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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Aruba Case Continues; Tom Cruise Profile; Tragedy on St. Thomas; Missing New Jersey Boys Found Dead
Aired June 24, 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: Good evening, everyone. Aruban police question Judge Paul Van Der Sloot as a team of Americans arrive to try to find Natalee. 360 starts now.
The Aruban investigation intensifies. Tonight, retracing the last known steps of Natalee and the suspects now in custody for her disappearance.
Billy Graham gathers the faithful for his final crusade in the U.S. Tonight, the power of the man and his message.
And hidden germs in your office, on your keyboard, your phone, even your desk. Tonight, why your office may be dirtier than a bathroom toilet. And what you can do to clean it up.
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: And a good Friday to you. Five suspects now in custody. Aruban authorities have their hands full. More questions for Judge Paul Van Der Sloot today, the man arrested just yesterday. His son also in custody. Let's get the latest on the case from CNN's Karl Penhaul who is in Aruba. Karl, what is the latest?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, yes indeed police investigators were interrogating Judge Paul Van Der Sloot for a second day today. But a law enforcement source close to the investigation says he is not cooperating. Now prosecutors say all five suspects currently arrested in the case of Natalee Holloway's disappearance should be in court tomorrow. At that stage a judge will decide how much longer this he can each be held in custody.
In addition to that, a Coast Guard boat with four FBI agents on board searched a lake near the Van Der Sloot home. Prosecutors and police tell us nothing of interest was found. And the other point of interest, the advanced team of the Texas volunteer search team is on the ground here in Aruba now. They've been trying to pinpoint areas for a search. The main body of the team should be on the ground sometime later tonight. And we expect the full search to get under way in earnest tomorrow Anderson.
COOPER: Karl, does this judge have a lawyer present? Do any of the suspects in custody have lawyers in present when being interviewed? PENHAUL: Initially in the first six hours of questioning, a lawyer wasn't present. We understand in the course of the interrogation today that his lawyer was not present either. This is common practice in Aruba that attorneys for some reason don't always attend the interrogation session of their clients. The four other suspects have on occasion had attorneys present but at other times the attorneys haven't been present, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Karl, we'll continue following this story. We're going to have more with you in a few minutes. It has, of course, been a terribly long time now, 25 days since Natalee Holloway was last seen on Aruba. Her steps were traced and those with her just before she disappeared have been questioned and released. Some questioned and held, in some cases. Five men now in custody.
Of course, of Natalee herself still not a sign. Nothing at all. The search continues. A team of volunteers from Texas has joined in with dogs and sonar and other special equipment and expertise. Some of them (ph) in an advanced team arrived today. CNN's Alex Quade has been following them, their efforts. Alex, what was the day like for them?
ALEX QUADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a very interesting day, Anderson. They were out mapping the island, they were out scoping various search locates where they planned to bring their dogs and planned to bring the rest of the volunteers who will be arriving tonight. They're going to search and re-search.
COOPER: And when does the rest of the team show up?
QUADE: We think that they're actually sometime in the next hour or so their plane is to land. That should be another 17 volunteers and as many as four cadaver dogs. One of the interesting things that you might want to know is that they're working very closely with the Aruba government. They're trying to make this very much a joint effort.
COOPER: And so they're bringing dogs, they've got the sonar equipment. How long do they plan to stay?
QUADE: This is purely a donations driven nonprofit organization. They want to stay until they find Natalee and can bring her home. Now the problem with that, of course, is they will only be able to stay as long as they get the donations from the States to come and continue to do this.
COOPER: All right, Alex, you'll have another update on the search tonight 8:00 on PAUL ZAHN NOW. We'll look forward to that. Thanks very much, Alex.
Later on 360. Step by step what investigators now know happened the night Natalee Holloway disappeared. We'll walk you through it, step by step and bring you to all those locations.
Also ahead, a murder mystery on another island. Two American men killed in St. Thomas. They went there for a wedding. We'll have the latest on that investigation.
And the Reverend Billy Graham's last crusade in the U.S. about to start. We'll take you there live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well as you all know by know, the Reverend Billy Graham has come to New York for what is billed as his last U.S. crusade. He's planning one for England. But this is a live shot in Queens in Flushing Meadows, Corona Park, Queens, where for the next three days this is going to be the scene where Billy Graham, he's starting to speak tonight. They have room for 7,000 people, as you can see, there's still some seats there. The crowds are coming in. They expect room for about 80,000 people overflow. It will continue tomorrow. It is going continue on Sunday as well.
This of course just perhaps the last chapter here in the United States for the reverend Billy graham. 210 million people have attended his revivals, his crusades over nearly 70 years of preaching. We'll continue to follow this story all throughout the weekend because we expect those crowds to be quite large, of course, building up to Sunday. Sophia Choi joins us from Headline News with some other stories we're following right now. Hey, Sophia.
