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CNN CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT
Laci Peterson's Family Says They No Longer Support Her Husband, Scott; Was Clara Harris Driven to Murder?
Aired January 24, 2003 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CONNIE CHUNG, HOST: Good evening. I'm Connie Chung. Tonight: One month since a pregnant woman disappeared, her family members break their silence, breaking down in tears. And they asked, what is her husband hiding?
ANNOUNCER: Missing for a month. The pregnant woman who vanished.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHARON ROCHA, MOTHER OF MISSING PREGNANT WOMAN: I know that someone knows where Laci is, and I'm pleading with you. Please, please let her come home to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: For the first time since learning that there might be another woman, Laci Peterson's family comes forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENT ROCHA, BROTHER OF MISSING PREGNANT WOMAN: Scott Peterson did admit to me that he was having an affair with a Fresno woman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Was Clara Harris driven to murder? The trial with more twists and turns gets even more bizarre.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIA MAGNESS, PROSECUTOR: The defendant waited in the hotel lobby, knowing that her husband and the other woman were upstairs in the room.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Tonight, the other woman.
Lost and found.
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This is CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT. From the CNN broadcast center in New York, Connie Chung.
CONNIE CHUNG, HOST: Good evening. Tonight in Modesto, California, the family of Laci Peterson spoke out. Powerful, emotional words from her sister, brother and mother, and sharp words about Laci's husband. It's now a month since Peterson, eight months pregnant at the time, was last seen. This is also the first time we've heard from her family since police told them that Laci's husband, Scott, was having an affair. He has denied that.
At tonight's news conference, Laci's sister, Amy Rocha, took the podium first, but could not continue past her first sentence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMY ROCHA, SISTER OF MISSING PREGNANT WOMAN: This past month has been the most painful time I've ever experienced...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: Brother Brent followed her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENT ROCHA, BROTHER OF MISSING PREGNANT WOMAN: I would like to confirm that on January 16th, 2003, by phone, Scott Peterson did admit to me that he was having an affair with a Fresno woman. I confronted him with this allegation after viewing pictures of him with this woman.
I would like Scott to know that I trusted him and stood by him in the initial phases of my sister's disappearance. However, Scott has not been forthcoming with information regarding my sister's disappearance, and I'm only left to question what else he may be hiding. Since Scott is no longer communicating with anyone in Laci's family and because we have so many questions that he has not answered, I am no longer supporting him.
I'm pleading with the person that took Laci to please disclose her location so that my family can have Laci back. You know what -- you know that you have made a terrible choice, whoever this person is. However, as you contemplate the evil that you have chosen, please return Laci to her family that loves her so much.
Laci, the last month has been the most disturbing and emotional time of my life. Your disappearance has completely changed my life as I once knew it. I miss your beautiful smile and your fun-loving personality. Every time we were together, I could feel the unconditional love between the both of us. As your older brother, I only wish that I had the opportunity to be there to defend you from the person that decided to take you away from me. We talked about our children growing up together and spending summers at each other's house. Now that you and Connor (ph) have been taken away from me, I realize that my children will not have cousins to grow up with and family events will feel very lonely without you and Connor.
Wherever you may be, I hope you know how much I love you and how important you are to me. My search for you will never end.
I have two requests. I would like to ask for the public's continued support in finding my sister, so that the person responsible for her disappearance will receive the ultimate punishment. I would also like to ask Scott to fully cooperate with the Modesto Police Department. Thank you.
SHARON ROCHA, MOTHER OF MISSING PREGNANT WOMAN: Since Christmas Eve, our one and only focus is to find Laci and to bring her home to us. I love my daughter so much. I miss her every minute of every day. I miss seeing her. I miss our talks together. I miss listening to the excitement in her voice when she talks to me about her baby. I miss not being able to share with her the anticipation of her approaching delivery date. I miss listening to her talk about her future with her husband and her baby. I miss sharing our thoughts and our lives together. I miss her smile and her laughter and her sense of humor. And I miss everything about her.
Someone has taken all of this away from me and everyone else who loves her. There are no words that can possibly describe the ache in my heart or the emptiness in my life. I know that someone knows where Laci is, and I'm pleading with you, please, please let her come home to us. You can send an anonymous letter to the police department, telling them where she is, or make an anonymous phone call to the police department tip line at area code 209-342-6166.
