breaking news tonight, florida. a 5-year-old girl tucked into bed. five hours later, she's gone. daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little haleigh. the last person to see her alive, stepmother, misty, who takes to the airwave to declare she is innocent. but even in one brief interview, she can't keep her story straight, including a 180 on a failed lie detector, claiming she passed, then admitting on tv she failed. bombshell tonight. as we go to air, haleigh's father, ronald cummings, and

baby-sitter-turned-stepmother, misty croslin, behind bars. >> you've been charged with four counts of trafficking in hydrocodone out of putnam county. >> the father and former stepmother of missing florida girl, haleigh cummings, are in jail on charges of drug trafficking. >> you've been charged with four counts of trafficking in hydrocodone out of putnam county. >> police saying they made multiple purchases of oxycodone and hydrocodone, prescription drugs. >> what do you do for a living, ma'am? >> nothing. >> i'm sorry? >> nothing. >> how do you support yourself? >> my mom and my dad. >> authorities allege that croslin and cummings participated in transactions of nearly $4,000 worth of hydrocodone and oxycodone. and both could receive a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in jail. >> for these highly addictive substances we've seen people

commit crazy crimes against their own family members because the drive of these drugs are so strong. >> some guy just jumped in my car and stole my purse. he had a gun. >> you have made an accusation that croslin was on a drug binge. do you have any evidence to support that claim? >> no, i don't. >> then why did you say it? >> it was just a thought. >> oxycodone is related to more deaths in florida than any other drug. >> people think that it's like candy, and we see sometimes accidental death. >> i woke up at 8:00 and she was gone. >> do you believe that misty was indeed home and that she's been telling the truth? >> yeah, i believe she's telling the truth. >> she is still the most important witness in this case. >> and tonight live, windermere, florida, golf superstar tiger woods drives out of his

multimillion dollar compound, barefoot, 2:00 a.m. thanksgiving and has a head-on collision with a tree and a fire hydrant. he immediately pulls out of his own golf tournament, as alleged mistresses hit double digits, including a swimsuit model, two porn stars and a waitress at a pancake house. woods gets just a slap on the wrist, even though cops are told he was drinking and prescribed sleeping pills and painkiller vicodin. breaking tonight -- tiger woods in addiction rehab. sex addiction. tonight, photos finally emerge of tiger woods coming from the "national enquirer." they show woods, head covered, in that in-house rehab facility in mississippi. millions in endorsements dry up. the latest being at&t and even "golf digest" turns their back on woods.

with woods in treatment for sex addiction, where does that leave wife, elin, two little children and nearly a billion dollars hanging in the balance? >> do you think that tiger is a sex addict? >> the man that i knew, the tiger that i knew, i would never think that. you know, it was never about that. he never, you know, just kind of said come over, and that's what's going to happen. >> nobody has seen tiger ever since thanksgiving day. he's been absolutely gone, missing in action. every journalist, every photographer in the world has been trying to get this money shot. >> hey, it's tiger. i need you to do me a huge favor. can you please take your name off your phone? my wife went through my phone and may be calling you.

>> this is behavior that goes to the extreme where he had a dozen or more women probably each believing they were the only other woman. so he was lying to each of them. >> tiger has patterns of obviously infidelity and risk taking. i think calling him a sex addict is a stretch and really an excuse for bad, bad behavior. >> so if you can, please take your name off that and just have it as a number on the voicemail. just have it as your telephone number. okay? you got to do this for me. huge. quickly. all right, bye. >> he's betrayed a number of people in his life, not the least of which was elin, his wife, and the public. >> good evening. i'm nancy grace. i want to thank you for being with us. bombshell tonight, haleigh's father, ronald cummings and the baby-sitter turned stepmother,

misty croslin-behind bar. >> she put haleigh to bed, done some laundry and went to bed. woke up to the door propped open. >> and she's gone. and that's all i know. >> nearly one year after the disappearance still unsolved of ronald's little girl haleigh, misty and ronald cummings all in court this morning on drug trafficking. >> this is an outstanding investigation for drug trafficking that resulted in the arrest of the suspects. >> he said he was going to shoot me. >> were you in the vehicle? >> yes, and he pulled me out. >> croslin and cummings were arrested after allegedly buying and selling large amounts of prescription medications from undercover police officers. >> an undercover detective says he bought $3900 worth of oxycodone and hydrocodone from them. it's one ridiculous story on top of another. it's all very ludicrous. and what about haleigh? isn't she supposed to be the

