Nancy Garrido

Another court delay Thursday dashed speculation of possible guilty pleas from Phillip and Nancy Garrido, the couple accused of kidnapping and sexually tormenting Jaycee Lee Dugard and holding her captive for 18 years in their backyard compound in Northern California. After a hearing in El Dorado County Superior Court, Dist. Atty. Vern Pierson criticized comments made by Nancy Garrido's defense attorney a few weeks ago, when he called for compassion for his client because Garrido was "like her mother" when Jaycee's children, fathered by Phillip Garrido, were born.

Reporting from Sacramento -- El Dorado County Dist. Atty. Vern Pierson, who prosecuted the man convicted of abducting Jaycee Lee Dugard and holding her for nearly two decades, on Tuesday blasted the criminal justice system that let onetime parolee Phillip Garrido previously go free. In a report issued the day before state Sen. Ted Gaines (R- Roseville) has scheduled a "community discussion" here to focus on tightening parole requirements, Pierson cited the fact that parole agents over the years had made about 60 visits to Garrido's home and failed to discover Dugard, who was kept hidden in the backyard.

As 14-year-old Jaycee Dugard struggled in a crude backyard shed to deliver her baby daughter, the serial predator who had abducted and raped her stepped in to unwrap the umbilical cord that trapped the infant. "She was beautiful," Dugard said of the child she birthed three years into her captivity in Northern California. "I felt like I wasn't alone anymore. I knew I could never let anything happen to her. " In an exclusive interview with Diane Sawyer broadcast Sunday on ABC, Dugard, displaying remarkable poise and smiling often, provided chilling details about the 18-year ordeal she endured at the hands of her captors, an increasingly deranged parolee named Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy, who aided the abduction and condoned his rapes.

As 14-year-old Jaycee Dugard struggled in a crude backyard shed to deliver her baby daughter, the serial predator who had abducted and raped her stepped in to unwrap the umbilical cord that trapped the infant. "She was beautiful," Dugard said of the child she birthed three years into her captivity in Northern California. "I felt like I wasn't alone anymore. I knew I could never let anything happen to her. " In an exclusive interview with Diane Sawyer broadcast Sunday on ABC, Dugard, displaying remarkable poise and smiling often, provided chilling details about the 18-year ordeal she endured at the hands of her captors, an increasingly deranged parolee named Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy, who aided the abduction and condoned his rapes.

Accused kidnapper and rapist Phillip Garrido is expected to plead guilty to snatching an 11-year-old schoolgirl from her South Lake Tahoe area street, holding her captive for nearly two decades and fathering her two daughters, according to an attorney involved in the case. Garrido and his wife, Nancy, face 29 charges of kidnapping and sexual assault in the 1991 abduction of Jaycee Lee Dugard, now 30. Nancy Garrido has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and her husband is to be arraigned Thursday in Placerville, Calif.

An El Dorado County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that the man charged with kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard in 1991 and holding her captive for 18 years is competent to stand trial. Phillip Garrido, who was also charged with rape, fathered Dugard's two children while she was in captivity. His wife, Nancy Garrido, also faces charges in the case, which captured international attention when Dugard and her daughters were discovered in 2009 living in a ramshackle compound in the Garridos' Antioch backyard.

An El Dorado County Superior Court judge Thursday appointed an additional psychological expert to examine kidnapping suspect Phillip Garrido in advance of a March proceeding on whether he is competent to stand trial for the abduction and rape of Jaycee Lee Dugard. The expert specializes in "malingering," said Judge Douglas C. Phimister, who did not elaborate on what the doctor's role in the competency trial would be and why such expertise was necessary. Garrido is already undergoing psychological evaluation.

Reporting from Sacramento -- El Dorado County Dist. Atty. Vern Pierson, who prosecuted the man convicted of abducting Jaycee Lee Dugard and holding her for nearly two decades, on Tuesday blasted the criminal justice system that let onetime parolee Phillip Garrido previously go free. In a report issued the day before state Sen. Ted Gaines (R- Roseville) has scheduled a "community discussion" here to focus on tightening parole requirements, Pierson cited the fact that parole agents over the years had made about 60 visits to Garrido's home and failed to discover Dugard, who was kept hidden in the backyard.

Authorities spoke to a woman who had been kidnapped and held captive for 18 years by a paroled rapist who fathered her two daughters, but they failed to determine her identity, according to a state report released Wednesday. State parole agents talked to Jaycee Lee Dugard and her eldest daughter during a supervised visit with Phillip Garrido, who was living in a ramshackle compound in Antioch, northeast of Oakland, and kept the woman and her children hidden in a backyard shed, according to the report by the state Department of Justice.

Jaycee Dugard alluded to the kidnapping drama in Ohio on Wednesday while receiving an award from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Dugard, who was kidnapped from South Lake Tahoe as a girl and held captive for 18 years, told an audience in Washington "what an amazing time to be talking about hope, with everything that's happening. " In a statement she released earlier in the day, Dugard said the Ohio women found after apparently being held for a decade "need the opportunity to heal and connect back into the world.