SOPHIA CHOI, HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Hi, Anderson. The bloodiest day for U.S. women forces in Iraq. Yesterday at least two U.S. marines were killed and 13 wounded when the bomber blew up a vehicle near a U.S. convoy near Fallujah. Three marines and a sailor were unaccounted for. Today the Pentagon said 12 of the 19 casualties were women.
In Washington, a second case of mad cow disease confirmed. The secretary of agriculture says British tests on a cow in the U.S. have come back positive for the disease after conflicting results on U.S. tests. Officials stress that you and your family are not at risk because the cow was banned from the food supply.
In Milan, Italy, the big headline in the newspapers, arrest warrants issued for 13 Americans believed to be CIA agents. They're accused of planning the kidnapping of a Muslim cleric back in February, 2003. And secretly flying him to Egypt where he was allegedly interrogated and tortured.
In St. Louis, Missouri, huge fireballs shooting into the air as a plant that supplies propane and other gases catches on fire. A five block area was evacuated. Amazingly there are no reports of any injuries. There is also no word yet on what caused that fire. And Anderson, that's a look at the headlines. Back to you.
COOPER: Sophia, thanks very much. See you in about 30 minutes. Another reminder, new way to get to the top stories on CNN, 24/7 on cnn.com and just click on the new video link. You can get informed and all for free.
Still to come on 360 tonight, the search for Natalee Holloway. Five suspects under arrest in Aruba. We're going to take you step by step through the case. And through the last night Natalee Holloway was seen.
Also tonight, what is up with Tom Cruise? Did you see him on "The Today Show" this morning. We have the tape. We'll show you later on. Him and Matt Lauer really going head to head. He had some pretty unkind words for Matt Lauer there. We'll show you what happened.
Plus, the story of the mystery in England. This man, he doesn't speak, he only plays the piano. We're going to take a closer look at the piano man. He thought the story was over. We thought he had been identified. He has not yet. He's still there. We'll tell you why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: You may remember the story, the piano man, found wandering in Britain, soaking wet, unable or unwilling to speak. Now all he could do was play the piano. A lot of you have written in wondering whatever happened to this mysterious man. Well, tonight in the world in 360, CNN's Becky Anderson has an update. Becky?
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, this is a truly bizarre story. And at present it has no conclusion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Can you imagine having to go on television to convince the world you're just fine. That you are in the middle of a strange case about mistaken identity. "It is not me. It is someone else," he says. He is a Czechoslovakia musician who went on local television to squash rumors and hope, hope that he was this man, a patient at Britain's Medway Maritime Hospital, known to the world only as the piano man. He was found a month and a half ago, wandering the shores of a small British isle dressed to the nines, a beautiful tuxedo and sopping wet. Mysteriously all the labels cut from his clothing. Any identifying marks, manufacturer's brand, for example, actually removed from his shoes. Confounding the mystery, he doesn't speak and hasn't written a word. He communicates only through writing music and playing on the hospital's piano.
The mystery has consumed people around the globe and more than a thousand have called British authorities claiming to know his name. Some theories perhaps he's a lost street performer from Paris. A touring classical pianist from Sweden or maybe a missing person from a nearby country. The theory he was the Czech musician was -- seemed to be the strongest so far. But that, like all these leads, went nowhere.
Meanwhile, the hospital has installed a piano in his room and doctors are hoping he will eventually open up to them through his notes.
MICHAEL CAMP, SOCIAL WORKER: He's lost in his music, really. When he's not on the piano, his eye contact is solid. He wouldn't allow you within two or three yards of him. When he's on the piano, you can stand as close as you like, you can touch him. He's extremely relaxed. ANDERSON: Relaxed but still not saying anything. Just playing away, seemingly content at being an enigma.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: So, Becky, how long are they going to keep this guy?
ANDERSON: It's incredible, isn't it? At present they simply don't know. They can't let him go. The guy is in a secure wing in this psychiatric unit at present and a couple of theories as to exactly who he is or might be. They say he could be a concert pianist. He could be a ballet company's repetiteur, who is a guy who accompanies the orchestra in rehearsal. He could be an illegal immigrant they say. Or he could be autistic. And that's the problem, of course. They've got to keep him in because they've got this consideration that, of course, he may be quite ill.
At this stage they've got him in a room of his own. They've got a piano in that room. They've try music and art therapy. They've had thousands of calls from around the world. But they have no idea, they say, who he is and they are no closer to finding out. Anderson?
COOPER: Fascinating. Becky, will you say repetiteur again? What was that word?
ANDERSON: Repetiteur.
COOPER: Excellent. Very good. Thank you very much, Becky Anderson.
The Aruba investigation intensifies. Tonight , retracing the last known step of Natalee and the suspects now custody for her disappearance.
And hidden germs in your office. On your keyboard. Your phone. Even your desk. Tonight, why your office may be dirtier than a bathroom toilet and what you can to clean it up.
