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Find out how to protect at your child when

1:01

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1:05

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Justice Nation. Go to Crime stops

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here dot com

1:27

Crime stories with Nancy Grace, but first

1:29

as Crime online dot com News Update. I'm

1:32

Alan Duke. A mom is missing

1:34

in Mississippi for three weeks now. Danielle

1:37

Whiteside Nipper, fifty one, was last

1:39

seen by her fourteen year old daughter January

1:41

twenty fourth, in a home she shared

1:44

with several roommates. Nipper left

1:46

behind several basic things you would expect

1:48

they would take if they intended to leave, a

1:50

pocketbook, a cell phone. W JTVS.

1:53

Margaret Ann Carter is on the story in

1:55

Raymond, Mississippi. A breastcancers

1:58

revivor, recent widow, and single

2:00

mother, friends of Danielle Nippers say

2:02

the fifty two year old was dealing with a lot

2:05

in this past year. I don't think too much

2:07

of anybody had really hurts from

2:09

her. She kind of cut everybody off. But

2:11

when friends received the news she disappeared,

2:14

leaving behind her phone while at keys

2:16

and purse, they knew something wasn't

2:18

right. I don't feel like she left

2:21

of her own free will, and

2:24

I don't feel like she's staying gone by

2:26

her own free will. I feel

2:28

like something happened to her. If you're

2:30

going to go away just

2:33

for two or three days, what woman leaves the purse

2:35

behind? Longtime friend Tracy

2:37

Hohenstein writes mystery novels for a

2:39

living, but this isn't one of her books.

2:41

This is real life, and she can't control

2:44

what comes next. You know, every time

2:46

I find out something, there's another question.

2:48

So coming up with more questions

2:50

than I am answers. Well versed

2:52

in her career as a suspense author, Hoenstein

2:55

knew where to begin, creating missing posters

2:57

with her friend's face plastered on them and

2:59

talk with anyone who might know something.

3:02

I start from the beginning, just like

3:04

I would, you know, with

3:06

when I'm writing my books. Just go from the beginning,

3:09

what happened? Who was the last person

3:11

to see her? You

3:13

know who her friends and family are? What

3:16

would she do in the last couple of days. However,

3:19

she also knows how many of her stories

3:21

end. Did The longer person goes missing, it's

3:24

it gets tougher to find them, and

3:27

you definitely don't want the trail to go cold. And yeah,

3:29

your mind starts going, Okay, they haven't

3:31

it's been forty eight it's been seventy two hours.

3:34

They haven't shown up, and then you have to start

3:37

thinking about other things. Hohenstein

3:39

continues to play her role as a friend while

3:41

investigators work to find Danielle Nipper.

3:44

Reporting in Hines County, Margaret Anne Carter w JTV

3:46

twelve Tony Wade, commander of the Cajun

3:49

Coach Search and Rescue Team, is now

3:51

helping with the search for Danielle Whiteside

3:53

Nipper. He says, there are suspicious circumstances

3:56

all the events surrounding the case. So with the roommates

3:59

and you know, her leaving

4:01

with the roommates and her fourteen

4:03

year old daughter at home, and her coming home and the

4:05

roommates coming back, but her never being seen again.

4:08

There was something we understand there was some arguing

4:10

between the roommates that morning over some money

4:12

issues and uh, you know,

4:14

they left together and she's never she never came back and never

4:16

been seen again. Um, you know, when

4:19

standing there's probably some some drug use, uh

4:22

involved with with similar surrounding

4:24

the roommates and everything, but we haven't been

4:26

to pinpoint anything like that on you know, on Danielle

4:28

herself. But it's just

4:31

the whole the whole scenario is not making any sense at all.

4:33

Wade, who has helped find many missing people,

4:35

will start searching on Sunday. That's

4:37

correct, we were We're heading in on Sunday

4:40

to start working with them to try and you know, search some

4:42

areas. They have a lot of areas of concern

4:45

and and again where where she come up missing

4:47

from was last seen at. It's just it's extremely

4:50

rural there. There's just

4:53

i mean, the woods and stuff everywhere. So

4:55

it's just gonna be a gonna be a tough search to try

4:57

and pin down something. Danielle Nipper was

4:59

last scene where maroon sweatpants,

5:01

a white tshirt, and Nike shoes. She's

5:03

described as being five foot five, weighing

5:06

about one hundred and fifty pounds, dyed

5:08

black hair, and brown eyes. If you have

5:10

any information on the whereabouts of Danielle

5:12

Whiteside Nipper, please contact the Hines

5:15

County, Mississippi Sheriff's Department at

5:17

six O one nine seven

5:19

four two nine zero zero.

