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CNN Live At Daybreak

Abuse Accusations; Super Bowl Countdown

Aired February 04, 2005 - 05:30   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: Five children, unbelievably thin, are telling authorities a story of horrific abuse, their toenails pulled out, electric shock, accusations almost too awful to believe.
Katheryn Bursch from CNN affiliate WTSP takes it from there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHERYN BURSCH, WTSP-TV REPORTER (voice-over): The family's Beverly Hills home is well kept. The only clue to children here, a box of pennies at the door. Neighbors, too, say they had no idea seven children lived here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never saw any kids around at all, never once.

BURSCH: Or the horrors they were enduring.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're children, for God's sakes, gosh.

BURSCH: And keeping the kids isolated and home schooled was probably the way their parents, John and Linda Dollar, planned it. The couple is now wanted on child abuse charges.

Long-time investigators calling it their worst case ever.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just horrible things, horrible things to hear.

BURSCH (on camera): The investigation into this family began nearly two weeks ago when the 16-year-old boy came to this Crystal River hospital. Doctors noticed bruises around his neck, like he'd been grabbed. But most of all, they were concerned about his weight. He was severely malnourished. Now it is difficult to imagine, a 16- year-old boy weighing just 59 pounds.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've seen pictures of the children that have been, you know, taken in connection with this case. And you know I mean they have very sweet faces, but when you look at their bodies, I mean it looks like Auschwitz.

BURSCH: Investigators say five of the seven children bore the brunt of the abuse, starved, chained up, beaten. Their accounts read like a torture manual.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They did tell detectives that you know they had had toenails pulled out. And when asked, you know, how were their toenails pulled out, they said by pliers. BURSCH: Prior to August, the Dollars lived at several locations in Hillsborough County. One neighbor, who didn't want to be identified, says the children feared being punished by their father.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just complete terror on their face. Just terrified of what the dad would do to them.

BURSCH: The children now in DCF custody, John and Linda Dollar have fled their Citrus County home. They may be driving a black and gold motor home, similar to this one, with a Florida tag U06 YAC. And they may be towing or driving a gold, four-door Lexus with a Florida tag DH41D.

The couple's IDs bear smiling faces. If only the children in their care could have been so happy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope they have a better life from now on.

BURSCH (on camera): Now another strange twist in this case, the kids are not the couple's biological children and they are not all related to each other. Authorities will not explain the exact relationship because of confidentiality concerns. They will only say the Dollars have legal custody of the kids. So just how they got them, we don't know, but private adoption is certainly a possibility.

Katheryn Bursch, Tampa Bay's 10 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: On another matter, it happened eight months ago, right at the peak of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld never said a word until last night on "CNN'S LARRY KING LIVE."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I submitted my resignation to President Bush twice during that period and told him that I felt that he ought to make the decision as to whether or not I stayed on. And he made that decision and said he did want me to stay on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You'll find a commentary from Rumsfeld in today's "Wall Street Journal." In it he acknowledges people have focused on what's wrong with Iraqi forces, but he feels there's quite a bit right. Here's a direct quote. He says, "Iraqi security forces know that they and their families are targets, often from the moment they step into a recruiting station, yet thousands continue to enlist." If you want to read more, get "The Wall Street Journal," or get it online this morning.

When we come back, live to Jacksonville where the Pats and the Eagles are warming up for Sunday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Super Bowl week is winding down with the game just two days away now. City officials expect about 100,000 visitors for game time, we're talking about Jacksonville, although a lot of them won't have tickets to the actual game.

For more, let's turn to Nancy Rubin of CNN affiliate WJXT who is at the airport in Jacksonville awaiting all of those fans.

Good morning.

NANCY RUBIN, WJXT-TV REPORTER: Good morning to you, Carol.

You know even on this shivery morning in Jacksonville, it's a sure bet that there will be no hotter place later today than at our airport. They are expecting 15,000 people to head in today. That's almost double the number of people that come in on a regular Friday. We wanted to show you some of the fans coming in, but you know what we found so far, a lot of people heading out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUBIN (on camera): On our biggest weekend, where are you going?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) New Jersey.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: New Jersey.

RUBIN: Back to Jersey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

RUBIN: Why don't you just stay?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We're coming back tomorrow.

RUBIN: I thought I'd see some weird things out here at the airport, but somebody leaving town?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am, it's called work back home.

RUBIN: Darn that work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I know it.

RUBIN (voice-over): Work and family obligations had many folks heading out as thousands are expected in at JIA. Even R&B singer Cierra going, going, gone, her gig at a Jacksonville Super Bowl event all over. Some folks staying put today, though, the workers here as the airport braces for 15,000 football fanatics flying in on this fabulous Friday.

