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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Police Identify Murder Victim; Police Chases in California; Hostage Situation in a Prison

Aired May 05, 2005 - 19:00   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.


ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Good evening, everyone.
A hostage drama and a courageous woman not afraid to die, not afraid to face down her attackers. 360 starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Tonight, the woman held captive for 15 days by convicts in a prison speaks out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just saw my partner got slapped upside the head.

COOPER: What really happened to her inside while being held hostage.

Tony Blair wins his third term as British prime minister. Tonight, the woman behind the man. Cherie Blair, wife, mother, and working attorney. The real life of Britain's most powerful power couple.

Michael Jackson's defense goes on offense. Tonight, an up-close look at Thomas Mesereau, Jackson's high-priced attorney. What's his strategy to keep his client out of jail?

The mystery of Precious Doe solved. Four years after a little girl's body was discovered, police now say they know who this girl really is. And they say her killer is in custody.

And are you tossing and turning trying to get to sleep? Popping pills to get a good night's rest? Tonight, what you can do to say good night to insomnia.

ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And good evening again. You are about to meet a truly remarkable woman. Lois Fraley, a woman held prisoner by two hardened convicts for more than two weeks. Now, she faced death every day, every minute, and she never blinked.

She survived what turned out to be the longest prison hostage standoff in U.S. history. The story came to an end just yesterday. This man, one of her captors, was convicted for his role in the standoff. In court, Lois Fraley once again faced him, faced her attacker, and once again she did not blink.

CNN's Heidi Collins goes "Beyond the Headlines" now to tell the extraordinary story of Lois Fraley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For correction officer Lois Fraley, it was 15 days in hell. January 18th, 2004. Two dangerous inmates of an Arizona state prison take over a guard tower. They take two correction officers hostage. One of them is Lois Fraley. For two weeks, she was held captive at gunpoint, beaten and raped, by both inmates, she says. Many times, they threatened to kill her.

RICKY WASSENAAR, INMATE: They're all going to die.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we don't want that, and you know that.

WASSENAAR: One more breach and everybody goes. I don't give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) about dying, woman.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand that. I hear you. I hear you, Ricky.

WASSENAAR: I -- she's only 21, just 21.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

WASSENAAR: (INAUDIBLE) kid (EXPLETIVE DELETED) got tears in his eyes. I'm getting ready to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) splatter brain matter all over where, everywhere.

COLLINS: The voice on the tape is of then 40-year-old Ricky Wassenaar. At the time, he was serving 28 years in prison for aggravated assault and armed robbery.

STEVEN COY, INMATE: So we're on the fence right now, and if it falls one way, we all come out alive. If it falls the other, we all come out dead. And as it stands, um, either way is fine with me.

COLLINS: His accomplice, Steven Coy, 39 at the time, was serving more than 100 years for armed robbery, kidnapping and sexual assault. At one point, Coy threatened to cut off Lois Fraley's finger with a piece of metal.

OFFICER LOIS FRALEY: SCREAMING.

COY: (INAUDIBLE) raise your finger up, woman!

FRALEY: SCREAMING.

COLLINS: After two weeks of intense negotiations, the two inmates finally surrendered, coaxed with promises of transferring them to out-of-state prisons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys are coming out, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, most definitely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most definitely. Very good.

COLLINS: Lois Fraley is alive, but she can hardly walk. Immediately, she is transferred to a nearby hospital.

Yet her ordeal is far from over. Last month, once again, Fraley was forced to face one of her captors, but this time in court. Ricky Wassenaar, acting as his own attorney, summoned Fraley as a witness and threatened he would have her in shreds, but he did not.

FRALEY: I already answered it.

COLLINS: During the two-and-a-half hours of cross-examination, Lois Fraley refused to be intimidated, telling jurors how Wassenaar assaulted her, how he had her mop up blood and urine in the tower, but also how the third night she almost escaped and killed her two captors.

FRALEY: I was able to slide my hand through the handcuffs, through the leg iron, and I asked Jason if I should go for it, that I could blow both of you away.

COLLINS: But she did not. Jason Auch, her partner and second hostage, asked her not to, fearing for their lives. It would be another 12 agonizing days before Lois Fraley would be set free.

Heidi Collins, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, she is free tonight in more ways than one. Lois Fraley has established a foundation in her name to help police and correctional officers who have been in hostage situations. She has not spoken publicly before about what she went through. I spoke with her just a short time ago in Phoenix.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Lois, take us back to when this all started. One of the inmates, Ricky Wassenaar, overwhelmed the kitchen officer, took his uniform and made his way up to the guard tower where you were stationed. What happened next?

FRALEY: Well, he came -- made his way up the spiral staircase. And we're back, and looked at me and said, well, you got complacent, and hit Jason right upside the head.

COOPER: Jason was your fellow officer, who was also there. You see Jason getting hit. Then what happened to you?

FRALEY: Me, I'm just shocked at first. It took me a couple of seconds to realize what was going on. And then I just took off after him, just trying to subdue him, do something.

COOPER: And did he assault you?

FRALEY: Yes. Threw my head into his knee.

COOPER: And he -- then his accomplice came in, and really the nightmare began. I mean, did you have any sense at that time that this was going to go on and on as long as it did?

FRALEY: No, because, you know, my understanding was that there was no negotiating. So you know, I figured, OK, well, A, I'm dead. And, B, this is probably never -- I'm never going to see my family again.

COOPER: After Ricky Wassenaar found out that police had actually breached the tower and made a hole in the fence, I know this situation became really tense. I want to play just for our viewers, the exchange that he had with one of the hostage negotiators. Once more, let's play this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WASSENAAR: They're all going to die.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we don't want that, and you know that.

WASSENAAR: One more breach and everybody goes. I don't give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) about dying, woman.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand that. I hear you. I hear you, Ricky.

WASSENAAR: I -- she's only 21, just 21.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

WASSENAAR: (INAUDIBLE) kid (EXPLETIVE DELETED) got tears in his eyes. I'm getting ready to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) splatter brain matter all over where, everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: What is it like -- and you are sitting there. You heard all this going on on the phone. What is going through your mind?

FRALEY: What is going through my mind is I'm better off dead. I don't -- I won't have to look at these two jerks. I, you know, there's nothing else they can do to me.

COOPER: You are a tough cookie. I understand Jason, your colleague, said that he wanted to be -- he said to them that he wanted to be shot in the head to get it over quick. What did you say to them?

FRALEY: Well, when he turned the gun on me, I said, I have been waiting to die since you walked in.

COOPER: Before Wassenaar cross-examined you in court, there was tremendous -- a lot of anticipation. He said he was going to leave you in shreds on cross-examination. What was it like to face this guy in court?

FRALEY: I was real nervous and scared at first. But him saying that I really wasn't scared of him, and that's the point where I started getting angry as, you know, you just hit my partner upside the head with a three-foot paddle, and what am I supposed to do, just sit back and watch? I don't think so.

COOPER: Yeah, I want to play that for our viewers. This is from the cross-examination, and he kept asking you about, you know, as you said, weren't you afraid of him? And whether you feared for your life. Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRALEY: Yes, I did. Very much so. I just saw my partner get slapped upside the head, with a three-foot metal pole.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: I can't imagine what it's like facing a man who has assaulted you, who has held you hostage, who has threatened your life. That takes a lot of courage.

FRALEY: Well, thank you. I was just doing my job. Instincts kicked in from the beginning.

COOPER: Wassenaar was convicted of 19 counts, including sexual assault. If you didn't testify against him, he probably still would have been sentenced to life in prison. Why did you want to confront him? Why did you want to relive -- I guess you didn't want to relive what happened, but why were you willing to do that?

FRALEY: Well, I figured that, you know, if I didn't testify, he would never have been convicted of that sexual assault. And I want other survivors that have been, you know, sexually assaulted, to be able to come out and face their assault attacker, and show them that you are not scared of them anymore, that you are not afraid of them anymore, that you know, you are going on with your life. You may have done this with my body, but you are not hurting me.

COOPER: Well, Lois, you know, it's heroic work what you do and what the other correction officers do every day, and don't get enough credit for it. And what you have been through is just horrific. And it takes a lot of courage to recover and to talk about what you have gone through. And we appreciate it tonight. Thank you so much, Lois.

FRALEY: Well, thank you very much. And you have a nice evening.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Coming up next on 360 -- a remarkable woman. Michael Jackson's defense. That's coming up. It is the pop star's turn to fight back against child molestation charges. And his defense goes on the offense. The first witness on the stand, a boy who once knew Michael Jackson and says the singer never touched him.

Also ahead tonight, child murder mystery solved. The mystery of Precious Doe. Police identify a 3-year-old girl killed years ago. Her mother has been arrested. You are going to meet the man who helped them crack the case.

