valerie hamilton. >> reporter: police gave few details, saying only her body was wrapped in material the cause of death was not immediately obvious. the next morning the police chief thrust his daughter's case into the national spotlight with a plea. >> i want to ask my law enforcement brothers and sisters across the country to help me with this. they took my daughter. >> reporter: just hours later, fbi and u.s. marshals arrested harvey. allegedly high on heroin. hundreds of miles away in his hometown of niagara falls. >> we fortunately got a tip and that tip was successful. >> reporter: the next day, as family and friends gathered for her funeral, the suspect spoke out. >> this is not a murder. there's no murder at all. >> reporter: police released preliminary evidence that may back harvey's claim. investigators say hamilton willingly left that bar with him. they found no signs of physical trauma on her body. they did find evidence of drug usage. witnesses told them valerie appeared to need immediate medical attention. but that harvey did not help her get it. they believe he made gr

. >>> we turn now to the mysterious death of valerie hamilton. a 23-year-old swim coach who walked into a north carolina bar one night and was found dead days later, stuffed into a storage locker. the prime suspect, a convicted sex offender. with each new detail from the investigation, new questions. not only about how she died, but also, how she lived. her father, a police chief, now not only grieves for her, he's also defending her, as yunji de nies reports. >> this is not a murder. there's murder at all. she overdosed in her sleep. >> she didn't sound like she was on anything. she didn't sound like she was drunk. >> he woke up and she was dead. >> reporter: what do you think happened that night? >> you know, i don't know. we may never know. we may never know what happened. >> reporter: what merl hamilton does know is that his daughter was found dead in this storage locker after a late night with this registered sex offender with a lengthy criminal record, including rape, breaking and entering, and drug possession. do you think that he killed y

valerie hamilton's funeral is this afternoon.ry jacobs, abc news, new york. >>> military police have shot and killed a man they say opened fire at a small store on a texas army base. two women were wounded in the shooting at ft. bliss before the police moved in. the area was roped off for an fbi investigation. the sprawling base next to el paso never was under lockdown. >>> nato says a helicopter crash has killed nine military service members in afghanistan. the crash happened in the southern part of the country. there were no reports of enemy fire at the time. the nine deaths make this year the deadliest of the afghan war. at least 529 people have been killed so far. >>> iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad addresses the u.n. general assembly on thursday. until then, protesters are planned until his speech. ahmadinejad is under pressure because of the american hikers still being held in a tehran prison. >> reporter: iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad has been the center of attention ever since arriving in new york saturday. h

michael harvey says he did not kill valerie hamilton. >> this is not a murder. there's no murder at all. >> reporter: he says the 23-year-old died of a drug overdose. >> she overdosed in her sleep. >> reporter: as he went before a judge, relatives came to his defense. >> i know my son. he wouldn't hurt no one. he wouldn't even hurt a fly. >> reporter: harvey was the last person seen with this north carolina police chief's daughter before she went missing a week ago. days later, detectives found her body in a storage unit. friends say harvey told them hamilton overdosed and he panicked. >> he woke up. and she was dead, and he was all messed up so he hid the body. >> reporter: new information from police may back that claim. investigators say hamilton willingly left a local bar with harvey. they found no signs of physical trauma on her body. detectives found evidence of drug use and interviewed witnesses who said she appeared to need immediate medical attention. legal analysts say he could still be held responsible for her death. >> this is similar to the michael

hundreds are gathered at a funeral for 23-year-old valerie hamilton. se eyes, a and her mama's eyes, she was perfect. >> the chief broke down at a vigil held for valerie. earlier the prime suspect in hamilton's murder waived extradition at a hearing in upstate new york where he was arrested on monday. clint van zandt joins us over the phone. >> caller: sure, tamron. >> this is another individual who served time for assault. he faced jail time before, and now he's accused of murdering this young girl, dumping her body, the details are unbelievable. this is something with a violent that's back on the streets. >> currently it costs about $37,000 a year to keep an offender in jail, in prison. somehow in this country we have to identify repeat offenders. this guy, as you suggest, he had a long record. not just for sex offenses, drug offenses, weapons, breaging and entering. shoplifting. it goes on, possession and selling heroin. it went on and on. somehow, you know, if we had the magic ability to, we need to identify those repeat offenders that are going to

