WINFREY: So we're talking today about how DNA has become the ultimate truth detector. Some people describe it as the 21st century fingerprint. This high-tech test was used to crack the case of two babies switched at birth. Look at this. On June 29th, 1995, Paula Johnson gave birth to her fourth child, a girl she named Callie. Ms. PAULA JOHNSON: It was an awesome feeling, you know? This is my daughter finally after f--you know, three boys, you know? This is my daughter. And it was a great feeling. WINFREY: That same day, just down the hall, Whitney Rogers and her boyfriend, Kevin, also welcomed a child into the world, their first, named Rebecca Grace. Whitney's mother, Linda, remembers it well. Ms. LINDA ROGERS: When I first saw Rebecca Grace, I just thought there's a part of Kevin and a part of Whitney right here, you know, and we just gonna love this baby and and watch her grow up. Whitney was a wonderful mother. She was young and she liked to play, and she used to dress Rebecca Grace up like she was a little doll baby. WINFREY: As the baby in Paula's family, Callie also was showered with attention. Ms. JOHNSON: She was my life. You know, my life was centered around her. I mean, I love my other children, but there's just always been something special about that child, always, and still is. WINFREY: Just how special Paula had no idea until a conflict with Callie's father, Carlton, caused her to turn to the courts. Ms. JOHNSON: Carlton and I's relationship didn't last long after Callie was born. So I went and filed for full custody and I filed for child support. And when I did, we went to court and he said that he wasn't the father. So the judge said, `Fine, then you're going to have a blood test.' WINFREY: She got the paternity test results July 3rd. Ms. JOHNSON: On July 3rd is when my whole entire life just, you know, crumbled right there before me. WINFREY: The judge in her custody case broke the shocking news. Ms. JOHNSON: He said, `Ms. Johnson,' he said, `Mr. Connolly was found not to be the father of Callie Connolly.' And I kind of sat there for a second, you know, and I was like--I said, `There is no way. There has to be something wrong with the blood. You know, you guys have gotten it mixed up somehow.' And he was like, `Ms. Johnson, you--you need to listen to the rest of this.' And I was like, `C--what else could you possibly tell me?' you know. And he said, `You were found not to be her mother either.' And I said, `Now I know that you've lost your mind.' WINFREY: A confused Paula hired an attorney, then went to the hospital where Callie was born for further DNA tests. The results were definitive. Paula was not Callie's biological mother. Ms. JOHNSON: I tear up now because that's when rea--that was the first day that I think that reality really set in. WINFREY: Well, it turns out that hours after these two little girls, Rebecca and Callie, were born, there was a terrible mix-up at the hospital, and they were mistakenly switched and sent home with the wrong mothers. Watch as their story continues. Paula had raised Callie as her own from the first hours after her birth. If this little girl wasn't her child, where was she? Paula started to dig. But it was a USA Today reporter who made the discovery and called Paula. Ms. JOHNSON: And he said, `Ms. Johnson, I have found your daughter.' WINFREY: Her biological daughter, Rebecca Grace Chittum, lived just hours away. Ms. JOHNSON: On August 3rd, there she was. Her face was on the front page of the USA Today. And I was like, `God, she looks just like me.' WINFREY: Just as the child Paula has raised, Callie looked like her biological mother, Whitney Rogers, but tragically, Callie would never meet the woman who gave birth to her. Just weeks before, Whitney and Kevin, along with five others, perished in a car crash. In the midsts of coping with their tremendous grief, the family received another blow. A doctor from the hospital where Rebecca Grace was born came to her house. Ms. ROGERS: He said, `Ms. Rogers, your granddaughter I don't think is your granddaughter.' I said, `Excuse me?' I said, `Would you repeat that?' And he said it again, `Your granddaughter'--but this time he said-- `I'm sure is not your granddaughter.' WINFREY: There had been a terrible mistake. Somehow in the hospital the two infants had been switched hours after being born. Ms. ROGERS: And