focus? >> we save jail beds for child molesters, murderers, rapists, arsonists. is this a police attempt to get the truth? >> misty croslin sits in jail on $950,000 bond as reports emerge investigators working the haleigh case will use the threat of a long prison term to try to get croslin to open up and reveal what she knows. >> they go out and look for the right person, maybe they would have the answers, but they're trying to get all the answers from me. >> misty croslin was the last person to see haleigh before she vanished last february. that little girl was 5 years old at the time and has not been seen since. >> hopefully this will rattle the cage that misty is in right now, because i think she's still holding the key to where little haleigh is. >> straight out to art harris, investigative journalist at artharris.com. art, what happened in a nutshell? >> in a nutshell, nancy, there was a tip that drugs were being sold in putnam county and misty croslin was involved.

an undercover officer makes friends with misty and others and suddenly is going from one drug buy to another with cash. misty is at every one of the seven incidents, police tell me. and once she brings -- actually, three times she brings ronald cummings. once she brings his cousin. another time she brings a woman named donna brock. they sell 329 pills, vicodin, loratab, percocet and oxycodone, nancy. and this amounted to drug trafficking charges that have been brought against misty that could give her a total of 74 years behind bars, law enforcement tells me. her bond is set at $950,000. astounding. ronald behind bars on a bond of half a million dollars. >> back it up, art. let me ask you a question.

misty croslin, have you seen the charges? have you seen what's written -- what the written charges are? >> the charges, nancy, are detailed actually on her booking report. and it says only drug trafficking between 4 grams and less than 30 grams, kilograms. and there are six of those charges. >> okay, so there's six counts. >> correct. >> let's take a look at that. unleash the lawyers. sue moss, new york. peter odom, defense attorney, atlanta. joe lawless, defense attorney, author of "prosecutorial misconduct," in philadelphia. sue moss, let's get out of our calculators. all of us went to law school. we're not math teachers. but if the maximum is 30 years, i believe it is, on each count of trafficking, and that means you've got 28 grams or over of the particular drug or drugs, 6 times 30 would be 180 possible

years, if these counts run consecutive. not 75 years. 180 years. now, do you agree with my math, sue moss? >> absolutely. selling oxycontin is just plain rotten. there should be no leniency. this is one of the most dangerous drugs of our time. it leads to just horrific abuses and no leniency in this case. >> i want to see misty croslin, elizabeth, in court. i want to see those photos and that video. we have the video. there is the baby-sitter-turned-stepmother who was reportedly alone with haleigh cummings, the 5-year-old little girl the night she went missing. her story, that while stepmommy is asleep, someone must come in and take the baby. they're in a trailer. it's about -- how big is it?

you gave us a tour. let's see it, liz. let's pull the video inside the trailer. how big is the thing? >> well, nancy, from the front door to the bedroom, it was all but ten feet. from the back door to the bedroom, the back door that was propped open, it was about 16 feet. it's not a big place. >> and back to you, art harris. ronald cummings is divorcing misty croslin. our understanding is because he's convinced she knows more about his daughter's disappearance. and there he is snugged up in the car with her selling drugs? to the tune of a trafficking amount? i'm not talking about a joint, people. i'm not talking about a nickel bag of pot, although they should go to jail for that, too. but i'm talking about a trafficking amount of oxycontin -- oxycodone. and let's not forget, art harris, the big long letter i happen to have right here where

someone lays out a party that was held the night haleigh went missing, a drug party where the child allegedly got a pill of oxycontin and died. >> yep. that's right, nancy. and somebody supposedly put her body in a nearby lake. that has not been confirmed, but ronald and misty have been seen together in recent weeks. and i'm told that misty has a new tattoo of ronald on her lower back. >> i don't care about the tattoo. all i care about is what does this mean? to finding the answer to haleigh cummings' disappearance. the whole kit and kaboodle makes me sick. >> just gives prosecutors a new bit of leverage. hydrocodone.in

5-year-old florida girl, haleigh cummings. haleigh's baby-sitter misty croslin, who holds the key to what happened to haleigh has been arrested. >> i saw the back door open. and she's gone.