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: All this week we have been looking at the hidden germs around us through our weeklong series, "Enough to Make You Sick." One big source of germs is a place most of us go to every day. The office. You would be surprised how many germs are there. Believe it or not, you would be safer spending your day on the toilet. CNN's Heidi Collins has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sushi, sandwiches and salads, all sharing space with computers, phones and files.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Save time eating at your desk. There is no time to eat out. COLLINS: Add to that shared work spaces and sick colleagues and you have a veritable Petri dish of illness causing organisms.
DR. CHARLES GERBA, MICROBIOLOGIST: Most people don't clean their disks until they start sticking to it.
COLLINS: And professor Charles Gerba should know. To many, he's Dr. Germ. Gerba has been tracking disease causing bacteria in the office as part of several studies sponsored by Clorox. What he found is even though we nearly live at the office, we definitely don't clean it like we should.
Gerba and his team collected more than 7,000 samples from one places across the country. He found on the average work space 21,000 bacteria per square inch. And before you touch that elevator button, might want to put on a glove. He found 3500 bacteria per square inch. That may not mean much to you, but compare it with the average workplace toilet, just 49 bacteria per square inch.
That means your work space may have a whopping 400 times more bacteria than your office toilet. To make things worse, on many of the surfaces he tested he found para influenza. And that will just plain make you sick.
ROSLYN STONE, COO, WELLNESS INC: People don't wash their hands and they've brought their germs from outside into work. They've come to often sick. And our hands transmit those germs.
COLLINS: Roslyn Stone is the coo of wellness incorporated and the chairwoman of the CDC workplace flu prevention team. She says people who come to work sick have become a pricey problem for employers. According to a Harvard business review, companies lose $150 billion a year in lost productivity and higher health care expenses.
STONE: When you do use a disinfectant it does keep that surface relatively germ free for 24 hours. So you need to do it every day.
COLLINS: But are we doing it every day? Especially since most of us hardly have enough time to eat a proper lunch, much less clean up.
(on camera): Here at CNN we do have disinfecting wipes like these. But this is a busy 24 hour news operation. So we began to wonder, what might be lurking on our desks, phones and conference tables? And is anyone cleaning them? So we brought in the germinator himself. Arm with the cooler full of swabs and a germ meter, Professor Gerba arrived at our offices ready to put us to the test. With his germ meter at the ready Dr. Germ wanted to see exactly what we gamble with every day.
GERBA: It's going to give me a relative idea how many bacteria on it. Usually if it is bad it will beep here and say fail.
COLLINS (voice-over): Then the beeping begins.
GERBA: That's not a good sign.
COLLINS: He tested the phones. The work stations. The mouse. And that conference table where we hold our meetings every morning.
GERBA: Looks like right here, this looks bad. 5.5. That's a record.
COLLINS: 5.5. Eww.
GERBA: That means there is more than 50 million bacteria ...
COLLINS: 50 million bacteria.
GERBA: Wow.
COLLINS: The break room was so bad, he sent the samples off to the lab where they came back at astronomical levels. The lab technician stopped counting when the number hit 100,000 bacteria per square inch on the sponge. Remember, the average workplace toilet is only 49 bacteria per square inch. Just when we didn't think it could get any worse, we found Richard's desk. When Gerba checked his germ meter, it came back 4.3.
COLLINS: 4.3.
GERBA: That's off the charts.
COLLINS: The worst we had.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's embarrassing.
COLLINS: Gerba went on to test Richard's keyboard and found it, too, was high.
GERBA: 3.5.
COLLINS: When Dr. Germ is amazed, this is not good.
GERBA: Not good.
COLLINS: After all that, we weren't sure we could take anymore there was one place we hadn't tested and had to know about. Anchor man and colleague Anderson Cooper. Conveniently enough the day we're testing he was away. What we found was horrifying.
(on camera): That's heinous.
GERBA: This guy needs to wash his hands once in a while.
I certainly wouldn't use this desk. I would leave this guy alone.
COLLINS (voice-over): We couldn't resist telling Anderson our results when he came back into the office.
(on camera): You failed miserably. COOPER: 2.5 is passing.
COLLINS: Yes.
COOPER: I got a 3.7.
COLLINS: Yes. You failed miserably. The next one is your keyboard here. You got a 4.1. And I can tell you that 4, the number 4 equals about 10,000 bacteria per square inch.
COOPER: Wow. And again it's 2.5 to pass.
COLLINS: 2.5 to pass.
COOPER: So my keyboard is.
COLLINS: I would not -- I would not even touch it, again. And then your phone is dismal. Okay. 4.6. Which once we hit -- the number 5, I mean ...
COOPER: It doesn't look that bad.
COLLINS: You're talking about 1 million bacteria per square inch.
COOPER: Smells delicious.
COLLINS: Did you put your nose on it?
COOPER: Yeah.
COLLINS: I wouldn't do that again either.
(voice-over): Even professor Gerba was disgusted.
GERBA: Well, this is pushing a 2 or 3 and in terms of the germiest places I've ever seen. We haven't found one pass in the whole office area we tested which is really unusual.
