A private investigator hired to find missing infant Lisa Irwin finally had his first look Monday inside the family home from which the child disappeared in early October.
Former New York City police officer Bill Stanton took NBC News along for a look inside the home, where he believes an intruder came through the front door or through a window in front of the family room and snatched then-10-month-old Lisa Irwin from her crib in the early hours of Oct. 4. Cameras were not allowed inside the house in this instance, but NBC’s Peter Alexander was granted access by the family with a camera crew last week.
The baby’s parents, Jeremy Irwin and Deborah Bradley, have both come under increasing scrutiny. Bradley altered the timeline she originally gave police regarding when she last saw her baby and admitted that she was drunk on the night the child disappeared. However, Stanton does not feel that her inconsistencies paint her as being involved in her daughter’s disappearance.
“It may conflict, but that doesn’t make a person guilty,’’ Stanton said.
Irwin and Bradley are currently in seclusion and not speaking to the media. Stanton said both continue to be in anguish over the disappearance of their child.
“I look in their eyes, and I see pain,’’ Stanton said. “How many tears can you shed 24-7?’’
Jeremy Irwin, who had been awake for nearly 24 hours, came home from an overnight shift at his electrician job at 3:45 a.m. on Oct. 4 to find the front door unlocked, the lights on and his daughter’s crib empty, he has said.
Kansas City police have not produced any suspects or strong leads, although a next-door neighbor of the Irwins told NBC News last week that she spoke to investigators about seeing a man carrying a diaper-clad baby in the neighborhood around 12:15 a.m. on the night Lisa Irwin disappeared.
“To me, that is imperative, that is glaring,’’ Stanton said of the claim. “This needs to be followed up by everyone.’’
“We haven’t at all eliminated the possibility of an outside intruder, nor have we eliminated the possibility of some terrible accident or other incident that happened to that child within that house,’’ former FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt told NBC News.
An FBI cadaver dog received a positive hit on the scent of a dead body right near Bradley’s bed inside the house, Alexander reported last week. Joe Tacopina, an attorney hired by the couple, called the hit “a red herring.’’
Police have been pushing for unrestricted interviews with the couple’s two young sons, ages 5 and 8, who were in the house when Lisa Irwin disappeared. The interviews have been postponed thus far, but sources close to the family told NBC News that they could happen soon.
A local attorney who was part of the family’s legal team has been fired, sources close to the family told NBC News. The attorney claims she will continue to look for the baby as a private citizen. Neighbors have also assisted in searches and posted flyers and bumper stickers urging the safe return of Lisa Irwin.