And a little later tonight, "Sleepless in America." Are you up all night? Millions of people suffer from insomnia. I couldn't sleep last night. Find out how to maybe get some shut eye once for all. Our 360 M.D. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.

All that ahead. First let's take a look at your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Now that, my friends, is a vest you just don't see every day.

With the rain coming down in Santa Maria, California, Michael Jackson wasn't the only one to be under the umbrella this morning. The prosecution rested its case yesterday. Today, the defense went on the offense.

Now the first witness called, a professional dancer who the prosecution claims was inappropriately touched by Jackson. But the witness, who has known the singer since he was 5-years-old, testified that Jackson never molested or sexually abused him in any way. However, he did admit to sleeping in Jackson's bedroom numerous times.

This has been one of the most popular stories all day on CNN.com. Every day, of course, Rudi Bakhtiar gives us an angle on one of these popular stories you won't see anywhere else.

Rudi, what's your focus tonight?

RUDI BAKHTIAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well tonight, Anderson, we decided to focus on two other men who are playing a key role in this bitter legal battle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BAKHTIAR (voice-over): And that's how it began. With Santa Barbara County district attorney Tom Sneddon announcing that a warrant had been issued for Michael Jackson's arrest for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old boy.

TOM SNEDDON, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Jackson himself, I believe, has said that this was all done to try to ruin his new CD that was coming out or whatever is he is doing. Like the sheriff and I are really into that kind of music. BAKHTIAR: In the days following that news conference, the D.A., a father of nine himself, was criticized for his behavior and accused of waging a vendetta against the pop star.

SNEDDON: At this point we have concluded the investigation.

BAKHTIAR: A year-long investigation into accusations that Michael Jackson molested another 13-year-old boy in 1993 ended with no critical charges filed following an out of court civil settlement with that boy's family. Some believe the failure to prosecute Jackson at that time has haunted Sneddon.

But if there is a feud, it goes both ways. Michael Jackson wrote a song called D.S., with blistering lyrics thought to be about the district attorney.

MICHAEL JACKSON (singing): You think he brother with the KKK. I know his mother never taught right anyway. He want your vote just to remain DA.

BAKHTIAR: Yesterday after ten weeks and 85 witnesses, the prosecution rested its case against Michael Jackson.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: The prosecution obviously had trouble with a lot of its witnesses, but the heart of its case remains, the accuser on the witness stand looking the jury in the eye saying Michael Jackson molested me. What's more, the prosecution has other witnesses saying Jackson molested other children. The challenge for the defense is to show that each of these allegations is totally false.

BAKHTIAR: Jackson's defense team is led by Thomas Mesereau.

THOMAS MESEREAU, MICHAEL JACKSON'S ATTORNEY: Many millions of children around the world love Michael Jackson and never allege that he harmed them in any way.

BAKHTIAR: This former Harvard football player has been called one of the best cross examiners in the country, but he doesn't just represent the rich and famous. He volunteers at a free legal clinic at the first AME Church in Los Angeles. And since the year 2000, has been traveling to Alabama to represent the accused in death penalty trials without charging any fee. Telling the Birmingham news that quote, "lawyers are blessed to be in this profession, and I think they should give something back."

Two accomplished lawyers, one high stakes trial, and ultimately only one winner.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BAKHTIAR: As the defense continues its case, the question on everyone's mind is whether or not Jackson will testify in his own defense? Twice in his opening statement Mesereau said Michael Jackson will tell you, leading some to believe we may actually see the king of pop take the stand. And although conventional wisdom is defendants shouldn't take the stand in criminal trials, Thomas Mesereau does have a history of doing just that, Anderson.

COOPER: All right. We'll see. I'll eat my tie if it happens. But we'll see. Rudi Bakhtiar, thanks very much. Yeah.

We're following several other stories tonight. Erica Hill from Headline News joins us with latest on that. Hey, Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS: Hey, Anderson.

We actually start off with a double explosion this morning outside the British Consulate in New York City. Two improvised devices went off slightly damaging the building. No one was hurt. Police say they don't know who planted the devices or why. Video surveillance tapes from the building and others in the area are being looked at.

In Washington, D.C. a U.S. Marine corporal will not face a court martial for three deadly shootings caught on video. Those shootings of unarmed Iraqi insurgents. The investigators say the marine acted in self defense when he opened fire in a Fallujah mosque back in November.

From coast to coast, new plans for national forests. The Bush administration wants to open up as much as 58-and-a-half million acres of remote land to road building, logging and other commercial activity that would reverse an order back in 2001 by President Clinton to limit development. America's governors have 18 months to comment on the plan.

And near Capitol Hill, dozens of moms and babies attend a nurse- in to support a breast feeding bill. The legislation would ensure women could not be fired or discriminated against in the workplace for pumping or nursing on breaks.

And that's the latest from Headline News. Anderson, back to you. Happy Cinco de Mayo.

COOPER: And to you too. We have a special Cinco de Mayo exciting gift for you later on.

HILL: Oh, I'm looking forward to it.

COOPER: All right. Thanks very much. We'll see you again in about 30 minutes.

Coming up next on 360 the mystery of Precious Doe solved. Years after the murdered 3-year-old was found on the side of the road abandoned, police figured out who the little girl was. And tonight her mother is under arrest. We're going to talk to the man who helped crack the case.

Also ahead tonight, big police chase today, one of many we have seen. Tonight, we're going to take you beyond the headlines. Some new tricks the cops are using to get an upper hand on people who just won't stop. And a little later, are you one of the many millions of people "Sleepless in America?" We're going to take a look at the battle against insomnia. If you just can't get enough shut eye, stay tuned. 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta has some tips to maybe help you catch some Z's. We'll see.

Covering all the angles tonight. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta has some tips to maybe help catch some Z's. We'll see. We're covering all the angles tonight. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, a high-speed police chase this afternoon in western Broward County, Florida, according to local reports, began after an armed robbery, when the suspect took off in a white Chevy Camper, sideswiping some cars as he zipped down the Sodgrass Expressway (ph). The driver eventually swerved into the median and got stuck -- you see it right there -- which allowed police to circle and then arrest him. He gets out, puts his hands up. In California, police chases like that one have become such a problem that lawmakers have proposed measures to cut them down. Here's CNN's Rusty Dornin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On the run, this suspect crashes his own car fleeing from police. The driver of this car didn't know what hit her when she was struck by the subject of a high speed chase.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, right here in the middle of the intersection is where we got hit.

DORNIN: Mark Priono (ph) and his family didn't see it coming either. His 15-year-old daughter Kristie was killed. The family was hit while driving to basketball practice by a teenage driver running from police. Police knew they were chasing a teenage girl who had taken her mother's car.

In California, police have blanket immunity. You can't sue officers for injury or death resulting from a pursuit. The Priono's want to change that. They hope legislators will approve Kristie's Law. They want to make sure the final bill holds cities, counties or the state accountable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we're trying to do is add some teeth to the policy. Right now in California when an officer knows that he does not have to follow the policy, there is more of a chance that he's going to not follow the policy.

DORNIN: Law enforcement agencies argue, taking away an officer's immunity would have a chilling effect. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to result in high are crime rates when suspects know that we're not engaging in pursuits as a result of liability issues.

DORNIN: Police statewide say tougher penalties are needed for those motorist who refuse to stop for police.

(on camera): Law enforcement agencies say drivers might not make that split-second decision to flee from police if they knew there were stiffer penalties if they do so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are working on boxing him in.

DORNIN (voice-over): But the Priono's believe that if someone chooses to run, they won't be thinking about getting caught or the stiffer penalty.

When do you believe it's acceptable for a police to pursue a suspect?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think violence (INAUDIBLE). Violence (INAUDIBLE), because -- here's the thing, too, is -- if Kristie had been killed to save a kidnapped child's life, or if Kristie had been killed to catch a murderer or a violent felon, I would still be filled with grief, but I would understand the necessity of that chase.

DORNIN: The Priono's hope the California legislature will put any unnecessary high speed police pursuits on a permanent detour.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Chico, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tony Blair wins his third term as British prime minister. Tonight, the woman behind the man, Cherie Blair, wife, mother and working attorney. The real life of Britain's most powerful power couple.

The mystery of Precious Doe, solved. Four years after a little girl's body was discovered, police now say they know who this girl really is, and they say her killer is in custody.

And, are you tossing and turning, trying to get to sleep, popping pills to get a good night's rest? Tonight, what you can do to say goodnight to insomnia. 360 continues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: At a park in Kansas City, Missouri, a handwritten sign was placed at a memorial. On it, a name, the name of a little girl whose identity had eluded investigators for more than four years, that is, until now. As Precious Doe -- that's how she was known -- today, police revealed her real identity: Erica Michelle Marie Green.