COLLINS: So what should you do? Gerba says you should wash your hands frequently for at least 60 seconds. You say you don't have time? Then Gerba says pick up a hand sanitizer and wash your hands with that. And wipe down your desk with disinfectant every day.
COOPER: Well, a lot of you think your home is cleaner than our office, we challenge you to prove it. Well we found one person who is up to the task. We sent our germ specialist to the a person's house. Make sure you watch Monday and find out how a viewer's home matches up against our pretty filthy office.
Coming up on 360, step by step through the investigation in Aruba on the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. What police know so far about that fateful night.
Also, an island vacation tragically interrupted. We'll have the latest on a murder mystery in paradise, not in Aruba, another island. The story of two more Americans who have run into trouble in the Caribbean.
Also ahead, tonight, did you see Tom Cruise on the "Today" show this morning? Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: Matt, you don't even -- you're glib. You don't know what Ritalin is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: He got really testy. We got the tape of what you might call a war of words. We'll show you the interview.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: We have some breaking news to report. It is the saddest kind of news to tell you about. The three boys who went missing in Camden, New Jersey on Wednesday, 5-year-old Jesstin Pagan, 6-year-old Daniel Agosto and 11-year-old Anibal Cruz have been found dead.
We go to CNN's Allan Chernoff for the latest. Allan, what's happened?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, people on the scene about a mile and a half from here are saying that the three children were found in a van, in the trunk of a van, suffocated from the heat. Now, this has not yet been confirmed by authorities here. Not confirmed by the police.
But around the scene, people are crying. Dozens and dozens of people crying. There are many helicopters there, many police officials as well, we understand, from our producer who is on the scene right now. And the aunt of Anibal in fact has said to us that the three children are dead.
Now, recall, these children went missing exactly two days ago. There has been an extensive search through this entire town. And all officers of the police force, state troopers and federal authorities, as well, have been involved in this extensive search. And until only an hour ago, the police were saying that they had actually no records. Anderson, right now, there is an ambulance pulling up here, but we have no reason to believe that there may be a connection.
Nonetheless, we've been hearing many sirens over the past few moments. Anderson, back to you.
COOPER: Allan, and I know this is breaking news, want to stay with you for a little bit here.
We saw a picture just a moment ago. I'm not sure if we can -- it's a helicopter shot, it was a live shot of what appeared to be where police are working. I don't see a van in this image. Just from the angle I'm looking at, it looks like they put tarps over what I imagine to be their bodies. You say they were found in a van, or was it the trunk of a car? Do we know? CHERNOFF: Well, that is what the report is from just locals who are on the scene. So, again, this is not yet confirmed. But locals have told us on the scene that the children were found in the trunk of a van. So that apparently is what we have been told just by locals.
But, again, to emphasize, none of this has been confirmed by the authorities. We have been waiting to hear from them repeatedly, calling, but so far no comment at all.
COOPER: And again, what you're looking at, this is a live shot of Camden, New Jersey. This is a search which has been going on since these little boys were last seen. They were last seen Wednesday around 5:00 p.m. right on the street where two of them lived.
One of their mother, actually, Anibal's mother, Elba Cruz, said that she left the kids playing outside in the yard for five to 10 minutes. That's all, she said, five to 10 minutes while she was cooking dinner. And they disappeared.
So obviously, there are a lot of questions if they wound up in the trunk of a car or in a van, suffocated from the heat, which is what this -- these eyewitness reports are saying, it raises certainly a lot of questions about how they got into that van. We're going to continue to follow this story, it's a breaking story. We'll follow it throughout this evening.
Want to continue now to our top story. It's been 25 days since Natalee Holloway disappears, and with every passing day, we are learning more and more about what happened to her on that night. Pieces of a puzzle slowly, very slowly being put together. Five suspects now in custody. But their stories have been changing. We asked CNN's Karl Penhaul to retrace what we know about Natalee Holloway's last steps. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PENHAUL (on camera): It was Sunday evening, and Natalee Holloway came out of her room, 7114, and headed across to the casino in another block of the same hotel.
Natalee wanted to try her luck at the tables. She came with some of her school friends. Others who were in the casino at the time say Joran Van Der Sloot was already at his regular spot at the poker table. Even at 17, he's legally too young to gamble.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we were watching roulette, Natalee and her friends came, and I -- while I was there, I saw that she came and asked if -- what Joran was going to do tonight, to make sure that he went to Carlos 'n Charlie's that night.
PENHAUL: Meanwhile, 15 minutes' drive away from the casino, in downtown Oranjestad, Deepak Kalpoe was just finishing his shift, here at the Cyberzone Internet cafe.
(voice-over): His mother, Nadira Ramirez, said her youngest son, Satish, went to pick up Deepak in Deepak's silver gray Honda. NADIRA RAMIREZ, MOTHER OF HOLLOWAY DISAPPEARANCE SUSPECTS: Because Satish don't have a car, and his brother, he's welcome in his brother car.