and that's all i know. >> the father and former stepmother of missing florida girl haleigh cummings are in jail on drug trafficking charges. >> with the family problems and everything else, it's too much. >> putnam county sheriff's department says officers arrested 26-year-old ronald cummings and 18-year-old misty croslin yesterday in a prescription drug trafficking scheme. >> she tells me the same thing each time i ask her about it. >> if i had something to do with it, if i knew where she was, we wouldn't be sitting here today, we would have her. and i don't know where she is. >> as part of a month-long investigation, authorities also arrested misty croslin's brother tommy, cousin and donna brock, a friend of misty croslin. all face charges of trafficking prescription medications, including oxycodone and hydrocodone, allegedly worth nearly $4,000. >> so are you saying that you didn't fail the polygraph like people and law enforcement or kind of claiming? >> no, i did not. >> bottom line is you don't know

where haleigh is? >> bottom line. >> we would love to have a break in this case and we really would not care who it implicates, as long as it brings haleigh back to us. >> tonight, misty croslin, the baby-sitter turned stepmother behind bars for drugs. along with her, ronald cummings, haleigh cummings' biological father, who allegedly divorced misty croslin because of his belief she had some involvement or knew what had happened to his 5-year-old little girl haleigh cummings. you know who's lost in all of this tonight? the baby, the 5-year-old. with this bunch more worried about their next hit or who they're going to sell drugs to, do you think that they're focusing on this child? this little girl never had a chance growing up with this bunch. we are taking your calls live. renee in georgia. hi, renee. >> caller: hi, nancy.

i just want to say first, i love your show, and your twins are heaven sent. >> they really are. and how parents would risk their child by exposing them to elements involved in the drug trade is beyond me. >> caller: absolutely. >> you know, there have been times -- and i'm certainly no example. but there are times i worked three jobs at a time the make it. and they asked misty croslin in court today -- pull the sound, liz -- what do you do for a living? you know what she said? "nothing." nothing. go ahead, renee. >> caller: we're paying for her while she's doing nothing. it comes out of everyone's check. anyway, my question is since there was a letter from the jail that speculated that the baby, haleigh, died from an oxycontin overdose and now the father and his ex-wife is charged with trafficking the same drug,

doesn't that bring a little bit more, you know, information towards where haleigh might be? >> well, it certainly does, renee, in georgia. let's go back to the lawyers. susan moss, peter odom, joe lawless. you know, peter odom, when everybody first read that letter, it was assumed to be bs. you know, there's really no other nice way to put it. >> that's right. >> but the fact was that there was nothing in it for the author. she was writing a confidant. it wasn't like she was handing over information. there was nothing she could gain from the letter, right? she wasn't as part of a cooperation agreement. so this is starting to have a tiny ring of truth to it. >> well, nancy, it's called corroboration. and it certainly lends credence to what a lot of people did dismiss at first. and i think the police are going to take a good, hard look at that, as they -- and they will use this as leverage to get misty to talk, this new arrest. >> to you, joe lawless, author

of "prosecutorial misconduct," joining us out of philadelphia. joe, bottom line, they've tried this with the brother. i believe it was tommy croslin who's back behind bars now. they've tried it with misty croslin's mother. they got a little bit out of the brother, not so much out of the mother. but now, these people have nearly million dollar bonds. they're not going anywhere. they're looking at over 100 years behind bars. somebody better crack. >> the prosecutor has her in a very good position right now. and i've done this, nancy. someone has got to sit down across the table from her, look her in the eye and say you're not going anywhere for a long time anyway. do you want to possibly avoid the death penalty? do you want to tell us what you know? now is the time to twist the screws. >> back to you, art harris, here's my prediction. this is the way i would handle it, if i were prosecuting it. i would go ahead and take it to a jury trial on all these counts, all six counts. get the max consecutive, 30, 30, 30, 30, 30.

let her sit behind bars for about a year and then ask her to cooperate. thoughts? >> that's why you didn't lose a case, nancy. that would be very effective. misty is the only one of these people who has not been to jail yet. so she is looking at something very unpleasant. >> what do you do for a living, ma'am? >> nothing. >> i'm sorry? >> nothing. >> how do you support yourself? >> my mom and my dad.

usually, haleigh will wake up at nighttime. she gets cramps in her legs, you know, and i'll have to rub her legs to get the cramps out of her legs to get her back to sleep. and you know, she didn't make no noise that night. i would have woke up if i heard any noise. i didn't hear anything at all. and i was really exhausted that day, you know?

