MISSING CRUISE PASSENGER GEORGE SMITH

COSBY: In the case of missing honeymooner George Smith, it's attracted national headlines, especially the mystery into his disappearance deepens. Story has even captivated the likes of Oprah Winfrey, who today devoted her entire show to the case. She was speaking to George's new bride, Jennifer, about why she can't remember what she was doing when her husband went missing.

OPRAH WINFREY: Is it a fact that you had to be carried in a wheelchair because you were so—

JENNIFER HAGEL SMITH, WIFE OF GEORGE SMITH: Yes, out of it.

WINFREY: Out of it. And you were out of it from drinking, not because

SMITH: We have no idea—I—well, we were definitely drinking, but not to the extent that something this wild happens.

WINFREY: That you wouldn't remember.

SMITH: Both of us, on the same night. I have no recollection of that evening on the same night my husband is killed or—

COSBY: And joining us now talk more about the mystery is private investigator Vito Colucci. Vito, what do you make of the fact she says she can't remember what happened that night?

VITO COLUCCI, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Well, one of the questions, even before that Rita, she was asked what she was drinking. She did answer that she doesn't remember. I find that a little bit confusing. I think you're going to remember for a good part of the night, until you get into an intoxicated state, what you started off with. And especially the way the night ended up. I think you'll remember that all of your life.

COSBY: That's a great point. Vito, what about the fact that she's been so composed during all of these interviews. She did an interview with Joe Scarborough, did this one with Oprah. A lot of people find it maybe a little too composed?

COLUCCI: It could be, Rita. Don't forget, this is a woman that didn't speak for several months. A lot of time has gone by. We don't know. We can only speculate on that part, Rita.

SMITH: Speculate—people are going to slam me either way. If I say, you know, oh, maybe I was drinking too much. I'll get slammed, I'm the drunk bride. If I say, well maybe I was drugged. They'll say, oh, she's just making excuses for herself.

COSBY: Vito, what do you think? Is it possible she may have been drugged? Maybe she wasn't drinking at much at a certain point, and then someone slipped something in her drink and that's what changed everything for her?

COLUCCI: It could be a possibility as remote as it is, Rita. If somebody wanted to or eyeballed George, and wanted to get her out of the picture. That could be a possibility. Do I believe it? Maybe about 10 percent really.

COSBY: It's interesting, as you pointed out, she doesn't remember what she was drinking earlier in the night. Everyone says they were drinking quite a bit. Jennifer also talked about today the question she was asked in the polygraph. Obviously, standard procedure, FBI questions the wife, and everybody involved in the case.

SMITH: They asked me if I was in the room. Had I seen him go over board. Did I get into a fight with him. Did I have doubts about my marrying George? Did I have second thoughts? Everything you could possibly imagine. And the answer was, no. No. No. No.

COSBY: Vito, do we know if the FBI also did a polygraph to the Russian guys. Also the student, who was last seen with George?

COLUCCI: I would think, knowing the FBI, especially the Connecticut office of it, that they had done that have done that—if they've agreed to take one. That's another thing, too. If they're lawyered up and they say they're not going to take one. It is a lot more difficult. And people don't realize with a polygraph, it is not a whole slew of questions. It is only a certain amount of questions that they are asked.

COSBY: You know, Vito, today we heard for the first time, somewhat an apology from Royal Caribbean. I want to play that and then get your response because you've talked to the family quite a bit.

ADAM GOLDSTEIN, ROYAL CARIBBEAN PRESIDENT: I am sorry. I say that on behalf of 40,000 people at Royal Caribbean. That we were not able to render you as much assistance and comfort as you would like to have had on that terrible day. I'm sorry about that.

COSBY: Vito, what do you make of it? Instead of saying, I'm sorry you feel bad as opposed to I'm sorry I did anything wrong.

COLUCCI: You picked right up on that, Rita. They never apologize. They always say I'm sorry that you don't feel this way or I'm sorry we couldn't satisfy you. They never say, I'm sorry that we didn't supply the security officers that we promised you or things of that nature. It's never an apology. Maybe they're worried about the civil suit or whatever. They never give an out and out apology.

COSBY: It's interesting they are very careful the way they phrase things. Vito, stick with us. Because we want to move on and get you on in a second.