stuffed in a storage locker. >> i'm very sad to report that we've recovered the body of miss valerie hamiltonrter: hamilton's father is a police chief with 23 years on the force. valerie hamilton went missing on wednesday after a late night at a bar in charlotte. her car was found in the parking lot. and friends began to worry when she didn't come to work. >> it's just not like her to not show up and not let us know. >> reporter: police say hamilton was last seen at the bar with michael neal harvey, a registered sex offender with a lengthy criminal record. including a rape conviction in 1996. police also have their eyes on the road. they believe harvey is driving a 1996 chevrolet blazer with north carolina license plates. they've been looking for him for days. so by now, he could be miles away from charlotte. as police wrap up their search, valerie's friends are trying to deal with the reality that that bright smile is gone. >> i don't understand how somebody could do this to her. somebody who is so sweet and so kind. >> reporter: and a grieving father is using his life's work, police work, t

. >> reporter: valerie hamilton went missing a week ago wednesday. she was seen leaving a local bar with michael harvey. when she didn't show up to her job as a swim instructor friends and coworkers began to worry. >> it's not like her to not show up and not let us know that i'm sick or my car's broken or i had something else going on. >> reporter: we felt it. i think the police side of me knew and the father side was hoping that something -- anything. valerie did make at least one phone call after leaving the bar at around 3:00 a.m. to her friend, ashley barton. >> she's like, what are you doing? i'm laying in bed, sleeping. and she was like can you come out to the hot tub with me and my friend? >> reporter: late saturday night -- >> i'm sad to report that we have recovered the body of miss hamilton. >> reporter: police gave few details, saying that her body was wrapped in material and that the cause of death was not immediately obvious. the next morning, the police chief thrust his daughter's case into the national spotlight with a plea. >> i want

good morning, tom. >> reporter: meredith, good morning to you, that man accused of killing valerie hamilton is expected to be brought back here to the charlotte area soon. the investigation is focusing on several places including the storage facility where hamilton's body was discovered and now more questions about the cause of death. meryl hamilton and his family arrived at the funeral for the law man's daughter behind a police escort. joining them at the church were family, friends and hundreds of law enforcement officers, passing treats lined with purple ribbons, they came to mourn and remember 23-year-old valerie hamilton, the police chief's daughter who wanted to work with children. >> people all over the nation are people that supported the chief. he's a good chief and we have all just been heart broken for him. >> reporter: after a nationwide manhunt, 34-year-old michael neil harvey was arrested monday charged with hamilton's murder. >> we had indications from the county sheriff's office in charlotte, north carolina that the defendant is wanted on charges of murder. >> reporter: the

he's a register sex offender and police believe he killed 23- year-old valerie hamilton, the daughter of police chief merle hamilton. she is seen leaving a restaurant with a man police believe is harvey. her body was found on saturday in a storage unit. he was arrested today in niagara falls. >>> d.c. school chancellor michelle rhee went on oprah today to advocate school reform like the kind she's implemented here in the district. she's featured in the new movie waiting for superman, it's a documentary about the poor state of the country's public schools. meanwhile speculation said she will be moving on if and when vincent gray takes over as mayor. bruce johnson is here with the latest on who is coming and who is going, following city hall and mayor fenty's defeat last week. >> that's right. and all bets are that michelle rhee won't stick around beyond the transition period. and others the fenty administration is looking for work today. >> reporter: pulling up the resume file. it's being seen in every corner of the d.c. government office buildings today. the fenty team is out and the

valerie hamilton's body was found in a self-storage unit on saturday. her father appeared on "good morning america" yesterday, with an emotional appeal to help solve his daughter's murder. hours later, fbi agents and u.s. marshals took michael harvey into custody. he will be arraigned later today. >>> lindsay lohan could be headed back to jail. a judge issued an arrest warrant yesterday, after the actress acknowledged failing a drug test less than a month after leaving rehab. lohan was allowed to remain free, pending a hearing friday, to determine if she, in fact, did violate her probation. over the summer, the actress served 14 days of a 90-day jail sentence. >>> the benner have broncos is mourning the apparent suicide of one of its players. kenny mckinley was found dead at his home yesterday. investigators believe he died because of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. his coach said mckinley would be remembered for his smile that could light up any room. >>> for sports highlights, here's will selva at espn news. >> good morning. out west, "monday night fo

