Country Music Star Denies Assaulting Wife
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight, live, Tennessee. A 911 call from the mansion of a country music star. Nashville PD race to the home after claims the superstar goes on a violent rampage, throwing his wife to the floor of the hallway, then smothering her with a pillow. Bombshell tonight. In a stunning twist, Atkins walks free on low bond -- after allegations he tries to murder his own wife? A country superstar divorce explodes in claims of attempted murder. But then the star takes to the stage and national TV, even sold-out concerts.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Country star Rodney Atkins.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tammy Atkins says that her husband tried to smother her with a pillow.</s>RODNEY ATKINS, COUNTRY SINGER: I`m Rodney Atkins. I`m a country music entertainer.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Famous for hit songs such as "Cleaning This Gun" and "Visibly Shaken" and "If You`re Going Through Hell."</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She filed domestic assault charges which have just come to light.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smothered her with a pillow.</s>ATKINS: I`m on the road a lot away from home. Nothing like your guys.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After arguing all night...</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has his own troubles tonight.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the singer says it was a verbal dispute.</s>ATKINS: Keeping it normal.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her complaint says it all happened in front of their 10-year-old son.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But Atkins`s attorney says the allegations are completely untrue.</s>ATKINS: And I do understand how tough it is to be away from family.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then Atkins fights back in court, abruptly filing for divorce.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smother her with a pillow.</s>ATKINS: Keeping it normal... -- it normal... -- it normal...</s>GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight, live in Tennessee. A 911 call from the mansion of a country music star. Nashville PD race to the home after claims tonight that a country divorce has exploded. Nashville`s nastiest claims and divorce ever have culminated in claims the star tried to murder his wife in her sleep. We are taking your calls. Straight out to Nicole Partin joining us from Nashville, investigation reporter. Nicole Partin, what can you tell me? Claims the superstar tried to smother his wife in her sleep?</s>NICOLE PARTIN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (via telephone): Good evening, Nancy. The country music world shocked as one of their own faces ugly allegations tonight. It seems as though country music star Rodney Atkins is living the lyrics of a bad country song, drinking all night, tears on the pillow. He lands in jail. Now an ugly divorce. He`s hired a high- time (ph) attorney. It is ugly, and Nashville is in an uproar.</s>GRACE: Well, you know what? I`m not really as concerned about Nashville being in an uproar. I`m concerned about the allegations he tried to kill his wife by smothering her with a pillow in her sleep. What can you tell me about that those claims?</s>PARTIN: Tammy Jo, the wife, told police that Rodney had been arguing with her all night long.</s>GRACE: About what? About what?</s>PARTIN: We don`t know. They`re not telling us that. She says that he was intoxicated, that he continued to drink all night long. Sometime during the night, he takes a pillow and tries to smother her, putting the pillow over her face, trying to smother her with the pillow. She continues to argue with him. He argues back all night long. He continues to drink. Then early in the morning hours, he grabs her face, and in her own words, she says he threw her down the hallway. That`s when she made the frantic 911 call.</s>GRACE: We are taking your calls. To Alexis Weed. Alexis, what more can you tell me?</s>ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, the alleged assault was supposedly, according to Tammy, in front of their 10-year-old son. The couple has a 10-year-old son. Now, Rodney Atkins -- he claims that the son was just in earshot of this argument, that he didn`t actually see any physical violence. But that`s not the story that the wife`s telling.</s>GRACE: To Caryn Stark, psychologist, joining us out of New York. Caryn, what`s the difference, your son can see, your baby can see the fight, or can hear the fight as you allegedly throw your wife down the hall?</s>CARYN STARK, PSYCHOLOGIST: There`s no difference when a child is exposed to a couple fighting, whether he sees physical or he just hears the words and can hear his mother being thrown. It`s all really disturbing, and it`s something that children do not get over because there`s no safety. It winds up that they`re in a home and it`s very, very scary for them because the two people that are supposed to be protecting them are not protecting each other.