5:22

See photos, details and updates on the search

5:24

at Nancy's crime and Justice website crime

5:27

online dot com. The investigation

5:29

until last month's alleged early morning

5:31

attack in Chicago, an actor

5:34

Jesse Smolette takes a dramatic turn

5:36

with increased suspicions the Empire star

5:39

was involved in the incident, staging

5:41

it as a publicity stunt. Chicago

5:43

police rated the homes and took into custody

5:45

two men who worked as extras on the

5:47

hit Fox TV show. The two men

5:50

for an hour not being called suspects but

5:52

our persons of interest. Their attorney,

5:54

Gloria Schmidt says, they do both

5:56

know Smolette, the people

5:58

of interest my clients. They

6:01

do know Jesse, they have worked

6:03

with him on Empire. My

6:05

preliminary investigations show that

6:07

the on set, it's

6:09

very tight. They're all very cordial

6:11

with each other, so they're

6:14

baffled why they are people of interest.

6:18

TMZ is reporting that while Smolette says

6:20

the two attackers were white and

6:22

are the two men seen in security

6:25

video, police say the men of the video

6:27

are the two men they're questioning. They

6:30

are both black and from

6:32

Nigeria. Chicago CBS

6:34

two quotes unidentified sources

6:36

who have intimate knowledge of the investigation,

6:38

saying the two men and Smolette potentially

6:40

stage the attack. Crime

6:48

Stories with Nancy Grace, Drew

6:56

Kessie has and says he will continue

6:58

to ask the public for tips as

7:01

to where his daughter Jennifer might be.

7:03

No One, no one should go

7:05

through not being

7:07

found, not for the family. No

7:10

one should not be found.

7:12

The then twenty four year old disappeared without

7:15

a trace. Orlanda Police detectives

7:17

say their strongest piece of evidence is

7:19

surveillance image of a person of interest,

7:21

as well as Jennifer's car, which

7:24

was found at a condo complex about

7:26

a mile from where she lived. According

7:29

to Orlanda Police, their current focus

7:31

is re examining and resubmitting

7:33

evidence from that car, hoping

7:36

strides in crime lab technology

7:38

will result in new leads. A

7:40

lot of the testing that's been done can

7:43

be redone with these new kids, So

7:46

most of it's we're concentrating on Jennifer's vehicle.

7:48

We think the answers probably lie there. Someone

7:51

saw something, and

7:56

it's just it's so has

8:01

time to

8:03

have closure. Since

8:06

Kessie's disappearance, thousands of tips

8:08

have come into the family and through crime

8:10

line. Orlanda Police Chief John Minas

8:12

as his staff will continue

8:14

those efforts. We will never forget

8:16

Jennifer. We will never give up

8:18

our search to find Jennifer.

8:21

Our friends at WKMG News six,

8:24

Ororlando, reporting on the very

8:26

latest in the search for a beautiful

8:28

young girl. Jennifer Kessie

8:31

with me right now, in addition to psychologist

8:34

Karen Stark, judge and lawyer

8:37

Ashley Wilcot at Ashley Wilcot

8:39

dot Com, forensics expert, author

8:42

of Blood Beneath My Feet, Joe Scott Morgan,

8:44

Director of the Cold Case Research Institute, Cheryl

8:46

McCollum. Special guests joining

8:49

me now, Drew and Joyce

8:51

Kessie, the parents of

8:54

Jennifer. Welcome to

8:56

everyone. First to Joyce

9:00

Jessie. This is Jennifer Kesey's

9:02

mom. Joyce. I

9:04

think about you and Drew and

9:06

Jennifer so often,

9:10

and I go back

9:12

over and over and over

9:15

the facts. I know that

9:17

right now there's a lot breaking

9:20

in your world, a lot of breaking

9:22

news regarding a

9:24

lawsuit, regarding a go fund

9:27

me, all with

9:29

the aim of finding the

9:31

truth about the whereabouts

9:33

of your daughter. But when

9:36

you look back, what

9:38

do you recall about

9:41

that day, Because that's

9:43

where it all starts and ends,

9:45

that day that Jennifer goes

9:47

missing. What do

9:49

I recall? I recall arriving

9:51

at the time Dominium Complex

9:54

and there being a multitude of workers

9:58

just going about their business

10:01

because it was the condo to apartment

10:04

to condo conversion, and

10:07

I just remember high anxiety

10:10

on our family behalf as we drove

10:12

to Orlando, and

10:15

the nightmare began. And

10:19

the nightmare began. When you

10:21

say the nightmare

10:24

began, what do you mean by that. Jennifer's

10:26

journey, the journey to find

10:29

Jennifer. The journey

10:32

not so much at this point to

10:35

find out exactly who did

10:37

it, but we need closure. We need

10:39

to find Jennifer, and

10:44

that's our goal, is

10:46

to give Jennifer the best chance. I

10:49

mean, thirteen years is just it's

10:54

surreal into itself that it's

10:56

thirteen years, Nancy, but

10:59

yet here we are. So that's

11:01

why we're moving forward with trying

11:05

to get answers from law

11:07

enforcement so that a private investigator

11:11

may be able to look at the records and

11:13

come up with something different, because

11:17

Orlando Police has never had a

11:19

suspect in

11:22

thirteen years. To Drew Cassie,

11:24

Jennifer's father, Drew,

11:27

I want to backtrack, as we often

11:29

do, to start at

11:31

the beginning. What happened

11:34

in your world today? Jennifer

11:36

went missing? Well, it was January twenty

11:38

four, two thousand and six, first thing

11:40

on the boarding and I

11:43

was working as normal and Joyce as working

11:45

as normal, and Logan was living with us,

11:47

her brother at the time. He was out

11:50

at the gym, and we got a call from a good friend of

11:52

mine who also works at

11:54

Jennifer's work, and he asked if

11:56

Jennifer was okay, so she didn't show up for work,

11:59

and I said, well, as far as I know,

12:01

she's okay, let me give her a call and I'll find

12:03

out. And for

12:05

the first time since he was sixteen years old,

12:07

when we gave her phone in a car, when

12:10

I called her, it went directly

12:13

into voicemail, didn't ring four

12:15

times as it normally does. It went directly

12:17

into voicemail, and at

12:19

that second I knew something was wrong.