(on camera): Are you spotting any famous faces? Are you taking a look? You getting autographs? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't seen any in the morning, but apparently John Travolta was here and that would have been exciting, but not while I was here at 4:00 in the morning.

RUBIN: Did you eat your Wheaties today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we ate our Wheaties this morning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RUBIN: OK, even with our cooler temperatures, though, the welcome for the people heading in today should be very warm, about a hundred host committee volunteers on hand to welcome everybody here at Jacksonville International Airport.

Live in Jacksonville, I'm Nancy Rubin, back to you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Man, you are all fired up, and you say it's chilly out there.

Chad, could you give us a forecast for Jacksonville today for the game on Sunday as well?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Today actually better than yesterday. The fog was in most of the day yesterday and it didn't really warm up much. But today we're on up to about 60.

But, Carol, look at -- check this out, I got onto Ticketmaster. They've got Willie Nelson today. You've got JoDee Macina, Dwight Yokam, Chris Kagel, Snoop Dog. You've got Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Kendra Foster and P.Diddy. All those concerts today. Is that unbelievable? I mean Jacksonville...

COSTELLO: What do you mean all those concerts today in Jacksonville?

MYERS: You can buy tickets. While some of them are sold out, obviously, but I mean these guys down there, they're ready to party.

COSTELLO: You just gave us a concert forecast.

MYERS: Well many of them are inside, so it doesn't matter, although some are on the Radison Riverwalk, so.

COSTELLO: Great.

MYERS: It does look good across all of Florida for today. Even for tomorrow and into Sunday, mostly cloudy skies, 59. The showers that we had that moved through yesterday, they are now gone. But game time, temperature, 59, northeast winds at 5 to 15 miles per hour, maybe 10 to 15, but you get the idea -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: Did we lose our reporter already? Is she gone?

COSTELLO: Nancy, have we lost you? We lost her.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: She just ran from us. Darn.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: You know I wish we would have gotten to our e-mail "Question of the Day," because you know Paul McCartney is going to do the halftime show, that's the entertainment.

MYERS: Pretty safe, I think.

COSTELLO: I think that's really safe,...

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... even though he says he's going to do it naked, but I don't think he's telling the truth.

MYERS: Oh my!

COSTELLO: We're going to take a short break. We'll be back with the 6:00 hour of DAYBREAK, stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was plenty of blood, so I wrote I heart my kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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 February 4, 2005 - 05:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Five children, unbelievably thin, are telling authorities a story of horrific abuse, their toenails pulled out, electric shock, accusations almost too awful to believe.
Katheryn Bursch from CNN affiliate WTSP takes it from there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHERYN BURSCH, WTSP-TV REPORTER (voice-over): The family's Beverly Hills home is well kept. The only clue to children here, a box of pennies at the door. Neighbors, too, say they had no idea seven children lived here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never saw any kids around at all, never once.

BURSCH: Or the horrors they were enduring.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're children, for God's sakes, gosh.

BURSCH: And keeping the kids isolated and home schooled was probably the way their parents, John and Linda Dollar, planned it. The couple is now wanted on child abuse charges.

Long-time investigators calling it their worst case ever.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just horrible things, horrible things to hear.

BURSCH (on camera): The investigation into this family began nearly two weeks ago when the 16-year-old boy came to this Crystal River hospital. Doctors noticed bruises around his neck, like he'd been grabbed. But most of all, they were concerned about his weight. He was severely malnourished. Now it is difficult to imagine, a 16- year-old boy weighing just 59 pounds.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've seen pictures of the children that have been, you know, taken in connection with this case. And you know I mean they have very sweet faces, but when you look at their bodies, I mean it looks like Auschwitz.

BURSCH: Investigators say five of the seven children bore the brunt of the abuse, starved, chained up, beaten. Their accounts read like a torture manual.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They did tell detectives that you know they had had toenails pulled out. And when asked, you know, how were their toenails pulled out, they said by pliers. BURSCH: Prior to August, the Dollars lived at several locations in Hillsborough County. One neighbor, who didn't want to be identified, says the children feared being punished by their father.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just complete terror on their face. Just terrified of what the dad would do to them.

BURSCH: The children now in DCF custody, John and Linda Dollar have fled their Citrus County home. They may be driving a black and gold motor home, similar to this one, with a Florida tag U06 YAC. And they may be towing or driving a gold, four-door Lexus with a Florida tag DH41D.

The couple's IDs bear smiling faces. If only the children in their care could have been so happy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope they have a better life from now on.

BURSCH (on camera): Now another strange twist in this case, the kids are not the couple's biological children and they are not all related to each other. Authorities will not explain the exact relationship because of confidentiality concerns. They will only say the Dollars have legal custody of the kids. So just how they got them, we don't know, but private adoption is certainly a possibility.