</s>GRACE: To Alexis Tereszcuk, senior reporter, Radaronline.com. Alexis, thank you for being with us. What can you tell me about the charges that are against the country star right now?</s>ALEXIS TERESZCUK, RADARONLINE.COM: Well, they were misdemeanor charges for assault and...</s>GRACE: Whoa! Whoa! Wait! Misdemeanor charges? Everybody, you`re been seeing Atkins`s music video, "Farmer`s Daughter," from YouTube and Curb (ph) Records. She claims he tried to smother her to death and he got a misdemeanor charge?</s>TERESZCUK: And that`s all that it was. And in fact, it was such a small charge that he was let out of jail on just a $2,500 bond. That`s it. He paid it immediately and was out.</s>GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Kelly Saindon, former prosecutor, Chicago, Jason Oshins, New York, Renee Rockwell, Atlanta, defense attorney. Kelly, misdemeanor?</s>KELLY SAINDON, FORMER PROSECUTOR: I agree with you. I mean, if she actually was in fear for her life and there was a possibility -- if he had the intent to kill her, that seems really light. This seems a lot more than just domestic abuse. You know, he punched her. This could be attempted murder. And if she`s credible -- it seems like there might be some question. The police might not have believed it because otherwise, I agree with you, there should have been a higher charge. At the minimum, it should have been an aggravated assault.</s>GRACE: OK, what about it, Jason?</s>JASON OSHINS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Listen, at the very minimum, you have what is made out in a complaint of a simple assault. Intent has to be proven. We`re not going to win fur (ph) intent from what would be a simple assault...</s>GRACE: Wa-wait! Put him up,</s>OSHINS: Nancy...</s>GRACE: Let me ask you a pointed question...</s>OSHINS: Go ahead.</s>GRACE: ... about the law, Jason.</s>OSHINS: OK.</s>GRACE: As you know, you and Renee, Kelly, you`ve tried many, many cases.</s>OSHINS: Sure.</s>GRACE: Isn`t it true that when you are looking for intent, you can look at implicit or explicit? For instance, you don`t have to say, I`m going to kill you. Don`t you think, Jason Oshins, if someone holds you down and puts a pillow over your nose and mouth that that is implicitly intent to commit murder?</s>OSHINS: No, no. It`s not. How...</s>GRACE: What would that be, then?</s>OSHINS: How long -- Nancy, how long did he hold her? What`s the allegation?</s>GRACE: Well, hold on...</s>OSHINS: Was it a second in anger?</s>GRACE: Hold on!</s>OSHINS: Was it holding it down with the intent to...</s>GRACE: Smothering her to keep her quiet. Dr. Manion, how long does it take for one to go without air before you`re dead?</s>DR. BILL MANION, MEDICAL EXAMINER, NEW JERSEY: Well, first of all, you`ll become unconscious probably within 45 seconds, a minute, a minute and 15 seconds, you`ll become unconscious. And then if that force is maintained and you`re not allowed to breathe again, the heart will go into ventricular fibrillation and you`ll be dead probably within four or five minutes, in the sense that your heart is no longer working. Your brain will become anoxic, and even if you`re resuscitated, you may be brain dead after not having oxygen for three or four minutes.</s>GRACE: Now, so what were you saying, Jason Oshins?</s>OSHINS: The allegation from the complainant, the wife, is that it was -- it was held down. If she believed that he was holding it down with the intent to kill her, that might be something that has to be investigated further. How long was it? Maybe, in fact, law enforcement responding didn`t feel, at least maybe in the notes that they took, that he was holding it down for whatever period of time that would be long enough to cause what Dr. Manion so eloquently relates to anoxic...</s>GRACE: Put Jason Oshins up again. So Jason, when you`ve ever been in an argument with your beautiful wife...</s>OSHINS: Never.</s>GRACE: ... mother of your two children...</s>OSHINS: Never.</s>GRACE: ... did you ever just, just to get her to be quiet just a moment, did you ever hold a pillow over her nose and mouth?</s>OSHINS: No, I`ve never done that, Nancy.</s>GRACE: Why? Why? Because she might die?</s>OSHINS: Yes. Exactly. I mean, but -- but at the -- we`re not talking about my relationship here, a loving relationship. We`re talking about a violent act that might have taken place...</s>GRACE: All right.</s>OSHINS: ... over a very short period of time...</s>GRACE: OK...</s>OSHINS: ... not enough to rise to a murder.</s>GRACE: You`re really digging a hole for yourself here. OK, Rockwell, weigh in.</s>RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: OK. So Nancy, you`ve never had a victim that has exaggerated. Obviously, the police made a charging decision. Not to say they can`t upgrade it later, but it tells a lot that he got out for $2,500 and he went to a concert. They`re not scared of him. They`re allowing him to see his child. So it tells me that maybe they`re not buying everything that the wife is saying.