CNN TV
SCHEDULE ANCHORS & REPORTERS CONTACT US HLN


February 9, 2010

Texas landfill searched in baby Gabriel Johnson case

Posted: 06:06 PM ET

(CNN) – Investigators searching for a missing 8-month-old boy began an intensive excavation and search effort Tuesday at a Texas landfill.

"Let me say this, that we do remain hopeful that baby Gabriel is alive," William McManus, chief of the San Antonio Police Department, said at a news conference at the landfill.

"We are, however, conducting both a missing persons investigation as well as a homicide investigation," he said, adding that aspects surrounding Gabriel Johnson's disappearance involve elements of a possible homicide.

Gabriel Johnson
Gabriel Johnson

Gabriel has been missing since December 26 and was last seen in San Antonio, with his 23-year-old mother, Elizabeth Johnson, who has refused to disclose information on his whereabouts.

She told Gabriel's father she killed the boy and has also said she gave him away to a couple in San Antonio, police said. Johnson drove Gabriel to San Antonio from Tempe, Arizona, and to Florida a week later, according to investigators.

Johnson was arrested in Florida and extradited to Maricopa County, Arizona, where she remains behind bars, charged with kidnapping, custodial interference and child abuse.

Click here to read full article

Posted by:
Filed under: Missing Persons • Story Updates


Share this on:

Cops Searching Landfill: Is Baby Gabriel Buried In Trash?

Posted: 05:15 PM ET

Are investigators growing more convinced that an 8-month-old Arizona baby who goes missing without a trace on a road trip with his mother is no longer alive? At this hour, investigators searching a Texas landfill for any signs of Gabriel’s body. The extensive dig is happening at the Tessman Road landfill, located just 12 miles from a San Antonio motel where baby Gabriel is last seen alive.

Gabriel Johnson
Gabriel Johnson

The same motel mommy claims a random couple she meets at a park came to pick up the baby. The landfill dig will be a two-fold process taking at least a week to complete, including the removal of 45 feet of debris and search teams plus cadaver dogs combing over every piece of trash.

Even as the landfill search begins and investigators reveal they are conducting a homicide investigation, San Antonio police announce they are also still hopeful baby Gabriel is alive. Gabriel’s father, Logan McQueary, says he’s leaning more toward the theory his baby boy was taken in an underground adoption.

In the meantime, stunning new details emerge after the arrest of would-be “adoptive” parent, Tammi Smith. Smith facing conspiracy to commit custodial interference and forgery charges in connection with Gabriel’s disappearance.

Tammi Smith
Tammi Smith

According to a probable cause statement we’ve just obtained, investigators made contact with Elizabeth Johnson while she was on the run. During a phone conversation on December 27, police advised her to go to a Texas police station so they could confirm Gabriel was alive and safe. But Johnson refused and eventually was arrested, without her baby, in Miami Beach, Florida. The documents also reveal Johnson’s threat to Gabriel’s father that she killed the baby boy was caught on tape on December 27, the same day she was advised to take the baby to a Texas police station. Logan McQueary recorded that phone call, but the tape has yet to be released.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by:
Filed under: Missing Persons • Story Updates


Share this on:

Nancy Grace Cold Case

Posted: 09:03 AM ET

After boy's slaying, brother missing for 19 years

New York (CNN) – Basil Abdul'Faruq and his brother, Jamal, begged their mother to let them go outside to play. It was spring break, April 16, 1990, and the boys wanted to join other kids in their Richmond, Virginia, neighborhood.

Their mother, Tambar Ellis, was tired after working the night shift at the nearby DuPont factory. She didn't worry about Basil, 8, and Jamal, 7, playing outside. They walked to school on their own every day.

"Jamal was the one who asked could they go out," Ellis said. "I said, 'of course.' "

It was the last time she would see her children.

Basil & Jamal Abdul’Faruq
Basil & Jamal Abdul’Faruq

She said she took a short nap, about 30 minutes. Then she walked outside to call the boys in for dinner.

"I called them, and I didn't get a response," she said. She searched the grounds surrounding the 600-unit apartment complex and then a playground about a block away.

As the minutes passed, she started to panic.