If someone out there has observed or possibly discovered on their property anything unusual or suspicious, no matter how minute or insignificant it may seem to you, please call the police department. This may be the missing link to finding Laci. Please keep looking for Laci and help us end this nightmare. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: Laci Peterson's family isn't alone in breaking their silence today. Joining us now on the phone from San Diego is Scott Peterson's sister-in-law, Janey Peterson.
Janey, thank you so much for joining us. I know that you loved Laci and you love her as much as her family loves her, and I know that you're very close to Scott. He's more like a brother to you than a brother-in-law. It had to be hard for you to hear Laci's family say that they no longer support Scott.
JANEY PETERSON, Scott PETERSON'S SISTER-IN-LAW: I think the hardest thing to hear in all of that was just the pain and just how much we're all hurting. And I think, you know, both of us are still together very much, so I just want Laci to come home. And we want, you know, whoever knows something to -- to just call the police with that information. You know, this is -- you know, the things they're saying is very true. It's a very -- it's an unbearable situation. And we -- just trusting in the Lord is all that we have, to just each and every day ask him to give us the strength to go on, that he would be our strength and our refuge, that he'd be Laci's strength and Laci's refuge in the midst of this.
CHUNG: I know, Janey, I think everyone's praying for Laci's return. Does it hurt to know that Laci's family doesn't support Scott anymore?
PETERSON: That is difficult. I mean, we've -- came together in the midst of this crisis and worked together to coordinate all of the volunteer things. We prayed together. We cried together. And I think we're both still doing a lot of those same things.
CHUNG: Janey, Laci's family said that Scott is no longer in touch with them, not communicating. Do you know where Scott is? Is he talking to your family?
PETERSON: Yes. Yes. We're in touch with Scott every day, and he's very focused on what he needs to do to -- you know, this is a situation that -- a crisis that no family would ever think they'd find themselves in the midst of. And every day we get together and we talk about what else we can do to keep her picture out there, to generate leads, generate tips. We're -- you know, we're just every day coming together to discuss those things and pray about those things.
CHUNG: Janey, Brent -- that's Laci's brother -- said that Scott admitted to him that he did have an affair. Were you aware?
PETERSON: No. No, not at all. And I -- you know, for me, I think that -- I haven't had that conversation with Scott, and it wouldn't matter. It wouldn't change what I am doing to find Laci. And just to be honest, we don't have the extra emotions. We don't have the energy and we don't have the time to chase down all these periphery things that get thrown out there. And it's -- it's a distraction from what our primary focus needs to be, and that's to bring Laci home.
CHUNG: Janey, do you attach any significance -- if -- if, indeed, Scott did have an affair, do you attach any significance to that?
PETERSON: No, I don't. There's absolutely no way Scott had anything to do with Laci's disappearance. And you know, when all this is said and done, you know, everything surrounding Scott, the truth is going to settle, and Scott's going to be OK at the end of this road. But we don't know that about Laci, and that's where our focus needs to be.
CHUNG: What is Scott's family's greatest concern, Janey?
PETERSON: I think we all, at moments, just have a fear that this, you know, might not ever end. And like Brent said, you know, we're never going to give up. And we have to hang on to that hope and...
CHUNG: Janey, do you know why Scott isn't talking to Laci's family anymore? I mean, do you -- would you encourage Scott to talk to the family?
PETERSON: You know, when you're in a situation like this, you long -- you just -- you want answers and you long for closure and you -- and it's very hard to go on day after day. And every day you want it to be the day that Laci comes home. And you know, we just need to continue to focus on that and not let ourselves be distracted. And you know, it's -- I think it's good that we have the same common goal and, hopefully, we can, you know, continue working together on some level.
CHUNG: Absolutely. You have cried a lot of tears worrying about Laci. Is there anything else that you want to say on behalf of Scott, on behalf of yourself and on behalf of Scott's family? PETERSON: I think just a big thank you. You know, I don't think that we'd be getting through this without the prayers and support of so many people and how our friends have come around us, how people we don't even know have come up behind us and prayed for us and sent us notes of encouragement. And you know, it's -- it's really been those prayers that have sustained us in the midst of this. And we just can't say thank you enough.
We also just want to encourage anybody that -- again, that might have any information, no matter how trivial they think it might be, to contact the Modesto police, you know, log onto the www.lacipeterson.com. You know, as her due date is approaching on February 16th, you know, any unusual circumstances, you know, involving the birth of a child. And you know, those are the things that we're focusing on.