really exhausted. when i laid down, i guess i was just out. >> did she -- there's no way they could have wandered off? >> no. she is scared of the dark. she would not go anywhere by herself. >> what do you do for a living, ma'am? >> nothing. >> i'm sorry? >> nothing. >> how do you support yourself? >> my mom and my dad. >> how old are you? >> just turned -- >> we are taking your calls tonight. a stepmother, misty croslin, former baby-sitter to haleigh cummings, along with biological father ronald cummings behind bars on serious drug offenses that could land them behind bars to up to 180 years in the penitentiary. we're taking your calls. martha in tennessee. hi, martha. >> caller: hey, nancy. >> how are you, dear? >> caller: i'm good. i love you. you're awesome. >> you know what? i'm going to play back that statement to the twins when they turn 16.

okay, i want to thank you for that. what's your question, dear? >> caller: i was wondering, do you thing that misty could have originally sold haleigh for a drug payoff? >> hmm. i'll tell you no, and i'll tell you why. because this bunch, the whole kit and kaboodle of them, i don't think could keep a secret like that. i think that that would have come out. although, actually, martha, keeping a secret, somebody is keeping a secret very, very well about what happened to haleigh that night. but i think that it would have leaked out. art harris, what do you think? is there a possibility that she sold the child for a drug debt? >> i don't think so, nancy. i think more likely she was passed out, did not remember what had happened. because she was doing drugs, her friends tell me, for three or four days on a big party.

and she was exhausted. so often, the drugs that we're describing here will erase your memory and you have trouble. one of the investigators told me a while back, interviewing these people, nancy, is like trying to interview a rock. >> everyone, as we go to break, don't let this be a missed opportunity to do something good. call 800-554-8583 or go to united methodist community on relief.com.

what do you do for a living, ma'am? >> nothing. >> i'm sorry? >> nothing. >> how do you support yourself? >> my mom and my dad. >> how old are you? >> just turned 18. >> do you have the money at this time to hire a lawyer? >> i have a lawyer. >> who's your lawyer, please? >> robert fields. >> have you had a chance to contact mr. fields? >> i talked to him yesterday, yes. >> all right. they'll give you an opportunity to speak with him. i'm going to show at this point you're going to obtain mr. fields. if you're unable to hire a lawyer on these charges and you

need the assistance of a public defender, you can tell the judge or the circuit court in putnam county and a public defender will be appointed. do you have any questions about that? >> no, sir. >> all right. you may have a seat. >> 911, do you have an emergency? >> i need someone -- what is this place called? >> i don't know. >> some black guy just jumped in my car and stole my whole purse and threw me out of the car and had a gun and said he was going to shoot me. >> okay, where are you at right now? >> going up this road. >> take a deep breath for me, okay? >> my arm is all [ bleep ] up. >> where are you right now? are you in a vehicle? >> yes, moody -- moody road. ragsdale community. >> you're in ragsdale? >> yes, ma'am. >> tonight, ronald cummings, the biological father of the 5-year-old girl, haleigh

cummings, who went missing from her own home and his former wife, little haleigh's stepmother, baby-sitter turned stepmother, behind bars on drug trafficking. what, if anything, does this have to do with haleigh's disappearance? out to psychoanalyst, bethany marshall, author of "deal breakers." weigh in, bethany. >> it's so organized around the pursuit of that next high, that next hit of hillbilly heroine. the likelihood is they didn't think about brushing haleigh's teeth. they may not have thought about feeding her. they're not thinking about school. they're not thinking about getting a job. the likelihood is this little girl was neglected. you said earlier in the block that she was exposed to elements. i agree. who walked in and out of that trailer where there were drug parties going on? i agree with you, this little girl didn't stand a chance. and in terms of lying, they couldn't hold on to a high-level lie like whether or not they sold the little girl to get

money for drugs. but the whole family system is organized around a low-level lie, which is around their drug usage, which is what makes it difficult to interview them. >> back to you, art harris. what if anything does this mean to the investigation and the disappearance and/or murder of 5-year-old haleigh? >> well, nancy, this is the opportunity that investigators have been looking for. even though they are two separate teams, the drug investigators and the homicide or haleigh investigators. but they are taking advantage of it. they tried to talk to misty last night, i'm told. and her lawyer has advised her not to speak to investigators. >> we are taking your calls live. to sherry in pennsylvania. what's your question? >> caller: i just want to tell you lucy and john david are so lucky to have a mother like you. >> thank you. i'm such a pushover. you know, if they even fix their face to cry, i'm like what, what, what do you want?