PENHAUL: And that's the Tattoo party boat anchored out there. Steve Croes, one of five men now being held in connection with Natalee's disappearance, worked as a deejay on board. But his boss, Marcus Wiggins, says the vessel doesn't normally sail on a Sunday night. But when we asked him to show us the log of where the boat was the night Natalee disappeared, he refused.
MARCUS WIGGINS: He does have some seaman capabilities, and he was working as a relief engineer for us, working his way up in the company.
PENHAUL: We don't know much more about Croes' movements on the night of May the 29th and early May 30th. We do know that Joran Van Der Sloot, the Kalpoe brothers and Natalee all met up here around 11:00.
(on camera): This is Carlos 'n Charlie's, this well known island party spot. There is booze by the yard, nonstop dancing, and it's a place where locals and tourists meet.
Defense attorney Chris LeJuez saw the Kalpoe brothers statements to police as evidence presented against one of his clients, one of two security guards arrested then cleared of involvement in Natalee's disappearance.
CHRIS LEJUEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: One of them stayed at that -- Joran danced with her in the bar, and the other one stayed, so they did not dance in the bar. Although she asked him more than once to dance with her.
PENHAUL: This missing poster tells part of the story of what happened next. It was about 1:30 a.m. early Monday, and Natalee, just as she did hours earlier, took another gamble. Police say she got into the silver gray Honda car with Joran Van Der Sloot and Satish and Deepak Kalpoe.
(voice-over): The Kalpoes' mother said they didn't know Natalee, but were doing their friend Joran a favor.
RAMIREZ: They don't even know Natalee. Never, never see her before, not even the day before, not even an hour before they knew her.
PENHAUL: Once in the car, LeJuez told CNN the witness statements he read said the Kalpoe brothers rode up front, and Natalee Holloway and Van Der Sloot were in the back. LeJuez says the Kalpoe brothers statements say Natalee wanted to drive northwest, along the coast to the lighthouse. They stated Natalee and Joran Van Der Sloot were kissing and fondling.
(on camera): From Carlos 'n Charlie's, it's about 20 minutes drive here to the California lighthouse. By day, it's a popular tourist destination. By night, a romantic rendezvous.
From here, the sand dunes stretch out, and the ocean is about half a mile away.
(voice-over): In their original statements, police say Van Der Sloot and the Kalpoes say they dropped Natalee off at the Holiday Inn between 2:00 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. But investigators say the young men's stories changed during interrogation. Since their arrest, they've told their own mothers they were lying.
RAMIREZ: So I ask my son, where are you guys really put off her? You said the Holiday Inn. He said, no, mom, he asked to leave him somewhere by the beach there, by the Marriott.
PENHAUL (on camera): And this is the area where Satish Kalpoe told his mother they dropped off Joran Van Der Sloot and Natalee, so they could walk the beach alone.
(voice-over): We don't know the exact time, or even if that version of events is really true. Ramirez, though, says her two sons were home in Hoeberg (ph), about 20 minutes' drive away, by around 3:00 a.m.
According to his mother, Anita, Joran Van Der Sloot admits he never left Natalee at the Holiday Inn.
ANITA VAN DER SLOOT, JORAN'S MOTHER: He says, mom, I dropped the girl at the beach. I walked with her. I left her, because she wanted to stay there. I left, and I don't know what happened.
PENHAUL: Nobody's explained how Joran got home some 10 minutes' drive from the beach.
Thursday, his father, Paul Van Der Sloot, a judge, was arrested in the case. Prosecutors haven't explained exactly what they think he may have seen, heard or done.
It's almost four weeks since Natalee vanished. Her family believe the mystery may soon be solved. But the biggest piece of the puzzle is still missing: What happened to Natalee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, that of course, the question still trying to be answered. Karl Penhaul joins us live. We're also joined by criminal defense attorney Jayne Weintraub, who joins us from Miami. Good evening to both of you. Karl, let me start off with you. What do we know about Judge Paul Van Der Sloot? He's in custody, he is being questioned. Is he cooperating?
PENHAUL: Not according to one law enforcement source we have been speaking to, Anderson. He says that Judge Paul Van Der Sloot is not cooperating. You'll remember that he was hauled in for an interview over the weekend, over the last weekend, and spent several hours with police then as a potential witness, not a suspect. But now that he's been arrested as a suspect, the law enforcement source says he's not cooperating, Anderson.
COOPER: Jayne, why do you think he was brought? I mean, I guess there are a couple of different options. There is one theory that maybe to pressure his son, you know, sort of play a guilt trip on his son. That you know: Your dad is now in custody because something you may have done.
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Or, it's something that he, himself, has done and maybe he has some complicity himself in cleaning up behind his son or maybe, there's an innocent explanation. One thing we know: They don't leak things in Aruba and so -- to the media and so we really don't know. It is mere speculation.
COOPER: What the prosecutor said, Karl Penhaul, is that initially it had been thought maybe he involved in some sort of cover- up. They're now saying he may have been actually involved in the disappearance. Is that correct?