CHUNG: All right, Janey Peterson, I thank you so much. Our prayers are with you and your family and, of course, with Laci and Laci's family. Janey Peterson, thank you so much for being with us.
PETERSON: Thank you, Connie.
CHUNG: When we come back: Is it murder on tape or a tragic accident? The court releases the tape, and the witnesses tell what they heard at the scene. This is the story about the woman accused of running over her husband three times.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Murder on tape? A Houston court has released a tape of a woman betrayed, running over her cheating husband with her car three times. The slightly out-of-focus tape shows the Mercedes with the former Colombian beauty queen, Clara Harris, at the wheel, speeding through the parking lot of a hotel, making several turns before stopping. Prosecutors say the tape shows the car rolling over the body of Clara's husband, David, before it stopped, all this while David Harris's 16-year-old daughter, who was still in the Mercedes, watched in horror.
What it does not establish is whether Clara Harris did it intentionally, as the prosecution claims. The tape was made by a private investigator Harris had hired to follow her husband.
Clara Harris arrived in court today for the second day of testimony. We'll get to the witness accounts about what she said on the scene and more of that amazing tape.
But first, as CNN's Art Harris reports, there are a lot more players in this case than just a wife, a husband and the other woman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ART HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's Clara Harris arriving in court, a former Colombian beauty queen, her hair coiffed and colored since the July 24th night she allegedly ran down her husband in a hotel parking lot after catching him with a so-called other woman.
MIA MAGNESS, PROSECUTOR: Clara Harris got mad. She intentionally and knowingly hit David Harris with her vehicle. And he died as a result.
HARRIS: That's Mia Magness, the tough-talking 30-something Harris County prosecutor.
MAGNESS: And the bottom line, folks, is that's murder.
HARRIS: Clara Harris has pled not guilty to murder by Mercedes. Another player -- veteran defense attorney George Parnham -- fatherly, charming, and out to portray Clara Harris as a successful dentist too distraught to work after discovering the affair, a devoted wife who struggled with infertility to have children for husband David.
GEORGE PARNHAM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Clara wanted and continued to go along -- wanted to -- wanted to have children. She conceived and gave birth to two beautiful boys.
HARRIS: Then he says her husband broke his promise to end it.
PARNHAM: ... my sexual involvement, my affair with my receptionist...
HARRIS: That's receptionist Gail Bridges, who worked for orthodontist David Harris. When Clara caught them emerging from the elevator in the Hilton lobby...
PARNHAM: Clara loses it, grabs Gail.
HARRIS: That's when she snapped, says Parnham.
PARNHAM: Gail Bridges cannot have my husband. I want him home. I am going to take him home with me.
HARRIS: That's David Harris's 16-year-old daughter, Lindsay (ph), who was in the Mercedes when her stepmother, say prosecutors...
MAGNESS: ... turned her $70,000-some-odd vehicle into a 4,000- pound murder weapon.
HARRIS: All caught on videotape by the private eye hired by Clara Harris to spy on her husband and Gail Bridges.
BOBBI BACHA, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: She always referred to Gail Bridges as the other woman.
HARRIS: Meet private investigator Bobbi Bacha.
BACHA: This is the first night that we had followed David Harris.
HARRIS: Before she was hired by Clara Harris, Bacha worked for -- now, check the scorecard -- Gail Bridges. (on camera): Gail Bridges once hired the same private eye during a nasty divorce of her own. That's Gail in blond wig and sunglasses on a "Sally Jessy Rafael" show that focused on husbands spying on wives.
(voice-over): In court documents, her ex-husband accused Bridges of infidelity with another woman, which she's denied. After her divorce, Bridges went to work in David Harris's dental office, and friends tell CNN she believed he aimed to leave his wife, Clara, and marry her.
Sources close to the defense tell CNN Parnham's strategy is take no prisoners, portray David Harris as a cheating husband and Bridges as ruthless, out to steal another woman's man.
Art Harris, CNN, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: Today, though, prosecutors laid the foundation of their case, that Harris acted intentionally. One witness testified that Harris got out of the car and told her dying husband, quote, "David, look at what you made me do." In the courtroom today was Houston radio station KTRH reporter Gail Delaughter, who joins us now from Houston.
Gail, thank you so much for being with us again.
GAIL DELAUGHTER, REPORTER, HOUSTON NEWS RADIO KTRH: Hi. Good evening, Connie.
