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American Morning

Rape Suspect Escapes In Florida; Katrina Investigation; Servicemen Home For the Holidays; 'Minding Your Business'

Aired December 22, 2005 - 07:30   ET

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

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Details of the killings back in 1982 today and they testified from behind a curtain to protect their identities.
Police now have a suspect and are trying to nail down a motive in the shooting of two off-duty police officers in Baltimore, Maryland. The bodies of the victims, one male and one female, were found on Wednesday. The suspect has been charged with two counts of first- degree murder and was reportedly once engaged to one of the victims.

And airport security is in high gear ahead of the holiday weekend, and no one is immune to the screenings. Not even Santa. Especially with the new TSA rules going into effect today, old saint nick got patted down. There you see him at LAX. He had to remove his coat, his belt and his boots, even his presents got x-rayed. The videotape is all part of the airports efforts to let travelers know what they to can expect at the airport.

Soledad and Rick, no word if Santa's elves had any trouble getting through the gate.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: You know they screened them. Oh, yes, they did. They screened those little elves like everybody else.

WALLACE: Exactly. They got a thorough pat down, I'm sure.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Absolutely.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: I don't know about that belt. A lot of metal there.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: That belt will never get through.

All right, Kelly, thanks.

WALLACE: Sure.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Let's talk about what's happening in Florida. Police there fanning out this morning, searching for an accused rapist. They're also asking this morning for the public's help. Reynaldo Rapalo escaped from Miami-Dade County Jail on Tuesday using a rope made out of bed sheets. Miami Police Chief John Timoney joins us this morning from Miami.

It's nice to see you sir, as always. Thanks for talking with us.

CHIEF JOHN TIMONEY, MIAMI POLICE DEPT.: Good morning, Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: So many questions here. First of all, there was a ventilator shaft in his cell. Why would any prisoner, and he was a particularly bad sort of prisoner, but why would any prisoner have a ventilator shaft in the cell?

TIMONEY: Yes, I mean, that's one of the questions that -- there are two separate investigations. One, obviously, to get this guy off the streets. And then the second one is how did this escape take place, who was involved, how the facility is constructed, how was he able to get -- we know he had certain tools that assisted him in the escape. How did he get them. And then, of course, the most obvious one, you know, the ventilating shaft coming into the cell is kind of, in this day and age, you know, it makes you scratch your head.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, sort of a no brainer there.

Now do you think then, with that long list you just gave me, that in some way this was an inside job? Because it wasn't even the guards who noticed he'd escaped. It was somebody else who was coming into the building who said, hey, did you see there's a bed sheet hanging out of your window?

TIMONEY: I know, that part's extraordinary. This individual was coming to visit somebody at the jail and noticed the bed sheets hanging off the side of the building. And so there are a lot of questions and very few answers at this point. But there is a thorough investigation going on and somebody, persons, have to be held accountable.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the investigation into trying to track him down. Do you have any sense of where he could be? He's a Honduran native. Do you think he's left Miami, is heading back to Honduras?

TIMONEY: Yes, he has no family in Miami. All his family is in Honduras. You know, we went to Honduras three years ago when we arrested him first. We were in constant contact with those officials down there. But we still think he's in the Miami area. Clearly we were checking the bus lines, the train lines, boats leaving the area.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: What makes you think he's still in Miami?

TIMONEY: There's just a sense I guess knowing this guy. Because we know him pretty intimately, having arrested him and then conducting numerous interviews with him. And so it's easy to, obviously to assimilate in the Miami area and certain neighborhoods, little Havana. And so I'm hoping that -- I guarantee you, I guarantee you that at least one or two people know who he is or where he is and we need them to call. I'm convinced that somebody assisted him once he got over the prison wall, there was somebody assisting him in the escape. And so my sense is there are people out there that know where he is and they need to come forward.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: There was a guy who attempted to escape with him. A guy named Adando Bravo (ph). Are you getting any information -- he broke his legs, I guess, trying to do the same jump.