12:23

So I got in touch with Joyce.

12:26

She was at work, and we started

12:28

to immediately call friends,

12:31

called police, call hospitals,

12:33

and make our way to Orlando, where

12:36

she just bought a brand new condominium

12:38

for herself and was doing very

12:40

well. And that's how it

12:42

started. We

12:46

called the police and we were met with an

12:49

officer that said, well, she probably had a fight with

12:51

a boyfriend and she'll be back and he walked out,

12:54

and that's when we started to lose,

12:57

to be up front with you, but

13:00

it has not progressed

13:03

since January twenty

13:05

sixth or twenty seventh, when her car

13:07

was found one mile down the road

13:10

in a very poor condo

13:13

complex, and

13:15

we have film of a gentleman getting

13:17

out of that car that he parked and

13:19

walking away and ever looking back, and we cannot

13:22

find that person either. But

13:25

that's where it has stuck. It has stuck

13:27

on day three when

13:31

Jennifer was taken, and

13:33

we have not been able to move the case

13:36

forward whatsoever, which is why,

13:39

thirteen years later, we have

13:41

no other choice than to put

13:43

our own team together legally and

13:46

investigatively and do

13:48

justice for Jennifer and find

13:51

her. That's

13:53

the most important thing is to find Jennifer.

13:56

Guys, I want to pause right here in saying

13:58

our partner making today's program

14:01

and our attempt to

14:03

uncover evidence in the disappearance of a

14:05

beautiful, beautiful young girl, Jennifer

14:07

Kessey, our partner is Blink

14:10

Blink. And that brings the

14:12

question, when do you want

14:15

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14:17

he's casing your home or when he's sticking

14:19

his foot through your bedroom

14:21

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14:24

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14:26

cameras alerted John to burglars

14:28

actually breaking in while he and his family

14:31

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14:33

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14:35

and both times Blink video

14:37

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14:39

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14:42

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15:01

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Blink Protect dot com slash

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Nancy b l I n K,

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Blink Protect dot Com slash Nancy

15:20

Blinks an Amazon company. Blink thank

15:22

you for making today's program

15:25

possible. At the Orlando Police

15:27

Department, we never stop searching for

15:29

missing persons, but

15:31

today we're announcing an enhanced focus

15:34

on the Jennifer Kesse investigation and

15:37

renewing our plea for anyone with

15:39

information to come forward

15:41

and help us solve this case. You

15:45

Through the years, the public's interest in

15:47

this case has not waned. That

15:49

is due in large part to Drew and Joyce

15:52

and who have been committed to keeping

15:55

this case in the public eye. And

15:59

it's worked. This case continues

16:02

to generate tips. So

16:05

I'm announcing today that Orlando Police Department

16:07

Detective Teresa's Sprague, we'll

16:10

focus exclusively

16:12

on this case. She's going to pour

16:14

through the thousands of pages of documents

16:17

and case files and the hundreds of tips

16:19

with a fresh set of eyes. We

16:22

were also announcing today that the crime

16:24

line reward has been up to

16:27

fifteen thousand dollars. We'll

16:29

never stop looking for Jennifer. I was

16:31

working tonight she went missing.

16:33

I remember to talking to Drew on

16:36

the phone, and I remember hearing

16:39

the voice of a very concerned and

16:41

upset father, and I'll never forget it. It is

16:43

not lost on me after twelve years.

16:45

What an enormous task this will be.

16:48

Some of our most experienced detectives have been

16:50

assigned to this case. I'm the

16:52

next person in charge of it, and I

16:54

look forward to the opportunity. I

16:57

want to start from the day

16:59

Jennifer or went missing. The day

17:01

she should have shown up and went to work like every

17:03

other day. We're going to

17:06

start with the first week, the first

17:08

few tips. Again. If

17:10

you've called in tips in the past and you

17:12

think that we need to take a fresh look at what

17:14

you said, please call those in again. We

17:17

need to know who this missing, who this

17:19

person of interest is. That

17:22

is the key to finding Jennifer and bringing

17:24

her home and giving the answer

17:26

to her family that they so desperately want

17:28

and deserve. We're going

17:31

to start from the beginning. We're

17:33

gonna take a fresh look at every tip from

17:36

the first day through last week and

17:38

see if a pattern develops. Because

17:40

there's been so many tips called in in Jennifer's

17:43

case over the last twelve years, it's imperative

17:45

that someone take a really long

17:48

look at this exclusively and see

17:50

what we can figure out. Is there something

17:52

we missed. It's certainly

17:54

possible that there is. Is there something

17:56

that's happened in the last five to six years

17:59

that we need to compare to the first two

18:01

weeks and see if a pattern develops.