>> reporter: well the victim, valerie hamilton was last seen early wednesday morning leaving a bar with man. the security camera at the bar shows her leaving with a man matching michael neal harvey's describes. based on harvey's long rap shoet and sex offender status police were suspicious from the get go. they searched his charlotte area home, they searched an economy motel where witnesses believed that he had stayed last week until checking out on friday. and it was a day later on saturday that that he found the young woman's body in a selfstorage unit in charlotte, jon. jon: it's such a sad story. tell us a little bit more about this young lady and her family. >> reporter: eye all accounts she was a very outgoing friendly loved woman who loved kids. she worked at a place that gave swimming lessons to very young children. she was also very close to her family by all accounts. she apparently talked to her father by phone at least once a day, and now they are dad, the police chief has the heartbreaking task of seeking answers in a murder case that obviously hits very close to home. he's

his daughter, 23-year-old preschool teacher valerie hamilton, was found murdered in charlotte, north lina, three days after she left a tavern with a man identified as michael harvey, a convicted sex offender. today, valerie's father, a suburban charlotte police chief, did plead on "good morning america" for help finding harvey. >> she was a perfect daughter. and i miss her. and i need justice for her. and i need -- i need folks to be looking for this guy. >> reporter: hours later, during the day, federal agents captured harvey in niagara falls, new york. he offered no resistance. >>> and we follow up now on our story last week so many of you wrote us about. steve wompler who has cerebral palsy. the courageous man decided to rock climb, pulling himself up the 3,000 foot tall el capitan in yosemite park. so incredibly arduous. every pull of the rope raised steve just five inches. well, he did it. he reached the top. >> it was six days of just absolute torture. and i would say awe inspiring too. >> and when it was over, more than a few good men, marines, climbed to the top to carry steve

valerie hamilton had been missing since wáez and her body was found in a storage unit.her father is the police chief in concord. he was picked up where he used to live and where he was cop victoried on a rape charge. >>> the caffeine made him do it, that's what a lawyer is saying, made his client strangele his wife. the lawyer said the 33-year-old was mentally unstable after consuming soda, energy drinks and diet pills. he will go on trial for the murder. the strategy has a precedent. it worked in washington state where a man was cleared of running down two people with his car. >>> a wildfire in utah is forcing families out of their homes. 1400 homes have been evacuated just outside of salt lake city. the fire started when a dry brush caught fire during a training camp. two homes were destroyed. two firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation. >>> the oil well that spewed the crude into the gulf is dead at last. five months after an explosion sank a drilling rig the plug has sealed the bp well. a pressure test proved that the well is dead. but there is plenty of oil

to help prevent it. >> reporter: now, harvey is reportedly denying he killed valerie hamilton. his neighbors spoke to our affiliate wsoc, and harvey said valerie died in her sleep. a lot of unanswered questions in this case. robin? >> there are. our hearts go out to chief hamilton and his family. >>> juju chang has the morning's other news for us. >> good morning, robin and george. good morning, everyone. the national guard is apologizing for the ongoing wildfire that's burned several homes and thousands of acres near salt lake city. the guard admits no one checked the red flag wind conditions before a machine gun training exercise, which sparked the fire. and they waited hours before calling for help. >>> advisers to the fda say more research should be done before the agency approves genetically-engineered salmon for human consumption. the salmon grows twice as fast as natural salmon. the fda holds a hearing today on whether the fish would carry a special label. >>> and a showdown over the don't ask, don't tell policy towards gays in the military gets under way in the senate to