PENHAUL: That is correct in that they're saying he's somehow involved in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, but that could, of course, include covering up for his son in some aspect of his alibi, Anderson.
COOPER: Does he -- he doesn't have lawyers present, does he?
PENHAUL: Certainly not during the first six hours of his interrogation. That's not allowed and then, we understand, in the interrogation that he underwent today, his defense attorney wasn't present in that, either, Anderson.
COOPER: Jayne, does it surprise you, I mean, we're led to believe now that their stories are starting to change. The Kalpoe brothers have told their mom that they lied. They told -- or one of them told one of the security guards who originally a suspect that he had lied and then the -- Joran Van Der Sloot's mom tells the associated press: Her son has changed his story. As a defense attorney, that would concern you, I would think.
WEINTRAUB: Well, it would concern me, but the other side of the coin, Anderson, is that if you interrogate and question and question somebody endlessly and there's no end in sight, people might just crack and say whatever you want them to say. That's the problem and we call it false confessions, as defense lawyers.
But there's a bigger question here and that is that the judge initially did cooperate, gave several hours of statements, we know that. And to say now that's not cooperating, we don't know it means he doesn't know any more than what he's already said, or if he is now refusing to speak.
COOPER: Jayne, in Aruba, authorities need reasonable suspicion to arrest someone. In the states here: Probable cause. What's the difference?
WEINTRAUB: Well, the difference really is semantical, from what I can see, except that one is being held without bond and in Aruba, they can apparently hold you on this mere suspicion, a lesser standard than probable cause, for up to six months, with periodic review by a judge. In the United States, you would be entitled to a bond unless, of course, you're a flight risk or a danger and you would have a preliminary hearing where lawyers could cross-examine and look at the evidence and in Aruba, you don't have that.
COOPER: Karl, what is the latest on the search? I mean. what is the status? How -- are Aruban authorities even still looking or is it just this search team from the United States, who have come down and Natalee's family?
PENHAUL: Well, the Aruban authorities, for several day now, have been waiting for leads to develop during the interrogation of suspects. They'll then act on those leads to carry out one or two searches. Today, for example, we saw the Coast Guard, together with four FBI agents on board, use a boat to search a lake near the Van Der Sloot home.
But of course, the Texas volunteer search team is now on the ground or is arriving in the next few moments. They'll start their search in earnest tomorrow and they're going to do a thorough search of areas that may already have been searched or other areas that have only been searched lightly. They're going to look to do this on a grid pattern with some fairly sophisticated pieces of equipment, Anderson.
COOPER: Let's hope it makes a difference. Karl Penhaul, good to see you. Jayne Weintraub, good to see you as well. Thanks very much.
WEINTRAUB: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: Sophia Choi from HEADLINE NEWS joins us right now with an update of the top stories at the hour.
Hey, Sophia.
CHOI: Hi, Anderson.
More deadly rains in southern China and weather forecasters say more is expected, especially in China's most populated region near Hong Kong. Rain and mudslides have killed at least 536 people, over the past two weeks. The rainy season usually lasts from June until August.
On Capitol Hill, a vote against Viagra and other impotence treatments. The House voted, overwhelmingly, to ban Medicare and Medicaid from paying for drugs which treat erectile dysfunction. The sponsor of the measure, Iowa Republican Steve King, says this move will save taxpayers some $105 million next year. The Senate still has to vote on this measure.
And starting tomorrow, anyone visiting the National Zoo in Washington will be able to see five new cheetah cubs. It's the zoo's second cheetah litter in seven months. Experts say Cheetahs are hard to breed, so this is being described as a rare feat and Anderson, it's pretty hard to imagine that those tiny cats will one day be really fast, like 70 miles-an-hour, I think.
COOPER: Yes, that's pretty amazing. Sophia, thanks very much, have a great weekend. See you again in about 30 minutes.
Don't forget, you can watch video clips 24/7, cheetahs or anything else you want on CNN.com. Just click on the video link.
Coming up tonight, though, on 360: Tom Cruise gets testy on "Today." Did you see this? We're going to show you what he had to say to Matt Lauer and it wasn't very nice, I've got to admit.
Also ahead tonight: A murder mystery in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Two friends fly down for a wedding -- two Americans and they don't come back. We'll follow the investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, it started as a vacation and it ended in murder. Last week two friends both in their mid 20s had flown to St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin islands, to attend a wedding. Today those friends were buried and police are trying to solve two murder mysteries.
CNN's Adaora Udoji is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI (voice-over): No one knows what happened here in the dead of night on the island of St. Thomas. New Yorkers Leon Roberts and Tristan Charlier could not wait to get here to the land of white-sandy beaches. They were coming to the wedding of a Charlier's long time friend.
This is the story of two ordinary guys from New York. By all accounts, really good guys. Roberts, everyone called him Bugsy, 25, a talented carpenter, engaged to be married.
TOWANNA GRAY, LEON's FIANCEE: He was very sweet, honest. He cared about people. He just liked peace. That's how he was.