i can see this is not going well. you know, they've got me wrapped around their little finger, and they're only 2. you know, they don't even know what they're doing yet. what's your question, love? >> caller: my question is, do you think that ron and misty, like, said that they -- because he said before that they were supposed to divorce. do you think that was all a hoax? >> oh, that's a good question. art harris, what about it? how am i supposed to take it seriously that he's leaving her because he thinks she's involved or knows something about haleigh's disappearance and then they're all snugged up together selling dope? >> well, nancy, these people were thinking -- trying to think one step ahead, i'm told. they may have been thinking down the road, you know, we could make hay on our reunion. ronald was genuinely taking up with another girlfriend. misty was seeing a number of

local guys, my sources tell me. and she was not talking to him for a while and then suddenly they're back together. >> i want to go out to dr. joshua perper, you all know the renowned medical examiner, the chief medical examiner of broward county. author of "when to call the doctor." dr. perper, as always, it's our honor to have you on with us. >> thank you. >> dr. perper, just tell me what one or two oxycontin pills would do to a little girl. let me see, how much did haleigh weigh? she weighed 39 pounds at the time she disappeared. what would one or two oxycontin pills do to a child of that small of a weight? >> well, they certainly can kill a child of this weight, two or three pills. especially, they can depress her respiratory centers and she can die. she obviously -- a child of this age and size should not use the drugs. doesn't develop tolerance, and

it's a preschool time. >> you know, dr. perper, when i have given the twins, who are about 32 and 37 pounds, even if i have given them cough syrup, i'm a nervous wreck. i get a dropper. i measure it out to less than half a teaspoon. i wake up all during the night to go check if they're breathing. and to have a child around oxycontin. i mean, dr. perper, you've seen it all, probably more than i have as a felony prosecutor. what would a child like haleigh go through in the throes of death from an oxycontin overdose? >> well, what we have had cases in which the parents sometimes select the drugs bottle and the child maybe took the bottle thinking those are candies. and what would happen,

basically -- it wouldn't be painful, but they would basically go to sleep. and perhaps they might vomit before that and become unconscious or die. >> again, we're taking your calls live. i want to go to sergeant scott haynes. thank you for being with us. sergeant haynes, let me ask you something. if you were in charge of this investigation, would it be mere coincidence that the police stung ronald cummings and misty croslin? or do you think this is part of a bigger plan to get the truth out about what happened to haleigh? >> i feel it's part of a bigger plan. i think they're using it to their advantage. they found out through informants they're involved in this criminal activity, and they're using it to their advantage to get the upper hand and have them face charges and prison time that is substantial. and maybe to help themselves out, they'll be willing to turn on each other or get information vital to find haleigh.

>> back to the lawyers. sue moss, peter odom, joe lawless, i guess now, peter, you're going to argue along with joe lawless that it's somehow unconstitutional that these people were set up, that they were arrested for drugs to really find out about the murder or kidnap case on haleigh, right, peter? i mean, i know where this is going. >> one of the things about drug cases -- >> you think it's funny? >> that makes it so hard to defend is it's usually on videotape, the actual crime is on videotape or audio tape. and police officers are professional witnesses. so they have the professional witnesses to give the evidence. so they're terrible to defend. an entrapment defense never works. >> so i guess that was a roundabout way of saying yes, that's true, but it won't work in court? >> we'll be putting our thinking caps on. if she were my client, we would have a long talk about the implications of this. it is hard to defend.

>> answered like a true questions attorney. >> thank you. >> let me let you have a crack at it. >> seven controlled buys on videotape is really tough to get out from under. if i were her lawyer, i would tell her to sit tight, keep her mouth shut and tell her what plays out. talking has only gotten this woman in trouble. it will only get worse. >> sue moss, do you think the defense is going to argue it was a ruse just to get information about haleigh's information about >> oh, they're gonna try. she was caught seven times. even jose baez couldn't get her out of this one. >> we're taking your calls live as we go to break. tonight's ng family album. here's some photos of lucy and john david in their new sunglasses. i think -- there he is. big boy. and now photos from virginia, friend of the show. lashawn and her beautiful 14-year-old daughter, jayla. they watch every night. thank you, beautiful ladies. and texas friends, 9-month-old kendall and twin brother, caden.