</s>GRACE: To Tanya Young Williams, spokeswoman for the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Her former husband was in the NBA. So Tanya, I don`t know if that, what Renee Rockwell, defense attorney, just said, is exactly what this scenario tells me because there have been many, many times, many times when I was working for the battered women`s center for 10 years that charges were undercharged and that felony charges were not brought when they should have been brought. Explain, Tanya.</s>TANYA YOUNG WILLIAMS, NAT`L DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE (via telephone): Well, you`re exactly right, Nancy. There are a couple of things we have to look at. First and foremost, if he believes that his wife has completely made this up, and that would mean she`s psychotic, then he wouldn`t want his wife to have his children at all. The fact that he`s asking for joint custody makes me think something really happened. Now, the fact that the police only made a minimal charge -- that only means they had enough facts before them that they felt comfortable. But yes, they can change the charges and upgrade the charges at a later time.</s>GRACE: Out to the lines. Amy in Pennsylvania. Hi, Amy. What`s your question?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I`m finding this a real shocker. But first, please give the kids a kiss from Dave and</s>I.  GRACE: I will.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For Christmas. And Merry Christmas.</s>GRACE: Thank you.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love the pictures. As a survivor of abuse, I know it goes -- it`s quiet. It`s not reported. But was there any evidence -- and I`m the last one that should be questioning this. Was there any evidence? Was the son questioned? You know, was this because out of anger because he filed for divorce?</s>GRACE: Good question. Nicole Partin, what do you know?</s>PARTIN: Actually, Nancy, the divorce was filed after this incident took place. We also know that Mr. Atkins has been seen recently with his child at different concerts, at different locations. And so, apparently, they feel that he is no threat to the child. We have no known evidence of any past abuse with the Atkins family.</s>GRACE: OK. Alexis Tereszcuk, what more can you tell me?</s>TERESZCUK: Well, she was exactly right. You know, he filed for divorce immediately after the arrest charge. But there`s been nothing in their past. In fact, his wife, Tammy Jo, was in his video, "Farmer`s Daughter." His son was in a video about five years ago. They`ve had only loving relationships that they`ve put out in the public. Nobody has had any evidence of this so far until now.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tammy Atkins says that her husband tried to smother her with a pillow, and hours later, grabbed her by the face and pushed her down the hallway in a drunken rage. And her complaint says it all happened in front of their 10-year-old son.</s>ATKINS: Hey, you guys, I`m Rodney Atkins. I`m a country music entertainer.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Atkins arrested.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Serious allegations against country star Rodney Atkins.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The singer`s wife says Atkins abused her inside their Brentwood home.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But Atkins`s attorney says the allegations are completely untrue.</s>ATKINS: This is how you keep your sanity, you get an old Harley.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She filed domestic assault charges, which have just come to light.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After arguing all night, Tammy Atkins says that her husband tried to smother her with a pillow, and hours later, grabbed her by the face and pushed her down the hallway in a drunken rage.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then Atkins fights back in court, promptly filing for divorce.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rodney Atkins has a much different account.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And her complaint says it all happened in front of their 10-year-old son.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The singer says it was a verbal dispute and that when he realized his son was listening, his first priority became getting out of earshot of the child.</s>GRACE: Now, according to him, no physical confrontation ever occurred. The son only heard a verbal argument. That`s not what the mom says. Nashville police raced to the scene, the mansion of a country music superstar, after claims by the wife he tried to kill her in her sleep. We are taking your calls. I want to go out to Pat Brown, criminal profiler, author of "The Profiler." What about it, Pat? What jumps out at you?