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American Morning

Cindy Strikes; Idaho Girl's Ordeal

Aired July 06, 2005 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Miles O'Brien. A story that's been breaking in the overnight hours. Tropical Storm Cindy smashing into New Orleans with strong winds and heavy rain. Also keeping a close eye this morning on Dennis gaining strength. It could be a hurricane as early as today. We are live with the latest.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien. And shocking new details about what Shasta Groene says happened to her and her brother while in the hands of a convicted sex offender.

And for the first time, new information that links Joseph Edward Duncan to the triple slayings at the children's Idaho home.

M. O'BRIEN: And the G-8 summit in Scotland opening today with more violence in the streets. Mass demonstrators battling police there as world leaders prepare for their first meetings, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning. Lots of news this morning. We're developing -- well, we're looking at a developing story in Singapore.

S. O'BRIEN: The deal is done. It's done. They've made the decision.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, it kind of is, isn't. They sort of took the suspense out of it by announcing the elimination rounds as they went along. New York is out. Moscow was out.

S. O'BRIEN: Madrid was out to be out of the remaining two.

M. O'BRIEN: So that leaves London and Paris.

S. O'BRIEN: And they say the decision is made, and we'll know in 30 minutes or so.

M. O'BRIEN: So you got to stay tuned for that.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, talk about the big tease, huh?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

We begin, however, at the Gulf Coast. People there are holding their breath as one tropical storm blows through and another picks up steam in the Caribbean. Tropical Storm Cindy blew into New Orleans early this morning. There's some reported downed trees and power outages, but officials say it could be a lot worse.

Dan Lothian is standing by in New Orleans.

Dan, this is very low-lying city. I assume there's a lot of flooding.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do see some localized flooding. Right now, things are much calmer. The wind has died down. The rain has stopped. We're standing right along the banks of the Mississippi, just up the street from the French Quarter, and as I said, things are fairly quiet now, and folks here are quite happy they have dodged this storm that came through. It's moved on.

Let's take a look at some pictures of what happened, the aftermath of this storm as it came ashore late last night here in the New Orleans area. The rain pounding. The winds reaching up to 70 miles an hour. And what the result was, that you had some streets that were simply flooded, that you could not pass through, or cars as they were driving through appeared as if they were driving through streams or rivers. Also downed power lines and downed trees blocking roads all across the New Orleans area as well. You'll see scattered branches and so forth down on sidewalks.

We are told that thousands, tens of thousands of people are left without power. The power company here did bring in extra crews, some 1,100 crews to deal with the power outages. In terms of evacuations as the storm was approaching, as Cindy was approaching this region, people were advised to move away from the low-lying areas, concern that flooding could cause problems for them.

So there were no mandatory evacuations, but they were encouraged to move away, and also those who work out on those oil rigs, they were told to get off the oil rigs. That's something that pretty much happens any time there's any major storm development in the Gulf. So the very latest now, the winds have died down, but the rains have stopped, but people here still dealing with what they will be facing as the sun rises, the clean-up from all those trees and power lines that are falling down -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Dan Lothian in New Orleans, thank you very much.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Our other top story, an 8-year-old girl is now providing terrible details of her kidnapping and her molestation. And Shasta Groene has now put the suspect, Joseph Edward Duncan, at the scene of the murders of her mother, her brother and mother's boyfriend. Police are waiting for tests to confirm their belief that the remains that were found in Montana are those of Shasta's 9-year- old brother Dylan.

Sean Callebs live for us in Coeur D'Alene in Idaho. The little girl says that Duncan was the one who was in the house and that Duncan was the one that took her and her brother. Do investigators, Sean, now have evidence to link him to this triple murder soundly?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Investigators still remain quite tight lipped about that, as they have been the entire time. The only thing that changes all of that, of course, is this court document that you talked about, detailing some of the detective's conversations with young Shasta Groene. Indeed she does put Duncan at the scene of those triple killings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CALLEBS (voice-over): For the first time, court records put 42- year-old Joseph Duncan at the Groene's house, the grisly scene of a triple murder in mid May. The documents show investigators interviewed 8-year-old Shasta Groene after she was found with Duncan this past Saturday at a Denny's restaurant. Shasta says Duncan tied up her mother, 13-year-old brother and her mother's boyfriend. Authorities found the three victims bound and beaten to death on May 16th.