look at them! both premature. they have fought to live. they are now happy and healthy. praise the lord. 

what do you do for a living, ma'am? >> nothing. >> i'm sorry? >> nothing. >> how do you support yourself? >> my mom and my dad. >> how old are you? >> just turned 18. >> do you have the money to hire a lawyer at this time? >> i have a lawyer. >> who's your lawyer, please? >> robert fields. >> have you had a chance to contact mr. fields? >> i talked to him last night -- yesterday, yes. >> okay. they'll give you an opportunity to speak with him. i'll show at this point you're retaining mr. fields. if you're unable to hire a lawyer on these charges and you need the assistance from the public defender, you can bring that before the judge or the circuit court in putnam county and the public defender will be appointed. do you have any questions about that? >> no, sir. >> you can have a seat. >> i want to go back to art harris, who first broke the story. misty croslin, the baby-sitter turned stepmother at, i think, 18. and the natural father of

haleigh cummings now behind bars. everybody, i'm hearing news about this case as we're going through the show. i know i promised you we're going to the tiger woods story. i'm going to save that for tomorrow night. tiger woods can wait. we're talking about a missing 5-year-old girl, haleigh marie cummings. what else can you tell me, art harris? >> i can tell you the investigators were hoping that misty would get into such a desperate situation, something like this would happen to give them the leverage they needed. they did not want anyone to help her, to give her money. and so there you have her on tape saying what do you do? nothing. she didn't do anything, and she got so desperate that she became, as strange and astounding as it sounds, the mastermind for the satsuma gang that couldn't deal straight. >> i would say "gang" in the loosest sense of the word. we've got 26-year-old ronald cummings, haleigh's father. misty croslin, 18, the onliy croslin, 23.

the name donna brock is ringing a bell. didn't donna brock work for -- who did she work for? >> texas equisearch. and she was sort of put in there -- do you remember when misty was going off and nobody knew where she was from? >> tim miller. texas equisearch. didn't tim miller say that he put donna brock in with misty croslin to get the truth out of misty croslin? >> that's right. and donna has been saying all along that she's been helping investigators, that she's been by misty's side trying to get more information and feed it back to them. and now, she's arrested on the same charges as misty. so it's all very twisted. >> you know, was she on texas equisearch's payroll, was she paid by tim miller and now she's out dealing drugs? >> that's right.

and they were giving misty money to get her nails done, to go shopping. they even bought christmas gifts for misty's nephews and nieces around christmastime. yes. >> are you telling me that texas equisearch paid for all of that? >> you got it, nancy. >> how do you know that? >> because our sources told us that. and as a matter of fact, tim miller even said that he had provided donna for this sole purpose. >> okay, susan moss, peter odom, joe lawless. there you see a defense shaping up for donna brock, that she was really selling drugs to find out what happened to haleigh. that's, of course, complete bs. what about it, lawless? >> doesn't sound good to me. i think she's in the same boat with misty and ronald. they are controlled buys on video. these charges are almost impossible to beat. when they come in quantity, they are a real problem for a defendant. >> to you, peter odom, as you

said earlier, a typical defense. had it many, many, many times. can't even count how many times. when you've got a sting set up by the -- the defense will argue entrapment. >> right. >> now, just be a lawyer, don't take a side. tell me how you beat an entrapment defense. how would i beat an entrapment defense? >> nancy, the reason entrapment is so difficult is because the defendant, first of all, has the burden of proof and the defendant has to show they committed a crime they would not have committed had it not been for the police's conduct. if brock was selling drugs anyway, then she will not be able to demonstrate she would not have committed this crime. so you know, it's just extremely difficult. >> agree or disagree, susan moss? >> agreed. donna did not work for the government authorities. she didn't even work for a quasijudicial agency. she worked for a private company. the fact she was selling drugs, she's guilty. only thugs sell prescription drugs. >> i want to go back to dr.

joshua perper. dr. perper, i keep thinking, not that it's exactly what happened to haleigh. but i keep thinking about those letters. i've got them here on my desk. where someone wrote that misty croslin took 5-year-old haleigh to a late night party where everybody was drunk and using drugs. that she ingested oxycontin -- this is months ago -- and that she died of an overdose. when i think what the child went through physically and mentally for an overdose death, it makes me sick. >> well, it's certainly very sad. and when you have people who are on drugs, they don't pay attention. they are negligent. and unless they give you the drugs on purpose, which does not appear to be the case, the child may take the drug and die under those circumstances. >> and bottom line, though, back to the lawyers, peter odom, joe lawless, susan moss.