UDOJI: His friend was 24, a computer programmer who helped homeless kids build Web sites; an amateur jazz musician.
SIMON DASHTI, TRISTAN'S BROTHER: He was amazingly charismatic. He'd be able to figure out and do whatever he wanted to.
UDOJI: They spent six months planning and saving for the trip.
(on camera): The two men arrived here at St. Thomas' international airport around noon, excited and looking forward to an amazing vacation in this Caribbean paradise. Which means the similarities to Natalee Holloway in Aruba are haunting: A vacation, a vanishing on a tiny island. The difference here is, both men were found murdered.
Here is what we do know. They first checked into their hotel, a modest one off the main drag. They forgot a few things so they went next door to this grocery store and the clerk says, bought toothpaste.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those two were just like regular tourists.
UDOJI: Touring the sites, later hooking up with the friends, the bride and the groom, for a night of celebration, the wedding still four days away; hanging out on the beach, parties at night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We went down to the beach, to the sand and we just sat around and just, you know, just caught up; just, you know, laughed, had fun.
UDOJI: Eventually the two friends and the groom ended up here at a popular island restaurant for dinner. And from here, the path to a brutal crime begins to unfold.
(on camera): The bride headed back to the hotel, as did the groom a little later. But according to investigators, the two New Yorkers headed this way, going to a club just a few blocks away.
(voice-over): By now, it is getting late, somewhere around midnight. Club 75, with its adult entertainment, is in full swing. Police believe by 1:00 a.m., Roberts and Charlier bought a pizza at this convenience store. It was the last time anyone saw them alive.
By 2:30 a.m., their bullet-riddled bodies, seeping blood, were found side by side near a bus stop by a driver. They lay feet from the ocean, three blocks from the store.
The big question, what happened after they left the store? The men were not robbed, and they had never been in trouble before.
So far, they have little else, though the commissioner says they're aggressively investigating, with the assistance of the FBI and others.
COMMISSIONER ELTON LEWIS, VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT: We can account for all of the personal belongings to the victims to include moneys, credit cards.
UDOJI: He says in the U.S. Virgin Islands, including St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix, it is an unusually brutal crime. Crime is an extremely sensitive topic here, especially the murder of two American tourists, in a territory that brings in nearly 2 billion tourist dollars a year.
LEWIS: This is an unfortunate incident, but yet isolated. We have 2 to 3 million tourists that visit -- visitors that visit the U.S. Virgin Islands annually.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never heard anything like this happen before.
UDOJI (on camera): Ever?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ever.
UDOJI (voice-over): As for the victims' families, they cannot begin to understand what happened on a dream vacation.
DESMOND ROBERTS, LEON'S FATHER: My son didn't deserve that. He's too much a wonderful and a beautiful person to die like that.
PHILLIP DESSAELES, TRISTAN'S GODFATHER: I still want answers. The whole community up here wants, the whole families of this tragedy, you know, demand.
UDOJI: It's still not real to their families. They do share one thing with the Holloways in Aruba: All they can do is wait, hope to learn the truth.
Adaora Udoji, CNN, St. Thomas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: One more mystery to be solved.
Coming up next on 360, Tom Cruise attacking Matt Lauer. Did you see that this morning? Called him glib. A couple of other things. Well, we'll show you the tape, and we'll look into what is going on with Tom Cruise. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: So they say.
So did you see Tom Cruise on "The Today Show" this morning? It's so bizarre, I am flustered. Usually when a celebrity promotes an upcoming movie, they do a bunch of interviews to promote, you know, the movie. But with Tom Cruise, things haven't been going according to plan. Instead of hyping "War of the Worlds," which premieres Wednesday, he seems to be harping on everything but the film. You could say Cruise is getting downright combative. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER (voice-over): Tom Cruise has always seemed, well, controlled. Smooth with the media. Maybe a little scripted.
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: I love Spielberg.
I love Spielberg.
COOPER: Friday on "The Today Show," however, the script got thrown out.
CRUISE: I'm asking you a question. Matt, I'm asking you a question.
MATT LAUER, CO-HOST, "TODAY SHOW": I understand there's abuse of all of these things.
CRUISE: Now, you see, here is the problem. You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do. COOPER: What was supposed to be an interview promoting Cruise's new film "War of the Worlds," turned into a war of words over his Scientology beliefs and psychiatry.
In case you were wondering, Scientologists don't exactly approve of psychotropic drugs.
CRUISE: Do you know what Adderall is? Do you know Ritalin? Do you know now that Ritalin is a street drug? Do you understand that?
COOPER: They even got into Cruise's recent comments criticizing Brooke Shields for saying anti-depressants helped her deal with postpartum depression.
CRUISE: The thing that I'm saying about Brooke is that there is misinformation. OK? And she doesn't understand the history of psychiatry.
COOPER: A theme began to emerge. Matt Lauer and Brooke Shields don't know the history of psychiatry; Tom Cruise does.
But we don't want to sound glib.