18:04

We need the public's help. We cannot

18:06

emphasize that enough. If you know

18:08

who this person of interest is, please

18:11

call us, Come talk to me

18:13

and let's bring Jennifer home. Is it

18:16

a day late and a dollar short? Is

18:19

their hope of finding Jennifer

18:21

Kessy with me? In addition to Cheryl

18:23

McCollum, just Scott Morgan, Ashley Wilcott,

18:26

and Karen Stark, Drew and

18:28

Joyce Kessie joining me

18:30

the parents of Jennifer. To

18:33

Cheryl McCollum, director of the Cold Case Research

18:35

Institute, I wonder if

18:38

the Orlando police decision to

18:40

refocus on Jennifer had anything

18:43

to do with a lawsuit

18:46

her family has filed. I mean, does

18:48

it really take that to get

18:50

answers? Sadly, in this

18:52

case, it looks like it did. Believe

18:55

Nancy, They've got forty three

18:57

binders of animation.

19:01

Why not let the family look

19:03

through it at this point. It's

19:05

not like this case is a week old. Say

19:08

that thirteen years Nancy.

19:11

Let her mamma look at it and say

19:13

this doesn't seem right. I know this

19:16

name or possibly this

19:18

can't be right at all. Let

19:20

them help in this case.

19:23

What does that mean to you? Drew Cassie,

19:25

Is it true you have not been able to review

19:28

police files? Yes? Absolutely, and in

19:30

fact, that recording that you just played

19:32

our lead detective saying that she's

19:34

starting from the beginning and

19:37

assigned she had the case seven

19:39

years at that point. So

19:41

you're just we're getting lip service,

19:44

unfortunately, and that's what we're doing

19:46

legally now, is to try and get in there.

19:48

But yes, we truly believe

19:52

that, given the opportunity,

19:55

we know just as much as

19:57

they do about this case. We've been there stay

20:00

one. We've been standing next to them since

20:02

day one. But yet we don't have

20:04

all the information they do. We do have

20:07

an investigative team, Yet what is their

20:09

explanation to you as to why they won't

20:12

let you look at the files? It will set precedence

20:15

that if it is an open and active case,

20:19

that they will never share any

20:22

information, not even with the family. No,

20:27

that is outrageous to Ashley

20:29

Wolcott, judge lawyer. You can find

20:31

her Ashley Wolcott dot com. Ashley gen

20:34

you imagine police not sharing

20:36

information with you if your

20:39

child is missing. No,

20:41

and so first and foremost

20:43

to both of you, I can't

20:46

even imagine. And thank gosh, because

20:48

I see children who don't have families

20:50

to advocate for them and to push

20:53

an investigation forward. I'm so

20:55

appreciative that you both are there

20:57

to do it. You deserve the closure

20:59

your seek and Nancy,

21:02

here's the thing, I completely agree

21:04

that if this had happened

21:06

within the last year, for instance,

21:09

yes, open investigation, maybe you shouldn't

21:11

couldn't share records with family at

21:13

this point, this many years later, I

21:16

would hope you would embrace

21:18

the help, the extra set

21:20

of eyes people who knew her best,

21:23

knew her better than anyone, to

21:25

look at these records. There's no

21:27

reason I could think of they should not be given access.

21:30

You know that that's just a huge, huge

21:32

slap in the face. And also to learn this

21:34

investigator talking about detective We're

21:37

gonna put fresh eyes on it. She's had it for

21:39

seven years and it takes a lawsuit

21:42

to get fresh eyes on it. Cheryl McCollum,

21:44

Cole Case Research Institute Director.

21:46

Let's talk about the day that Jennifer

21:49

goes missing. Start at the beginning, Cheryl,

21:51

what happened, Mafia looked like she got up and got

21:53

ready for work. Howell, her

21:56

brand new pumps were missing, some

21:58

closure on the back and four that she working

22:01

up before for jamas, you know, and

22:03

her car is missing and she doesn't

22:05

show up for work, and the people at her job

22:07

call her dad and say, hey, she hasn't shown up,

22:10

which is completely unlike her.

22:12

She always takes or cause her boyfriend

22:15

that morning on the way to work that didn't happen

22:17

either, and calls it, going straight

22:19

to her voicemail at eight o'clock. So

22:22

she is missing by eight o'clock in the

22:24

morning. The last communication anybody

22:27

had with her was ten o'clock the night before.

22:30

So her car is then

22:32

found in an apartment complex

22:34

at noon. So

22:37

we have a four hour window

22:40

where something terribly goes wrong.

22:42

To Joseph's Goot Morgan, forensics expert,

22:44

Professor Forensics, Jacksonville State University

22:46

and author of Blood Beneath My Feet

22:49

on Amazon, just got

22:51

Morgan. I've gone over and over and over

22:53

the scene that morning where

22:56

Jennifer we last know that she

22:58

was alive and well in her condo.

