Lia McCord: Where is Lia McCord now
By Clarencia Cynrae on July 22nd, 2008Eliadah “Lia” McCord was caught in Bangladesh when she tried to smuggle heroin in her girdle. The dealer, Tony, was caught too. Eliadah “Lia” McCord identified Tony. The police misled Eliadah “Lia” McCord to believe that she would be released after she co-operated but she remained jailed for 4 years. On July 25 1996, Eliadah “Lia” McCord was finally released.
The long story is here.
Lia McCord has a profile at linkedin.com. Lia McCord works in AES Corporation as a training coordinator. Look at McCord’s page here. Its a public profile so everyone can look.
Updated 2009.
Ms Lia McCord has confirmed she has graduated since her return to the USA. Ms McCord has moved on in life. Please read her comment below.
Lia McCord’s story was featured in a documentary series called “Banged Up Abroad”.
Please click here for more recent posts.
mobile device
February 24th, 2009 at 1:04 am
i dont think the police mislead Lia at all. It was more of a case she was naive enough to believe that if she co-operated and once she had identified Tony she thought she could get off scott free.
May 4th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
I am the person described in both instances.
The police DID mislead me, Stevo, but in neither instance would going home after even a few weeks in jail in Dhaka have qualified as “scott free”. In the end, I spent 4 years 6 months in conditions similar to those in movies like Brokedown Palace before the Bangladeshi government pardoned me at the gracious request of then Congressman Richardson in 1996.
I’ve been home for 13 years now. Finished my associate and bachelor degrees within 5 years of being back while working full time at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. More recently I did work at the AES Corporation.
I appreciate the effort to clarify my identity by the author of this post. Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Eliadah “Lia” McCord
May 6th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
hi lia…
saw your documentary….touching
by the by who is the girl acting in your doc as yourself?? need her name
May 8th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Hi Lia.
I saw your documentary on tv here in the UK and was very touched by your story.
Would it be possible to ask you a few questions via email.
Best regards,
Najam
May 18th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Hi Lia, I live in Australia and last night was watching the documentary “Banged Up Abroad” I think the program was called. I was very touched by your story and also very impressed with how you spent your time in prison in Bangladesh and also with what you have done since being released from prison. I do have a question though and that is, “Did your family in the US give you any emotional or other support when you were in prison in Bangladesh and then after when you returned to the US?”
Thank-you for your honesty in the documentary. Like I wrote before I was very touched by your story, hence my “Googling” your name tonight to find out what has happened in your life since returning to the US. Any chance that you might write a book about your experiences?
Regards Bern
June 14th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Hey Lia!
I watched your documentary and was touched by your story. I actually felt like I was there.
Best hopes
Alex
June 17th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Dear Lia,
I just watched your documentary called “Locked Up Abroad”. Your story really inspired me. Even in the worst of conditions, you kept your hopes up. I wish I could be like you. You kept going, even in the worst of times. You knew Jesus was with you. Thank you for sharing your story,
Seronica
July 8th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Lia, what happened to Tony – how many years did this freako get? Was he african, as portrayed in Banged Up Abroad.
July 15th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
My father was da main solicitor who helped Lia out.
July 20th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Such an Emotional Episode in Life,
@ times we end up going too far without even noticing that we have travelled through a drain,
But the Price you paid to learn it is very SAD
Thanks a lot for Sharing your Story to the World that no one else does this stupidity
Venkat from India
JAI HO
July 20th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
hi lia
i was watching ur documentry too n i got late for work cox i wanted to finish waching it.i felt so sorry for u.i totally undersand wat u must have gone through cox i was kinda stuck in jail too even after being so good at school n i was thinking the same thing u know how happily ma friends wud be living while im there traped with th hand cuffs an all.they treat ppl like a dangerous animal. wen ur sleeping there u think bout ur own bed back at home,so confortabl.four years in jail jus becox ur naive,poor girl.im so happy atlest u made it out.i know there is millions of criminals living free while innocent girls get trapped,anyway now ur out,n i know u have larned ur lesson.so make the most out of ur life,enjoy it,stay out of trouble.