LAUER: But aren't there examples where it works?
CRUISE: Matt, Matt, you don't even -- you're glib.
Am I in focus? Am I in focus?
COOPER: Is Tom coming unglued? Maybe the grueling promotional tour is getting to him. After all, in 10 days, he's flown from Tokyo to Berlin to Paris and Marseille, Madrid, London, then New York. Maybe he should have taken something for jet lag, but we know how he feels about drugs.
CRUISE: You're a jerk!
COOPER: Or maybe getting squirted with water at the London premiere was the last straw. Which brings us to last night, and the movie's premiere here in New York. A goon squad kept a close eye on the crowds.
CRUISE: I can't restrain myself.
I try to restrain myself, but I can't.
COOPER: Or maybe the giddiness of a new love finally sent him over the edge. Or maybe it was just Matt Lauer.
CRUISE: You should be a little bit more responsible.
COOPER: But the weekend is here. Tom, take a breath, if not a chill pill. You're due to face the media at another premiere in L.A. on Monday.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Well, our next guest says Tom Cruise's recent behaviors prove that the actor is coming unhinged. Sarah Bernard is a contributing editor to "New York" magazine.
I was stunned by this interview. I got to -- I mean, I just thought he...
SARAH BERNARD, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Amazing, right?
COOPER: He came off as very obnoxious to Matt Lauer, you know, lecturing him about that he doesn't know the history of psychiatry. I want to show you this poll "Entertainment Weekly" did. They asked -- has -- to people, they asked, has all the attention to Tom Cruise's private life change the way you feel about Tom Cruise? More than 16 percent said they liked him less. He's got to be -- I mean, the movie company has got to be concerned about that.
BERNARD: That's a problem. Yeah, I bet they're not too happy with him right now, the producer of "War of the Worlds."
Well, what's really interesting about this, is obviously this is in context of his life for the last 10 weeks. And he's been acting really loopy, but it's pretty much been about his own life. You know, his relationship, we might think he's a little out of control, but still, he was discussing himself.
Today, he really crossed the line. He crossed over into being so judgmental about poor Brooke Shields, first of all, but more than that. I mean, everyone in the world who feels like they have been helped by these drugs is being told by Tom Cruise they're doing something wrong.
COOPER: Well, also, you've got to ask, OK, what about schizophrenics? You know what I mean, should they not take medication?
BERNARD: What about people that are so depressed they're suicidal? I mean, it's just -- you can't say things like that. And I feel like what is going to happen is whereas people might have been thinking, oh, he's kind of wacky on "Oprah," now they are going to get angry.
COOPER: Sarah, you don't know the history of psychiatry. Tom Cruise does.
BERNARD: I do, I do, though, Tom. We're going to go head to head on this.
COOPER: Also, I was looking -- as I often do, I was looking at Al Roker's blog. And...
BERNARD: Fantastic blog.
COOPER: Yeah, it is a fantastic blog. He actually said something -- I want to put it on the screen. He said, "Just as we should shut up about wondering if Tom's relationship with Katie Holmes is a publicity stunt, Tom oughta pipe down about people he doesn't know, about situations he hasn't experienced. You're an actor, not a med student."
When Al Roker, you know, who is probably the nicest guy in the business, is telling you to pipe down...
BERNARD: He's upsetting the jolly weatherman. He's really crossed the line.
COOPER: Exactly.
BERNARD: But I think that that is really going to hurt him. I mean...
COOPER: Is it going to hurt the movie? Because I mean, no attention has been paid to this movie. It's all about his behavior.
BERNARD: That's true. I mean, people are having a hard enough time getting people into the theaters. I mean, that's just the sort of downward trend in box office. So on one hand, you might say that any awareness of a film, any kind of publicity will help, but the problem is, when people start to feel like the celebrities have become a joke, I mean, this is kind of what happened to Ben Affleck, remember, in this sort of height of the Jen and Ben years, where it was like, what was that movie that he was doing, "Saving Christmas," "Gigli." I mean, that kind of stuff really started to backfire. Remember when Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton were doing all their weird stuff? People don't like it.
COOPER: But also at this -- at this point, though, not just a joke, but offending huge swaths...
BERNARD: Offending people.
COOPER: ... of the movie-going public, and people who may theoretically go see your movie. It's an interesting tact to take. I mean, clearly, he feels very strongly about it, but...
BERNARD: And what is going to happen with Katie Holmes now? I mean, this is the kind of thing where you have to -- you know that this is -- he's got this movie to promote, but what about Katie? How is this relationship going to affect her career? Believe it or not, people once called her the new Audrey Hepburn. And I don't think she looks smart in this relationship. She looks like a Stepford fiancee.
COOPER: Yikes. Sarah Bernard, have a great weekend, from "New York" magazine. Thanks for joining us.
That's 360 for the evening. Thanks for being with us. Join us again on Monday. CNN's prime-time coverage continues now with Paula Zahn. Hey, Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW": And now I really, really want to see his new movie. Thanks, Anderson.
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