23:01

What jumps out at you regarding

23:04

that scene? I think the thing, kind

23:07

of going back to what Cheryl said was the

23:09

freshness of everything that had occurred within

23:12

there. You have specific evidence of the

23:14

fact that she was just going about her

23:16

daily business as as

23:19

you know, as she normally would, you

23:21

know, getting ready for work, all this sort of

23:23

thing, and Cheryl talked about a window

23:26

relative to this is for our

23:28

period. The window I'm concerned about is

23:31

now, all of these years later. In

23:33

that evidence that they have, she had mentioned

23:35

new technologies and all that sort of thing,

23:38

and my guide is just sitting there and no

23:40

one has truly

23:43

have a new set of eyes on this thing.

23:45

And I understand that it's currently under investigation,

23:48

but they really need to get a fire lit

23:50

under them. And I think the family is doing the right thing. I

23:52

think they are too, and I usually do not advocate

23:54

suing a police department,

23:57

but this is crazy.

24:00

It's crazy to Joyce Cassie,

24:02

Jennifer's mother, what led

24:04

you to go along with the lawsuit?

24:07

Answers? Wanting

24:09

to find the answers, and again it's

24:13

trying to find justice. We're

24:16

having a really hard time comprehending

24:20

law enforcement not wanting

24:23

to share the information because

24:26

they're saying that the case is active. And

24:29

as Drew mentioned that it would set precedence

24:31

for the family to look at the records,

24:35

it's not per se that we want to. We

24:37

want a private eye to

24:39

be able to look at these records as well

24:42

and try to see if Orlando

24:45

didn't miss something. I mean,

24:48

it's just insane that with the

24:51

immediate response that

24:53

we had to Jennifer not showing up

24:55

for work, that we don't have any

24:59

answers that we've never had a suspect.

25:02

It's very, very sad. Take a listen

25:05

to this, Miss Cassie. What more

25:07

can you tell me about what time? If

25:09

you know that she would contact her boyfriend

25:11

in the morning, Well,

25:14

jen typically left for work between seven

25:16

thirty and eight in the morning, and it

25:18

was her habit to call Rob

25:21

when she got in her car, So

25:24

as she got in her car and was driving

25:26

to work is when she would make that good

25:28

morning call. And

25:31

as we know, Rob never received that call.

25:34

Drew, tell me the condition of her apartment.

25:38

Her condition, It was obviously

25:41

brand new, she had just purchased.

25:43

I mean that morning, what did it look like.

25:45

Had she made her hair or

25:47

what? No, No, it

25:50

looked like she slept in her bed. She had

25:52

two or three outfits laid out on the

25:54

bed as if she was choosing an outfit to wear.

25:57

She as was

26:00

stated, the bathroom looked like someone

26:02

got ready to go to work. The rest of the condo

26:05

was just perfect data. Honestly, looked like a maid

26:07

came through right down to a

26:10

full setting, four piece setting, table

26:12

setting on our dining room table.

26:22

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27:30

the truth crime

27:36

stories with Nancy Grace. Then

27:40

it is the second revelation in two days for

27:42

a case that almost fell off the radar. You're in

27:44

Central Florida. The first grainy

27:46

surveillance video from the Huntington Green's

27:48

apartment complex. It shows Cassie's

27:50

car the day she disappeared, around one in the

27:53

afternoon January twenty fourth of

27:55

two thousand and six. This parking lot is

27:57

about a mile from where Kessie lived, near the mall

27:59

at Millennium. The person driving the car

28:01

gets out and starts walking around. The

28:03

cops are just now telling us what that person left

28:06

behind in the car, A fingerprint and possible

28:08

DNA. Her fixture is still up all over Central

28:11

Florida, but the leads have started to dwindle. Tonight.

28:13

Police are hoping the release of this video information

28:16

about the fingerprints and possible DNA will

28:18

generate some more tips and hopefully lead

28:20

to Jennifer Kessey. It's all about awareness when

28:22

you're trying to find I'm missing left Blok.

28:24

So what does the release of this new information

28:27

and this new video mean for their daughter's

28:29

case. I invited former police

28:31

chief and Seminal Community College professor Richard

28:33

Winblatt to our station to take a

28:35

close look at the video. You're if you're

28:38

living with someone, you

28:40

know what shoes they wear? Do you know

28:42

how they walk? Something about

28:44

this night spark a chord and somebody else.

28:47

He says, it's possible even this grainy,

28:49

faraway shot will trigger someone's

28:51

memory and provide for a tip that

28:53

could blow this case wide open. Like

28:55

the person's shoes and socks, Wineblatt

28:58

says, a lot of people might not wear white socks

29:00

with dark shoes. The smallest things

29:03

can help. So what about the timing of all

29:05

of this fifteen months after her disappearance?

29:08

Why release this video now information

29:10

is withheld and release the different as the investigation

29:13

because they want to try to preserve the

29:15

integrity of the investigation. Our friends at

29:17

Parks thirty five in Orlando. That was fifteen

29:19

months after Jennifer Kessey went missing.

