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CNN Live Today
Skull Found
Aired October 02, 2002 - 10:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We could find out today whether a small skull that was found in a rural area of North Carolina is in fact that of Jennifer Short. She is the 9-year-old who vanished in August, on the same day that her parents were killed in their Virginia home.
Our Gary Tuchman joins us now. He is in Rockingham, County in North Carolina.
Gary, good morning.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning to you.
And this is a terribly sad story, two parents found shot to death, no suspect, no known motive, and their daughter was missing. Six and a half weeks later, bones were found near where I'm standing here in Rockingham, County, North Carolina. We're expecting this afternoon to find out definitively if these are the bones of little 9- year-old Jennifer Short.
Initial DNA testing has shown these are the bones from a nine- year-old Caucasian female. There are no other children in that age range missing in this area. Searchers have been on the scene for much of the last week. Yesterday, 14 divers from Virginia and North Carolina were searching a pond on the property where the skull, the leg bone, teeth and hair were found.
All they found yesterday, though, were animal bones. At this point, authorities are saying that they believe that what they have found here, the person who was found here died in the same way as the parents did. And we talked to a woman who works on the property where the skull was found.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: What is it that the crime scene unit people said to you when they were looking at the skull?
SHERRI PERDUE, ROCKINGHAM RESIDENT: They said there's a bullet hole right there, probably small caliber.
TUCHMAN: Did you see it also?
PERDUE: Yes. Once he pointed it out, it was very clear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Little Jennifer's relatives, 35 miles away from here in Henry County, Virginia, are bracing for the worst, but they are still, even at this time, hoping for the best. The fact is, if this is not Jennifer Short, then authorities here have a different homicide on their hands.
Daryn, back to you.
KAGAN: And even more questions. A question for you right now, Gary, is there any connection that investigators have made between this point in North Carolina and where Jennifer Short and her parents were living in Virginia?
TUCHMAN: Well, they don't know at this point. What they believe happened is these parents were shot once in the head. A phone line was cut in their house. They believe it was someone who knew the family, but they still don't have a suspect. And they believe that this little girl was shot, too, but for whatever reason, her body may have been brought 35 miles away and dumped here.
KAGAN: All right, and those DNA tests expected to come out later today.
TUCHMAN: That's right. We expect today. However, and this is very important, there is microscopic testing done last week that indicated the hair wasn't little Jennifer Short's. So that's why, because there as a problem then, they're telling us the results will come today. It's certainly not guaranteed for today, but we expect it to be today.
KAGAN: All right, we'll have you tracking it for.
Gary Tuchman, thank you so much in North Carolina.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 2, 2002 - 10:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We could find out today whether a small skull that was found in a rural area of North Carolina is in fact that of Jennifer Short. She is the 9-year-old who vanished in August, on the same day that her parents were killed in their Virginia home.
Our Gary Tuchman joins us now. He is in Rockingham, County in North Carolina.
Gary, good morning.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning to you.
And this is a terribly sad story, two parents found shot to death, no suspect, no known motive, and their daughter was missing. Six and a half weeks later, bones were found near where I'm standing here in Rockingham, County, North Carolina. We're expecting this afternoon to find out definitively if these are the bones of little 9- year-old Jennifer Short.
Initial DNA testing has shown these are the bones from a nine- year-old Caucasian female. There are no other children in that age range missing in this area. Searchers have been on the scene for much of the last week. Yesterday, 14 divers from Virginia and North Carolina were searching a pond on the property where the skull, the leg bone, teeth and hair were found.
All they found yesterday, though, were animal bones. At this point, authorities are saying that they believe that what they have found here, the person who was found here died in the same way as the parents did. And we talked to a woman who works on the property where the skull was found.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: What is it that the crime scene unit people said to you when they were looking at the skull?
SHERRI PERDUE, ROCKINGHAM RESIDENT: They said there's a bullet hole right there, probably small caliber.
TUCHMAN: Did you see it also?
PERDUE: Yes. Once he pointed it out, it was very clear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Little Jennifer's relatives, 35 miles away from here in Henry County, Virginia, are bracing for the worst, but they are still, even at this time, hoping for the best. The fact is, if this is not Jennifer Short, then authorities here have a different homicide on their hands.
Daryn, back to you.
KAGAN: And even more questions. A question for you right now, Gary, is there any connection that investigators have made between this point in North Carolina and where Jennifer Short and her parents were living in Virginia?
TUCHMAN: Well, they don't know at this point. What they believe happened is these parents were shot once in the head. A phone line was cut in their house. They believe it was someone who knew the family, but they still don't have a suspect. And they believe that this little girl was shot, too, but for whatever reason, her body may have been brought 35 miles away and dumped here.
KAGAN: All right, and those DNA tests expected to come out later today.
TUCHMAN: That's right. We expect today. However, and this is very important, there is microscopic testing done last week that indicated the hair wasn't little Jennifer Short's. So that's why, because there as a problem then, they're telling us the results will come today. It's certainly not guaranteed for today, but we expect it to be today.
KAGAN: All right, we'll have you tracking it for.
Gary Tuchman, thank you so much in North Carolina.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