investigators say the body of valerie hamilton was found saturday night in a storage unit in southeastrlotte. a warrant was issued for michael harvey, who police believe was the man seen leaving a bar last week. police found him asleep at a friend's house in niagara falls and arrested him without incident. >>> tragedy in texas. a popular high school football player dies after collapsing on a field during the game. it is the third such death in just weeks more on steps being taken to keep players safe. >>> it seemed like a regular friday light under the lights. 17-year-old reggie garrett was leading the them to victory when tragedy struck. >> i was like, i don't know what's going on. >> the 17-year-old collapsed on the ground and was pronounced dead before the game was over. >> it's just really hard. you think of all of the good times you had with him. >> garrett was -- had a history of seizures, but was screened and deemed healthy to play. 13-year-old and 15-year-old both collapsed and died after practice. and hayward dennison, a 17-year- old oregon high school player, was saved by a n

valerie hamilton went missing early wednesday monday. she was last seen leaving the comet street tavern, a restaurant and bar in the charlotte area, she was seen on surveillance video at this establishment leaving with a man. based on that and other information, police went searching for this woman and found her body saturday night in a storage unit in southeast charlotte. charlotte mecklenberg police are looking for a 34-year-old sex offender with a long rap sheet, michael neil harvey. at this point, they're not formally calling him a suspect, but a person of interest. they really want to talk to him. he's originally from upstate new york but according to court records he's been in charlotte for approximately six years. bill. bill: jonathan serrie in atlanta, thank you. more on that as we move throughout the morning, it's a developing story. jonathan, thanks. nine minutes past the hour now. martha. martha: here's a story for you on this monday, a massachusetts woman wanted to catch a gator, it was a big goal of her -- hers, to bag a 13-

her name was valerie hamilton. she was a college student who worked part time at a swim school for children. she loved children, outgoing, friendly, very close to her parents. she spoke every day by phone with her father who happened to be the police chief in concord, north carolina, a suburb of charlotte, north carolina. chief merril hamilton now has the difficult task for asking for information in connection with a murder case that is all too personal, megyn. megyn: so sad. jonathan, thank you so much. >> certainly. megyn: another fox news alert for you. reports not long ago that the recession has officially ended. in fact they say it ended more than a year ago, in june 2009. at least according to the national bureau of economic research, a group based in cambridge, massachusetts that keeps track of the data. some of the folks in the rest of the country would now like to throw something at the bureau of economic research. eric bowling joins me to you to explain these economists or not. so it's over, not to worry.

police say michael neil harvey killed valerie hamilton monday at a home in niagara falls. >>> denvercos wide receiver was found dead in his home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. the 23-year-old was a second year player but currently on injured reserve. >>> a helicopter has crashed in afghanistan, killing nine. nbc news has confirmed the nine american troops when their chopper went down you in the southeastern part of the country. the taliban claims it shot down the chopper, but the united states says there were no reports of hostile fire. nbc's john yang is in kabul now. john, are you able to learn anything new about the chopper crash? >> reporter: well, this was the deadliest chopper crash in about four years here in afghanistan. the choppers are used a lot in rugged and remote areas where it's hard to get around on the ground. this was in an area that was a taliban stronghold, but the territory controlled by the taliban, also an area where coalition forces have been pushing back against the taliban, escalating their efforts to try to drive the taliban out. this is the

daughter of valerie hamilton. daughter of a police chief. judge, you know how are, you let him out.lood is on you. all right. this is a terrible story as well. 2-year-old. 2-year-old gets photographed by her mother smoking pot. roll the tape. ♪ >> don't blow on it wait. come here. >> bill: this is beyond sickening. >> right. she took this video. sent it to her friend. >> bill: who is she. >> jessica gamble. 21 years old. from ohio. the mom gives it to her 2-year-old and gives her instructions how to properly smoke the marijuana. >> bill: what should happen to this 21-year-old mother. >> go to prison. lose custody of her child. >> bill: she could go to 11 years on these charges. would you give her the max. >> i would give her somewhere between 8 and 10. i'm not certain, bill, to to be honest that she will actually receive that if i was a prosecutor i would say let's take this to trial. let a jury decide. i would not plea bargain this case for insufficient amount of time. >> the jury won't decide on the sentence. >> the judge will. >> the judge will decide. the judge should mete out a