"After about maybe four or five minutes of looking for your kids, you go through a wave of a different emotions," Ellis said. "You know they're not up in someone's house, because they knew I wouldn't have allowed it. ... I couldn't believe they weren't within hearing distance."

Click here to read full story

Posted by:
Filed under: Cold Case


Share this on:
February 4, 2010

Jailhouse Tapes Released: Haleigh Ex-Stepmom Wants Out!

Posted: 02:10 PM ET

Haleigh's babysitter and ex-stepmom Misty Croslin caught on tape! In these just released images of Croslin behind bars, we get a first glimpse at the tearful teen as she literally cries "I want out of here". Now held in the St. Johns County jail for drug trafficking charges, all Croslin can do is wait as the allegations continue to build.

Haleigh Cummings / Misty Croslin
Haleigh Cummings / Misty Croslin

In this video conference with her mother, Misty Croslin can be heard saying "have you heard if my bond has been lowered?" Quite the contrary – authorities just slapped two more trafficking charges on Croslin, bringing her bond to 1.35 million.

Throughout the webcam visitation with her parents, Croslin never speaks a word about the missing 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings. All she can talk about is the dream of bonding out. Croslin's father Hank Sr. warns his daughter, "don't be lying about nothing because it will only bury you deeper." The only admissions Croslin allegedly made in these conversations is that she was, in fact, present during "8 or 9" of the drug sales she's been arrested for.

We anticipate more conversations from the jail to be released at any moment, but will it bring us any closer to finding Haleigh?

Posted by:
Filed under: Missing Persons • Story Updates


Share this on:

Nancy Grace Cold Case: Sneak Preview!

Posted: 10:16 AM ET

Brothers Basil Abdul'Faruq, 8, and Jamal Abdul'Faruq, 7, vanish from their Richmond, Va. apartment complex. Days later, Basil's body is discovered in a local landfill and his death is ruled a homicide. The younger boy, Jamal, is neither seen nor heard from again. Recent tips indicate Jamal may still be alive. Could his life have been spared?

Check out the newest Cold Case next week in its entirety only at: cnn.com/nancygrace

Posted by:
Filed under: Cold Case Sneak Preview


Share this on:

Misty Croslin jailhouse tapes: 'I want out'

Posted: 09:48 AM ET

In a jailhouse video, Misty Croslin, former stepmother of missing girl, Haleigh Cummings, cries, "I want out of here."

Stay tuned tonight for more shocking jailhouse video!

Filed under: Nancy Grace Video


Share this on:
February 3, 2010

Haleigh Ex-Stepmom Speaks!

Posted: 02:46 PM ET

We are moments from receiving video taped conversations of babysitter turned stepmom, Misty Croslin, from behind bars.

Misty Croslin
Misty Croslin

Croslin is being held on almost a 1 million dollar bond for allegedly trafficking prescription drugs and is facing the rest of her life in jail, if convicted. We are getting the first look at what she has to say for herself now!

Stay tuned for more updates as we get the video!

Posted by:
Filed under: Story Updates


Share this on:

Haleigh's fmr. stepmom/babysitter 'scared'

Posted: 09:25 AM ET

Misty Croslin, the babysitter who last saw Haleigh Cummings, is "scared" as police intensify their investigation!

Filed under: Nancy Grace Video


Share this on:
February 2, 2010

Baby Gabriel’s would-be adoptive mom just arrested!

Posted: 02:36 PM ET

Tempe, Arizona police have just announced that would-be adoptive parent, Tammi Smith, has been arrested! Tammi Smith and her husband, Jack, were set to adopt 8-month-old Gabriel Johnson in a secret deal with the baby’s mother, Elizabeth Johnson, before Johnson left town on a road trip and baby Gabriel went missing.

Gabriel Johnson / Tammi Smith
Gabriel Johnson / Tammi Smith

Tammi Smith arrested on three charges, including conspiracy to commit custodial interference, custodial interference and forgery, all felonies. Smith will be booked into the Maricopa County Jail on the charges.