On April 28, 2001, just days before this little girl's fourth birthday, her body was found near a city intersection. She'd been decapitated. Her head, discovered in a plastic bag a few says later. Now, tonight, her mother and her step-father in custody. The mother is charged with murder, though police believe the step-father killed Erica with a kick to the head.

Ever since her body was found, many people have worked hard to bring some sort of closure to Erica's story, if there is such a thing. CNN's Drew Griffin introduces us now to one woman who made sure this little girl would not be forgotten.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNETTE JOHNSON: This is right here, it's where her body laid -- where I will take you.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Annette Johnson has walked this path dozens of time and wondered just who the little girl was. Her headless nude body dumped on the road. The head found a week later dumped in a bag. No name, no family. No one in this little girl's life who even reported her missing. It was up to strangers to keep at least her case alive.

JOHNSON: I decided to put together a committee, which is called the Precious Doe Committee. That's the name that we gave her, because we didn't know who she was, and to us she was precious. And we named her Precious Doe.

GRIFFIN: Vowing not to let her die anonymously, the Precious Doe Committee held a vigil in this park every week for the past four years.

JOHNSON: Every vigil, she was there with us.

GRIFFIN (on camera): She wanted you to find her.

JOHNSON: She did. And every night, I pray about it. I have children of my own, and we in the community felt like this is our child. And we had to protect her. And we had to come out here and rally for her.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The citizens group pushed police to stay on the case and watched as detectives tracked down hundreds of leads that seemed to go nowhere.

JOHNSON: We thought she was the child in Florida. We thought she was from Jamaica. So I was always very optimistic.

GRIFFIN (on camera): And each time you had your hopes up and...

JOHNSON: And they crushed them. They got crushed, but I knew it would come. I knew the day would come.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Thursday, Annette Johnson and everyone in Kansas City who adopted a girl they never knew, heard the news they had waited four years to hear.

CHIEF JIM CORWIN, KANSAS CITY POLICE: The little girl we have known for four years as Precious Doe has a name.

GRIFFIN: Erica Michelle Marie Green would have been 8 years old this month.

JOHNSON: I felt so relieved. I felt so happy. And then I started to feel sad. Because I had to think about all night, and I tossed and turned and said, what happened?

GRIFFIN (on camera): But along with the joy of finding out who this little girl was, Kansas City also learned how precious Erica Green died, and there was nothing precious about it.

(voice-over): Police say the mother told them it was the husband who kicked the girl in the head. She lay on the floor for two days unresponsive, until she finally died. Police say the parents then disposed of the body just down the street, because they feared they would be arrested.

The family had been in the home only weeks, apparently looking for work they never found, and returned to Oklahoma.

After four years, police received a tip that led to the mother. She is under arrest, and the prosecutor here says everyone else who may be responsible is in custody, too.

Not a happy ending. How could there be one? But at least for those who have waited and prayed for a precious little girl, the ending has a name.

(on camera): Do you wish Erica Green, maybe she does in your mind, know how much she is loved by this community?

JOHNSON: She does. I know she does. Because I feel her presence. Every time when I am here, I still feel her presence. She is happy, she's running around. When we're holding hands, she is running between us, you know, laughing, looking at her teddy bears, touching them, smelling her flowers, and saying, boy, they love me. They love me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, our next guest had key roles in getting Erica's mother in police custody. Community activist Alonzo Washington placed the newspaper ad that led to the final breakthrough tip in this case. With him is Kansas City Police Captain Rich Lockhart. Both join me from Kansas City.

I appreciate both of you being with us. I know it's been a very busy time for you.

Alonzo, let me begin with you. An important part of the tip that you received was a photo. Tell us about that photo and what you learned from the man who identified the suspects? ALONZO WASHINGTON, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: OK. Well, this man had been calling in tips to the police department, and he tells me that they were ignored. And what I did was, you know, began to check this out. Got a couple of reporters to check out his claims. They seemed to add up. And I think the investigation stalled at five kids. Last year, this guy said he had called in this tip before.

COOPER: And who is this guy? Was he a relative, or was he -- how did he know them? Can you say?

WASHINGTON: Well, he is -- he wants to remain anonymous, but you know, it has come out in the press that he's supposed to be related to them. And he said that his tip has been ignored. And he said, Alonzo, I got to get this to you, because I know that you will work this and you will bring it to the proper authorities. And I know who the killer is. They don't believe me.

COOPER: I know you have been working this case for a long time, and you have been continuing to shine attention on this.

Captain Lockhart, let me ask you about that, in hindsight, could more have been done? Should more have been done to respond to the tip that this man allegedly gave to police?

CAPTAIN RICH LOCKHART, KANSAS CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, certainly we look at it now and we're very happy that we were able to resolve the situation and to bring some relief to this community, to finally identify this girl that we haven't known for four years.

In July, when we received a tip from this man, our detectives worked it as far as they could at that time. And it was only when he called with additional information this time that we were able to go down to Oklahoma and bring some resolution to this case.

COOPER: What do you know at this point about how this little girl was killed and why?

LOCKHART: Well, from what we have heard from talking to both her mother and the husband who is here in Kansas City, and both being responsible for her death, they were living in a house there, and they were frustrated with the way she was behaving. They were high on drugs. The -- Harrell Johnson, who has been charged now with her death, kicked her, and they basically ignored her. Didn't give her any medical attention for -- the reports vary, from several hours to days. And she died as a result of her injuries. They brutally decapitated her, disposed of her body in some overgrown area just near where they were staying in this house. And we found the body then a short time after that.

WASHINGTON: The interesting thing about that is that my tipster said that he had given that information to police officers last year. And you know, that they just didn't believe him. They said that they stopped the investigation at five children. It turned out to be eight. He also said that, you know, he would -- he gave them the actual name that you guys are giving, Erica Green. And they could not determine that this child ever existed. And so what I began to do is try to get this to the Oklahoma police, get it to a couple of reporters I trust to back this up, and try to get movement on the case with police.

I just thought that they should, you know, follow every lead that came in. And you know, this is not the first slip-up that occurred, because when the body was first found, it was headless, and they found the body, and they searched the field, and the next day I came out and encouraged the community to look. And a citizen found the head. So there has been some mistakes in this case. And I just think that every lead and everything that was done could have been done a little bit better. That's my opinion.

COOPER: OK, Captain Lockhart, I just want to give you a chance to respond to that if you want to. I have some other questions if you want.

LOCKHART: Well, you know, I think that what we have here today is a very happy ending to a very tragic story, and that we were able to finally find out who this girl is. And certainly, we have listened to Mr. Washington's concerns. And we thank him for his efforts of keeping this case in the forefront of the media and what he has done to contribute to keeping it there. And I think today we want to focus on the good that's come out of it.

COOPER: Let me ask Mr. Washington something, because you know, there are -- I mean, this is -- yes, this is a happy ending for this little girl in some senses, obviously, it's not that happy. But there are so many other children out there, so many other African-American children out there. You know, I've long said I don't think the national media pays enough attention to missing kids in general, but there seems to be sort of a double standard in a lot of coverage, you know, there are other kids, other cases, Rilya Wilson I think down in Florida, who was I guess lost by Florida officials. What is the lesson of Precious Doe for you?

WASHINGTON: Well, for me, is that, you know, Precious Doe is a metaphor. It is somewhat a metaphor of what takes place in our community. I wonder could these tips not have been followed in the suburbs. I wonder if a body could have been found in the suburbs and the head not attached, and the entire field not been searched. Those are the things that I think -- it's a happy ending, but I think the happy ending could have been last year.

COOPER: We're going to leave it there. Alonzo Washington, I appreciate you joining us, and for all your work over the years. A lot of people are very appreciative for all your efforts. And Captain Rich Lockhart, as well, thank you very much, with the Kansas City Police Department. Appreciate it.

LOCKHART: Thank you.

WASHINGTON: Thank you.

COOPER: Coming up next tonight on 360, Tony Blair poised to win reelection. Tonight, the woman behind the man. A look at England's number one political power couple.

Also tonight, "Sleepless in America." Are you one of the millions of Americans fighting insomnia every night? What you can do perhaps, let's hope, tonight, to get a good night's rest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: A historic election and a historic victory for Tony Blair, but it is bittersweet. Tonight, exit polls and television reports project that Blair has been elected -- re-elected -- to a third consecutive term as prime minister of Britain. But his party took a pounding. It appears he will hold power with a vastly reduced majority in Parliament. That could be because of Blair's support of the war in Iraq.

Behind the scenes, there is the wife of the prime minister. Cherie Blair is a lawyer and the very successful one. "Forbes" magazine ranked her as the 12th most powerful woman in the world. She's a thoroughly modern lady, but a woman who continues to adjust to a very political way of life and a very public way of life.

CNN's senior international correspondent Chistiane Amanpour reports tonight, in "The World in 360."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN SR INT'L CORRESPONDENT: This was the world's first glimpse of Britain's new first lady, a slightly disheveled Cherie Blair receiving flowers the morning after her husband was elected prime minister, back in May 1997.