TIMONEY: Correct. Yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Is he giving you any information?

TIMONEY: Yes, we've, obviously, interviewed him after his operation yesterday. There was another prisoner that was released about a month ago that was in that same part of the prison complex who knew about this -- that this escape was going to take place. And so clearly there was a conspiracy over the last few months. And what we need to do is kind of unravel that and get as much information as possible. But at the end of the day, Soledad, I'm convinced that the answer lies in the public, in the little Havana area, to give us a call and let us know if they've seen him. We have gotten some phone calls and none of them have checked out so far. But I'm convinced there are people out there that know.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, we're throwing your tip line on the -- the phone number on the screen right now for those who (INAUDIBLE).

TIMONEY: Well, thank you. Appreciate that.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a personal question, because your family, unfortunately, in this case, has been in the news lately.

TIMONEY: Sure.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Your son, Shawn, who's 25, has admitted to trying to purchase 400 pounds of marijuana from an under cover agent. He pleaded guilty yesterday. Are you involved in his case in any way, or at least from an -- advising him.

TIMONEY: No. No, no. I've -- no, no, I've purposely stayed away from that. That's between him, his lawyer and the federal judge. And so clearly it hurts, but it's a private matter and, you know, it's in the hands of the court and we'll leave it at that.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, I bet that's tough for any family. All right. Miami Police Chief John Timoney, thanks for talking with us this morning. Hopefully you'll nab this guy and answer some of those bigger questions too about what the heck went wrong there.

TIMONEY: Thank you, Soledad. Appreciate it.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thanks.

Rick.

SANCHEZ: In October, CNN told you about possible euthanasia at a hospital in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. CNN Investigative Reporter Drew Griffin reveals new details now. Drew joins us live from Atlanta.

Drew, what do we know about how this investigation is going? Are they close, at this point, to making any announcements? DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, several weeks ago, CNN first reported that 73 subpoenas were issued in connection with what happened at Memorial Hospital. We know those people are being questioned. We also know the attorney general has hired a famed forensic expert, Cyril Wects (ph), and has sent tissue samples from some of the bodies that were found in that hospital there to a lab in Philadelphia.

We know that the investigators are looking now at more than one medical personnel who may have been involved if this. But the attorney general, Rick, isn't releasing any details. It's extremely sensitive. And that office has given us no indication how long this is going to take or even, Rick, if charges are going to come out of this.

SANCHEZ: And there's another question. There's the question of why this may have happened. Whether patients were near death and perhaps under the conditions that someone thought it was better to end their suffering. Is that what you're finding?

GRIFFIN: Actually, it's not. What we're finding is somewhat stunning. Sources close to this investigation, and quite frankly a lot of people who were at Memorial Hospital, including the doctors and some nurses, are saying to us and apparently to investigators that not all the patients were in their final moments of life. They would not have died anyway, as has been the common thinking. Some patients did have these DNR or do not resuscitate orders on them. But we have been told specifically that does not necessarily mean they were near death.

Two possibilities then are emerging of why it happened, if it did happen. Number one, the staff may have thought it was in such danger, Rick, that sitting in that hospital surrounded by water and looters and all that chaos, that they would be the next target. Or, number two, the staff was simply tired, hot, frustrated and sick of waiting for help. They were down to the last patients who would have been very hard to evacuate, bedridden patients. And if this did happen, that it may have happened just to speed up the evacuation of the staff.

SANCHEZ: Is there a particular drug that they may be testing for in the bodies of the deceased? And how many of these bodies are we talking about?

GRIFFIN: Forty-five bodies. Though we believe the actual suspected cases of euthanasia or possible cases is much smaller than that. And, yes, there is a drug being tested for. It is morphine. It's a painkiller that in large doses can kill.

Rick.

SANCHEZ: CNN's Investigative Reporter Drew Griffin with that story. We thank you, Drew.

GRIFFIN: Thanks, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Soledad. SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Another check of the weather at 38 minutes past the hour. Let's get right back to Bonnie Schneider.

