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American Morning

Interview With Sheron Norman, Ronald Norman: Part II

Aired October 25, 2002 - 07:16   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.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to talk more about the sniper suspects with John Muhammad's former sister-in-law and her husband, Sheron and Ronald Norman, still with us this morning. Ronald is a police detective in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Welcome back.

You talked a little bit about how John Allen Muhammad treated his own children. I understand he did some things to other members of your family that you found quite disturbing. Like what?

SHERON NORMAN, MUHAMMAD'S FORMER SISTER-IN-LAW: This was just his son, when he had taken him and refused to return him. It was just so much that we went through to get him back. That was the hard part. That's why we had pretty much a rip, and we had a little dispute when he and his wife were separating. We had got a little bad blood going during that time.

ZAHN: And yet, your families are very much connected today.

S. NORMAN: Yes.

ZAHN: Because -- explain to us again. So, Muhammad's brother...

S. NORMAN: I have two sisters, two sisters married two brothers. My baby sister, Jackie (ph), married Muhammad's baby brother, Edward.

ZAHN: Now, the last time you saw Muhammad was in July. He was visiting Louisiana with John Lee Malvo. What did he say about who this young guy was?

S. NORMAN: He said...

ZAHN: Had you ever seen him before?

S. NORMAN: No. No one had ever seen him, not even his brother. He came, and he introduced him as his son, not as his stepson, but as his son. We had never seen him before.

And because I have a nephew, Edward's son, they kind of resemble -- it looked like that family resemblance -- nobody really disputed it.

ZAHN: Now, this morning, one account suggests that, in fact, John Lee Malvo is the son of John Allen Muhammad's girlfriend. Do you know that to be the case?

S. NORMAN: We don't know. That was the first time we met him in July. We had never seen him before.

ZAHN: What was he like?

S. NORMAN: Very quiet, very reserved, very polite. He told my niece that you should treat a lady like a lady at all times, and the woman should be treated as a queen. And when she sat down to have a meal, he said, "The women eat first, and she is to eat all that she wants before the male are to eat."

ZAHN: Wow! So, when you hear about this arrest yesterday, you're thinking what?

S. NORMAN: Like I said, we were shocked. We were shocked, because like I say, he was so quiet, so polite, so sweet. He would take the kids out and play with them for hours and hours -- so attentive.

ZAHN: Ronald, being a police detective, I'm sure your radar is up all the time. When you meet this kid for the first time, and you see your brother-in-law passing him off as a son that you've never seen before, did it raise any red flags?

R. NORMAN: Well, actually, I didn't go around them during the time when they came to visit, because of the bad blood between my wife and him, and I just felt that it was better for me not to go around, so I didn't go around him.

ZAHN: So, you actually didn't meet him?

R. NORMAN: I didn't meet him.

ZAHN: Did it strike you as odd that he was traveling around the country with John Allen Muhammad? Or did he even tell you what they were up to?

S. NORMAN: No. They told my sister and her husband, which is Jackie (ph) and Edward, you know, and their daughter, Torria (ph), he and she became real close.

ZAHN: Did they have a car?

S. NORMAN: No. They stated they had walked, and they, I guess, took a bus to Baton Rouge and walked from the bus station to my sister's home.

ZAHN: And do you know how they left Louisiana?

S. NORMAN: They walked.

ZAHN: They walked.

S. NORMAN: When they left, they were walking. That's why I was surprised that they had a car.

ZAHN: Just a final thought this morning. As the audience is trying to put this story together, you knew this John Allen Muhammad as a completely different guy, maybe not the best husband to your sister along the way.

S. NORMAN: Correct, correct.

ZAHN: And then, you hear these charges that are potentially going to be filed against him. What went wrong there?

S. NORMAN: I don't know. I'm praying that he didn't do it. I really am.

ZAHN: In your hearts, do you think he did it?

S. NORMAN: I don't know. I'm praying that he didn't.

ZAHN: It doesn't look too good, though, when investigators...

S. NORMAN: It really doesn't look too good.

ZAHN: ... confirmed they found the weapon the car.

S. NORMAN: It doesn't look too good, and I feel awful for those families that lost their loved ones. I mean, my heart goes out to them. I am so sorry, and we're going to keep them in our prayers at all times.

ZAHN: As a law enforcement officer, when you look at how this case came together, particularly through a tip to the Montgomery County Police Department, it's got to be very odd for you to be caught in the swirl of this.

R. NORMAN: You know, yes, it is, because I know that the police department took a lot of criticism, but I thought they did an outstanding job from the beginning. And they were under a lot of pressure. To me, they did -- I mean, they accomplished a lot.

ZAHN: Do you think they got the right guys?

R. NORMAN: I don't know. Still, we're praying that, you know, maybe they're not, but we don't know.

ZAHN: It doesn't look good, though, does it?

R. NORMAN: It don't look good. As a police officer, it don't look good.

ZAHN: Well, we know how difficult this is for you to try to make sense of all of this as well. Sheron, thank you very much for dropping by, and Ronald, thank you. Best of luck to your family as you try to figure all this out.

S. NORMAN: Yes, we're just going to pray and come together, and just get stronger in the Lord.

ZAHN: Take care. Thanks.