The records say Duncan eventually drove Shasta and her brother Dylan to at least two campsite in Montana. There, the documents say, Duncan repeatedly sexual assaulted the two children. This information comes as a shackled Duncan made his first court appearance, appearing before Judge Scott Wayman through a video hookup.

Duncan is charged with two counts of first degree kidnapping with attempt to commit rape. If convicted he could be sentenced to death.

JUDGE SCOTT WAYMAN: Do you understand the nature of your charges, Mr. Duncan?

JOSEPH EDWARD DUNCAN: I believe I do, yes.

CALLEBS: Even as Duncan appeared in court, about 90 miles to the east in Montana, investigators were wrapping up work on a site where apparent human remains were found.

TIM FUHRMAN, SALT LAKE CITY FBI: We know that Shasta and Dylan Groene, and Joseph Duncan spent some time in the Lo Lo (ph) National Forest over the last seven weeks.

CALLEBS: The remains have been spent to an FBI lab in Virginia for DNA testing. Meanwhile, investigators say young Shasta remains in the hospital and is doing, quote, "remarkably well, given the nature of her horrific six-week ordeal."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLEBS: Indeed this community has rallied around young Shasta Groene, a fact at the outpouring of sympathy and support. She has received so many toys, stuffed animals, cards and letters, an entire room has been filled at the hospital, so many, in fact, that the family and the hospital says, thank you, but that's enough -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, That's nice to hear. Sean Callebs for us this morning. Sean, thanks.

In just a few minutes, we're going to get a complete update on the investigation from Captain Ben Wolfinger of the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department. That's just ahead -- Miles. M. O'BRIEN: Turning now to the Natalee Holloway investigation, her father says the FBI told the family two weeks ago it's likely she is not alive.

Meanwhile, CNN has learned two fisherman allegedly told investigators they did not see a couple matching Holloway and Joran Van Der Sloot at the beach the night she disappeared. Chris Lawrence live in Palm Beach, Aruba.

Chris, those statements by the fishermen, did they have something to do with how the Kalpoe brothers, those other two suspects, were released?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it may have had something to do with why Joran Van Der Sloot was detained and his two friends were let go. Again, it's impossible to tell for sure, because these are closed hearings, and we don't know everything that was said, but this very well may have played a factor in this judge's decision.

Again, we know that Joran Van Der Sloot says he spent time with Natalee Holloway on that beach, and that he left her there alone and then went home. Well, on the Sunday afternoon just before court, police took Van Der Sloot back to that same beach, and step by step had him reconstruct what happened on the night that Natalee Holloway disappeared, showing them specific places where he was that night.

Then the next day in court they bring up these two fishermen who say, we were in the same place at around the same time and we didn't see any couple matching their description.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE "JUG" TWITTY, NATALEE HOLLOWAY'S STEPFATHER: I knew that they had other witnesses that said that Joran was not where he said he was that night on the beach, and I think that's one of the reasons that they held him, because that was another piece of information that the judge probably said, you know, the guy's lying still.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Again, the other two suspects, the Kalpoe brothers, already back home. Van Der Sloot's 60-day detention began yesterday, but he does have a few days to file an appeal -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Chris Lawrence, in Aruba, thank you very much.

Coming up in our next hour, our full interview with Natalee Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, and her stepfather, George "Jug" Twitty -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, President Bush is in Denmark this morning, but he heads in just about an hour for the Group of 8 Summit of world leaders in Scotland. This morning in Denmark, he answered questions about the U.S. war in terror, climate change and aid to Africa. Suzanne Malveaux live in Copenhagen this morning. Hey, Suzanne, good morning to you.

The question's really for the president kind of ran the gamut, didn't they?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They certainly did, Soledad. He not only answered questions, but he also is celebrating his 59th birthday here in Denmark as well, a surprise from the queen during the lunch, a surprise birthday cake, also some celebrations.

But serious issues earlier with the Prime Minister Rasmussen. Of course both of them talking and taking on various questions. The president traveling to the G-8 summit later today. One of the main issues, of course, is climate change. The United States is the only G-8 country not to ratify the Kyoto climate change agreement, calling to curb greenhouse gas, emissions. President Bush today trying to explain the logic behind that, saying of course that he does not believe that it ultimately will work for this country, or for the world, because developing countries have not signed on to that agreement. He also said, of course, that it would be bad for the U.S. economy, so the president trying to explain why it is that his administration differs from the other G-8 leaders -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Suzanne, also, a domestic issue, the pick for the supreme court justice. What did the president have to say about that?