The Blairs were a new kind of first family, a young couple with young children, a mother who was also a successful lawyer. Back then, Cherie kept a low profile and the press kept a respectful distance. She did charity work, and occasionally even sang a little ditty in public.

CHERIE BLAIR, LAWYER, BRITAIN'S FIRST LADY (SINGING): Many years from now, will you still be sending me a valentine?

AMANPOUR: She accompanied her husband on official trips and became friendly with two U.S. first couples. When she became pregnant with her fourth child, in her 40s, the picture of the modern political family seemed complete. But after her husband won his second election, the press started to hound her.

MARY ANN SIEGHART, THE TIMES NEWSPAPER: They criticized her looks, her hair, her clothes -- pretty well everything about her. And, you have to understand, this is a woman to whom appearance had never been important before. What had been important to her had been her brains.

AMANPOUR: Under this new scrutiny, Cherie began to falter, applying lip stick for a magazine photo spread was greeted with howls of derision. But her growing relationship with her fashion and exercise guru Carol Caplan (ph) brought her the most trouble. Caplan's former fiance Peter Foster helped Cherie get a good deal on two apartments, and later, Cherie was accused of helping him on immigration matters. She denied it, and issued a tearful public apology.

BLAIR: The reality of my daily life is that I'm juggling a lot of balls in the air. Some of you must experience that. Trying to be a good wife, a mother, trying to be the prime ministerial consort at home and abroad, and being a barrister, a charity worker -- and sometimes, some of the balls get dropped.

AMANPOUR: Admitting that she was no super woman seemed to appease the press and the public. Journalist Mary Ann Sieghart says some people resented her.

SIEGHART: I think particularly some, rather more sexist, men don't like the notion of having an intelligent wife. She -- for the prime minister. She suffers from the same problem that Hillary Clinton did in America.

AMANPOUR: So, in the past couple of years, Cherie faded back into the background emerging only recently to help her husband campaign for an unprecedented third Labor government. Her latest public image, back to being the perfect wife. She and Tony Blair, declaring their undying love in a pre-election tabloid interview.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: And if "Forbes" magazine declared her the 12th most powerful and influential woman in the world, well, you wouldn't know it here in Britain. Like so many powerful women married to powerful men, she seems to have fallen victim to a great amount of resentment. Anderson?

COOPER: And it's remarkable that she is still working as an attorney or as a barrister as they say there.

AMANPOUR: That's exactly right. With her wig and the black robe, she goes to work. She does her thing in a very low profile way, but, of course, when she does go abroad, which she will be doing in this coming week, she does speak out on issues that are of importance to her: human rights issues, legal issues, labor issues, and sometimes she causes some waves because some of the things she says are not exactly in line with some of her husband's policies. But, she is a very formidable woman in her own right.

COOPER: CNN's Christiane Amanpour. Thanks very much, Christiane. Appreciate it.

Coming up next tonight on 360, the run away bride breaks her silence. The key word, issues. It's all about issues, isn't it. What specific issues? Anyway, we'll talk about that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: In a moment we're going to look what you can do with insomnia. But first Erica Hill from HEADLINE NEWS joins us at about nine to the hour with the top stories -- Erica.

HILL: Hello again, Anderson.

A massive indictment today against a suspected courthouse killer. A grand jury in Georgia indicted Brian Nichols on 54 counts, including four felony murder charges. In March Nichols allegedly shot a judge and three other people to death. The state prosecutor has stated that if Nichols is convicted, he will seek the death penalty.

Have you seen this man? Police in Florida say Patrick Wayne Bell is a convicted sex offender who cut off his tracking device. Bell is believed to have fled from his mother's home in Riviera Beach. He was convicted in 1999 of fondling a child under 16 as well as sexual battery on a child under 12.

And the runaway bride is speaking out, sort of. Jennifer Wilbanks today said she was sorry for all the trouble she caused. Wilbanks who set off a man hunt last week just days before her wedding claims it wasn't a case of cold feet. She says she still can't explain exactly why she ran, but Wilbanks did mention she was dealing with a host of issues. One or two and as you said earlier, Anderson. All that issues.

That's the latest from Headline News. Back to you. And once again, another happy Cinco de Mayo.

COOPER: And a happy Cinco de Mayo to you, Erica Hill.

HILL: You know what is amazing about the pinata?

COOPER: What?

HILL: It's the pinata is the mascot for our show at Headline News "PRIME NEWS TONIGHT." We're the PNT Pinatas. So really you chose so well.

COOPER: This is a 360 burro. And I'm trying to hit you, but it's not working. All right. Happy Cinco de Mayo.

Erica, we'll see you again in about 30 minutes.

HILL: Bye Mr. Burro.

COOPER: Bye.

Coming up next on 360. Batting insomnia -- one of the millions of Americans tossing and turning every night, never sleeping. Tonight 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta has tips that might help you get your Z's.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: So the truth is, I've been having some trouble sleeping lately. I'm tossing, I'm turning, I'm watching an awful lot of late night infomercial. According to the National Sleep Foundation, more than 70 million Americans suffer from chronic or acute insomnia. And it's creating stress and pain and plenty of anxiety not only in those who suffer from it, but also their loved ones. We asked 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta to check out some shut eye solutions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alison Woodward's almost nightly ritual for the past 20 years is maddening. She suffers from insomnia, a sleepless dance that results in hours upon hours of tossing and turning or simply lying there like a corpse. As time passes a sort of sleep paranoia sets in.

ALISON WOODWARD, INSOMNIAC: When you are taking a long time to get to sleep at night, the one thing you are worried about is oh, God, the alarm clock is going to go off. And then you wake up anyway two hours before it has to go off.

GUPTA" On a good night, Alison might get four or five hours. But on nights when insomnia strikes it's closer to two.

WOODWARD: The way I look at it is you sort of have a disease. You are suffering from an illness. It doesn't stop your life, but it just makes it difficult.

All the way down.

GUPTA: As a dance instructor, that means difficulty motivating herself and her students or concentrating. Things that most of us take for granted. And years of not being able to fall asleep, waking up bleary-eyes, definitely takes its toll.

DR. GARY ZAMMIT, SLEEP SPECIALIST: Even one hour of sleep loss can have an impact on next-day functioning. When you add that up over time there's a cumulative effect that leads to greater and greater impairment, greater dysfunction during the day.

GUPTA: So Alison paid a visit to Gary Zammit at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York who offered sage advice.

ZAMMIT: I would recommend that you avoid die time naps. Another thing that could be addressed clock watching. We know that people who are watching the minutes tick by on the clock will become hyper aroused. And finally, set a regular bedtime and a regular rise time.

GUPTA: After a couple of days we checked in to see if the newfound sleep plan had worked.

WOODWARD: The past two nights I did sleep -- I wouldn't say really well, but I think I slept a little bit longer.

GUPTA: So what is left? For Alison, drugs aren't her first choice. She tried Ambien and several over the counter drugs, no lasting results.

Experts on sleep say studies are split about the risks of these drugs, including their effectiveness over the long term. And doctors say you should never take any sleep aid longer than two months. Some concerns about long-term use, becoming dependent and some older sleep drugs could lead to disturbances in memory.

Still desperate for sleep, Alison agreed to a sleep makeover with Dr. Anna Krieger from the NYU Sleep Disorder Center.

First and most important step.

DR. ANNA KRIEGER, NYU SLEEP DISORDER CENTER: The idea is to keep your environment more towards the sleep.

GUPTA: Using the bedroom as only a place to sleep, not exercise or watch television. And going in there only when she is very sleepy.

And some familiar advice.

KRIEGER: Pick a time that across the week, you are going to wake up. Because this is what sets up your biological clock.

GUPTA: Other tips Dr. Krieger offered, keeping a worry book by the bed to write out any worries or stress that may be keeping Alison awake at night. And getting dark shades for her windows, so not even faint light can shine on her at night.

After two makeovers, Alison's sleep is still not ideal, but she is determined to implement elements from both sleep plans because she is tasted what good sleep is like and she will do anything to get that feeling every night.

WOODWARD: When I have good night's sleep it's amazing. I can't believe how fantastic I feel. Then sometimes I stop and I think, my God, there are people that sleep well every night, have no trouble. Get a good eight hours of sleep. And I guess they feel like this all the time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: When is lack of sleep become insomnia?

GUPTA: Well, you know, a lot of people do have just lack of sleep. But if you are waking up and then having difficulty getting back to sleep, or waking up too early, actually looking at the alarm clock, or just feeling generally unrefreshed throughout days or weeks on end, that's probably when it's become insomnia.

COOPER: All right. 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta thanks very much.

That's it for 360. CNN's prime-time coverage continues right now with "PAULA ZAHN." Hey, Paula.