29:21

Now we are going on to year

29:24

thirteen and no answers. It has taken

29:26

a lawsuit by her family

29:29

to try and get those files in

29:31

addition to a go fund me. You

29:33

know when you hear that

29:36

to you, Drew Cassey, Jennifer's father,

29:39

that they were saying they wanted to

29:41

protect the integrity of the investigation by

29:43

not releasing video of

29:45

the person getting out of her

29:47

car fifteen months

29:50

after the incident. It

29:52

just sounds like the same thing all over

29:54

again. Drew, It is,

29:57

it is, there's

30:00

there's just you know, they

30:02

our very first detective team

30:04

said that they would never release that tape

30:06

ever because they were going

30:08

to catch somebody in a lie, which we can understand.

30:11

But when it's gone on so long,

30:14

you hear, we're hearing what's happening. As you said,

30:16

fifteen months, not even two years, and

30:18

we're at thirteen years and we're

30:21

on Groundhog Day. I can tell you the same

30:23

thing today as I just said that.

30:25

When you say groundhog Day, just

30:28

means like the movie groundhn

30:30

Day, over and over and

30:32

over, the same thing happening.

30:35

And in the middle of all this, your daughter is missing.

30:38

To Joe Scot Morgan, forensics expert,

30:40

let's talk about the car wag in. Hey,

30:42

listen, Nancy, this is the one spot

30:45

where we have an individual

30:48

that, to the best of my knowledge,

30:51

did not previously have access to the car.

30:53

You know, I'm speculating here that was contained

30:55

in an environment. I want everybody at home to

30:57

think about this. When you get in your

31:00

are There are various what we refer to

31:02

as points of contact in that environment,

31:04

where your rear end is positioned, where

31:07

your hand is positioned, you

31:09

know where your feet are position and every

31:11

just like Lecard said over one hundred years

31:13

ago, every contact

31:16

leaves a trace. So

31:18

in this environment, where did this individual

31:21

put his hands? Where could he have left

31:23

fibers behind on the headrest?

31:25

Did he actually leave hairs there?

31:28

And I want to know how thoroughly this

31:30

car was searched by the teams at

31:32

that particular time and what

31:34

did they collect because at

31:37

a period of time the car was finally released

31:39

to the family, did they cover

31:41

everything they possibly could during

31:44

that period, during that golden period of time

31:46

to collect all of this evidence, the golden

31:48

period of time to collect evidence

31:52

to Joyce, Cassie, Jennifer's mother, Joyce,

31:55

when your husband Drew said

31:58

this deja vu, same thing, Groundhog

32:00

Day all over again. Tell

32:03

me where you summon the strength to

32:06

keep trying, because it's

32:08

just got to be overwhelming, just one

32:11

obstacle after the next, after the next,

32:13

after the next. For you guys, it is

32:15

overwhelming. But it's

32:18

for the love of Jen that we'll keep

32:20

fighting the fight to find answers

32:23

and to you know, finally bring her home.

32:27

It's strictly loving

32:31

your child, your child, your

32:33

children, and wanting answers.

32:35

I mean, it defies logic

32:38

how something like this could happen, and

32:40

yet it's happened, and here

32:42

we sit, as Drew said, groundhog

32:44

day, every day is the same.

32:47

We don't have answers, and it doesn't appear

32:49

as if we're any closer to getting

32:51

answers. Joyce Kessie. That morning,

32:54

how did you first learn that anything

32:57

was wrong, anything was out of the ordinance? By getting

32:59

a phone call from Drew

33:03

from Jennifer's work, I'm sorry, asking

33:05

if there was a family emergency. Was Jennifer

33:08

sick? And Matt started the

33:11

dominoes just falling

33:13

as they Nay and Logan

33:17

and his friend Drew and I

33:19

drove to Orlando

33:21

making phone calls. I

33:24

reached out to my colleagues who worked in

33:26

Orlando to call a hospital, called

33:28

police stations. Was there an accident?

33:31

I mean, we were crazed. We were absolutely

33:33

crazy because it's so unlike Jen to

33:37

just not show up somewhere, so

33:40

we instantly knew that something

33:42

was wrong, and it was very

33:44

wrong. You know, they have this drive

33:48

to her condo, you know, a long

33:51

drive to Joseph Scott Morgan forensics expert.

33:54

When they get there, let's just start with a moment

33:56

they get there. What

33:58

do you notice about that scenario?

34:01

To Scott referring to

34:03

the parents, are referring to the police.

34:06

Okay, well for the police when

34:09

you when you arrived at a scene like this,

34:11

you're the first thing that pops into

34:14

my mind is how many individuals have had

34:16

access to this environment? Because

34:18

now, if I'm missing a person, you

34:20

want to go through here and look for evidence of

34:23

why they might be missing. But you're not

34:25

necessarily working a case at that point in

34:27

time that would give you an indication

34:29

that some foul play had occurred, like

34:31

trauma, homicide, that sort

34:34

of thing. So you're looking for clues, but during

34:36

that period of time, you're having to rifle

34:38

through everything and it disrupts the scene.

