A prominent New York City defense attorney has been hired to represent the parents of a missing Kansas City baby.
Joe Tacopina told reporters Monday that he had been hired to represent Jeremy Irwin and Deborah Bradley. His past clients have included Joran Van der Sloot, the Dutch man suspected in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba.
Tacopina praised Kansas City police for their investigation but insisted the parents have "nothing to hide."
Bradley told NBC's "Today" show in an interview aired Monday morning that she believes she will be arrested in her daughter's Oct. 4 disappearance. She told Fox News in another interview that she was drunk and may have blacked out. But she insists she did nothing to harm her daughter.
FBI agents searched the family's house with dogs Monday and drained a nearby creek in their effort to find the child. Police have said they have no suspects or major leads even after multiple searches of the family's neighborhood, nearby wooded areas, a landfill and abandoned homes.
Bradley and Irwin held hands at a Monday afternoon news conference where announced he was representing them. Tacopina said it was natural for police to focus on the parents.
"The police have to start with the mother and father, they absolutely have to," he said. "They're the first people they should look at. But don't come to a conclusion because there's no other answers."
Tacopina refused to say who was paying him, only saying he had been hired to counsel their parents through the investigation. He insisted they "have nothing to hide."
"I don't recall in recent history anyone under this umbrella of suspicion be so open and forthright, warts and all, regarding the events," Tacopina said.