END

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 May 5, 2005 - 19:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Good evening, everyone.
A hostage drama and a courageous woman not afraid to die, not afraid to face down her attackers. 360 starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Tonight, the woman held captive for 15 days by convicts in a prison speaks out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just saw my partner got slapped upside the head.

COOPER: What really happened to her inside while being held hostage.

Tony Blair wins his third term as British prime minister. Tonight, the woman behind the man. Cherie Blair, wife, mother, and working attorney. The real life of Britain's most powerful power couple.

Michael Jackson's defense goes on offense. Tonight, an up-close look at Thomas Mesereau, Jackson's high-priced attorney. What's his strategy to keep his client out of jail?

The mystery of Precious Doe solved. Four years after a little girl's body was discovered, police now say they know who this girl really is. And they say her killer is in custody.

And are you tossing and turning trying to get to sleep? Popping pills to get a good night's rest? Tonight, what you can do to say good night to insomnia.

ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And good evening again. You are about to meet a truly remarkable woman. Lois Fraley, a woman held prisoner by two hardened convicts for more than two weeks. Now, she faced death every day, every minute, and she never blinked.

She survived what turned out to be the longest prison hostage standoff in U.S. history. The story came to an end just yesterday. This man, one of her captors, was convicted for his role in the standoff. In court, Lois Fraley once again faced him, faced her attacker, and once again she did not blink.

CNN's Heidi Collins goes "Beyond the Headlines" now to tell the extraordinary story of Lois Fraley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For correction officer Lois Fraley, it was 15 days in hell. January 18th, 2004. Two dangerous inmates of an Arizona state prison take over a guard tower. They take two correction officers hostage. One of them is Lois Fraley. For two weeks, she was held captive at gunpoint, beaten and raped, by both inmates, she says. Many times, they threatened to kill her.

RICKY WASSENAAR, INMATE: They're all going to die.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we don't want that, and you know that.

WASSENAAR: One more breach and everybody goes. I don't give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) about dying, woman.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand that. I hear you. I hear you, Ricky.

WASSENAAR: I -- she's only 21, just 21.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

WASSENAAR: (INAUDIBLE) kid (EXPLETIVE DELETED) got tears in his eyes. I'm getting ready to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) splatter brain matter all over where, everywhere.

COLLINS: The voice on the tape is of then 40-year-old Ricky Wassenaar. At the time, he was serving 28 years in prison for aggravated assault and armed robbery.

STEVEN COY, INMATE: So we're on the fence right now, and if it falls one way, we all come out alive. If it falls the other, we all come out dead. And as it stands, um, either way is fine with me.

COLLINS: His accomplice, Steven Coy, 39 at the time, was serving more than 100 years for armed robbery, kidnapping and sexual assault. At one point, Coy threatened to cut off Lois Fraley's finger with a piece of metal.

OFFICER LOIS FRALEY: SCREAMING.

COY: (INAUDIBLE) raise your finger up, woman!

FRALEY: SCREAMING.

COLLINS: After two weeks of intense negotiations, the two inmates finally surrendered, coaxed with promises of transferring them to out-of-state prisons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys are coming out, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, most definitely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most definitely. Very good.

COLLINS: Lois Fraley is alive, but she can hardly walk. Immediately, she is transferred to a nearby hospital.

Yet her ordeal is far from over. Last month, once again, Fraley was forced to face one of her captors, but this time in court. Ricky Wassenaar, acting as his own attorney, summoned Fraley as a witness and threatened he would have her in shreds, but he did not.

FRALEY: I already answered it.

COLLINS: During the two-and-a-half hours of cross-examination, Lois Fraley refused to be intimidated, telling jurors how Wassenaar assaulted her, how he had her mop up blood and urine in the tower, but also how the third night she almost escaped and killed her two captors.

FRALEY: I was able to slide my hand through the handcuffs, through the leg iron, and I asked Jason if I should go for it, that I could blow both of you away.

COLLINS: But she did not. Jason Auch, her partner and second hostage, asked her not to, fearing for their lives. It would be another 12 agonizing days before Lois Fraley would be set free.

Heidi Collins, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, she is free tonight in more ways than one. Lois Fraley has established a foundation in her name to help police and correctional officers who have been in hostage situations. She has not spoken publicly before about what she went through. I spoke with her just a short time ago in Phoenix.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Lois, take us back to when this all started. One of the inmates, Ricky Wassenaar, overwhelmed the kitchen officer, took his uniform and made his way up to the guard tower where you were stationed. What happened next?

FRALEY: Well, he came -- made his way up the spiral staircase. And we're back, and looked at me and said, well, you got complacent, and hit Jason right upside the head.

COOPER: Jason was your fellow officer, who was also there. You see Jason getting hit. Then what happened to you?

FRALEY: Me, I'm just shocked at first. It took me a couple of seconds to realize what was going on. And then I just took off after him, just trying to subdue him, do something.

COOPER: And did he assault you?

FRALEY: Yes. Threw my head into his knee.

COOPER: And he -- then his accomplice came in, and really the nightmare began. I mean, did you have any sense at that time that this was going to go on and on as long as it did?

FRALEY: No, because, you know, my understanding was that there was no negotiating. So you know, I figured, OK, well, A, I'm dead. And, B, this is probably never -- I'm never going to see my family again.

COOPER: After Ricky Wassenaar found out that police had actually breached the tower and made a hole in the fence, I know this situation became really tense. I want to play just for our viewers, the exchange that he had with one of the hostage negotiators. Once more, let's play this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WASSENAAR: They're all going to die.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we don't want that, and you know that.

WASSENAAR: One more breach and everybody goes. I don't give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) about dying, woman.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand that. I hear you. I hear you, Ricky.

WASSENAAR: I -- she's only 21, just 21.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

WASSENAAR: (INAUDIBLE) kid (EXPLETIVE DELETED) got tears in his eyes. I'm getting ready to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) splatter brain matter all over where, everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: What is it like -- and you are sitting there. You heard all this going on on the phone. What is going through your mind?

FRALEY: What is going through my mind is I'm better off dead. I don't -- I won't have to look at these two jerks. I, you know, there's nothing else they can do to me.

COOPER: You are a tough cookie. I understand Jason, your colleague, said that he wanted to be -- he said to them that he wanted to be shot in the head to get it over quick. What did you say to them?

FRALEY: Well, when he turned the gun on me, I said, I have been waiting to die since you walked in.

COOPER: Before Wassenaar cross-examined you in court, there was tremendous -- a lot of anticipation. He said he was going to leave you in shreds on cross-examination. What was it like to face this guy in court?

FRALEY: I was real nervous and scared at first. But him saying that I really wasn't scared of him, and that's the point where I started getting angry as, you know, you just hit my partner upside the head with a three-foot paddle, and what am I supposed to do, just sit back and watch? I don't think so.

COOPER: Yeah, I want to play that for our viewers. This is from the cross-examination, and he kept asking you about, you know, as you said, weren't you afraid of him? And whether you feared for your life. Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRALEY: Yes, I did. Very much so. I just saw my partner get slapped upside the head, with a three-foot metal pole.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: I can't imagine what it's like facing a man who has assaulted you, who has held you hostage, who has threatened your life. That takes a lot of courage.

FRALEY: Well, thank you. I was just doing my job. Instincts kicked in from the beginning.

COOPER: Wassenaar was convicted of 19 counts, including sexual assault. If you didn't testify against him, he probably still would have been sentenced to life in prison. Why did you want to confront him? Why did you want to relive -- I guess you didn't want to relive what happened, but why were you willing to do that?

FRALEY: Well, I figured that, you know, if I didn't testify, he would never have been convicted of that sexual assault. And I want other survivors that have been, you know, sexually assaulted, to be able to come out and face their assault attacker, and show them that you are not scared of them anymore, that you are not afraid of them anymore, that you know, you are going on with your life. You may have done this with my body, but you are not hurting me.

COOPER: Well, Lois, you know, it's heroic work what you do and what the other correction officers do every day, and don't get enough credit for it. And what you have been through is just horrific. And it takes a lot of courage to recover and to talk about what you have gone through. And we appreciate it tonight. Thank you so much, Lois.

FRALEY: Well, thank you very much. And you have a nice evening.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Coming up next on 360 -- a remarkable woman. Michael Jackson's defense. That's coming up. It is the pop star's turn to fight back against child molestation charges. And his defense goes on the offense. The first witness on the stand, a boy who once knew Michael Jackson and says the singer never touched him.

Also ahead tonight, child murder mystery solved. The mystery of Precious Doe. Police identify a 3-year-old girl killed years ago. Her mother has been arrested. You are going to meet the man who helped them crack the case.

And a little later tonight, "Sleepless in America." Are you up all night? Millions of people suffer from insomnia. I couldn't sleep last night. Find out how to maybe get some shut eye once for all. Our 360 M.D. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.