34:41

Now we're now we're so many years down the

34:43

range, down range, and the case was initially

34:45

worked as a missing person and

34:48

now when you need delicate

34:50

forensic evidence, I really wonder how much stuff

34:52

was lost at that point. So that that

34:54

leaves me scratching my head as an investigator. To

34:57

Karen Stork's psychologist at Karen Stork dot

34:59

com. How do people

35:01

keep going this many years

35:04

later? That's that's the problem.

35:06

And you can hear it in these

35:08

in their voices, can't you, Nancy, how

35:11

upsetting this is. This is their

35:13

daughter and they have no idea

35:16

what became of her, and the brain

35:18

works in such a way that it can never let

35:20

it go. So you're on an endless loop of

35:23

wondering and wanting an answer

35:25

and wanting her and it's

35:27

just horrific. You know, to

35:29

Ashley Willcott, judge and lawyer,

35:32

what do you make of a lawsuit against the police

35:34

department? Well, I agree with you, Nancy. Ideally,

35:36

I don't like to see them because generally law

35:38

enforcement busts their rear

35:41

ends to investigate and do a

35:43

phenomenal job. However, in this circumstance,

35:46

in this case, I really believe

35:48

that the parents taking that action has

35:51

caused it to move forward, and

35:53

you cannot not do that

35:55

in this case for the sake of your child. They've done the

35:57

right thing. I think in this case it was Nancy,

36:00

if I could interject one more thing, Having

36:03

worked at the medical examiner in the coroner's office

36:05

for most of my adult life and doing

36:07

what I do, you've got a real dichotomy

36:09

that's going on here, and it's heartbreaking. The

36:12

police have their interest, and I know that they will

36:14

say that they want to find this

36:17

precious girl, okay, but they're

36:19

looking to solve a crime. You

36:21

have the heart of a mama and a daddy

36:23

here that want to find

36:26

their baby and that trump's at this point

36:28

and I hate I'm not trying to speak for them, but

36:30

as a mama and daddy, that trump's everything

36:33

else. What happened to my

36:35

daughter and where is she? And

36:38

that's why this is so emotionally driven

36:40

because we don't have those answers,

36:42

and the reason this is going on because we're putting pressure

36:44

on them because we have attorneys involved. Now we

36:47

are over it. It's been twelve years. Didn't do this last year,

36:49

no year before, no, the year before year. This is

36:51

a jump. This is comical, and I hope everybody

36:53

can realize that this is only being done because we

36:55

have attorneys involved now and we are on their

36:57

ass because they

37:00

uh, okay, they didn't do things right.

37:02

Okay, Well that's the fact

37:04

of completing now, guys, this is this is

37:07

it is twelve years. This is a joke. This

37:09

is all everybody's standing up here behind this a

37:11

joke. Everybody says a joke. The see through

37:13

it. You know you've been here from the beginning. You know more

37:15

than anybody this is a joke. Okay,

37:18

we have attorney is involved and that's why they're doing this in

37:20

Seawan Chase right now and half the SUFFI said,

37:22

it is an absolute slapping the police, and I think we

37:24

all know that common sense would prevail. You

37:26

are hearing Jennifer's brother, Logan

37:28

Kessi at a news conference

37:31

telling reporters that the only reason the police

37:33

are now talking about the case is because they

37:36

have lawyers who are pushing

37:38

them to do it. That they are insulting

37:40

the Kessi family by refusing to open

37:42

up and give them the files to

37:44

really pursue this case.

37:46

Jump in, Cheryl, Nancy. They've got a pr

37:49

problem as well as an investigator

37:51

problem. They should have before it ever

37:53

got to this point. Shat with

37:55

her brother and her mama and

37:58

a daddy in a room

38:00

of the forty two binders,

38:02

is said, let's go over this together,

38:05

y'all help us. What have we missed?

38:07

What do you see that we don't see?

38:10

Let them go name by name frame

38:12

by frame, line by line. At

38:14

this point, after thirteen

38:17

years, they know down well, her

38:19

mom and daddy didn't take her. They know her

38:21

brother didn't hurt her, so let

38:23

them help you. It should

38:26

never have gotten to this point,

38:28

straight out to Joyce Cassey, Jennifer's

38:30

mother, way in, Joyce, Oh,

38:32

I agree, it should never have gotten

38:34

to this point. And

38:39

that's why we're fighting the fight right now is

38:41

there's going to be other families in

38:43

this situation, and you know,

38:46

we want to let up. We

38:49

want to let our son know that

38:51

we're never going to give up, that we're

38:53

never going to give up. We're not going away.

38:56

We will do everything and anything

38:58

that we can to try to give Jennifer

39:00

the best chance of being found. Joyce, in

39:02

your heart of hearts, what do you believe

39:05

happened that morning? I mean, I know

39:07

she got up and took a shower. The showerstall

39:10

was still wet, the towels were damp. As

39:12

I recall you guys telling me her

39:15

clothes were laid out on the bed because she would

39:17

do that. That was her practice, to try to pick out

39:19

what she was going to wear to work that day. You

39:21

know she got up that morning, you know

39:24

that she was in contact that

39:27

night before at ten o'clock. It

39:29

was between getting up in the morning and you

39:31

take into shower and leaving

39:34

for work, and those forty five minutes

39:36

or so that is when Jennifer

39:38

seemingly disappeared off the

39:41

face of the earth. I

39:43

don't believe in coincidences in

39:45

criminal law. I think there

39:47

was a huge group of people,

39:50

construction workers, and many of them I

39:53

believe were illegals and not documented,

39:56

and I just do not think there was a

39:58

coincidence with them being there and

40:01

her going missing. That was

40:03

the only wild card.

