A viewer of the HLN show Nancy Grace was able to provide a tip which helped police find a missing Virginia girl 3,000 miles away, in Northern California. Now the man accused of taking her is in custody and is being questioned in the death of the girl’s mother.
Police believe 12-year-old Brittany Smith and 32-year-old Jeffrey Scott Easley left Roanoke, Virginia December 4. At some point the day before, Brittany’s mother Tina Smith was killed in their home. Police believe Easley is the suspect.
Grace had been following the case on her HLN show all last week pleading with viewers to look for Brittany. A San Francisco woman was watching, and spotted Brittany and Easley outside a grocery store Friday afternoon.
“A witness felt they had seen the suspect on the Nancy Grace TV show and we believe it’s an accurate statement,” SFPD spokesperson Sgt. Lynn Tomioka told KTVU news.