CHUNG: Now, Gail, you know, I'm sure there must have been so much anticipation about that videotape. But when I look at it, it's very, very hard to tell what's going on. How did the prosecutors describe what was on the tape?
DELAUGHTER: Well, I think they want to show, just to back up what the other witnesses are saying happened at the scene that night, that the car went around in circles and hit David Harris repeatedly. That's really all you can see on the tape, is a silver Mercedes going around two-and-a-half times. You see some people running, apparently hotel employees, very nervous and upset about what's going on. And then you see a little blurry spot that's supposed to be David Harris's body, according to the prosecution.
CHUNG: Was there any reaction in the courtroom?
DELAUGHTER: The jury was very attentive, as they've been throughout the trial, paying very close attention. Everyone was sort of on the edge of their seats because, as you saw, it was a very blurry videotape and it was hard to see. But Clara Harris was absolutely distraught. She dropped her head in her hands and cried and cried. And then they took a break in the proceedings, and she went into the audience, where she was comforted by relatives. But she was extremely upset when they showed the video. Another thing they did, too, when they were setting up the video on the big screen in the courtroom, they showed a picture of David Harris, casually dressed, smiling, and they left that picture up there to let the jury get a picture in their mind of what this man was all about. And when she saw that picture, she got very upset.
CHUNG: I caught some glimpses of Clara Harris, and she seemed to have her head down most of the time during the proceedings. That's different from what she was doing yesterday, isn't it?
DELAUGHTER: She was a little bit upset yesterday, but today you could really see it. She just hangs her head, puts her head in her hands. And then today she was showing a lot of tears. They were getting Kleenex for her. There was a female member of the defense team that sits next to her, and she's there to kind of keep an eye on her and comfort her when she gets upset.
CHUNG: Do you think that that had any impact on the jurors? I mean, could you see them looking at her and feeling empathy or anything like that?
DELAUGHTER: I don't really see the jury shooting any looks at her. I think, at this point, they're very alert, they are very attentive. What the prosecution is presenting, at this point, is the violence of what happened that night. The witnesses' stories vary somewhat, and the defense is hammering at that. But all the stories are fairly consistent. There was the altercation in the hotel lobby, when Clara Harris confronted her husband with the other woman. It spilled out into the parking lot. And then people today talked about what happened when she peeled out in the silver Mercedes and drove around back and ran over her husband.
CHUNG: All right, well, let's talk a little bit more about those witnesses because I understand two of them were hotel guests and they tried to go help Dr. David Harris. What did they say?
DELAUGHTER: Well, one woman had had some first aid training. She was in the hotel swimming pool with her kids. They heard a scream. They heard all the commotion. She ran out to the back parking lot to see what was going on. And he was lying there, and she knew immediately she had to administer CPR. So she put her hand in his mouth to clear an airway. One of his teeth fell out. She said his teeth were loose. Her boyfriend went over there also to help. And he felt David Harris's body and said it appeared to him that some ribs were broken. This was immediately after the impact.
CHUNG: And were there other witnesses today? Were there ones who had seen the altercation in the hotel?
DELAUGHTER: Correct. There were a couple of women that were at the hotel that night for a conference, and they were very disturbed when they saw the altercation. One woman said it was like a football game. There was this big pile of people on the floor, wrestling around. Lindsay Harris, the daughter that we heard about, the stepdaughter -- she said Lindsay was sitting on the floor, sobbing and crying and saying things about her father. And then Clara calmly got the keys to the Mercedes out of her purse, walked out to the parking lot, crisply got in the Mercedes and then peeled out. And then the events happened in the parking lot.
CHUNG: Did anybody see what happened just before her Mercedes started moving?
DELAUGHTER: Everyone describes the same motion of the Mercedes. It peeled out. She left very quickly, then sped around back. Some of the hotel employees were running next to her because, you know, they wanted to get this woman out of their hotel. They were banging on the side of the car, banging on the hood, pointing the way to the exit, you know, "Get out of here." And then she went to the back. And there's a special screen they use in the courtroom, like a football game, where you can draw on the screen and kind of describe the motion of things and point things out. And everyone showed that circular motion, the initial hit that David Harris took, and then the Mercedes going around several times, hitting him repeatedly, according to the witnesses.
CHUNG: Gail, did anyone describe where the, quote, unquote, "other woman" was, Gail Bridges, while all of this was going on?