40:05

We know where the boyfriend was. The

40:07

neighbors have been checked out, we know

40:10

where the boss was. They

40:13

are the wild card in my mind,

40:15

Joyce, and I want to hear your theory. I

40:18

definitely feel that there's

40:21

something about the workers, because

40:23

we had blanketed the complex

40:27

on the evening of the twenty fourth with

40:30

missing posters of Jennifer. The

40:32

very next morning, more than

40:34

two thirds of the workers didn't show up

40:36

for work, so obviously

40:40

they were frightened. Now we had put

40:43

flyers on every car and every condo

40:45

door, on every utility door, and

40:48

I just think it's telling that two thirds

40:50

of the workers never showed back up for

40:53

work. So how can the police

40:55

say that they investigated

40:58

and interrogated the workers when

41:01

more than two thirds of them didn't

41:03

come back to work. Oh Man, talk about

41:05

behavioral evidence, Sheryl McColl They didn't

41:07

even show up to work the day after Jennifer

41:10

goes missing. And that's our point, Nancy.

41:13

That file is going to show what was

41:15

done and what was not done. The

41:17

police don't maybe want them to know where

41:20

they dropped the ball, if they dropped the ball,

41:22

but by not sitting down only

41:25

sees this belief that they

41:27

didn't do the right thing at the right

41:30

time for Jennifer to Drew

41:32

Cassey, tell me about your ghostfund

41:34

me. Well, after

41:37

thirteen years, I guess one can imagine the

41:39

money that one spends trying to find

41:41

their loved one. In our case, it's

41:43

been our life savings over half a million dollars.

41:46

But at this point we

41:48

don't have funds to do legal

41:51

and investigative work. They

41:53

basically have run out, and in fact, I

41:56

wrote an eighteen thousand dollars check

41:59

yesterday for court records,

42:01

for actually police records. They're going to

42:03

hand them over, but they're going to redact

42:05

nine. They told us that

42:08

period came

42:11

over and said, have BECASSEI sent us

42:13

eighteen thousand dollars and we will have the detectives

42:15

start to go through every single page and redact

42:18

what she feels needs to be redact, and

42:20

we'll let you know how we're doing in a few months.

42:23

That is why we're in court. Oh, Drew,

42:26

I am so

42:29

sorry. I don't understand

42:31

why the police are fighting with

42:33

you. I don't understand why

42:35

they would charge you nearly

42:38

twenty thousand dollars to get the files

42:41

and then, as if taunting you,

42:43

say we're going to redact ninety five percent

42:45

of that. Just know that, but

42:47

pay me twenty grand to get it. And we

42:50

know that because we did get one file

42:52

from them in a request and

42:54

it was all redacted, and they told us that's

42:57

what they're going to do because we're

42:59

not to have them for me. Drew and Joyce,

43:01

we are putting your gofund me account

43:04

on crime online dot

43:06

com. Thank you. We

43:08

are facebooking, we are instagramming,

43:11

we are tweeting it. Please

43:13

tell me the name of your gofund

43:15

me. I want to help you so

43:18

much because you've been Now I consider

43:20

my friends. For all these years,

43:23

I think about you, I think about Jennifer.

43:26

I replay what I know over

43:28

and over in my mind. I can only imagine

43:32

what you do. Please, how

43:34

can I help you? Tell me? How do I

43:36

get to your gofund me? Well many

43:38

ways. First of all, you can go to Jennifer's homepage

43:40

at Jennifer Kesse dot com. You can

43:42

go on to her Facebook page, it's right there

43:45

at the top two Jennifer Kesse Community.

43:47

You can go on her Twitter page, It's right there find

43:49

Jennifer Kesse. But

43:52

you can go right to go fund me slash

43:55

help us find Jennifer Tesse and

43:57

it will take you right to her go fund

43:59

me slash helped

44:02

tell me again. Go fund me slash

44:05

help us find Jennifer Kessey.

44:08

Or you can go right on the page and put in

44:10

search Jennifer Kessi. No pop up for you. Tell

44:12

me the name of her homepage one more time, Jennifer

44:14

kes dot com, Jennifer Kessi

44:17

dot com. For those

44:19

of you that are hearing us

44:21

now, it's k as in Kentucky

44:24

E s s E. There's

44:26

not an eye in there, k E

44:29

s se. Please

44:32

help them find

44:35

their girl. I

44:37

would want you to do the same for me if

44:40

my children were missing, and I would

44:42

want to do the same for you. Our

44:45

friends Drew and

44:48

Joyce, Kessie, Nancy Grace,

44:50

Crime Story signing off goodbye

44:53

friend,