that doctors say she could have been killed. Jackson was soon after taken into custody, charged with first-degree criminal abuse.</s>JOHN MARK KARR, FORMER JONBENET MURDER SUSPECT: I want to eat you or do I want to have sex with you.</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: John Mark Karr.</s>KARR: Protecting people who are innocent is important.</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The man who once falsely admitted to killing beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey --</s>KARR: Her death was an accident.</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- is reportedly under investigation for cyber stalking. The 19-year-old claims that when she tried to stop communication --</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: E-mails constantly.</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- Karr threatened to kill her.</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: New developments today in the case of missing Girl Scout, 16-year-old, Ali Lowitzer.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last seen on the school bus.</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She got off her school bus just feet from her house.</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: In fact, we have surveillance shots of Ali leaving the bus.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No one has seen her since.</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Actress Lindsay Lohan`s real-life drama played out in the Beverly Hills courtroom.</s>GRACE: She was late, but she made it.</s>LINDSAY LOHAN, ACTRESS: Yes, I`m that girl. I was stuck in Cannes. I had my passport stolen.</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She said that she missed an alcohol counseling session last week because her uncle died.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did she go to the funeral?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She did not.</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you scared you`ll go to prison?</s>LOHAN: I don`t see what -- the reason I would go to prison for. I`ve been more than compliant with everything having to do with the court has said. Enough is enough already.</s>SARAH FERGUSON, FORMER DUCHESS OF YORK: Sir, I don`t know the rules and regulations, but then I don`t really adhere to rules and regulations.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you seen this yet?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I`ve got to give you $40,000.</s>FERGUSON: Yes.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hidden camera video showing the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson allegedly trying to sell access to her ex-husband Prince Andrew.</s>FERGUSON: If we want to do a big deal with Andrew, then that`s the big one.</s>UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: "News of the World" says Ferguson asked for half a million pounds which equates to about $700,000 to, quote, "open doors." 911</s>DISPATCHER: Hill County 911, what`s your emergency?</s>DEBRA JETER: I just killed my children. 911</s>DISPATCHER: Excuse me?</s>JETER: Get an ambulance out here to save the one that didn`t die. Come on. Hurry up. 911</s>DISPATCHER: What`s your name?</s>JETER: Bitch. Call them. Have you already called them? One of them is dead. She`s dead. But the other one, she wants to be saved. And she needs to be saved. And I don`t see any lights.</s>MISTY CROSLIN, FORMER STEPMOM/BABYSITTER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: I swear on everything I told the truth, dad. There`s nothing else to tell. I don`t know.</s>GRACE: They brought Misty Croslin down to the docks to show police a specific spot in the St. Johns River.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All along she`s saying she didn`t know anything.</s>CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is. I`m not hiding anything. I don`t know anything. I`m not hiding anything. There`s nothing to break me on. There`s nothing.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And now she is pointing out what may have happened that night that Haleigh went missing.</s>GRACE: Let`s stop and remember Army Sergeant 1st Class David Heringes, 36, Tampa, Florida, killed Iraq. On a fourth tour, served 16 years. Awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation medal. Loved time with family, NASCAR, restoring cars, riding his Harley. Dreamed of taking his family to Disney World after Iraq. Leaves behind grieving parents Ronald and Joy, sister Melissa, widow Shannon, son Logan, daughter, Cheyenne. David Heringes, American hero. Thank you to our guest but especially to you for being with us. And a special good night from the New York control room. Good night, everybody, evil, squeaky, Dana, Bret. That`s right, you better turn around. Mm-hmm. Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friends. END