Reporting from Placerville, Calif. -- Twenty years after Jaycee Lee Dugard was abducted while walking to her school bus stop, the couple who kidnapped and raped her and stole her childhood were sentenced Thursday to prison terms that could keep them behind bars for the rest of their lives. Phillip Garrido, a 60-year-old serial predator, was sentenced to 431 years to life in prison. His 55-year-old wife, Nancy, was sentenced to 36 years to life and cannot be paroled until she is in her 70s. As he imposed the lengthy prison term, Eldorado County Superior Court Judge Douglas C. Phimister said Garrido "lacks a soul" and called his actions "beyond horrible.

Accused kidnapper and rapist Phillip Garrido is expected to plead guilty to snatching an 11-year-old schoolgirl from her South Lake Tahoe area street, holding her captive for nearly two decades and fathering her two daughters, according to an attorney involved in the case. Garrido and his wife, Nancy, face 29 charges of kidnapping and sexual assault in the 1991 abduction of Jaycee Lee Dugard, now 30. Nancy Garrido has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and her husband is to be arraigned Thursday in Placerville, Calif.

Another court delay Thursday dashed speculation of possible guilty pleas from Phillip and Nancy Garrido, the couple accused of kidnapping and sexually tormenting Jaycee Lee Dugard and holding her captive for 18 years in their backyard compound in Northern California. After a hearing in El Dorado County Superior Court, Dist. Atty. Vern Pierson criticized comments made by Nancy Garrido's defense attorney a few weeks ago, when he called for compassion for his client because Garrido was "like her mother" when Jaycee's children, fathered by Phillip Garrido, were born.

Phillip and Nancy Garrido have confessed to authorities that they kidnapped Jaycee Lee Dugard in 1991 and held her captive for 18 years in a ramshackle compound in Northern California, where she gave birth to two daughters after being repeatedly raped, a defense attorney said Monday. Stephen Tapson, Nancy's court-appointed attorney, told reporters outside El Dorado County Superior Court that the couple confessed to the crimes, which made international headlines when Dugard was discovered nearly two years ago, because Phillip, 59, is hoping that his wife's sentence will be reduced.

An El Dorado County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that the man charged with kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard in 1991 and holding her captive for 18 years is competent to stand trial. Phillip Garrido, who was also charged with rape, fathered Dugard's two children while she was in captivity. His wife, Nancy Garrido, also faces charges in the case, which captured international attention when Dugard and her daughters were discovered in 2009 living in a ramshackle compound in the Garridos' Antioch backyard.

An El Dorado County Superior Court judge Thursday appointed an additional psychological expert to examine kidnapping suspect Phillip Garrido in advance of a March proceeding on whether he is competent to stand trial for the abduction and rape of Jaycee Lee Dugard. The expert specializes in "malingering," said Judge Douglas C. Phimister, who did not elaborate on what the doctor's role in the competency trial would be and why such expertise was necessary. Garrido is already undergoing psychological evaluation.

Reporting from Placerville, Calif. -- Twenty years after Jaycee Lee Dugard was abducted while walking to her school bus stop, the couple who kidnapped and raped her and stole her childhood were sentenced Thursday to prison terms that could keep them behind bars for the rest of their lives. Phillip Garrido, a 60-year-old serial predator, was sentenced to 431 years to life in prison. His 55-year-old wife, Nancy, was sentenced to 36 years to life and cannot be paroled until she is in her 70s. As he imposed the lengthy prison term, Eldorado County Superior Court Judge Douglas C. Phimister said Garrido "lacks a soul" and called his actions "beyond horrible.

Kidnapping suspect Nancy Garrido's brothers say she is starting to cooperate with authorities investigating the abduction of Jaycee Dugard, the California woman who resurfaced 18 years after she was snatched off the street. Garrido and her husband, Phillip, are charged with kidnapping Dugard in 1991 and keeping her hidden in the backyard of their Antioch home. David and Rey Bocanegra also said in a television interview that aired Monday that they think their sister was brainwashed by her husband.

Authorities spoke to a woman who had been kidnapped and held captive for 18 years by a paroled rapist who fathered her two daughters, but they failed to determine her identity, according to a state report released Wednesday. State parole agents talked to Jaycee Lee Dugard and her eldest daughter during a supervised visit with Phillip Garrido, who was living in a ramshackle compound in Antioch, northeast of Oakland, and kept the woman and her children hidden in a backyard shed, according to the report by the state Department of Justice.

Kidnapping suspect Nancy Garrido's brothers say she is starting to cooperate with authorities investigating the abduction of Jaycee Dugard, the California woman who resurfaced 18 years after she was snatched off the street. Garrido and her husband, Phillip, are charged with kidnapping Dugard in 1991 and keeping her hidden in the backyard of their Antioch home. David and Rey Bocanegra also said in a television interview that aired Monday that they think their sister was brainwashed by her husband.