I prayed all night long, `Dear God, please let this be a mistake.' And the next morning, 8:30, this doctor called and he said, `Ms. Rogers,' he said, `it's true.' I just threw the phone down. WINFREY: Weeks later, both families arranged a get-together so everyone could meet. Ms. ROGERS: When I saw Callie for the first time, I thought, `I have a--a part of Whitney back,' because she favors her so much. I thought, `The Lord took Whitney away, but he give us a little Whitney in return.' Ms. JOHNSON: The first time I saw Rebecca, a part of me felt the motherly instinct to just go over there and grab her and hug her, but then I didn't want to scare her. I just can't go up and say, `Hi, I'm your mom.' WINFREY: Rebecca now knows that Paula is her mom and Callie knows that Whitney is hers. Both sides decided to tell the girls early on. Ms. JOHNSON: There are days when I believe that this DNA test was the worst thing that ever happened, just because of the fighting and the arguing and the--the constant battle that we have over these girls. But then there are other days when I think, `If not, then I would never, ever, ever know the joy of knowing Rebecca and having her as my daughter.' Ms. ROGERS: To me, personally, the DNA testing was a blessing because there--there--there's Callie. Callie is a part of my daughter, and I just think it's a blessing that--that these two children know who they really, truly are. WINFREY: Well, Paula Johnson, one of the mothers, is here. Just in case you were confused by all the details of this story, the other mother, Whitney, Rebecca's mother, who raised her but not the biological mother, because this is the biological mother, was killed in a car accident, and Rebecca is now being raised by her grandparents, and you are raising Callie. Ms. JOHNSON: Yeah. WINFREY: Uh-huh. And do you now see Rebecca? Ms. JOHNSON: Yeah, I have visitation rights to her one weekend a month. WINFREY: One weekend a month. Ms. JOHNSON: Yeah. WINFREY: And Callie sees her grandmother? Ms. JOHNSON: Yes, she sees her--her--her biological father's side of the family. They have visitation rights one weekend a month. WINFREY: OK. And so how is it working out with the girls? Do the girls understand it at all? Ms. JOHNSON: Yeah. Rebecca's a little bit slower. They didn't tell Rebecca right away, where I told Rebecca--I mean, I told Callie in the very beginning. WINFREY: How did she take that? Ms. JOHNSON: Callie? Callie's just--she's just one of those kids... WINFREY: Because as far as she knows, you're her mom. Ms. JOHNSON: Right. WINFREY: Right. Ms. JOHNSON: I just told her that her--that she was born in her momma Whitney's belly and that her momma Paula took her home from the hospital and that her momma Whitney and her daddy Kevin had died and they were in heaven with angels. And that's what she believes. WINFREY: OK. And so how are you--how are you handling it? Ms. JOHNSON: There are--there are days. They may not--for the--for the most part, I'm OK. It's getting better. WINFREY: Because I think for all intents and purposes, she is your daughter. Ms. JOHNSON: Yes. WINFREY: It's--it's no different than if you adopt a child. That child becomes your child. Ms. JOHNSON: Yes, I don't think of her in any--of anything other than being my child. WINFREY: Now do you think Rebecca is also your child? Ms. JOHNSON: Yes. WINFREY: OK. Ms. JOHNSON: Yes. WINFREY: Mm-hmm. Ms. JOHNSON: Everything that she does, I--I see me, and it's--that's--that's the strange part. WINFREY: Mm-hmm. And so Rebecca's grandmother was saying that she feels that DNA has really been a blessing in her life. You don't feel that it's been a blessing? Ms. JOHNSON: Just because of the c--the constant conflicts that we have, you know? WINFREY: The families are in conflict? Ms. JOHNSON: Yeah. WINFREY: How so? Ms. JOHNSON: Just with custody issues. Yeah. WINFREY: Mm-hmm. For who wants to see who when? Ms. JOHNSON: Right, because there's not enough time in the day or enough time in the week for everybody that's involved to be able to--you know, to have at least one day a week with this child. WINFREY: Do the girls know each other and play with each other or... Ms. JOHNSON: Yeah. WINFREY: They do. Ms. JOHNSON: Yeah, they're--yeah, they're--they act like sisters. WINFREY: OK. We're--we're glad you could come on and share this story with us. Ms. JOHNSON: Thank you.