One of the best forensic experts in the country will travel to the crime scene on Monday to see for himself what clues are still left on board that ship. Dr. Henry Lee was brought into the case by Jennifer Hagel and her attorney.

Tonight, we're going to take you inside his lab at the University of New Haven in Connecticut to get an exclusive preview of what he hopes to find out that might crack this case.

DR. HENRY LEE, FORENSICS EXPERT: This goes to consider as a cold case now, because six months now. Still have no direct answer. The crime scene is no longer there. A cold case, we usually follow five or six different ways to investigate. We as scientists we only go back to the crime scene, try to find out what happened, how it happened, what the sequence of events.

So basically, we're going to look at the room. Even though the carpet is gone, the room is still the same room. So, we are going to look at any trace evidence that remains on the ceiling, on the wall. We can use chemical tests, or we can use instrumental analysis to see any blood stains or biological material.

If no carpet or carpet being shampooed or washed, the stains become very diluted, however, with the light source of chemical that we can spray on the surface the chemical will react with the component of the hemoglobin and form a color. So based on that information, we can reconstruct what did happen in that room.

With an ordinary light source, you probably wouldn't see it. With a forensic light source, you can see clearly. There are some stains washed in this location. There are some blood stains in that location.

Generally, we can see biological stains on the surface. We plan to bring in mannequins. We will let the mannequin fall. We put weight inside the mannequin. We want to estimate about the same weight. If someone sits on the railing, all right? If they fall off the railing, then we want to see where more likely it landed. What would cause indentations on the canopy?

If someone picks up the dummy, and throws the dummy, what more likely the location is the dummy going to land? The canopy, of course, we'll have to measure the width and the length, to understand how big the canopy is. If someone threw a person out, how far will they go? If someone falls off the railing how far we expect to see them falling? They give me two hours limit. If everything works smoothly, we should be able to conduct some basic analysis or measurement.

I was moved by the story. The family has been on hold for six months now. The family needs the answer. As forensic scientists, we have a professional obligation to help the family and find out the scientific fact what did happen. What did happen to George Smith? If Jennifer Smith is she involved in that? Is this really an accident or some foul play? The family needs some answers. That's how I got involved.

COSBY: That some interesting stuff. Let's bring back in private investigator Vito Colucci. Vito, it's fascinating. He'll put weights in that dummy to mock the weight that George Smith was. What's the first thing would you do? Would you test that? Would you go to the room? What area would you focus on?

COLUCCI: Yes, I think that's a great idea, what he's doing. With the exact weight—

COSBY: I do, too. That's incredible. I think it's neat.

COLUCCI: Yes, the exact weight of George. Now, just remember Royal Caribbean still has to OK him doing that, OK? The dummy part of it. They've only given him two hours. So, hopefully they'll let him do that testing done. What I'd love to see Dr. Lee is going to be able to determine if the canopy was painted over. I think that's going to be very big. He said he'd be able to determine that.

COSBY: That would be a bombshell if he can prove it. Because they came on our show and said it was just washed over. You know, Vito, real quick. You hit it on the head; two hours. You know, as an investigator, why are they only getting two hours access? Why, you know, why Henry Lee and others, can they do a thorough investigation and are you stunned that they are not getting unlimited access?

COLUCCI: Yes, I am, but the information I got today is that the boat is just coming in. They only have a couple of hours, still I guess it goes back out again. But you know, a man like Henry Lee, only Henry Lee could work with a two-hour time frame. No one else can. I'm sure he'd want a lot more time than that I've been on cases with him, and I've been on cases against him, and he's the best.

We invited Royal Caribbean to come on our program tonight. Instead, they just offered us the following statement, we just got in a little while ago. It says:

“Royal Caribbean has released all of the relevant facts within its direct knowledge regarding George Smith's disappearance with the exception of certain information the FBI has asked the company not to disclose.”

It further says, “We at Royal Caribbean continue to extend our deepest sympathy to the families, and will continue to cooperate with the FBI in its investigation.”

Again, a statement just coming in from Royal Caribbean. They're also encouraging people to log onto their web site to read their account of what happened. You can see the web site there, royalcaribbean.com.