ANN CURRY, co-host:
We turn now to the search for baby
Lisa Irwin
. Now her
parents
have a top
criminal defense
attorney and a
private investigator
working for them. We're going to talk to them in just a moment. But first,
NBC
's
Peter Alexander
has the latest.
Peter
, good morning.
PETER ALEXANDER reporting:
And good morning to you. Investigators tell
NBC News
they have now received hundreds of tips from across this country and even overseas, as far away as
Barbados
and
England
. But the biggest twist just came here yesterday when we heard
for the first time
from a new
criminal defense
attorney,
Joe Tacopina
, who you will speak to in just a moment, who insists that his clients, baby
Lisa
's
Irwin
's
parents
, are innocent. However, there are new inconsistencies in their story that are drawing new scrutiny. Two full weeks into the baffling disappearance of baby
Lisa Irwin
the spotlight's on the shifting public statements by her mother,
Deborah Bradley
.
Deborah
first revealed to
NBC News
that she was drinking at home with a neighbor in the hours before she says
Lisa
vanished from her crib. Were you drinking that night?
Ms. DEBORAH BRADLEY:
Yes.
ALEXANDER:
How much?
Ms. BRADLEY:
Enough to be drunk.
ALEXANDER:
So you were drunk?
Ms. BRADLEY:
Mm-hmm.
ALEXANDER:
As seen on this surveillance tape,
Deborah
bought wine with her brother that evening. She now acknowledges taking anxiety medication and said in a separate interview she may have blacked out after drinking more than five glasses of wine that night.
Deborah
told
People magazine
she can't remember if she turned off the lights or checked on her daughter before
going to bed
around
10:30 PM
. A lot of people are going to say, '
Deborah
, you were drunk that night. Is there any chance you did anything that hurt your daughter that you're just not telling us?'
Ms. BRADLEY:
No, no, no. And if I thought there was a chance I'd say it. No, no.
ALEXANDER:
Meanwhile, the hunt for clues Monday included four separate searches at the
Irwin
home, outside the home where
Lisa
's
parents
have been staying with relatives. At a neighbor's home, where detectives were seen removing bags of items. And at this neighborhood park where crews even drained a creek.
Mr. JOE TACOPINA (Defense Attorney Hired By Irwin Family):
And I
'm optimistic and confident
at the end of the day
, the truth will come out.
ALEXANDER:
On Monday, baby
Lisa
's
parents
introduced their new lawyer, high-profile
criminal defense
attorney
Joe Tacopina
, whose past clients include
Joran van der Sloot
.
Tacopina
says his heartbroken clients have nothing to hide.
Mr. TACOPINA:
She's a mother who is in a high state of trauma, who trembles every day and cries. And if her recollection sometimes isn't what it should be regarding certain times of events, I don't think we could really be too harsh on that inconsistency, if it is in fact an inconsistency.
Ms. BRADLEY:
I can't change what people think. Everybody is going to have an opinion. It is so easy to judge. It is so easy to point the finger. It is so easy to make assumptions when you don't know me as a person, you don't know me as a mother.
ALEXANDER:
Authorities say they still have no suspects in this case, including the
Irwins
, whose attorney said their interview with us Sunday would be the last time they speak to the media for now. We also spoke to police late yesterday, who released this statement, and they say to us the following, " Clearly the
parents
' level of cooperation has not been what it needs to be to find this child. Should they change their mind, our door is always open."
Ann:
Peter Alexander
, thank you.
Joe Tacopina
is a top
criminal defense
attorney just hired by baby
Lisa
's
parents
and
Bill Stanton
is a
private investigator
also working with the family. Gentlemen, good morning to both of you.
CURRY:
Good morning.
Mr. BILL STANTON (Private Investigator):
Good morning.
Mr. TACOPINA:
First of all, answer this question. Why has this family not cooperated fully, given that police say that that is what they need to find baby
Lisa
?
CURRY:
Ann
, it's unbelievable to hear that. They've cooperated. As early -- as recently as yesterday, they consented to a search of their car. They consented to these sniff dogs coming to the property and searching.