</s>PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, I can see why the police may have had trouble, depending on what evidence there was. First of all, if he tried to kill her in her sleep, you would think she would have done something to him, like grab his hands, scratch him, do something, if he was holding her down that long. Then she says something interesting. Supposedly hours later, there`s this other confrontation. Hours later? If I wake up to my husband trying to kill me in my sleep, there is no "hours later." I`m getting the hell out of there, calling the police, doing something. I`m not sitting around with this guy. Then he grabs her by the face and shoves her down the hall. When a guy who`s drunk with big hands grabs a woman by the face, it`s going to leave marks on her. So I think the problem may be they just don`t have the physical evidence, and they don`t understand why she stayed after he tried to kill her in the night. So I think those are problematic issues.</s>GRACE: Well, you know, what`s interesting? Tanya Williams, Tanya Young Williams joining us from National Domestic Violence Hotline -- women stay after abuse. It`s normal. It happens all the time.</s>WILLIAMS: It happens all the time. And unfortunately, once again, the victim is being made the victim. Just because she made a decision not to make the initial altercation public and maybe in the best interests of her son, we`re all discrediting the fact that something might have happened. And let`s not forget the initial filing by his attorney stated that Tammy`s ill conduct was a justifiable cause for his conduct. So at least his attorney is saying he did something, whereas now everyone wants to act like the wife is completely making it up. Something`s wrong here. Something`s wrong with the whole picture.</s>GRACE: Everyone, I want to go out to Sheryl McCollum, crime analyst, director of Cold Case Investigative Research Institute. Sheryl, what do you think?</s>SHERYL MCCOLLUM, CRIME ANALYST: He says in his statement that he released that when he noticed the child could hear, he wanted just to get out of earshot. His first response was to get out of earshot, not to stop the fighting? That`s very telling to me, Nancy. That tells me that this man is going to keep fighting with her, keep yelling at her. He just doesn`t want the baby to be able to hear it. And everybody`s forgetting we`ve got a witness here, a 10-year-old Elijah (ph). He can tell you what was going on in that house, and so can her other two grown daughters. For the last 13 years, they can tell you what`s been going on.</s>GRACE: Everyone, you are seeing shots of a country music star. It`s Rodney Atkins, platinum-selling country music star. He`s 42 years old. The Williamson County police, not the Nashville police, have taken over the case. And as of now, he has walked free on a $2,500 bond. Back to Nicole Partin, Nashville-based investigative reporter. Nicole, when did all this break? We know that a divorce is in the works, and then it exploded in claims of attempted murder.</s>PARTIN: Right. We have those initial allegations that happened. And then just a few days after that, we have Mr. Atkins saying, I`m filing for divorce. He made the motion for divorce. He did this in a few days following the incident. And remember, all the while, he`s continued his concerts. He`s continued every appearance. He`s continued with a normal life</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rodney Atkins, who has since filed for divorce, has a much different account. Through his attorney, Rose Palermo, the singer says it was a verbal dispute and that when he realized his son was listening, his first priority became getting out of earshot of the child.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Country music superstar Rodney Atkins, famous for hit songs such as "Cleaning This Gun," "Invisibly Shaken" and "If You`re Going Through Hell," has his own troubles tonight, Atkins arrested after his wife claims to police that he tried to smother her with a pillow and threw her down a hallway. But Atkins`s attorney says the allegations are completely untrue, that the fight was only verbal, his wife was unharmed, and his only concern was getting their young son out of earshot. Then Atkins fights back in court, promptly filing for divorce.</s>ATKINS: I`m Rodney Atkins. I`m a country music entertainer. I`m on the road about 200 days a year. The biggest challenge for me out on the road, keeping it normal. When I get calendar, on the first of the year, I got to go through and get my kids` school schedules, games, practices because I want to be at as many as I can.</s>GRACE: ... year-old beauty claims a boozed-up country star Atkins attacks her after an argument. She falls asleep, and when she does, she says he tries to smother her to death with a pillow. Welcome back. We are taking your calls. Did a country music superstar get special treatment? He bonded out on just $2,500 bond after his wife claims attempted murder, with songs like the hit of the year, "Watching You," his most recent hit "Take a Back Road." Here`s his mug shot. Out to the lines. Jack in Florida. Hi, Jack. What`s your question?