police believe he was the last person seen with 23-year-old valerie hamilton.d dead in a storage locker in california. >> our expectation, when we began in investigation thursday night, was that we would return this young lady to her family safe and sound as our expectation for every missing persons case. and, unfortunately, it didn't result in that. >> the victim's father is concord police chief maesh hamilton. >>> his name is weluzon. he now faces new attempted murder charges. he was trying to travel to israel. he is a suspect in two stabbings and a hammer attack in virginia as well as stabbings in ohio, but he's not been charged in those cases. if convicted on one of the charges in michigan, he faces life in prison with no parole. >>> a new offering at an ohio school is billing itself as junk food. it comes from a vending mcachin. not quite what you'd expect, though. mason high school just installed an all-carrot vending machine. he's bag of carrots costs 50 cents. with me the principal of mason high school in cincinnati. how much business do you think those

a nationwide manhunt was launched after the body of valerie hamilton was found in a storage unit in northekend. last night the community held a vigil for hamilton who was the daughter of murl hamilton. a funeral will be held this afternoon. >>> in kentucky, the lawyer for a man accused of strangling his wife says his client falsely confessed it that murder. woody will smith is charged in the death of his wife back in may of 2009 and initially, according to court documents smith's attorney was going to argue that caffeine made him do it but in opening arguments yesterday the caffeine made smith confess and that actually someone else committed that murder. joining me now here in the studio is former attorney general of new jersey. good to have you with us. this is kind of confusing because we have the original confession, but now the attorney is arguing a different argument in court. how smart is that now that this trial is in motion? >> it may be the only thing he is left with. number one, the attorney has to get this confession or statement suppressed. number two, he has to persuade the j

officials found 23-year-old valerie hamilton's body over the weekend in storage unit in north carolinafather is police chief in a nearby town of concorde. he begged cops across the country please help track down the killer. >> she was a good kid. she was a wonderful kid. she lived her life to take care of children. that's all she wanted to do. she was a perfect daughter. i miss her. i need justice for her. a few hours later, they arrested the suspect hundreds of miles away. jonathan serrie is live in the newsroom where it got started. across the border from canada, but they have ties to where it began. >> he glue up there. the u.s. marshalls say when they arrested him they found him asleep in a couch at a friend in his old neighborhood. they found what they believed was the suspect's stolen chevy blazer with the interior burned out. that vehicle was parked behind a local shopping ball. >> shepard: what do we know why this guy was a suspect? a lot of reasons if for that. >> they had security video showing them leaving at the same time early wednesday morning. because of the suspect sex

investigators claim he killed 23-year-old valerie hamilton and dumped her body in a self-storage unitaded here to new york. now the owner of the house where cops arrested this guy tells a local television station his friend is completely innocent and that harvey said he and hamilton went to a hotel and he woke up the next morning to find her dead. the friend says harvey put the body in a storage unit because he panicked. law enforcement has a new way to prevent terror attacks at one of the nation's busiest ports. it's a state of the art screening ship. guarding the port of los angeles, long beach in california. it's loaded with high tech equipment that can detect nuclear threats just by pulling up alongside a ship. that, plus a new $250,000 helicopter and one highly trained black lab to sniff out chemical and biological weapons. $250,000 helicopter? really? adam housley with the look off the coast of california. adam? >> >> shepard, this boat that only protects the ports here in los angeles but also pushes our defenses well offshore. because if there is any threat here, if anything wa