DELAUGHTER: Well, her car was in that back parking lot. She was driving a Lincoln Navigator, and apparently, David Harris and a hotel employee were escorting her to her vehicle. So she was -- we haven't heard a lot about her reaction when all this was going on because there was a lot of confusion and everyone's sort of looking at it from their own vantage point. But she was standing by the vehicle. And then afterwards, Lindsay Harris ran over to her and apparently was being comforted by Gail Bridges, according to some of the witnesses.
CHUNG: Oh, my heavens! This is the woman who was the so-called "other woman," and she was now comforting the stepdaughter -- well, or David Harris's daughter?
DELAUGHTER: Yes, that was according to one of the witnesses, but there appears to be a lot of confusion about what exactly was going on. One woman said that Lindsay was absolutely hysterical, sobbing and crying, and they didn't want her to be near her father, whose broken body was laying there in the parking lot. So they took her over to Gail Bridges' Navigator primarily to get her in some air- conditioning because it was a hot Houston night, just to get her away from it and get her cooled down, get calmed down somewhat. But according to one witness, she ran over to Gail Bridges. But what really happened, we don't know.
CHUNG: And will the testimony continue on Monday?
DELAUGHTER: Correct. Monday -- there's a very extensive witness list. We're not sure in what chronological order they're going to present those witnesses. But there's a lot of police officers who were at the scene, medical technicians, people from the medical examiner's office, and of course, the testimony of the stepdaughter, Lindsay Harris, to talk about exactly what happened when she was in that Mercedes with her stepmother and her father was being hit in the parking lot. CHUNG: And that's likely to occur on Monday?
DELAUGHTER: We don't know Monday. It just depends on how the prosecution wants to set up their witness list.
CHUNG: All right, Gail Delaughter, I thank you so much for being with us.
DELAUGHTER: Thank you, Connie.
CHUNG: And if we're down there, we're going to listen to you on KTRH.
DELAUGHTER: Certainly. I'd appreciate it. Thank you.
CHUNG: OK. Thank you, Gail.
There have been two plane crash incidents in the western United States this evening. Two small airplanes collided in mid-air and crashed into a Denver residential area. Local television helicopter crews identified the planes as a single-engine Cessna and a twin- engine plane. There was no immediate information about injuries, but people are reported still trapped in the wreckage. And a small plane crashed into a residence in Rancho Cucamonga, not far from the Ontario International Airport in southern California.
Overseas, three missing American journalists are safe and sound tonight after being freed by the Colombian rebels who kidnapped them just last week. But as we see in our look at "The World in 60," two other journalists have not been as fortunate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: (voice-over): With the release of those three American journalists, authorities continued searching for another American photographer and a British reporter who have been abducted by rebels in Columbia.
In the event of war, the U.S. says it would seize Iraq's oil fields to prevent President Saddam Hussein from setting them on fire and dumping oil into the Persian Gulf.
Speaking on the Iraqi television station he owns, Saddam's son, Uday, warned the U.S. that September 11 would seem like a, quote, "picnic" compared to Iraq's reprisal if the U.S. attacked.
Health care workers in Connecticut were the first to receive voluntary smallpox vaccinations in a new nationwide program. They'll be the first to treat patients in a bioterrorist attack.
South Korea's president-elect, Roh Moo-hyun, told CNN he will propose a summit with his northern counterpart to discuss North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Roh is sending delegates to North Korea next week.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ANNOUNCER: Next: He was living on the streets, hungry and frostbitten. That is, until his family spotted this photo. From homeless to home when CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Billy Rowell was an ordinary guy with a job, a home, and a loving family. Then, his life fell apart and he disappeared. His family didn't know it, but he had disappeared into the faceless sea of America's homeless, until, one day, a single photo changed it all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): When the Rowell family opened the morning paper on Tuesday, staring back at them was a face they hadn't seen in four months.
ANNMARIE ROWELL, SISTER OF BILLY ROWELL: And I just went nuts. And I had immediately called my sister and I called my mother.
CHUNG: Annmarie, her mother, sisters, and brothers had been looking frantically for Billy for weeks. He had lost his job, became depressed, and ended up on the street, homeless and alone.
BILLY ROWELL, I lost my job. Well, I had to go to jail for one night. And then I had to go to court a couple times.
CHUNG: But then "Boston Herald" photographer John Wilcox snapped this photo of a homeless man struggling to stay warm on the steam vents outside of Boston's Public Library.