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, there, Nancy. I`m sure he did -- from what you`re saying, he did get preferential treatment. And when is that going to stop? Are cops -- police going to treat celebrities better than they treat and differently than they treat the public? Is that going to just go on and on?</s>GRACE: You know, Jack, simple answer, yes, it is. Now, I can`t make a call in this case because I`m torn, based on her claims and having a 10- year-old eyewitness, according to the mom, versus the way that the police charged it down and this low bail. What about the low bail? To you, Sheryl McCollum.</s>MCCOLLUM: The low bail is a concern to me, as well. Again, if there weren`t physical injuries they could see and they didn`t finish interviewing the child and the other children, you know, perhaps they said, Look, we`re just going to charge him for sure with what we can hold him on. We can upgrade it later.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hours later, grabbed her by the face and pushed her down the hallway in a drunken rage.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Atkins`s attorney says the allegations are completely untrue.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Atkins fights back in court abruptly filing for divorce.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tammy Atkins says that her husband tried to smother her with a pillow.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Atkins attorney says the allegations are completely untrue.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And hours later grabbed her by the face and pushed her down the hallway in a drunken rage.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Atkins says the nice was verbal. His wife was unarmed and his only concern was getting his son out of earshot.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Serious allegations against country star Rodney Atkins. The singer`s wife, who had a cameo in his "Farmer`s Daughter" video Atkins abused her inside their Brentwood home. She filed domestic assault charges which have just come to light.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After arguing all night, Tammy Atkins says that her husband tried to smother her with a pillow and hours later grabbed her by the face and pushed her down the hallway in a drunken rage. And her complaint says it all happened in front of their 10-year-old son.</s>GRACE: We are taking your calls. A country music star walks on a low bond after claims he tried to kill his wife, allegedly by smothering her in her sleep. I want to go back out to Alexis Tereszcuk, senior reporter RadarOnline.com. We see this over and over, especially you, Alexis, out in L.A. regarding the divorce. How is this going to impact the divorce and what is the word on preferential treatment for a country music star? Trying to smother someone in their sleep is a serious charge.</s>ALEXIS TERESZCUK, SENIOR REPORTER, RADARONLINE.COM: It is. It actually reminds me of just a year ago when Charlie sheen was arrested for allegedly holding a knife at his wife`s throat, and he got no jail time. I think he did a little bit of community service. Nothing happened to him. Celebrities definitely get preferential treatment, especially the men when they do these things to their wives. And the wife is often said that she`s not telling the truth or a history of substance abuse. But she wants to split all of their marital property. She wants 50 percent of everything. I think in Tennessee the laws are not as strict as California where you have to be married for at least 10 years. They`ve been married for 13 years. I think she`ll get at least half if not more in this.</s>GRACE: You`re seeing video from YouTube of Atkins` most recent country hit, "Farmer`s Daughter." I`ve seen it enough now that you can stop showing me that. I appreciate that. What I think you`re doing is glamorizing this, the mug shot of a country superstar there in the Nashville suburbs, the more high class area. What about it? Where does he live, Alexis? Where does he live? What law enforcement got there? Is it a gated community? What happened when they got there? I`m trying to figure out why these charges are so low. Do cops think if you`re rich and a superstar you can`t beat your wife and try to kill her?</s>ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: This is in Brentwood --</s>GRACE: Go ahead.</s>WEED: This is in Brentwood, Tennessee, Nancy. It`s about 10 miles south of Nashville, very close there. But the police who responded were the Williamson County, Tennessee, police. They are handling this matter. The home is supposedly up for sale right now. It`s listed at about $1.25 million. And it`s been on the market for four months so we`re hearing.</s>GRACE: You know, all the divorce, all of the legal proceedings happened when in this timeline, Alexis?