Sources tell us cops in unmarked cars arrived at the Smith residence this morning, quietly taking Tammi Smith into custody. The arrest goes down on the heels of the Smiths hiring a high-profile, death penalty attorney. Did the Smiths know all along that cops were building a case against them? And is Jack Smith next? The forgery charge appears to be connected to custody court documents where Elizabeth Johnson allegedly claimed Tammi Smith’s relative, Craig Cherry, could be the biological father of baby Gabriel. Tammi Smith admits she did provide Craig Cherry’s name to Elizabeth Johnson, but claims she’s now told police all she knows about the boy’s disappearance. Investigators still insist the Smiths are withholding information, and that’s why they’ve been named persons of interest in the case.

Posted by:
Filed under: Missing Persons


Share this on:

Nancy Grace Cold Case

Posted: 09:00 AM ET

Woman still seeks sister's face in the crowd

New York (CNN) - For two decades, Ashyea Alford has literally been searching for a face in the crowd. Wherever she went, she would check out other women, hoping one of them might be her missing little sister.

"It used to be so hard to go to the mall," Alford said. "You'd see somebody and you'd think 'Oh, maybe that's her.' "

When Alford was 15, Andrea Durham, her 13-year-old sister, vanished from the apartment they shared with their mother, Roseanne Sterling, in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

 Andrea Durham / Age Progression
Andrea Durham / Age Progression

Alford and her mom headed out for a meeting on the evening of February 1, 1990, leaving Andrea home to vacuum the apartment.
When they returned about two hours later, the vacuum was standing upright in the living room but there was no sign of Andrea.

"None of her things were gone or disturbed. Her purse and personal items were still at the house. We couldn't find anything of hers that was missing," Alford said in an interview just days before the 20th anniversary of her only sibling's disappearance.

Andrea "literally disappeared without a trace," said Roberta Holloway, the investigator with the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office who is assigned to the case.

Click here to read full story

Posted by:
Filed under: Cold Case


Share this on:

Searching landfill now: is Baby Gabriel buried in trash?

Gabriel Johnson Breaking News! A huge Texas landfill becomes the center of the massive search for evidence in the missing baby Gabriel case! Searchers dig and sift through garbage, looking for clues but praying their worst fears don’t come true! Nancy Grace has the latest breaking developments, 8 & 10 p.m. ET on HLN.

Contact us
  • Viewer hotline: 1-877-NANCY-01
  • Questions or comments? Email
  • Stay updated on Facebook
Nancy's Book

Nancy Grace: The Eleventh VictimNancy Grace's new book is out now! Call your local book store now. It's official! "The Eleventh Victim" is #6 on The New York Times Best Sellers Fiction list!

Read excerpts from Nancy's book.


Contributors
Clark Goldband
Nancy Grace Producer
Clark Goldband
Ellie Jostad
Nancy Grace Asst. Managing Editor
Ellie Jostad
Natisha Lance
Nancy Grace Producer
Natisha Lance
Rupa Mikkilineni
Nancy Grace Producer
Rupa Mikkilineni
Stacey Newman
Nancy Grace Producer
Stacey Newman
Phil Rosenbaum
Nancy Grace Producer
Phil Rosenbaum
Marlaina Schiavo
Nancy Grace Producer
Marlaina Schiavo
Alexis Weed
Nancy Grace Associate Producer
Alexis Weed
Matthew Zarrell
Nancy Grace Producer
Matthew Zarrell
subscribe RSS Icon
About Nancy Grace

"Nancy Grace" is television's only justice themed/interview/debate show, designed for those interested in the breaking crime news of the day. Grace challenges guests on the most high-profile legal issues of the day by drawing on her unique perspective as a former violent crimes prosecutor and as a crime victim herself. Nancy Grace provides viewers with a clear understanding of not only the top crime stories, but also the cases often overlooked.

Missing Persons

At "Nancy Grace," we ask you to help us find missing people.

Haleigh Cummings

Last Seen: Feb. 10, 2009
Age: 6
Hair: Strawberry Blonde
Eyes: Brown
Location: Satsuma, Florida
Reward: $30,000

Tipline: 888-277-TIPS
E-mail: haleigh@putnamsheriff.org


Powered by WordPress.com VIP