A. ROWELL: We just said, what do we do? We go in there and we just like, bing, bam, boom, we went. It was just so quick.
CHUNG: It took them just a half-an-hour to find Billy. And a family was reunited.
ESTHER ROWELL, MOTHER OF BILLY ROWELL: If you ever saw him when he come through the door, oh, it was terrible. His hair was down to his shoulders and he was all disheveled. Oh, God. We're so happy he's home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: And joining me now from Milton Hospital, where he is being treated for frostbite, Billy Rowell, and his mother, Esther, his sister Annmarie, and a whole lot of other family members who just want him to know that he is loved, much loved.
Thank you all for being with us.
Billy, are you feeling OK?
B. ROWELL: Yes, Connie. My feet are a little still cold and -- but I'm doing pretty good.
CHUNG: Great. I'll get back to you in a minute.
Annmarie, let's go back. Your brother was missing for four months. You all must have been just going crazy. Did you try and look for him?
A. ROWELL: Oh, we did everything, Connie. We went everywhere. My sister and her husband were in the streets of Boston looking for him. We called all the hospitals, the morgues. We filed missing- person reports. We did everything that was possible to be done.
CHUNG: Were you afraid that he had died?
A. ROWELL: I think, towards the end, I was starting to think that, because he's so family-oriented and we couldn't imagine what happened to him.
CHUNG: Esther, did you ever give up hope?
E. ROWELL: Never. Never once gave up hope.
I have a lot of faith. And I prayed. And I kept telling the children that everything would work out all right. We'll find him some time. I figured my husband, who's passed away, would watch over him. And I think, in the end, with the prayers and everything, that we found him.
CHUNG: All right.
So, Annmarie, your neighbor saw the picture in the paper. She told you about it. You saw it. Then you called everybody. And then you called the photographer to find out where Billy was. And he told you on these heating vents at the library. You went there. And tell me about the moment when family members finally saw Billy and how Billy reacted.
A. ROWELL: Well, we were walking towards the back of the library.
And it was my brother-in-law Lou (ph) and then my brother John (ph) and myself, and my sister Marybeth. And I could see a mass of blankets on the ground. So, I knew there were people there laying there. And all of a sudden, it was my brother. And Lou just went up to him. And I knew -- just my heart knew it was him. And we just said, come on, let's go.
And we all started crying. He was crying. He said he was so embarrassed. And all his homeless friends got up. And they were saying, go with your family, Billy. Go with them. You're loved. We wish our family members would come in and get us.
CHUNG: That is so unbelievable.
Billy, tell us, what happened? What happened to you?
B. ROWELL: Oh, I just got so depressed, Connie, and I just left. And I said, I'm going to find a job. And then I ended up going to Boston. And then, just, the days went on. The months went on. And I just couldn't -- I could have called anytime. I could have went home. And I just met up with these people. And we just camped out every night. And the month got to two months, three months, four months. I still would have been there if they didn't see my picture in the paper.
CHUNG: And these homeless people basically became sort of your family, right?
B. ROWELL: Oh, yes. Yes. When my family showed up, when they found me, they encouraged -- I didn't want to go. And they said, go. They love you. Go. They're your family.
It was funny, because one of them said, if you don't go, I'll go, kidding around.
(LAUGHTER)
CHUNG: Yes.
I want to bring in someone I know all of you have wanted to talk to and to meet: "Boston Herald" photographer John Wilcox, who joins us now from Boston.
John, as I understand it, you had to convince Billy to let you take his picture. I always believe that things happen because they're supposed to happen. It's kind of like fate. What happened?
JOHN WILCOX, PHOTOGRAPHER, "BOSTON HERALD": Billy was definitely hesitant to be photographed. A couple of the other guys there were more willing. And in between them and myself, we convinced him to let me photograph him. I didn't want to photograph an unwilling participant. And, eventually, he went along with it. And this is the result.
CHUNG: And, very quickly, the paper almost didn't put his picture in.
WILCOX: Yes. That's true, because I was photographing for an upcoming cold snap, which we're still experiencing. And it was actually fairly warm that afternoon.
And so he didn't -- or, actually, nobody looked quite as cold as we thought they should look, you know? But it did get colder that night. That's for sure. And they ended up using the picture, thank God.
CHUNG: Amazing.
Billy, is there anything you want to say to John?
B. ROWELL: Oh, I sure do.
John, I really appreciate it. You took so many pictures that day. And I happened to be the one. And I'm so glad. You made my life change so much. I just appreciate it so much. Thank you.
