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CNN Live Today
Interview With Former Nightclub Owner Bev McMahon
Aired June 03, 2003 - 10:57 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the capture of Eric Rudolph. One of Rudolph's alleged victims says that she is ready, willing, and even anxious to testify against him.
More than six years ago, a nail-packed bomb rocked the Other Side Lounge, an Atlanta nightclub that is frequented mostly by gays and lesbians. Five people were injured in that bombing, and the nightclub's owner says that it scarred her in many other ways.
And Bev McMahon joins us here in the studio to share her story. Good to see you this morning. You were telling me off camera that you can't wait to see Eric Rudolph? I'm surprised to hear that.
BEV MCMAHON, NIGHTCLUB OWNER: That's true.
HARRIS: Why?
MCMAHON: I just want to see -- he has such a hollow look in his face, looks like such a murderer. I just want -- I really want to ask him why. Why did he do that?
HARRIS: You haven't imagined by now what he'd say to you?
MCMAHON: No, I don't have a clue. I can't guess it.
HARRIS: So you had to be very happy to hear, first of all, that he was captured over the weekend. What were your initial thoughts and emotions when you heard the news?
MCMAHON: My emotions was, at least he won't be able to kill somebody else. I always thought that he was going to come back and blow up something in Atlanta. I really did believe that.
HARRIS: You really thought he was going to come back?
MCMAHON: Yes, I did. Yes, I did.
HARRIS: Had it been difficult for you to rest easy with that knowledge, or with that thought?
MCMAHON: I looked over my shoulder every second, wondering. Most of the time they don't come back, but you just never know. It's been a life of fear for me and my family.
HARRIS: Did you sleep differently, then, on Sunday?
MCMAHON: Oh, yes. Yes. I just -- so incredibly glad that he's caught. Hope he doesn't get out.
HARRIS: This whole event has really turned your life upside down. You were also telling me that you've been getting sued since that bombing...
MCMAHON: Yes. Oh, yes. Yes.
HARRIS: ... by people who were there and were injured, right?
MCMAHON: Yes, I have. Sure have. Lawsuits after lawsuits. That's all we've been doing for the past few years.
HARRIS: So this has been a nightmare for you from that night until this day?
MCMAHON: It really has. It really has.
HARRIS: Do you think, then, that with his apprehension and his facing -- facing justice, that's going to settle everything for you?
MCMAHON: You know, I'll have to wait until I get there. I don't know. I hope to God we get some release out of this. It's hurt my family real bad, and my employees.
HARRIS: How?
MCMAHON: Well, my employees don't have the same life. They went through that loud explosion and they went through the -- they took their car, they took their keys. We had to leave everything sit for a week so the FBI could take it over. So it was an unknown thing. What's going to happen next?
HARRIS: You're going to go to the trial in Birmingham?
MCMAHON: Oh, yes. I am.
HARRIS: You'll be there every day?
MCMAHON: Yes, I am.
HARRIS: Do you expect to testify?
MCMAHON: Oh, yes. I want to do that.
HARRIS: What will that do for you? And how do you prepare yourself for that?
MCMAHON: You know, I have asked that same question. I don't think you prepare yourself. I am just going to talk from my heart, and -- see if he has any emotion. I have heard on the TV he has had emotion. It is really hard to believe, the way he has put nails in the bombs and the way he created the thing at my club. It was awful. It was terrible.
HARRIS: Will you come talk with us again after you have done that... MCMAHON: Yes, I will.
HARRIS: ... after you have been to the courtroom and after the process?
MCMAHON: Yes.
HARRIS: I would love to talk with you again and see what it was like for you.
MCMAHON: Thank you.
HARRIS: All right. Thanks, Bev. Appreciate that. Bev McMahon, former owner of the Other Side nightclub.
MCMAHON: Right.
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 June 3, 2003 - 10:57 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the capture of Eric Rudolph. One of Rudolph's alleged victims says that she is ready, willing, and even anxious to testify against him.
More than six years ago, a nail-packed bomb rocked the Other Side Lounge, an Atlanta nightclub that is frequented mostly by gays and lesbians. Five people were injured in that bombing, and the nightclub's owner says that it scarred her in many other ways.
And Bev McMahon joins us here in the studio to share her story. Good to see you this morning. You were telling me off camera that you can't wait to see Eric Rudolph? I'm surprised to hear that.
BEV MCMAHON, NIGHTCLUB OWNER: That's true.
HARRIS: Why?
MCMAHON: I just want to see -- he has such a hollow look in his face, looks like such a murderer. I just want -- I really want to ask him why. Why did he do that?
HARRIS: You haven't imagined by now what he'd say to you?
MCMAHON: No, I don't have a clue. I can't guess it.
HARRIS: So you had to be very happy to hear, first of all, that he was captured over the weekend. What were your initial thoughts and emotions when you heard the news?
MCMAHON: My emotions was, at least he won't be able to kill somebody else. I always thought that he was going to come back and blow up something in Atlanta. I really did believe that.
HARRIS: You really thought he was going to come back?
MCMAHON: Yes, I did. Yes, I did.
HARRIS: Had it been difficult for you to rest easy with that knowledge, or with that thought?
MCMAHON: I looked over my shoulder every second, wondering. Most of the time they don't come back, but you just never know. It's been a life of fear for me and my family.
HARRIS: Did you sleep differently, then, on Sunday?
MCMAHON: Oh, yes. Yes. I just -- so incredibly glad that he's caught. Hope he doesn't get out.
HARRIS: This whole event has really turned your life upside down. You were also telling me that you've been getting sued since that bombing...
MCMAHON: Yes. Oh, yes. Yes.
HARRIS: ... by people who were there and were injured, right?
MCMAHON: Yes, I have. Sure have. Lawsuits after lawsuits. That's all we've been doing for the past few years.
HARRIS: So this has been a nightmare for you from that night until this day?
MCMAHON: It really has. It really has.
HARRIS: Do you think, then, that with his apprehension and his facing -- facing justice, that's going to settle everything for you?
MCMAHON: You know, I'll have to wait until I get there. I don't know. I hope to God we get some release out of this. It's hurt my family real bad, and my employees.
HARRIS: How?
MCMAHON: Well, my employees don't have the same life. They went through that loud explosion and they went through the -- they took their car, they took their keys. We had to leave everything sit for a week so the FBI could take it over. So it was an unknown thing. What's going to happen next?
HARRIS: You're going to go to the trial in Birmingham?
MCMAHON: Oh, yes. I am.
HARRIS: You'll be there every day?
MCMAHON: Yes, I am.
HARRIS: Do you expect to testify?
MCMAHON: Oh, yes. I want to do that.
HARRIS: What will that do for you? And how do you prepare yourself for that?
MCMAHON: You know, I have asked that same question. I don't think you prepare yourself. I am just going to talk from my heart, and -- see if he has any emotion. I have heard on the TV he has had emotion. It is really hard to believe, the way he has put nails in the bombs and the way he created the thing at my club. It was awful. It was terrible.
HARRIS: Will you come talk with us again after you have done that... MCMAHON: Yes, I will.
HARRIS: ... after you have been to the courtroom and after the process?
MCMAHON: Yes.
HARRIS: I would love to talk with you again and see what it was like for you.
MCMAHON: Thank you.
HARRIS: All right. Thanks, Bev. Appreciate that. Bev McMahon, former owner of the Other Side nightclub.
MCMAHON: Right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