joe lawless, that would still be felony murder because the felony would be felony child endangerment. and a death would occur during that endangerment, exposing children to a dope and booze party. that would still be felony murder. >> absolutely. you've heard the expression between a rock and a hard place. she's between a rock and a rock. one is a 25-year mandatory minimum for drugs. the other, if that turns out to have been the facts, is a felony murder charge that could carry a mandatory minimum life in prison. >> i'm still getting news in my ear as we're broadcasting live right now. i'm understanding that misty croslin is clamming up. her lawyers are telling her not to talk, not to talk about the drug offenses and not to talk about haleigh. missing haleigh cummings and the night she went missing. out to polly in california. hi, polly. >> caller: good evening, nancy. >> i had, dear. >> caller: i love you and your show and your kid.

i still wish you were a prosecuting attorney because i just think you are the bomb. >> thank you. what's your question, love? >> caller: here's my question. now, assuming that they are sentenced on the drug charges to the mandatory 180 years, how is dangling a lighter sentence in front of them, if they give them information about poor little haleigh, going to get them to talk when she's facing a death sentence or possibility of life in prison if she's found guilty of murder? how is -- >> what you could do is if they got the minimum, which is 25 on each count, which is 150 years behind bars, after the sentencing, if she cooperated and solved the haleigh cummings case, a prosecutor could ask for an order modification in sentencing.

i'm a.j. hammer. here's what's coming up on "showbiz tonight." john edwards' shocking confession, finally admits today he is the father of his former mistre mistress' baby. the shocking connection between john edwards and tiger woods, the remarkable link between two

guys once seen as the most squeaky clean celebrities out there. that is your "showbiz tonight" newsbreak. tv's most provocative entertainment news show. at the top of the hour right here on hln. what do you do for a living, ma'am? >> nothing. >> i'm sorry? >> nothing. >> how do you support yourself? >> my mom and my dad. >> how old are you? >> just turned 18. >> do you have money at this time to hire a lawyer? >> i have a lawyer. >> who's your lawyer? >> robert fields. >> have you had a chance to contact mr. fields? >> i talked to him last night -- yesterday, yeah. >> they'll give you an opportunity to speak with him. i'll show you at this point you retained mr. fields. if you're unable to hire a lawyer on these charges and need the assistance of the public defender, you can tell judge berger that and the public defender will be appointed. do you have any questions about

that? >> no, sir. >> out to vicky in iowa. >> caller: hello. >> hi there, what's your question? >> caller: my question is i believe that ron cummings had custody of a son and i was wondering while they were incarcerated, who's got the son? if there were suspected drug use why didn't the state order that or check up on him going through this ordeal? >> good question. where is junior cummings? >> he has been staying at ronald's grandmother's house. crystal with her new lawyer went back to court today, emergency hearing in putnam county, asked for custody back. and one source tells me she got it. >> whoa. that is a huge, huge sea change. out to bethany marshall, psychoanalyst and author of "deal breakers." >> putting the squeeze on misty

and ronald with 180 years will not necessarily make them tell the truth. long term opiate use increases self-destructive behavior. and when you use tough love with the addict, they become even more self-destructive and they dig themselves in. what they need is sobriety, sitting in jail for a year, cooling their heels, then maybe they'll have insight and tell the truth. >> bethany, maybe a year, 18 months, two years behind bars will dry them all out and help them remember. let's stop and remember ourselves. army sergeant jason walter vaughn, 29. mississippi. killed iraq. on a second tour awarded the bronze star, purple heart. many other medals. loved his blue ' 8 chevelle. never met a stranger. would give somebody his last dollar if he thought they needed it. leaves behind walter and rena, sister karisha, brother logan.

wife contessa. stepdaughter ashley. jason walter vaughn, american hero. thank you to our guests but our biggest thank you to you, a special thank you to florida friend of the show, valerie, for this beautiful, beautiful gift that she made for the twins. i got it after christmas. we will be using it next year. valerie and her son share the twins' birthday, november 4th. i'll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp eastern. until then, good night, friend.