WILCOX: Sure. You played a role, too.
(LAUGHTER)
CHUNG: Esther?
E. ROWELL: Yes?
CHUNG: Esther, you want to say something to John?
E. ROWELL: John, thank you. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. We all appreciate it. If you didn't put that picture in the paper, we probably never would have found him. That was so nice of you. We'll never forget you, John. Thank you so much.
WILCOX: I appreciate that. No problem.
E. ROWELL: All the family would love to meet you. OK. Thank you.
CHUNG: John, I have a feeling that you've got a wonderful meal ahead of you with the family, right?
WILCOX: It sounds like it, actually.
E. ROWELL: That's right.
CHUNG: Thank you so much, John Wilcox.
And everyone in the Rowell family, I want to thank you so much for being with us.
Billy, take care. No more wandering out there, huh?
(CROSSTALK)
CHUNG: OK.
B. ROWELL: No, no, no. Those days are over.
CHUNG: Still ahead: What will you be doing on Sunday?
Stay with us.
ANNOUNCER: Still ahead: If you think you'll be watching for this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN MADDEN, ABC: I watched the hit right there at the end of the play.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ANNOUNCER: ... think again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, HANES AD)
MICHAEL JORDAN, NBA PLAYER: It's got to be the tag.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Why the big game is really about the big commercials.
CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT returns in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Remember that? Still brings a laugh, doesn't it?
Well, the Super Bowl is here, and so are the ads, and they ain't cheap: $2.1 million for 30 seconds. In other words -- one Mississippi, two Mississippi -- that would cost $140,000, two seconds. It could be that the biggest competition on Super Bowl Sunday isn't about throwing and catching. It's about pitching.
"Advertising Age" editor Scott Donaton will be watching the Super Bowl ads with a critical eye. And we're going to get some previews of what you'll see on game day.
Thank you so much for being with us, Scott.
SCOTT DONATON, "ADVERTISING AGE": Thanks for having me, Connie.
CHUNG: All right, let's look at the first one. It's a Michael Jordan one.
DONATON: Yes.
CHUNG: Let's roll it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
JORDAN: Nice shot. You reach, I teach.
Bet you won't score again.
I won't score again? How do you like that rainbow? That's ugly.
You could have dunked.
Should have dunked.
Hey, Mike.
What?
Who's got next?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: It really is two Michael Jordans, isn't it? I mean, it is he. DONATON: It's his face imposed on a body double. But it's just seamless, beautiful, gee whiz, how'd they do that kind of advertising. It's irresistible.
CHUNG: It really is. I mean, to see Michael Jordan everywhere is perfect.
All right, the next one is really my favorite. It's the Osbournes and the Osmonds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, PEPSI AD)
OZZY OSBOURNE, MUSICIAN: Bloody bag, now I got the bloody...
KELLY OSBOURNE, DAUGHTER OF OZZY: Hey, dad.
OSBOURNE: Not now. I'm...
(CROSSTALK)
K. OSBOURNE: But we really want to show you something.
O. OSBOURNE: I've got something to do. I'm trying to...
JACK OSBOURNE, SON OF OZZY: You really should see this.
O. OSBOURNE: What is it, then? What is it?
J. OSBOURNE: These aren't Pepsis. They're Pepsi Twists.
O. OSBOURNE: You're a bunch of bloody magicians.
K. OSBOURNE: And we're not the Osbournes.
O. OSBOURNE: You're not?
DONNY AND MARIE OSMOND, SINGERS: We're the Osmonds.
M. OSMOND (singing): I'm a little bit country.
D. OSMOND (singing): I'm a little bit rock 'n' roll
O. OSBOURNE: Sharon! Sharon, the kids have turned into the Osmonds.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, there, there, dear. Go back to sleep.
ANNOUNCER: Like twists? Pepsi Twist and Diet Pepsi Twist, it's a twist on a great thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: That's the best.
DONATON: It is going to be the most popular ad of the Super Bowl, probably. Ozzy is just so delightful. He actually -- you can understand him here, which you can't always on the show. But it's the "Sharon!" and it's twist on the product and the twist that you don't expect in the commercial.
CHUNG: And good for the Osmonds for poking fun at themselves, right?
DONATON: Exactly.
CHUNG: Perfect.
All right, this one, I just didn't expect, really didn't expect. It's H&R block. And who's in it but...