harvey reportedly told police valerie hamilton died after an accidental overdose of heroin.hamilton's funeral was yesterday at a church in her hometown outside charlotte. >>> eight city officials from bell, california, are due in court this morning on corruption charges. they're accused of paying themselves huge salaries in a scandal that triggered outrage far beyond california. here now is mike von fremd. >> reporter: a raucous crowd gathered outside city hall as word spread that officials were being rounded up and arrested. one even had his door broken down by a police battering ram. >> they used the tax dollars collected from the hard-working citizens of bell as their own piggy bank, which they then looted at will. >> reporter: former city manager robert rizzo made nearly $800,000 a year. almost twice what the president makes. city council members were paid nearly $8,000 a month for attending meetings that either never took place, or lasted only minutes. the district attorney said that is fraud. >> this needless to say is corruption on steroids. >> reporter: the 40,000 re

police say he met 23-year-old valerie hamilton in a bar in charlotte, north carolina. 's father, the police chief in concord, north carolina. >> meanwhile, the tea party is getting big bucks to throw around. the tea party patriots, coalition of about 2800 local groups is announcing this morning it just scored a hefty seven figure contribution from an undisclosed donor. tea party thanked the candidates like christine o'donnell of delaware for firing up the tea party supporters. >> no you won't see her face on wanted posters. a judge put a warrant for lindsay lohan's arrest on hold. she's free until a court hearing this friday. the warrant was issued after she tested positive for cocaine. she just spent two weeks in jail. >> horrifying sight in brazil. hundreds of people are watching a car race and suddenly the bleach there's standing on and sitting on collapses beneath them with 100 people. it's like the wave. 100 people were taken to hospital. 22 are in critical condition. not known what caused the bleachers to give out. you have to figure it has to do with too many peo

he claims 23-year-old valerie hamilton overdosed in her sleep.nd them murdered her and dumped her body in a self-storage unit. valerie's father is the police chief in concord, north carolina. >> corruption on steroids. eight officials from bell, california, taking home bloated taxpayer salaries. today they'll be arraigned on corruption charges. a former city manager and the mayor hauled away in cuffs. cops took a battering ram to the mayor's house. the eight are accuseded of looting thousands of dollars and paid a year. how many other cities are having the same thing happen. >> they hope the yoga instructions printed on town parking tickets will make you feel a little bit better about getting it. the city wants you to know a ticket is not a hostile action. it's something that makes the community function better. there's no indication that people getting parking tickets are any happier or more flexible. we'll continue to follow that story. >> that would make me more upset because i'd realize i can't do any of those moves. >> right. >> can you get

harvey is accused of killing valerie last week and dumping her body in a storage unit. hamilton 23. that suspect was captured in niagra falls, new york. >> the lawmakers heard outrage in california have been arrested. the district attorney says several former and current city council members in the town of bell were taken into custody today. they include the manager robert rizzo who paid himself, get this, nearly $800,000 a year. >> the tax dollars collected by bell -- which they then eluded at will. >> prosecutors accused the lawmakers misappropriating $5.5 million, including making illegal loans. most of the arrests went smoothly, but they did have to use a battering ram on the door of the former mayor before he agreed to open up. >>> today is the last full day of fall. meteorologist, topper shutt on the terrace with your forecast. >> another spectacular day and another spectacular evening. if you are headed out by 6:00, temperatures are going to be in the upper 70s with full sunshine and then we get into 8:00, maybe low 70s, not fall as quickly tonight as it did last night. l

valerie hamill's disappearance was different than most, she was the police chief's daughter. so monday night in concord, they closed the streets and opened their hearts to chief meryl hamilton andle light vigil outside the police station. meryl's daughter valerie was last seen leaving the charlotte tavern wednesday night, surveillance tapes show she wasn't alone. >> bartenders or anyone that was working go downtown and help photo i.d. people. >> over the weekend, the worse possible news for the police chief and everybody who knew valerie, her body was found in a storage unit. police began a nationwide search for michael neil harvey, a convicted sex offender. chief hamilton called upon police departments across the country to help find harvey. harvey was arrested in his hometown of ni gag are falls. this case is very much an open and active investigation. >> hearts are always heavy at a death in the community. but never here has there been one that hit so close to home for law enforcement. the suspect previously served four years in a new york prison for raping a woman he met in a bar, he will make his first court appearance in new york today and authorities are working on extra