Katheryn Bursch, Tampa Bay's 10 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: On another matter, it happened eight months ago, right at the peak of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld never said a word until last night on "CNN'S LARRY KING LIVE."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I submitted my resignation to President Bush twice during that period and told him that I felt that he ought to make the decision as to whether or not I stayed on. And he made that decision and said he did want me to stay on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You'll find a commentary from Rumsfeld in today's "Wall Street Journal." In it he acknowledges people have focused on what's wrong with Iraqi forces, but he feels there's quite a bit right. Here's a direct quote. He says, "Iraqi security forces know that they and their families are targets, often from the moment they step into a recruiting station, yet thousands continue to enlist." If you want to read more, get "The Wall Street Journal," or get it online this morning.

When we come back, live to Jacksonville where the Pats and the Eagles are warming up for Sunday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Super Bowl week is winding down with the game just two days away now. City officials expect about 100,000 visitors for game time, we're talking about Jacksonville, although a lot of them won't have tickets to the actual game.

For more, let's turn to Nancy Rubin of CNN affiliate WJXT who is at the airport in Jacksonville awaiting all of those fans.

Good morning.

NANCY RUBIN, WJXT-TV REPORTER: Good morning to you, Carol.

You know even on this shivery morning in Jacksonville, it's a sure bet that there will be no hotter place later today than at our airport. They are expecting 15,000 people to head in today. That's almost double the number of people that come in on a regular Friday. We wanted to show you some of the fans coming in, but you know what we found so far, a lot of people heading out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUBIN (on camera): On our biggest weekend, where are you going?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) New Jersey.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: New Jersey.

RUBIN: Back to Jersey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

RUBIN: Why don't you just stay?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We're coming back tomorrow.

RUBIN: I thought I'd see some weird things out here at the airport, but somebody leaving town?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am, it's called work back home.

RUBIN: Darn that work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I know it.

RUBIN (voice-over): Work and family obligations had many folks heading out as thousands are expected in at JIA. Even R&B singer Cierra going, going, gone, her gig at a Jacksonville Super Bowl event all over. Some folks staying put today, though, the workers here as the airport braces for 15,000 football fanatics flying in on this fabulous Friday.

(on camera): Are you spotting any famous faces? Are you taking a look? You getting autographs? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't seen any in the morning, but apparently John Travolta was here and that would have been exciting, but not while I was here at 4:00 in the morning.

RUBIN: Did you eat your Wheaties today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we ate our Wheaties this morning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RUBIN: OK, even with our cooler temperatures, though, the welcome for the people heading in today should be very warm, about a hundred host committee volunteers on hand to welcome everybody here at Jacksonville International Airport.

Live in Jacksonville, I'm Nancy Rubin, back to you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Man, you are all fired up, and you say it's chilly out there.

Chad, could you give us a forecast for Jacksonville today for the game on Sunday as well?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Today actually better than yesterday. The fog was in most of the day yesterday and it didn't really warm up much. But today we're on up to about 60.

But, Carol, look at -- check this out, I got onto Ticketmaster. They've got Willie Nelson today. You've got JoDee Macina, Dwight Yokam, Chris Kagel, Snoop Dog. You've got Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Kendra Foster and P.Diddy. All those concerts today. Is that unbelievable? I mean Jacksonville...

COSTELLO: What do you mean all those concerts today in Jacksonville?

MYERS: You can buy tickets. While some of them are sold out, obviously, but I mean these guys down there, they're ready to party.

COSTELLO: You just gave us a concert forecast.

MYERS: Well many of them are inside, so it doesn't matter, although some are on the Radison Riverwalk, so.

COSTELLO: Great.

MYERS: It does look good across all of Florida for today. Even for tomorrow and into Sunday, mostly cloudy skies, 59. The showers that we had that moved through yesterday, they are now gone. But game time, temperature, 59, northeast winds at 5 to 15 miles per hour, maybe 10 to 15, but you get the idea -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: Did we lose our reporter already? Is she gone?

COSTELLO: Nancy, have we lost you? We lost her.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: She just ran from us. Darn.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: You know I wish we would have gotten to our e-mail "Question of the Day," because you know Paul McCartney is going to do the halftime show, that's the entertainment.

MYERS: Pretty safe, I think.

COSTELLO: I think that's really safe,...

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... even though he says he's going to do it naked, but I don't think he's telling the truth.

MYERS: Oh my!

COSTELLO: We're going to take a short break. We'll be back with the 6:00 hour of DAYBREAK, stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was plenty of blood, so I wrote I heart my kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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