DONATON: Willie Nelson.
CHUNG: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, H&R BLOCK AD)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: We want you to be the spokesperson for Smoothie shaving cream.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You could make huge money.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: It's not about the money. This is Willie Nelson.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Willie, we've got a small problem. We made a little mistake on your taxes. You owe $30 million.
WILLIE NELSON, SINGER: I what?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Action.
NELSON: This play calls for a Smoothie.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Cut.
NELSON: So, have a smooth move.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Cut.
Willie, make a smooth move. Action.
NELSON: My face is burning.
ANNOUNCER: Don't get bad advice. Let H&R Block double-check your taxes free. We'll find what others miss.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: Good sport, huh?
DONATON: Once again, perfect celebrity casting. And you got the joke inside of a joke: Willie Nelson with his tax problems reduced to doing a shaving cream commercial. But, of course, he's probably been reduced to doing the H&R Block commercial for the same reasons.
CHUNG: Exactly.
We have what you believe is a stinker, right?
DONATON: Well, sometimes celebrities don't work. Sometimes, they just have no relevance. This commercial could have been anybody, any two guys on the street and it just would have been just as bad or just as good.
CHUNG: OK, what's wrong with it, Scott?
DONATON: Basically, there's no relevance. There's no reason for Jackie Chan to be in it. It's selling a very minor point, which is the fact that there's no tags on Hanes T-shirts. And even Michael Jordan, so brilliantly cast in the other commercial, there's really no relevance, no particular meaning that he's there in this commercial. He's just there.
CHUNG: I think they should have known better, Michael and Jackie Chan and all of them.
DONATON: At a $2 million investment, you want to be relevant and you want to have something real to say.
CHUNG: But there are a lot of celebrities in these ads now, aren't there?
DONATON: Celebrities are definitely making a comeback right now. And this is a great showcase for them. You've got Willie Nelson, Michael Jordan, Celine Dion, Jackie Chan, Tim McGraw. It's just full of celebrities, which is kind of a comeback from what we've seen more recently.
CHUNG: Great.
Scott, thank you so much. And you're going to be come back and join us on Monday, right?
DONATON: I am. I'm looking forward to look it.
CHUNG: We'll see how it all went. Good.
And still ahead: The federal government wants to cut some of those TV ads for weight-loss products down to size.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Right now, tonight's "Snapshot" has the skinny on one of those ubiquitous weight-loss products.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): The Federal Trade Commission comes down hard on a widely advertised weight-loss product. The FTC announced a crackdown on Slim Down Solution, calling its fat-reducing infomercials untrue. On Sunday, it's the Super Bowl in San Diego, the nation's avocado capital. The avocado industry says 40 million pounds of avocado will be eaten during the Super Bowl festivities this year, enough to cover the playing field in 5 feet of guacamole.
The investigation of Martha Stewart might wrap up soon. That's according to "The Wall Street Journal," which also says more witnesses are to be interviewed about Stewart's sale of ImClone stocks just before their value tanked.
She works hard for the money and stresses out in the process. A new study says more than 60 percent of working women are so stressed, they have little strength left for life outside of work.
In Scotland, Waldo the golden lab is recovering after wolfing down a dinner treat with a cutting edge, a 6-inch butter knife. Ouch.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Tonight, a man responsible for 100 years of Hope is our "Person of the Day."
Bob Hope was born in England in 1903. His birthday isn't until May, but he's today's "Person of the Day" because, Sunday, the Super Bowl is kicking off a year-long celebration of Hope's centenary. Younger viewers may not remember Hope, whose career stretched from Vaudeville in the '20s to his final appearances in the '90s.
But, in between, he cranked out movies, hundreds of TV specials, and for decades served his country as the most well-known USO entertainer of all of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB HOPE, ENTERTAINER: Happy to be here. I don't know where the hell we are, but I'm happy.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: For giving laughs to thousands of U.S. troops, wherever they were, and to millions of others for the better part of 100 years, Bob Hope is tonight's "Person of the Day."
And, on Monday: more from Modesto on the Laci Peterson story. We'll talk with Laci's closest friends about today's developments. Plus: on to Texas for the latest from the Clara Harris trial. We'll hear from one of Harris' attorneys.
And coming up next on "LARRY KING LIVE": his guest of guests, funnyman Sid Caesar.
Thank you so much for joining us. And for all of us at CNN, good night and we'll see you Monday.
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