</s>WEED: The divorce happened immediately the day afterwards, right after the arrest and charges came down. This was the next day, Nancy. Also I should mention that Atkins, Rodney Atkins has hired a high powered attorney known to be sort of an attorney to the stars there. Her name is Rose Palermo, and she`s been in practice a long time there. She`s represented other country music stars in their divorces. She`s a family law attorney.</s>GRACE: Like who?</s>WEED: Vince Gill in his 1998 divorce from Janice Oliver.</s>GRACE: That was a high-powered divorce. To Caryn Stark, clinical psychologist, joining us, we were talking about whether the son saw the physical confrontation or just heard it. Whether there actually was a physical confrontation. What are you reading between the lines here?</s>CARYN STARK, PSYCHOLOGIST: What I`m reading between the lines is that this guy is trying to lower what the people, the public thinks about what happened with the child. And what I would like to know is where is somebody interviewing this 10-year-old boy, because he seems to hold a lot of the answers? And I feel like in any other case they would have made sure that he was interviewed as quickly as possible, because children change the story over time. And so that`s what I`m wondering about.</s>GRACE: Yes, if they get coached. Out to the lines, Chris in Pennsylvania. What`s your question?</s>CHRIS, CALLER: Hey, Nancy, I have a question. What do you do with a he said/she said and you can`t figure it out?</s>GRACE: Good question, Chris. To Dr. Bill Manion, medical examiner from New Jersey. You know, another issue, doctor, and when you try to prove for instance an attempted murder via suffocation, what physical evidence do you really have?</s>DR. BILL MANION, M.D., MEDICAL EXAMINER: Well, she should have gone to an emergency room and they could have documented any abrasions on her face, like scuff marks, and if the pillow had been pressed hard against her lips, she`ll have lacerations on the inner lips. Also if she was strangled, there may be hemorrhages in the eyes. So there is evidence there. If she made that allegation, doctors would have gone to great extremes to document the injuries and have them for evidence later.</s>GRACE: Did you say scuff marks?</s>MANION: Well, an abrasion. As the pillow is pushed against the face you would get abrasions like scuff marks. In addition, one of your earlier speakers mentioned if she was clawing back at him, he might have scratches on his hands and forearms. So that would be additional evidence that a serious scuffle took place.</s>GRACE: Unleash the lawyers -- Kelly Saindon, Chicago, Renee Rockwell from the Atlanta jurisdiction, Jason Oshins, New York and New Jersey. Kelly it is disturbing, and I understand the psychology behind the battered women`s syndrome. But without any physical evidence, it does turn into like Chris in Pennsylvania said, a he said/she said. I don`t care there`s no physical evidence. What`s disturbing me is if she did not follow-up with the cops or didn`t go get any type of a physical exam, that leaves the prosecutors really with their hands tied here.</s>KELLY SAINDON, FORMER PROSECUTOR AND FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: You`re right. She has sort of tied the prosecutor`s hands. And he is a superstar, so I`m sure she feels like public opinion is not on her side. Whatever happened precipitated enough that she did call the police. And a pillow doesn`t necessarily always leave marks. Your expert said, if the pressure was such, if she fought back, if this. Well the story that we`re hearing is she was sound asleep and woke up with a pillow over her face. He was drunk, so maybe he didn`t actually press down hard enough to succeed in what he was trying to do. It is going to become does she have a credible testimony. And if they are allowed to interview the 10 year old, does he substantiate what mom is saying. So I agree it`s a he said/she said. Police believed enough even if how the sheets were on disarray on the bed, they believed enough to take him into custody and charge him. And while I agree that maybe charges should be higher, she had some credibility or they would have walked out saying lady go sleep somewhere else.</s>JASON OSHINS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There`s no way that the police would walk away from any complaint that they investigated.</s>GRACE: I guess you never saw that picture of Nicole Brown-Simpson with her whole face swollen up on one side. I guess you missed that one.</s>OSHINS: I wasn`t putting every global accusation. I`m talking about this specific case. There is absolutely no way that they were going to walk away without charging him with something based on her allegations. But at the minimum, they charged him with simple assault, $2,500 bail to guarantee that he comes back to court. I guarantee you he comes back to court.</s>GRACE: Renee?</s>RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: At the end of the day, Nancy, a diversion, not a prosecution. Too much money involved. And she`ll probably go along with it. That`s my prediction.