All that ahead. First let's take a look at your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Now that, my friends, is a vest you just don't see every day.

With the rain coming down in Santa Maria, California, Michael Jackson wasn't the only one to be under the umbrella this morning. The prosecution rested its case yesterday. Today, the defense went on the offense.

Now the first witness called, a professional dancer who the prosecution claims was inappropriately touched by Jackson. But the witness, who has known the singer since he was 5-years-old, testified that Jackson never molested or sexually abused him in any way. However, he did admit to sleeping in Jackson's bedroom numerous times.

This has been one of the most popular stories all day on CNN.com. Every day, of course, Rudi Bakhtiar gives us an angle on one of these popular stories you won't see anywhere else.

Rudi, what's your focus tonight?

RUDI BAKHTIAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well tonight, Anderson, we decided to focus on two other men who are playing a key role in this bitter legal battle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BAKHTIAR (voice-over): And that's how it began. With Santa Barbara County district attorney Tom Sneddon announcing that a warrant had been issued for Michael Jackson's arrest for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old boy.

TOM SNEDDON, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Jackson himself, I believe, has said that this was all done to try to ruin his new CD that was coming out or whatever is he is doing. Like the sheriff and I are really into that kind of music. BAKHTIAR: In the days following that news conference, the D.A., a father of nine himself, was criticized for his behavior and accused of waging a vendetta against the pop star.

SNEDDON: At this point we have concluded the investigation.

BAKHTIAR: A year-long investigation into accusations that Michael Jackson molested another 13-year-old boy in 1993 ended with no critical charges filed following an out of court civil settlement with that boy's family. Some believe the failure to prosecute Jackson at that time has haunted Sneddon.

But if there is a feud, it goes both ways. Michael Jackson wrote a song called D.S., with blistering lyrics thought to be about the district attorney.

MICHAEL JACKSON (singing): You think he brother with the KKK. I know his mother never taught right anyway. He want your vote just to remain DA.

BAKHTIAR: Yesterday after ten weeks and 85 witnesses, the prosecution rested its case against Michael Jackson.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: The prosecution obviously had trouble with a lot of its witnesses, but the heart of its case remains, the accuser on the witness stand looking the jury in the eye saying Michael Jackson molested me. What's more, the prosecution has other witnesses saying Jackson molested other children. The challenge for the defense is to show that each of these allegations is totally false.

BAKHTIAR: Jackson's defense team is led by Thomas Mesereau.

THOMAS MESEREAU, MICHAEL JACKSON'S ATTORNEY: Many millions of children around the world love Michael Jackson and never allege that he harmed them in any way.

BAKHTIAR: This former Harvard football player has been called one of the best cross examiners in the country, but he doesn't just represent the rich and famous. He volunteers at a free legal clinic at the first AME Church in Los Angeles. And since the year 2000, has been traveling to Alabama to represent the accused in death penalty trials without charging any fee. Telling the Birmingham news that quote, "lawyers are blessed to be in this profession, and I think they should give something back."

Two accomplished lawyers, one high stakes trial, and ultimately only one winner.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BAKHTIAR: As the defense continues its case, the question on everyone's mind is whether or not Jackson will testify in his own defense? Twice in his opening statement Mesereau said Michael Jackson will tell you, leading some to believe we may actually see the king of pop take the stand. And although conventional wisdom is defendants shouldn't take the stand in criminal trials, Thomas Mesereau does have a history of doing just that, Anderson.

COOPER: All right. We'll see. I'll eat my tie if it happens. But we'll see. Rudi Bakhtiar, thanks very much. Yeah.

We're following several other stories tonight. Erica Hill from Headline News joins us with latest on that. Hey, Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS: Hey, Anderson.

We actually start off with a double explosion this morning outside the British Consulate in New York City. Two improvised devices went off slightly damaging the building. No one was hurt. Police say they don't know who planted the devices or why. Video surveillance tapes from the building and others in the area are being looked at.

In Washington, D.C. a U.S. Marine corporal will not face a court martial for three deadly shootings caught on video. Those shootings of unarmed Iraqi insurgents. The investigators say the marine acted in self defense when he opened fire in a Fallujah mosque back in November.

From coast to coast, new plans for national forests. The Bush administration wants to open up as much as 58-and-a-half million acres of remote land to road building, logging and other commercial activity that would reverse an order back in 2001 by President Clinton to limit development. America's governors have 18 months to comment on the plan.

And near Capitol Hill, dozens of moms and babies attend a nurse- in to support a breast feeding bill. The legislation would ensure women could not be fired or discriminated against in the workplace for pumping or nursing on breaks.

And that's the latest from Headline News. Anderson, back to you. Happy Cinco de Mayo.

COOPER: And to you too. We have a special Cinco de Mayo exciting gift for you later on.

HILL: Oh, I'm looking forward to it.

COOPER: All right. Thanks very much. We'll see you again in about 30 minutes.

Coming up next on 360 the mystery of Precious Doe solved. Years after the murdered 3-year-old was found on the side of the road abandoned, police figured out who the little girl was. And tonight her mother is under arrest. We're going to talk to the man who helped crack the case.

Also ahead tonight, big police chase today, one of many we have seen. Tonight, we're going to take you beyond the headlines. Some new tricks the cops are using to get an upper hand on people who just won't stop. And a little later, are you one of the many millions of people "Sleepless in America?" We're going to take a look at the battle against insomnia. If you just can't get enough shut eye, stay tuned. 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta has some tips to maybe help you catch some Z's. We'll see.

Covering all the angles tonight. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta has some tips to maybe help catch some Z's. We'll see. We're covering all the angles tonight. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, a high-speed police chase this afternoon in western Broward County, Florida, according to local reports, began after an armed robbery, when the suspect took off in a white Chevy Camper, sideswiping some cars as he zipped down the Sodgrass Expressway (ph). The driver eventually swerved into the median and got stuck -- you see it right there -- which allowed police to circle and then arrest him. He gets out, puts his hands up. In California, police chases like that one have become such a problem that lawmakers have proposed measures to cut them down. Here's CNN's Rusty Dornin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On the run, this suspect crashes his own car fleeing from police. The driver of this car didn't know what hit her when she was struck by the subject of a high speed chase.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, right here in the middle of the intersection is where we got hit.

DORNIN: Mark Priono (ph) and his family didn't see it coming either. His 15-year-old daughter Kristie was killed. The family was hit while driving to basketball practice by a teenage driver running from police. Police knew they were chasing a teenage girl who had taken her mother's car.

In California, police have blanket immunity. You can't sue officers for injury or death resulting from a pursuit. The Priono's want to change that. They hope legislators will approve Kristie's Law. They want to make sure the final bill holds cities, counties or the state accountable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we're trying to do is add some teeth to the policy. Right now in California when an officer knows that he does not have to follow the policy, there is more of a chance that he's going to not follow the policy.

DORNIN: Law enforcement agencies argue, taking away an officer's immunity would have a chilling effect. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to result in high are crime rates when suspects know that we're not engaging in pursuits as a result of liability issues.

DORNIN: Police statewide say tougher penalties are needed for those motorist who refuse to stop for police.

(on camera): Law enforcement agencies say drivers might not make that split-second decision to flee from police if they knew there were stiffer penalties if they do so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are working on boxing him in.

DORNIN (voice-over): But the Priono's believe that if someone chooses to run, they won't be thinking about getting caught or the stiffer penalty.

When do you believe it's acceptable for a police to pursue a suspect?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think violence (INAUDIBLE). Violence (INAUDIBLE), because -- here's the thing, too, is -- if Kristie had been killed to save a kidnapped child's life, or if Kristie had been killed to catch a murderer or a violent felon, I would still be filled with grief, but I would understand the necessity of that chase.

DORNIN: The Priono's hope the California legislature will put any unnecessary high speed police pursuits on a permanent detour.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Chico, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tony Blair wins his third term as British prime minister. Tonight, the woman behind the man, Cherie Blair, wife, mother and working attorney. The real life of Britain's most powerful power couple.

The mystery of Precious Doe, solved. Four years after a little girl's body was discovered, police now say they know who this girl really is, and they say her killer is in custody.

And, are you tossing and turning, trying to get to sleep, popping pills to get a good night's rest? Tonight, what you can do to say goodnight to insomnia. 360 continues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: At a park in Kansas City, Missouri, a handwritten sign was placed at a memorial. On it, a name, the name of a little girl whose identity had eluded investigators for more than four years, that is, until now. As Precious Doe -- that's how she was known -- today, police revealed her real identity: Erica Michelle Marie Green.

On April 28, 2001, just days before this little girl's fourth birthday, her body was found near a city intersection. She'd been decapitated. Her head, discovered in a plastic bag a few says later. Now, tonight, her mother and her step-father in custody. The mother is charged with murder, though police believe the step-father killed Erica with a kick to the head.