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 - 07:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to talk more about the sniper suspects with John Muhammad's former sister-in-law and her husband, Sheron and Ronald Norman, still with us this morning. Ronald is a police detective in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Welcome back.

You talked a little bit about how John Allen Muhammad treated his own children. I understand he did some things to other members of your family that you found quite disturbing. Like what?

SHERON NORMAN, MUHAMMAD'S FORMER SISTER-IN-LAW: This was just his son, when he had taken him and refused to return him. It was just so much that we went through to get him back. That was the hard part. That's why we had pretty much a rip, and we had a little dispute when he and his wife were separating. We had got a little bad blood going during that time.

ZAHN: And yet, your families are very much connected today.

S. NORMAN: Yes.

ZAHN: Because -- explain to us again. So, Muhammad's brother...

S. NORMAN: I have two sisters, two sisters married two brothers. My baby sister, Jackie (ph), married Muhammad's baby brother, Edward.

ZAHN: Now, the last time you saw Muhammad was in July. He was visiting Louisiana with John Lee Malvo. What did he say about who this young guy was?

S. NORMAN: He said...

ZAHN: Had you ever seen him before?

S. NORMAN: No. No one had ever seen him, not even his brother. He came, and he introduced him as his son, not as his stepson, but as his son. We had never seen him before.

And because I have a nephew, Edward's son, they kind of resemble -- it looked like that family resemblance -- nobody really disputed it.

ZAHN: Now, this morning, one account suggests that, in fact, John Lee Malvo is the son of John Allen Muhammad's girlfriend. Do you know that to be the case?

S. NORMAN: We don't know. That was the first time we met him in July. We had never seen him before.

ZAHN: What was he like?

S. NORMAN: Very quiet, very reserved, very polite. He told my niece that you should treat a lady like a lady at all times, and the woman should be treated as a queen. And when she sat down to have a meal, he said, "The women eat first, and she is to eat all that she wants before the male are to eat."

ZAHN: Wow! So, when you hear about this arrest yesterday, you're thinking what?

S. NORMAN: Like I said, we were shocked. We were shocked, because like I say, he was so quiet, so polite, so sweet. He would take the kids out and play with them for hours and hours -- so attentive.

ZAHN: Ronald, being a police detective, I'm sure your radar is up all the time. When you meet this kid for the first time, and you see your brother-in-law passing him off as a son that you've never seen before, did it raise any red flags?

R. NORMAN: Well, actually, I didn't go around them during the time when they came to visit, because of the bad blood between my wife and him, and I just felt that it was better for me not to go around, so I didn't go around him.

ZAHN: So, you actually didn't meet him?

R. NORMAN: I didn't meet him.

ZAHN: Did it strike you as odd that he was traveling around the country with John Allen Muhammad? Or did he even tell you what they were up to?

S. NORMAN: No. They told my sister and her husband, which is Jackie (ph) and Edward, you know, and their daughter, Torria (ph), he and she became real close.

ZAHN: Did they have a car?

S. NORMAN: No. They stated they had walked, and they, I guess, took a bus to Baton Rouge and walked from the bus station to my sister's home.

ZAHN: And do you know how they left Louisiana?

S. NORMAN: They walked.

ZAHN: They walked.

S. NORMAN: When they left, they were walking. That's why I was surprised that they had a car.

ZAHN: Just a final thought this morning. As the audience is trying to put this story together, you knew this John Allen Muhammad as a completely different guy, maybe not the best husband to your sister along the way.

S. NORMAN: Correct, correct.

ZAHN: And then, you hear these charges that are potentially going to be filed against him. What went wrong there?

S. NORMAN: I don't know. I'm praying that he didn't do it. I really am.

ZAHN: In your hearts, do you think he did it?

S. NORMAN: I don't know. I'm praying that he didn't.

ZAHN: It doesn't look too good, though, when investigators...

S. NORMAN: It really doesn't look too good.

ZAHN: ... confirmed they found the weapon the car.

S. NORMAN: It doesn't look too good, and I feel awful for those families that lost their loved ones. I mean, my heart goes out to them. I am so sorry, and we're going to keep them in our prayers at all times.

ZAHN: As a law enforcement officer, when you look at how this case came together, particularly through a tip to the Montgomery County Police Department, it's got to be very odd for you to be caught in the swirl of this.

R. NORMAN: You know, yes, it is, because I know that the police department took a lot of criticism, but I thought they did an outstanding job from the beginning. And they were under a lot of pressure. To me, they did -- I mean, they accomplished a lot.

ZAHN: Do you think they got the right guys?

R. NORMAN: I don't know. Still, we're praying that, you know, maybe they're not, but we don't know.

ZAHN: It doesn't look good, though, does it?

R. NORMAN: It don't look good. As a police officer, it don't look good.

ZAHN: Well, we know how difficult this is for you to try to make sense of all of this as well. Sheron, thank you very much for dropping by, and Ronald, thank you. Best of luck to your family as you try to figure all this out.

S. NORMAN: Yes, we're just going to pray and come together, and just get stronger in the Lord.

ZAHN: Take care. Thanks.

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