best wishes
July 21st, 2009 at 2:11 pm
hey lia
i’ve jus seen ur documentory and i was really touched,um a bangladeshi and i live close to the hotel u’ve stayed in dhaka..i hope ur doin well and come over for a vacation in bangladesh..my country aint bad,jus da circumstances were against u…tc
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:55 am
i’ve jus seen ur documentory and i was really touched. i fell bad about that happed to ur life, i am a bangladeshi, its giving me pain that it occured in Bangladesh, plz dont fell bad about my country, we are pore ppl but we are not bad,this is realy nice u have settel ur life,may god bless u………….
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Dear Lia
I saw your Documentary on Nat Geo .After watching the story I read about it in christianity today.In a nut shell what I would say to you is “You are the Silver Linning of My Life”.It doesn’t make sense that whether you were imprisoned in between the walls of prison but some times people get imprisoned within themsleves where you have no one to plead for your freedom except”Him”.My email ID.is b.subimal@rediffmail.com.If you have read this please contact me through this id .Hope my anticipation ends.May God give you all his riches all the way.
July 23rd, 2009 at 3:20 am
Dear Lia
I saw your Documentary on Nat Geo .After watching the story I read about it in christianity today.In a nut shell what I would say to you is “You are the Silver Linning of My Life”.It do make sense that you were imprisoned in between the walls of prison but some times people get imprisoned within themsleves where you have no one to plead for your freedom except”Him”.My email ID.is b.subimal@rediffmail.com.If you have read this please contact me through this id .Hope my anticipation ends.May God give you all his riches all the way.
July 24th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Dear Lia,
i saw your documentry on NetGeo(24th july 2009)believe u me all my family had a difficult time to control tears in their eyes.in life certain accidents play a pivotal role &source of duidence for the others.God has manifested his great mirecale in your life.Now u should give your life to fight against these criminalz.i am from pakistan &AIDS volunteer.plzcontactemail on pakistannaids@yahoo.com God bless you.
July 27th, 2009 at 2:44 am
I saw ur life story in tv
felt very sad..
small mistakes change whole life..
anyways i learned somthin from it..
July 27th, 2009 at 7:47 am
hi lia there’s a saying that “a person who has a pain can actually feel the pain”lia i saw u 3 days a go and u touched my heart my mind my emotions.lia u compell me to cry u compell me to find more about u just want to talk to u.i am a student of clas 9..my id is m.afaqkhan@yahoo.com plz talk to me.
July 27th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Hello Lia
How r u? Hope every thing is well n fine. I saw National geography channel July 26, 2009 at 2:00 PM (GMT+6) n that was Lia McCord‘s four years in a Bangladesh prison, I’m really shocked what was happened to u, really it’s pathetic for any human. If u got my message please feed back, my e-mail id bakar2502@yahoo.com. Best of luck …Take care
Bakar
July 30th, 2009 at 1:31 am
Dear Lia,
Hope this email finds you in the best of the health and spirits. Hi !! I am an 22 year old Indian man studying in USA (Currenctly in India for a vacation), I along with my family happen to see the documentary on your life on Nat Geo Channel.
Madam, the entire incident was very sad and intimidating , my entire family got very emotional while see it. But I was so inspired by the courage and mental strenght you displayed while dealling the enitre ordeal and I am so happy that you were finally able to get out of it.
I thank god for the happy end and the begin of your better life. I can’t do anything more than being happy for you. I am very proud of you as a human being.
God Bless you,
Hoping for a reply on b_master_oza@yahoo.co.in,
Master Oza
July 31st, 2009 at 4:43 pm
hi lia.hru?im auni frm BD.that day i jus chngin da chnel.saw a nice gal n tha place as knowing.”hey its dhaka”i said.thn i saw everythin..in 1996 my mom was there by false case.asked my mom do u know LIA?said no.u out in 1995.i know da situation of dk jail,worsttt.all black’s r BAD.hey u know bangla,right?lets see…if posbl pls rply.(virgoboy_ehsan07@yahoo.com.]wana cht/talk wit u..by tc..