Ever since her body was found, many people have worked hard to bring some sort of closure to Erica's story, if there is such a thing. CNN's Drew Griffin introduces us now to one woman who made sure this little girl would not be forgotten.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNETTE JOHNSON: This is right here, it's where her body laid -- where I will take you.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Annette Johnson has walked this path dozens of time and wondered just who the little girl was. Her headless nude body dumped on the road. The head found a week later dumped in a bag. No name, no family. No one in this little girl's life who even reported her missing. It was up to strangers to keep at least her case alive.

JOHNSON: I decided to put together a committee, which is called the Precious Doe Committee. That's the name that we gave her, because we didn't know who she was, and to us she was precious. And we named her Precious Doe.

GRIFFIN: Vowing not to let her die anonymously, the Precious Doe Committee held a vigil in this park every week for the past four years.

JOHNSON: Every vigil, she was there with us.

GRIFFIN (on camera): She wanted you to find her.

JOHNSON: She did. And every night, I pray about it. I have children of my own, and we in the community felt like this is our child. And we had to protect her. And we had to come out here and rally for her.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The citizens group pushed police to stay on the case and watched as detectives tracked down hundreds of leads that seemed to go nowhere.

JOHNSON: We thought she was the child in Florida. We thought she was from Jamaica. So I was always very optimistic.

GRIFFIN (on camera): And each time you had your hopes up and...

JOHNSON: And they crushed them. They got crushed, but I knew it would come. I knew the day would come.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Thursday, Annette Johnson and everyone in Kansas City who adopted a girl they never knew, heard the news they had waited four years to hear.

CHIEF JIM CORWIN, KANSAS CITY POLICE: The little girl we have known for four years as Precious Doe has a name.

GRIFFIN: Erica Michelle Marie Green would have been 8 years old this month.

JOHNSON: I felt so relieved. I felt so happy. And then I started to feel sad. Because I had to think about all night, and I tossed and turned and said, what happened?

GRIFFIN (on camera): But along with the joy of finding out who this little girl was, Kansas City also learned how precious Erica Green died, and there was nothing precious about it.

(voice-over): Police say the mother told them it was the husband who kicked the girl in the head. She lay on the floor for two days unresponsive, until she finally died. Police say the parents then disposed of the body just down the street, because they feared they would be arrested.

The family had been in the home only weeks, apparently looking for work they never found, and returned to Oklahoma.

After four years, police received a tip that led to the mother. She is under arrest, and the prosecutor here says everyone else who may be responsible is in custody, too.

Not a happy ending. How could there be one? But at least for those who have waited and prayed for a precious little girl, the ending has a name.

(on camera): Do you wish Erica Green, maybe she does in your mind, know how much she is loved by this community?

JOHNSON: She does. I know she does. Because I feel her presence. Every time when I am here, I still feel her presence. She is happy, she's running around. When we're holding hands, she is running between us, you know, laughing, looking at her teddy bears, touching them, smelling her flowers, and saying, boy, they love me. They love me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, our next guest had key roles in getting Erica's mother in police custody. Community activist Alonzo Washington placed the newspaper ad that led to the final breakthrough tip in this case. With him is Kansas City Police Captain Rich Lockhart. Both join me from Kansas City.

I appreciate both of you being with us. I know it's been a very busy time for you.

Alonzo, let me begin with you. An important part of the tip that you received was a photo. Tell us about that photo and what you learned from the man who identified the suspects? ALONZO WASHINGTON, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: OK. Well, this man had been calling in tips to the police department, and he tells me that they were ignored. And what I did was, you know, began to check this out. Got a couple of reporters to check out his claims. They seemed to add up. And I think the investigation stalled at five kids. Last year, this guy said he had called in this tip before.

COOPER: And who is this guy? Was he a relative, or was he -- how did he know them? Can you say?

WASHINGTON: Well, he is -- he wants to remain anonymous, but you know, it has come out in the press that he's supposed to be related to them. And he said that his tip has been ignored. And he said, Alonzo, I got to get this to you, because I know that you will work this and you will bring it to the proper authorities. And I know who the killer is. They don't believe me.

COOPER: I know you have been working this case for a long time, and you have been continuing to shine attention on this.

Captain Lockhart, let me ask you about that, in hindsight, could more have been done? Should more have been done to respond to the tip that this man allegedly gave to police?

CAPTAIN RICH LOCKHART, KANSAS CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, certainly we look at it now and we're very happy that we were able to resolve the situation and to bring some relief to this community, to finally identify this girl that we haven't known for four years.

In July, when we received a tip from this man, our detectives worked it as far as they could at that time. And it was only when he called with additional information this time that we were able to go down to Oklahoma and bring some resolution to this case.

COOPER: What do you know at this point about how this little girl was killed and why?

LOCKHART: Well, from what we have heard from talking to both her mother and the husband who is here in Kansas City, and both being responsible for her death, they were living in a house there, and they were frustrated with the way she was behaving. They were high on drugs. The -- Harrell Johnson, who has been charged now with her death, kicked her, and they basically ignored her. Didn't give her any medical attention for -- the reports vary, from several hours to days. And she died as a result of her injuries. They brutally decapitated her, disposed of her body in some overgrown area just near where they were staying in this house. And we found the body then a short time after that.

WASHINGTON: The interesting thing about that is that my tipster said that he had given that information to police officers last year. And you know, that they just didn't believe him. They said that they stopped the investigation at five children. It turned out to be eight. He also said that, you know, he would -- he gave them the actual name that you guys are giving, Erica Green. And they could not determine that this child ever existed. And so what I began to do is try to get this to the Oklahoma police, get it to a couple of reporters I trust to back this up, and try to get movement on the case with police.

I just thought that they should, you know, follow every lead that came in. And you know, this is not the first slip-up that occurred, because when the body was first found, it was headless, and they found the body, and they searched the field, and the next day I came out and encouraged the community to look. And a citizen found the head. So there has been some mistakes in this case. And I just think that every lead and everything that was done could have been done a little bit better. That's my opinion.

COOPER: OK, Captain Lockhart, I just want to give you a chance to respond to that if you want to. I have some other questions if you want.

LOCKHART: Well, you know, I think that what we have here today is a very happy ending to a very tragic story, and that we were able to finally find out who this girl is. And certainly, we have listened to Mr. Washington's concerns. And we thank him for his efforts of keeping this case in the forefront of the media and what he has done to contribute to keeping it there. And I think today we want to focus on the good that's come out of it.

COOPER: Let me ask Mr. Washington something, because you know, there are -- I mean, this is -- yes, this is a happy ending for this little girl in some senses, obviously, it's not that happy. But there are so many other children out there, so many other African-American children out there. You know, I've long said I don't think the national media pays enough attention to missing kids in general, but there seems to be sort of a double standard in a lot of coverage, you know, there are other kids, other cases, Rilya Wilson I think down in Florida, who was I guess lost by Florida officials. What is the lesson of Precious Doe for you?

WASHINGTON: Well, for me, is that, you know, Precious Doe is a metaphor. It is somewhat a metaphor of what takes place in our community. I wonder could these tips not have been followed in the suburbs. I wonder if a body could have been found in the suburbs and the head not attached, and the entire field not been searched. Those are the things that I think -- it's a happy ending, but I think the happy ending could have been last year.

COOPER: We're going to leave it there. Alonzo Washington, I appreciate you joining us, and for all your work over the years. A lot of people are very appreciative for all your efforts. And Captain Rich Lockhart, as well, thank you very much, with the Kansas City Police Department. Appreciate it.

LOCKHART: Thank you.

WASHINGTON: Thank you.

COOPER: Coming up next tonight on 360, Tony Blair poised to win reelection. Tonight, the woman behind the man. A look at England's number one political power couple.

Also tonight, "Sleepless in America." Are you one of the millions of Americans fighting insomnia every night? What you can do perhaps, let's hope, tonight, to get a good night's rest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: A historic election and a historic victory for Tony Blair, but it is bittersweet. Tonight, exit polls and television reports project that Blair has been elected -- re-elected -- to a third consecutive term as prime minister of Britain. But his party took a pounding. It appears he will hold power with a vastly reduced majority in Parliament. That could be because of Blair's support of the war in Iraq.

Behind the scenes, there is the wife of the prime minister. Cherie Blair is a lawyer and the very successful one. "Forbes" magazine ranked her as the 12th most powerful woman in the world. She's a thoroughly modern lady, but a woman who continues to adjust to a very political way of life and a very public way of life.

CNN's senior international correspondent Chistiane Amanpour reports tonight, in "The World in 360."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN SR INT'L CORRESPONDENT: This was the world's first glimpse of Britain's new first lady, a slightly disheveled Cherie Blair receiving flowers the morning after her husband was elected prime minister, back in May 1997.