Mr. TACOPINA:
For a time they didn't speak to investigators...
CURRY:
No, no.
Mr. TACOPINA:
...and they have not said that they -- they have said that they did not want their two young boys, the stepbrothers of baby
Lisa
, to be reinterviewed.
CURRY:
Well, here's the deal,
Ann.
They've both been interviewed repeatedly for a total of 13 hours each, 13 hours each. They want to cooperate but they want to make sure the investigation is being done in good faith. When you're cooperating and you're being interviewed and a detective within an hour or two of the baby's disappearance starts accusing you of murder, it really doesn't do much for the cooperative spirit. And these
parents
want more than anything to find out what happened. I had a conversation with the
police sergeant
yesterday, where I said, 'Tell us what you need from us and we'll
give it to you
.' And there's this really stand-off mentality. And they need to understand, these people are victims. They're grieving
parents
who are missing their 11-month-old baby.
Mr. TACOPINA:
It doesn't help, however, that argument, to discover then that the information about when the baby was last seen has now changed. It was once
10:30
at night, it is now 6:40, according to
Deborah
. Why did she change her story?
CURRY:
You know, people are making
a little bit more
than it is. She's not changing her story as to when she saw the baby last, she describes putting the baby to bed at a certain time during the night. Obviously she wasn't clocking that when she was putting the baby to bed. She wasn't marking the time down. And when she was reinterviewed, she had her recollection repressed on a few things and moved the time. But understand this, this woman is someone who is missing -- and under grief and trauma everyday, who is missing her 11-month-old baby. And she's been not only interviewed and given everything she could give to the authorities, but she's been accused by innuendo and rumor, directly and indirectly of having a hand in the disappearance of her child.
Mr. TACOPINA:
Bill
, let me ask you, what are you doing to pursue this idea that somebody else is at fault here for the disappearance of baby
Lisa
?
CURRY:
Well, first, you have to eliminate the people in the home, the neighbors, their friends, etc.
And I
'm not going to duplicate the work of the
KCPD
or the -- or the
FBI
. The investigation me and my team is doing is going, doing a systemic investigation or analytic if you will.
Mr. STANTON:
Are you just analyzing the data that police collect or are you actually trying to find information on your own?
CURRY:
Both.
Re-
examining what was there, talking to the family, and going from there on. I do believe this baby is alive and in the hands of
someone else
. And the fact that they haven't found this child just reinforces my belief that the baby is alive.
Mr. STANTON:
Why do you -- but why do you believe that, is the question? Why do you believe that? What evidence is there that
someone else
has this baby?
CURRY:
All right. Let me answer your question. Who steals a puppy to do away with the puppy? You steal that puppy because you want it.
And I
think something -- it's either trafficking or maybe an emotionally disturbed person that took this child. I do believe that this child is alive. And that's the focus.
Mr. STANTON:
The home was amiss. The home was amiss that night. When the husband came home, the home was absolutely amiss. There were things that were wrong regarding the window, the screen was bent in, certain lights were on that were never on before. So when he woke
Deborah
up, when
Jeremy
woke
Deborah
up, there was something wrong. And that's the first thing they did. And instantaneously they called 911, instantaneously.
Mr. TACOPINA:
There is now a $100,000 reward for information. You have a T-shirt that you've had made up here. The family I guess has had made up.
CURRY:
Well, the family made up. And again, the focus needs to be on finding this baby, and
Lisa
needs to be found. There's call in numbers, there's a
Facebook
page that the family set up. There's a, you know, a call in number here for tips. I mean, all they want more than anything, you know, they'll deal with this stuff regarding any allegations or accusations, but all they want more than anything is for their baby
Lisa
to come home.
Mr. TACOPINA:
Meantime, do you expect as
Deborah
expects, that she will be arrested at some point, yes or no?
CURRY:
Absolutely not.
Mr. TACOPINA:
All right,
Joe Tacopina
,
Bill Stanton
. Thank you both.
CURRY:
Thank you.
Mr. STANTON:
“ ”