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:47 am
Lia,
Can’t do the time?….don’t do the crime. You had straight As in High School? Guess you missed the class on street smarts. What the hell do you think would happen if you attempt to smuggle out 1 million dollars worth of heroin in a foreign land. You think they would just slap you on the wrist cause your pretty and naive? Greed did you in and you were more than willing for the first two weeks of your visa to take that dope to Europe and don’t deny that. In my opinion..straight As or not you deserved life for trying to get that dope out of the country. What if you were successful? That dope would have ended up killing people in the end..and that’s the truth….Curt Cobain and the list goes on and on. I’ve spent plenty of time in Asian countries and know the consequences are severe for even having a little weed on me at the airport. Save the sob story…let’s be real about who you really were at that time…big mistake..sure! did you deserve more time in prision? absolutely!! You were lucky a bleeding heart like Bill Richardson found out about you…you should still be thinking about what you attempted to do over there.
August 4th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Thank you Bling, for eliciting the only intelligent response here. I have seen the show “Locked Up Abroad” numerous times and have always felt some compassion for the incarcerated….But not for Lia….She absolutely sickened me. A bratty, spoiled, whining and clueless little American teenager. This is why the US gets such a bad rap. Lia couldn’t believe “how unfair” it was WHILE she was getting caught. She couldn’t believe she was ACTUALLY going to prison….How f#$king stupid are you? YOU WERE SMUGGLING HEROIN in a 3rd world country!!! WAAAAAAH!! You spent four years paying for your crime and you were so happy when you got LUCKY and left behind women who probably committed less severe crimes and are most likely still there rotting. I felt ZERO compassion for this half wit..
August 4th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Bling, I totally agree. Lia sounded like a spoiled brat in the Locked Up Abroad episode. This woman is like in her late 30’s and she was whining about how she didn’t belong in prison, how she got straight A’s and how it wasn’t fair!! You smuggled heroin sweetheart, I’M SORRY! That’s what happens! She would’ve spent years in prison in America! What’s worse is, she got Bill Richardson to get her out of prison, then she got GREAT jobs at NASA and AES after graduating from school! Outrageous! She’s clearly not as poor as she made herself out to be, and she is connected!
I thought she was the worst person ever on the show. Grow up!
August 5th, 2009 at 1:33 am
Wow thank god there are rational like minded people out in the world. I just could not believe the attitude this woman portrayed during the show. She acted as though there was a gun pointed at her head as she walked on the plane. Being American and getting “straight As” in high school doesn’t make you immune to the laws in a foreign country. AND mind you, if you didn’t know what the laws and punishment would be FOR SMUGGLING HERION…well then you may want to do a little research before you act out such a crime. And why did she need Bill Richardson to come help bail her ass the hell out of prison?? Cause she couldn’t get a knife and cut the duct tape off her in the bathroom before the flight? Save it Lia…you were and still are guilty. You didn’t deserve to be freed…go ask the thousands of drug dealers in America what it’s like to do much more HARD time than you ever did.
August 5th, 2009 at 2:00 am
By the way…her story is very pre 9/11 where I’m sure there were plenty of sharp objects around for her to use in that restroom stall for cutting duct tape. I mean I know women carry around all kinds of sharp items for cutting, shaving, curling, etc. OR was your little brain too occupied on the $20,000 waiting back home for you as you cried your way toward the plane. This woman is so transparent and like many succumb to their own greed and selfishness. Okay it’s human nature which is why she deserved much more time. Who knows what she’s doing currently to moonlight for a little extra cash…
August 5th, 2009 at 2:06 am
One more point I would like to make about this Lia character. If you were sooo smart in high school getting straight As…ever hear of trying for a scholarship, or loans, or government grants instead of strapping dope to your body? You were born in a country that allows smart students a world of opportunity. But you decided…willingly mind you…to go into a poor country and ignore any laws they had set up. Anyone else think criminal law and basic finance should be taught before University?