The Blairs were a new kind of first family, a young couple with young children, a mother who was also a successful lawyer. Back then, Cherie kept a low profile and the press kept a respectful distance. She did charity work, and occasionally even sang a little ditty in public.

CHERIE BLAIR, LAWYER, BRITAIN'S FIRST LADY (SINGING): Many years from now, will you still be sending me a valentine?

AMANPOUR: She accompanied her husband on official trips and became friendly with two U.S. first couples. When she became pregnant with her fourth child, in her 40s, the picture of the modern political family seemed complete. But after her husband won his second election, the press started to hound her.

MARY ANN SIEGHART, THE TIMES NEWSPAPER: They criticized her looks, her hair, her clothes -- pretty well everything about her. And, you have to understand, this is a woman to whom appearance had never been important before. What had been important to her had been her brains.

AMANPOUR: Under this new scrutiny, Cherie began to falter, applying lip stick for a magazine photo spread was greeted with howls of derision. But her growing relationship with her fashion and exercise guru Carol Caplan (ph) brought her the most trouble. Caplan's former fiance Peter Foster helped Cherie get a good deal on two apartments, and later, Cherie was accused of helping him on immigration matters. She denied it, and issued a tearful public apology.

BLAIR: The reality of my daily life is that I'm juggling a lot of balls in the air. Some of you must experience that. Trying to be a good wife, a mother, trying to be the prime ministerial consort at home and abroad, and being a barrister, a charity worker -- and sometimes, some of the balls get dropped.

AMANPOUR: Admitting that she was no super woman seemed to appease the press and the public. Journalist Mary Ann Sieghart says some people resented her.

SIEGHART: I think particularly some, rather more sexist, men don't like the notion of having an intelligent wife. She -- for the prime minister. She suffers from the same problem that Hillary Clinton did in America.

AMANPOUR: So, in the past couple of years, Cherie faded back into the background emerging only recently to help her husband campaign for an unprecedented third Labor government. Her latest public image, back to being the perfect wife. She and Tony Blair, declaring their undying love in a pre-election tabloid interview.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: And if "Forbes" magazine declared her the 12th most powerful and influential woman in the world, well, you wouldn't know it here in Britain. Like so many powerful women married to powerful men, she seems to have fallen victim to a great amount of resentment. Anderson?

COOPER: And it's remarkable that she is still working as an attorney or as a barrister as they say there.

AMANPOUR: That's exactly right. With her wig and the black robe, she goes to work. She does her thing in a very low profile way, but, of course, when she does go abroad, which she will be doing in this coming week, she does speak out on issues that are of importance to her: human rights issues, legal issues, labor issues, and sometimes she causes some waves because some of the things she says are not exactly in line with some of her husband's policies. But, she is a very formidable woman in her own right.

COOPER: CNN's Christiane Amanpour. Thanks very much, Christiane. Appreciate it.

Coming up next tonight on 360, the run away bride breaks her silence. The key word, issues. It's all about issues, isn't it. What specific issues? Anyway, we'll talk about that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: In a moment we're going to look what you can do with insomnia. But first Erica Hill from HEADLINE NEWS joins us at about nine to the hour with the top stories -- Erica.

HILL: Hello again, Anderson.

A massive indictment today against a suspected courthouse killer. A grand jury in Georgia indicted Brian Nichols on 54 counts, including four felony murder charges. In March Nichols allegedly shot a judge and three other people to death. The state prosecutor has stated that if Nichols is convicted, he will seek the death penalty.

Have you seen this man? Police in Florida say Patrick Wayne Bell is a convicted sex offender who cut off his tracking device. Bell is believed to have fled from his mother's home in Riviera Beach. He was convicted in 1999 of fondling a child under 16 as well as sexual battery on a child under 12.

And the runaway bride is speaking out, sort of. Jennifer Wilbanks today said she was sorry for all the trouble she caused. Wilbanks who set off a man hunt last week just days before her wedding claims it wasn't a case of cold feet. She says she still can't explain exactly why she ran, but Wilbanks did mention she was dealing with a host of issues. One or two and as you said earlier, Anderson. All that issues.

That's the latest from Headline News. Back to you. And once again, another happy Cinco de Mayo.

COOPER: And a happy Cinco de Mayo to you, Erica Hill.

HILL: You know what is amazing about the pinata?

COOPER: What?

HILL: It's the pinata is the mascot for our show at Headline News "PRIME NEWS TONIGHT." We're the PNT Pinatas. So really you chose so well.

COOPER: This is a 360 burro. And I'm trying to hit you, but it's not working. All right. Happy Cinco de Mayo.

Erica, we'll see you again in about 30 minutes.

HILL: Bye Mr. Burro.

COOPER: Bye.

Coming up next on 360. Batting insomnia -- one of the millions of Americans tossing and turning every night, never sleeping. Tonight 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta has tips that might help you get your Z's.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: So the truth is, I've been having some trouble sleeping lately. I'm tossing, I'm turning, I'm watching an awful lot of late night infomercial. According to the National Sleep Foundation, more than 70 million Americans suffer from chronic or acute insomnia. And it's creating stress and pain and plenty of anxiety not only in those who suffer from it, but also their loved ones. We asked 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta to check out some shut eye solutions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alison Woodward's almost nightly ritual for the past 20 years is maddening. She suffers from insomnia, a sleepless dance that results in hours upon hours of tossing and turning or simply lying there like a corpse. As time passes a sort of sleep paranoia sets in.

ALISON WOODWARD, INSOMNIAC: When you are taking a long time to get to sleep at night, the one thing you are worried about is oh, God, the alarm clock is going to go off. And then you wake up anyway two hours before it has to go off.

GUPTA" On a good night, Alison might get four or five hours. But on nights when insomnia strikes it's closer to two.

WOODWARD: The way I look at it is you sort of have a disease. You are suffering from an illness. It doesn't stop your life, but it just makes it difficult.

All the way down.

GUPTA: As a dance instructor, that means difficulty motivating herself and her students or concentrating. Things that most of us take for granted. And years of not being able to fall asleep, waking up bleary-eyes, definitely takes its toll.

DR. GARY ZAMMIT, SLEEP SPECIALIST: Even one hour of sleep loss can have an impact on next-day functioning. When you add that up over time there's a cumulative effect that leads to greater and greater impairment, greater dysfunction during the day.

GUPTA: So Alison paid a visit to Gary Zammit at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York who offered sage advice.

ZAMMIT: I would recommend that you avoid die time naps. Another thing that could be addressed clock watching. We know that people who are watching the minutes tick by on the clock will become hyper aroused. And finally, set a regular bedtime and a regular rise time.

GUPTA: After a couple of days we checked in to see if the newfound sleep plan had worked.

WOODWARD: The past two nights I did sleep -- I wouldn't say really well, but I think I slept a little bit longer.

GUPTA: So what is left? For Alison, drugs aren't her first choice. She tried Ambien and several over the counter drugs, no lasting results.

Experts on sleep say studies are split about the risks of these drugs, including their effectiveness over the long term. And doctors say you should never take any sleep aid longer than two months. Some concerns about long-term use, becoming dependent and some older sleep drugs could lead to disturbances in memory.

Still desperate for sleep, Alison agreed to a sleep makeover with Dr. Anna Krieger from the NYU Sleep Disorder Center.

First and most important step.

DR. ANNA KRIEGER, NYU SLEEP DISORDER CENTER: The idea is to keep your environment more towards the sleep.

GUPTA: Using the bedroom as only a place to sleep, not exercise or watch television. And going in there only when she is very sleepy.

And some familiar advice.

KRIEGER: Pick a time that across the week, you are going to wake up. Because this is what sets up your biological clock.

GUPTA: Other tips Dr. Krieger offered, keeping a worry book by the bed to write out any worries or stress that may be keeping Alison awake at night. And getting dark shades for her windows, so not even faint light can shine on her at night.

After two makeovers, Alison's sleep is still not ideal, but she is determined to implement elements from both sleep plans because she is tasted what good sleep is like and she will do anything to get that feeling every night.

WOODWARD: When I have good night's sleep it's amazing. I can't believe how fantastic I feel. Then sometimes I stop and I think, my God, there are people that sleep well every night, have no trouble. Get a good eight hours of sleep. And I guess they feel like this all the time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: When is lack of sleep become insomnia?

GUPTA: Well, you know, a lot of people do have just lack of sleep. But if you are waking up and then having difficulty getting back to sleep, or waking up too early, actually looking at the alarm clock, or just feeling generally unrefreshed throughout days or weeks on end, that's probably when it's become insomnia.

COOPER: All right. 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta thanks very much.

That's it for 360. CNN's prime-time coverage continues right now with "PAULA ZAHN." Hey, Paula.

END

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