MALVEAUX: Well, the president said that he is looking at a number of briefing papers. He did so aboard Air Force One before actually traveling here, to Europe. He also said, of course, that he wants this to be a dignified process, and he takes issue with already some conservative groups have started to fire, have started to attack his attorney general, Alberto Gonzales. He says this is a dear friend of mine, this is a good man, and that he does not like it. He's defending his friend. He also says for the Senate judiciary, as well as the Senate as a body, a whole, not to let this get in the way what he calls the special interest groups, these extremists. He says he wants this to be a dignified process -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president. Suzanne, thanks.

Well, small but violent protests against the G-8 has given police some second thoughts about 100 hooded protesters, their faces covered by bandanas. You can see in this picture, rushed a police line in Sterling, Scotland today after reports that the violence spilled over to attacks on cars and businesses. The Scottish police decided to cancel a planned anti-war, anti-globalization protest. It's getting pretty scary there.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, they're really going after the police there, bigtime.

The United States will not host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. New York, along with Madrid and Moscow, out of the running. That leaves just Paris or London, and we'll go live to the International Olympic Committee for the announcement in our next half hour. Meanwhile, the bad news came less than an hour ago to a crowd gathered around the corner at Rockefeller Center. Wasn't many people up, though, were there?

S. O'BRIEN: No, they could get the news from home.

M. O'BRIEN: Watch it on the telly.

You can imagine there were a lot of long faces, though, among the crowd there. Much the same when folks in Moscow heard the big nyet. And tears and mourning in Madrid. They were eliminated in the third round. Again, Paris and London still in the running. We'll go live to Singapore where the official announcement will come soon.

What's your bet?

S. O'BRIEN: You know, I'm going to go to with Paris. You predicted that earlier, and I don't why I'm saying that. That's my guess.

M. O'BRIEN: As Jacques Chirac would say, we have better food. That's it.

S. O'BRIEN: yes, but, you know. That's true, but that's not...

M. O'BRIEN: That is true.

S. O'BRIEN: It's not about the food. We have good food here in New York City.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, didn't help. Didn't help, did it?

S. O'BRIEN: We could have had it here. It didn't help at all. No it did not.

Ahead this morning, some disturbing, very graphic details coming from 8-year-old Shasta Groene in Idaho. She tells what happened while she was held captive, and also what she knows about the three murders inside her home. That's ahead this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Also ahead, we'll talk with a terrorism expert about a series of attacks in Iraq targeting diplomats from Muslim countries. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: The account of 8-year-old Shasta Groene's ordeal of kidnapping, rape and death is shocking and horrifying, but the details are providing police with a wealth of evidence. Captain Ben Wolfinger of the Kootenai County Sheriff Department with us once again this morning from Coeur D'Alene.

Captain, good to have you back with us.

Such a horrifying tale this poor little girl has told you, but what it has done, up to this point you could not have place Joseph Duncan at the scene of those murders, and now you can, so that's significant, isn't it?

CAPT. BEN. WOLFINGER, KOOTENAI CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT.: It really is. It's really given investigators a huge leap forward in the entire investigation, not just the missing children, but the triple homicide as well.

M. O'BRIEN: What can you tell us about how Duncan ended up at that house?

WOLFINGER: Well, that's still a great mystery, is how did he end up there? What was his relationship with the family? And that's something we just don't have the answers to yet. In the court documents, it said that Shasta didn't know Duncan before this. Steve Groene has said publicly, he didn't know Duncan; he never heard of the man before last Saturday. So that's the great mystery the investigators are still trying to it pit together.

M. O'BRIEN: Of course there was a party at the house that day. Possible that he could have arrived with one of the guests?

WOLFINGER: Yes, that's certainly a possibility, and that's certainly one of the avenues the investigators will follow to determine how Duncan got there.

M. O'BRIEN: Everything about this guy, when you look at his rap sheet, he appears to be a lone wolf. But have you ruled out the possibility that there were accomplices, at least in the murder side of this crime?