August 5th, 2009 at 7:17 am
Bling, you’re right, the story sounds fishy. Fact is, this is what Paris Hilton would act like if she got locked up for these charges. “Tony” had really messed up by doing business with her. She sang like a bird under interrogation and had the nerve to act like she was a victim. What a hypocrite. I doubt “Tony” was charged, they had NOTHING on him. Notice the show didn’t seem to have any information on what happened to him? It’s sad that she’s still stupid as an adult. I think what she was really trying to do was prove she could pay for her education herself, but she failed.
August 11th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Lia the story was so touching I couldn’t keep my eyes off the television. I believe what you went through made you a great person today. I don’t know if I could of found that inner strenght to keep going. You taught many about making decisions and moving on.
God Bless you,
Keep on learning and welcome home.
September 7th, 2009 at 2:39 am
[I] heyy Lia McCord i saw ur documentary itzz really heart touching i m,…. u know i was also geting involved in it when i saw ur documentary
i feel if i was there at ur place thn i don’t know waht i would hav done. and that grl who played ur role is outstanding.. best wishes for life to u n to that grl.
by the way whats her name plzz make me know her name so that i can also appreciate her the same..
plzz do mail me her name my e-mail id is
ron.dadj@gmail.com
itz rohan from karnal[haryana,INDIA]
giving best of luck for life….
September 11th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
I can’ believe the people who find this story touching. I couldn’t watch the end of this trash.
How can anyone see her as a victim? Of what? Being born in a nation of boundless opportunity, Lia chose to become a drug mule. Why chose go through security with the junk on her? Because she feared the repercussions of backing out on the deal.
Prison is an ugly, nasty, brutal place. In 12 years of straight A’s she didn’t learn that drug smuggling was illegal?
I’m glad she’s found peace and God’s grace. I’d like to see responsibility for the selfish, greedy, stupid or evil action she undertook. Then show that she’s changed.
I guess only fiction has to make sense
October 17th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
hey everyone~ While i think it was a REALLY big mistake, it was exactly that—-A HUGE MISTAKE. I know her family and they are good people. She was 18 and swayed by money. She made a mistake and has chosen to better herself. She chose to do this story not for you to feel sorry for her but to maybe help someone out there who was thinking of doing it so they wouldnt. Was she at fault–yes, did she pay for it–yes. You dont have to feel sorry for her but commend her for putting her BIG mistake in life out there for hopefully someone else to see and not do.
Lia I am glad you are back and that you have turned your life around.
October 25th, 2009 at 1:48 am
To all of the bitter and insensitive commenators above, try to be more understanding. Yes, the whole thing was a horrible mistake, which Lia admitted to both in the documentary and in other writings.
But try to be a little more open minded and less critical. You may not have ever done such a thing, but how old are you? Are you 18 and in a situation like hers? Part of the reason she got into the mess was her circumstances. She had been sheltered, hadn’t traveled much, never got to go anywhere with her family cause money was always an issue, which she explains in detail at the beginning.
With that type of naivity and inexperience, it’s no wonder that she was able to be snowed and easily coaxed into doing this. Sure, she had other options, and even knee deep in the situation, there were still a ton of things she could have done differently. Of course once arrested, there’s little our government can do. But, beforehand when things started turning scary and ugly, she could have asked the hotel staff to contact the nearest Embassy. An American officer could have come to help her out, get her away from that Tony creep, and help her get home. Hell even her “marketing director” friend at the hotel might have been able to help. There’s a lot of things that COULD have been done differently, which I’m sure she thought of while in the prison.
The problem is; she was young, very inexperienced, and clearly unaware of how things like that work…. and, what you insensitive observers don’t seem to get, is that is EXACTLY what drug dealers look for in targetting mules!!! They seek out young inexperienced people for that very purpose. Anyone older or with more knowledge is more likely to tank their drug operation.
November 6th, 2009 at 1:54 am
Ms lia,
i saw your story at National Geographics channel really it is very hard to go through such process at age of 18. I think that was toughest part of your life..
just want to say, you taught a good lesson by sharing your experience and proved that a gril can bear any hardship of life with courage the way you lived there at Bangladesh.
May Allah Bless You!