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CNN Live At Daybreak

Sniper Suspects: A Victim's Family Reacts

Aired October 25, 2002 - 06:46   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Victims' families are quite relieved that the suspected snipers are behind bars this morning, but the families are still trying to cope with the pain of suddenly losing a loved one.
Our Michael Okwu reports on one victim's family.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Around Washington it's been a collective wish for weeks, to see the face, to look into the eyes of the man, the men who could do this.

For one family, it is now bitter relief and realization there are no answers.

LARRY MEYERS, NEPHEW: You know it's like putting the face, you know, to a killer. What happened to this person to get him to the point to where he became so inhumane, had no sense of humanity, had no sense of loss of life?

OKWU: Larry Meyers' Uncle Dean was shot and killed at a gas station on October 9, the sniper's ninth victim. The nephew believes he's seen the face of his uncle's killers and he initially felt rage.

L. MEYERS: But that doesn't mean that, you know, we want to go out and have a lynching party or you know, take revenge of some sort.

OKWU: Dean Meyers' brother Bob.

BOB MEYERS, BROTHER: It's a great relief, because if it is true, then at least at the hands of these two there'll be no more incidents, no more bloodshed.

OKWU: As Washington's focus shifts from fear to justice, the Meyers are quietly celebrating Dean's life. One of four brothers, he graduated from Penn State in 1975, a degree in civil engineering. As part of the First Airborne Cavalry in Vietnam, he survived an ambush by the Vietcong who fired 80 rounds. He was hit by a single bullet.

L. MEYERS: His platoon doesn't know how he got out alive. So we feel that he's been living on borrowed time for about 32 years, or however long that was, and we're -- we were very happy to have him.

OKWU: But they no longer do. In arranging his belongings, they've discovered how selfless this single man, who lived more humbly than he had to, was. L. MEYERS: You know in here you'll see all the charities that he made. Salvation Army $200, World Vision $144. I'm not sure what that one is. Habitat for Humanity International.

OKWU: Nephew says uncle refused a million dollars, his fee as executor of a French trust, one of many discoveries the family is making in his death. Meyers was a surrogate or second father for neighbors and extended family. The best gift his family could offer in his death are images of a life well lived.

Michael Okwu, CNN, Gaithersburg, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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 25, 2002 - 06:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Victims' families are quite relieved that the suspected snipers are behind bars this morning, but the families are still trying to cope with the pain of suddenly losing a loved one.
Our Michael Okwu reports on one victim's family.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Around Washington it's been a collective wish for weeks, to see the face, to look into the eyes of the man, the men who could do this.

For one family, it is now bitter relief and realization there are no answers.

LARRY MEYERS, NEPHEW: You know it's like putting the face, you know, to a killer. What happened to this person to get him to the point to where he became so inhumane, had no sense of humanity, had no sense of loss of life?

OKWU: Larry Meyers' Uncle Dean was shot and killed at a gas station on October 9, the sniper's ninth victim. The nephew believes he's seen the face of his uncle's killers and he initially felt rage.

L. MEYERS: But that doesn't mean that, you know, we want to go out and have a lynching party or you know, take revenge of some sort.

OKWU: Dean Meyers' brother Bob.

BOB MEYERS, BROTHER: It's a great relief, because if it is true, then at least at the hands of these two there'll be no more incidents, no more bloodshed.

OKWU: As Washington's focus shifts from fear to justice, the Meyers are quietly celebrating Dean's life. One of four brothers, he graduated from Penn State in 1975, a degree in civil engineering. As part of the First Airborne Cavalry in Vietnam, he survived an ambush by the Vietcong who fired 80 rounds. He was hit by a single bullet.

L. MEYERS: His platoon doesn't know how he got out alive. So we feel that he's been living on borrowed time for about 32 years, or however long that was, and we're -- we were very happy to have him.

OKWU: But they no longer do. In arranging his belongings, they've discovered how selfless this single man, who lived more humbly than he had to, was. L. MEYERS: You know in here you'll see all the charities that he made. Salvation Army $200, World Vision $144. I'm not sure what that one is. Habitat for Humanity International.

OKWU: Nephew says uncle refused a million dollars, his fee as executor of a French trust, one of many discoveries the family is making in his death. Meyers was a surrogate or second father for neighbors and extended family. The best gift his family could offer in his death are images of a life well lived.

Michael Okwu, CNN, Gaithersburg, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com