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Country star Rodney Atkins.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tammy Atkins says that her husband tried to smother her with a pillow.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She filed domestic assault charges which have just come to light.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smother her with a pillow.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m on the road a lot away from home. Nothing like you guys.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After arguing all night --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has his own troubles tonight.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The singer says it was a verbal abuse.</s>GRACE: Breaking news live in Tennessee. A 911 call from the mansion of a country music star. Police raced to the mansion after claims he goes into a violent rage, throwing his wife down a hallway, and even trying to smother her in her sleep with a pillow. But a bombshell tonight in a stunning twist -- the star walks free on a low bail. We are taking your calls and I want to go back out to Alexis Torres, senior reporter RadarOnline.com. He`s going to sold out concerts, he`s been on national TV. I don`t get it.</s>TERESZCUK: He`s in demand. And until he`s proven guilty people are giving him the benefit of the doubt. But he`ll be performing on New Year`s Eve. He has a concert scheduled in February, and his little son has been traveling with him. One interesting thing about this case is the fact that their house has been on the market for four months and this happened in the middle of that. It seems to me to reveal a bit there may have been trouble in this marriage, whether it was financial or relationship but there is something they wanted to get out of this house, the fight occurred in this house in the middle of the night with the child there. Definitely this relationship wasn`t as perfect as they may have wanted people to think it was.</s>GRACE: Also interesting, back to the lawyers, Kelly, Renee, Jason, in the TRO, the Tennessee judge enters a temporary restraining order, forbidding the couple from harassing, threatening, assaulting, or abusing each other. Now it`s my understanding the TRO is taken against both of them and not just one of them. What does that say to you, Kelly?</s>SAINDON: You`re right. That`s interesting. It leads me to believe the judge thinks there`s a volatile relationship and maybe it`s not just one victim, because oftentimes if a husband is convicted or charged with domestic abuse, he`s told to stay away from the residents and told no contact. But the fact that it`s reciprocal raises questions here.</s>OSHINS: I agree. That`s unique from my perspective. Typically the complainant will have that TRO issued against the alleged defendant as part of the criminal plea.</s>ROCKWELL: It sounds like a no violent contact TRO instead of no contact what whatsoever. It sounds like they may be working it out.</s>GRACE: Out to the lines. Out to Rodney in New Jersey. What`s your question?</s>RODNEY, CALLER: Hey. You know how these Hollywood and music people are.</s>GRACE: No, I don`t know how Hollywood and music people are. How are they, Rodney?</s>RODNEY: Well, I just feel like it all comes down to the money. It`s going to be settled for money. It will make it all go away.</s>GRACE: Are you trying to say the wife, Tammy Jo Atkins, made this up to get more money. Is that where you`re headed? Have you ever heard of perjury, Rodney? Because all these affidavits I`ve got in my hand are sworn statements. They say sworn to and subscribed before me.</s>RODNEY: Even if it`s true then, say he pays her, would this all go away?</s>GRACE: OK. Let`s talk about that. That`s a good question. Can the charges just disappear?</s>SHERYL MCCOLLUM, CRIME ANALYST: No. With domestic violence, they`re going to go forward period. They`re not going to let this go away. He can`t buy his way out of this. He can`t do it.</s>GRACE: He`s already got a low bond. $2,500.</s>MCCOLLUM: Bond isn`t punishment.</s>GRACE: I know it`s not. I`m saying what does that foretell is going to happen in the chase?</s>MCCOLLUM: All that evens is he`s not a flight risk. It doesn`t mean anything to me. I guarantee you they are not done. We have supplemental reports for a reason. They didn`t investigate this only for the two hours they were at the house. They`re going to continue this. They can upgrade those charges any time between now and trial.</s>GRACE: OK, back to Tanya Young-Williams. What do you make of it?</s>TANYA YOUNG WILLIAMS, NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE: I have to say that sometimes these cases actually do go away because the victim decides that she`s under too much pressure publicly. She thinks about her child and then she changes her mind and doesn`t help the police. So unfortunately sometimes they do go away. So when it comes to celebrity, I`ve been involved personally. At the end of the day he has a team of people who are setting him up. He has an attorney who is speaking for him and he has publicists. His only recourse was to file for divorce. That`s just a strategy. His other action should have been seeking anger management. But he doesn`t mention that at all. This is an arrogant performer who has issues that he really needs to get resolved.