WOLFINGER: Well, as you've probably seen in court documents, it only says Shasta only saw Duncan at the house. And investigators with the evidence they have today only shows Duncan is the one involved. Now they're not closing the door on someone else, and they're still following those possible leads, but right now, it looks like just Duncan.

M. O'BRIEN: It's just horrifying to think of this poor 8-year- old girl having to go through what she went through, what she has witnessed, and the have to recount it, because she is your witness to all of this. Tell us about how she's doing, first of all, and how you're being careful about her emotional state at this point.

WOLFINGER: Well, actually, Shasta's an amazing little girl. She's very strong. She's doing very well. Medically she's doing good. The investigators take this very slow, meticulously. Only one investigator talks to her. He's especially trained with dealing with child victims, and it's just a very slow and tedious process. But as you've seen, she's given us a wealth of information so far. She's rather matter of fact about it, and that's helping investigators immensely.

WOLFINGER: You know, I just don't know. You can't understand what goes through the mind of an 8-year-old who's been through this kind of trauma. But the investigator and Shasta certainly have a rapport and they're able to discuss these gruesome details actually at a level that I know many of us couldn't do. M. O'BRIEN: I understand you have discouraged the father, her father, from talking to her about this so that the interviews are, I guess, airtight, so to speak.

WOLFINGER: Well, you know, and that's exactly it. The more people in the mix, the more muddled it gets, the less you want to talk about it with investigators. And we have to have that information from Shasta. We need as much detail as possible that we can substantiate with physical evidence so we can take this forward, prosecute Duncan to the fullest.

M. O'BRIEN: Captain Ben Wolfinger with the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office. Thank you very much. Working long hours up there. We appreciate your time.

WOLFINGER: Thank you, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, we are tracking those tropical storms. Cindy making a huge mess down south and Tropical Storm Dennis gaining some strength in the Caribbean. He's expected to reach hurricane status today.

Also, we should find out really almost any minute whether the 2012 summer games are going to be held in London or in Paris. We're going to carry that announcement for you live right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: We're going to find out any moment now who is going to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. It's either going to be London or it will be Paris. We're going to find out ahead.

But why would the winning cities tend to lose when they actually get to take home one of the most sought after prize in sports, which is the hosting of the Olympics? Andy Serwer takes a look at that as he minds your business this morning. It's kind of a win/lose, in a big way.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" COLUMNIST: Yes, it's a whole lot of money, I mean, from a financial standpoint, Soledad. Here's all you need to know about the Olympic Games. The games last two weeks, the bills can last two decades or more. That's because the cities that end up hosting the Olympics are the ones that put together the most ambitious expensive packages.

For instance, Athens spent an estimated $12 billion on the games last year. That's 5 percent of that nation's annual GDP. Security is a huge cost, Soledad. And in Atlanta, for instance, they spent $150 million in 1996. Oops, and there was a bombing.

And in 2004, you can see they spent $1.4 billion. You know, the cities keep having to come up with more and more. New York wanted to build a $2 billion stadium, and that didn't happen. London's promising a $4 billion stadium package.

And the hangover is amazing for these cities. For instance, Montreal, 1976, they're still paying. That's 30 years later. I mean, that was a real fiasco, that one. And Sydney...

S. O'BRIEN: I thought L.A. did great.

SERWER: L.A. made some money but, you know, you wonder how they came up with the math and the costs there. Peter Uberoth (ph) ran those Olympics and did a great job.

In Sydney, for instance, in 2000, there's still a hangover there in terms of the costs. The upkeep of the facilities, $32 million a year. The mountain bike track was closed and the superdome, where they held all the field events, that's bankrupt. So you can see, it's just amazing. We have a story at money.com where you can go through a lot of this. So you might win the Olympics, but you still end up losing a lot of money.

S. O'BRIEN: So, in other words, New York just won by losing, in your financial theory.

SERWER: If you're a tax payer in New York City, that's probably true, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right, Andy, thanks.

SERWER: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: We're going to have the Olympic announcement from Singapore in just a few minutes, when it happens. And we've got much more coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

Ahead in "90 Second Pop," twinkling toes fight it out tonight on the "Dancing with the Stars" finale. But reality stars copycats are already on their heels ready to cut in. Can the new shows keep pace? And Comedy Central gets into the "Mind of Mencia."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's been complaining, Stevie Wonder has, about violence in videos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: The question is, will the new show take Dave Chappelle off the minds of viewers? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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