</s>GRACE: To Nicole Partin, investigative reporter, what are they each claiming in divorce papers?</s>NICOLE PARTIN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: They are both claiming that they had inappropriate marital contact, both are claiming this. She`s seeking full custody, equal distribution of the assets, alimony, and child support. He`s seeking joint custody.</s>GRACE: When you say joint custody, Nicole, what do you mean by that? They both have legal joint custody or is he fighting for physical -- the main physical custody? How is that?</s>PARTIN: It`s my understanding that he is fighting for joint physical custody. This is a man who spends a lot of time with his son. As of recently he`s been seen traveling with his son. And we`re being told he`s seeking joint physical custody. He wants to be in his child`s life.</s>GRACE: Another problem they`re going to face if they want to upgrade the charges as Sheryl is suggesting, saying the investigation is only just started. The original charges filed by police can come back to haunt them at trial. What I mean to that, to the lawyers, Kelly, Renee, Jason, you get a cop on the stand, Renee, and let`s just say this progresses hypothetically to an attempted murder by smothering with a pillow. You get the cop on the stand and say when you first made this arrest, you made an arrest on nothing more than simple battery, isn`t that true? Why?</s>ROCKWELL: That`s right, Nancy. That`s the thing that his lawyer is going to scream, because, after all, if the 10 year old was questioned and there was no physical evidence of the smother of the suffocation and 10 year old says I saw mommy grab daddy and he pushed her away, they might have even just charged the wrong person, Nancy. At the end of the day it`s going away.</s>GRACE: It`s amazing how you have twisted it. Now you see what I`ve been talking about. Now suddenly after Renee Rockwell has the case for 30 seconds, somehow the wife who was asleep has become the aggressor. OK, let`s try to get a more straightforward answer out of you, Jason.</s>OSHINS: I don`t know if I`ll give you a better answer. That was well done. That was well done. But listen, you`re looking at the charges initially. There`s a confrontation. You have a judge issuing both to stay away order on both ends. The house has been up for sale. There`s allegations of infidelity. There`s obviously a lot more to this.</s>GRACE: Allegations of infidelity, who made those allegations?</s>OSHINS: I thought we just reported on the fact that both made allegations of extramarital conduct.</s>TERESZCUK: They call it improper marital conduct. No allegation of infidelity.</s>GRACE: Stir the pot more a little bit more. By the time I let you and Renee talk more, somebody will end up shot. Now you`re throwing in an affair. There is no evidence of an affair. Jason, redo. A do over.</s>OSHINS: That was contact, not conduct. I hear you. At the very minimum, yes. The police initially, the reports and analysis could come back to haunt either one of them relative to the full scale prosecution.</s>GRACE: What about it, Kelly?</s>SAINDON: If I were talking to the officer, I would say why did you make the charge. And I hope his answer would be I didn`t want to be crazy because it was a superstar, I was trying to investigate and make the right decision. We completed the investigation and need to upgrade. So if they go bigger, they should have a lot to back it up.</s>GRACE: Christmas and New Year`s, we take a break from missing people and unsolved homicides to focus on fun. That`s a technical legal term, f- u-n. We bring you an all-star lineup of world famous dance pros, celebrities, winners of the season 13 mirror ball dance trophy. And we even take guinea pigs off the street and try to teach them to dance as you watch live. We`ll come from the Soho dance studio, dance with me, to wish you a very merry Christmas and to ring in 2012.</s>GRACE: Let`s stop and remember army sergeant Robert Kassin, 29, Las Vegas, Nevada, killed Afghanistan. Awarded Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Afghanistan campaign medal. Loved tae kwon do, time with family and friends, singing, even tried out for "American Idol." He leaves behind parents, sisters, a widow, son, step daughters. Robert Kassin, American hero. Thanks to our guests and especially to you for being with us. Thank you to country music icon Tanya Tucker releasing her new single "Merry Christmas Wherever You Are," a song inspired by missing children featured on our show and our American heroes. Thank you, Tanya Tucker. Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp eastern. We will be here in our own way seeking justice. And until then, goodnight. END