Hello, Bonnie. You've got some good news for us here at least for the weekend/

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: That's my hometown.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: No snow for them.

SANCHEZ: That's my hometown.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: No snow this year, Rick, in your hometown.

SANCHEZ: No, sorry.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I got bad news for you, man, no white Christmas.

SANCHEZ: You know, we had it once.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Really?

SANCHEZ: 1977.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Really?

SANCHEZ: Yes. It was the last time it snowed in Miami.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You remember that really clearly because you were a young'n then.

SANCHEZ: Well, I was very, very young, as a matter of fact.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, you were not that young. We're the same age. I know how young you were.

SANCHEZ: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, some big discounts for last minute holiday shoppers. We're going to tell you where you can find them. And . . .

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA SCHULTZ: He missed a whole year of our lives. There's no way that -- you can't get that back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: We're going to meet a military family that is extra grateful this year to have dad home for the holidays. Their situation a little tougher than most because there are 11 children they're raising. We'll tell you how they got by while dad was serving in Iraq ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: For the thousands of families with loved ones who returned from Iraq this year, the holidays will be extra special. It's an honor of all these families and all that they've been through that we decided to showcase one household, a very, very large household, which is counting its blessing this holiday. AMERICAN MORNING's Kelly Wallace joins us with their story.

Good morning.

WALLACE: Good morning, Soledad.

You know, you have four kids. Hard for me to imagine four kids.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You're on your way. A good start. Go ahead.

WALLACE: Moving slowly. But can you imagine 11 kids. They go through 40 loads of laundry a week, maybe a few gallons of juice a day. But then imagine if one of the parents is sent off to Iraq and that leaves one of these parents then to oversee the entire household all alone. Well, that's what happened to the Schultz's of Cleveland, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONNA SCHULTZ: This is like one of 40 loads a week.

WALLACE, (voice over): Donna Schultz, a mother of 11, says she never let the kids see her cry while her husband Karl was away in Iraq. Only now that he's home safe and sound can she let it all out.

DONNA SCHULTZ: He missed a whole year of our lives. There's no way that -- you can get that back. You know, no matter how much you share and -- you can't get that year back. It doesn't make any difference. But . . .

WALLACE: Once the tears come, they are so hard to stop.

DONNA SCHULTZ: They come because I really, really, really, really tried hard to keep it normal for them because they -- I can understand. They cannot.

WALLACE: They are her children, nine still live at home here in Cleveland, Ohio, eight, ages 13 and younger, are adopted, and most of them have special needs. Like nine-year-old Curtis (ph) who is mildly autistic and is home schooled by Donna every day. And seven-year-old Tesha (ph) whose development is similar to that of a 6-month-old. Managing this complex household all by herself this past year meant prioritizing and definitely let something things go.

DONNA SCHULTZ: We had a lot of macaroni and cheese and hot dogs because kids like that and it's quick.

WALLACE: And quick is key.

DONNA SCHULTZ: Quick is key (INAUDIBLE). WALLACE: And, socks, I guess, just had to go.

DONNA SCHULTZ: Exactly. I could not sort by boys and girls and I just kept putting them together and throwing them in the drawer. You find the pair that fits you.

WALLACE: It was almost exactly one year ago on Christmas Day when Karl, an army reservist, had to say good-bye to his family and head for the unknown in Iraq.

How hard is that, I mean, as a father, as a husband, as a friend?

KARL SCHULTZ, ARMY RESERVIST: You try not to cry but, you know, you're around other people but you do, you know. And you look at it like, OK, it's time to go.

WALLACE: One of the toughest times for this family was back in August when Donna took the kids to a memorial for 14 Marines from Cleveland who were killed in Iraq. Eleven-year-old Samuel (ph), who tags along with his dad just about everywhere, took it the hardest.

DONNA SCHULTZ: And I kept trying to tell him, you know, that daddy was going to be safe, that it would be OK, but I'm sure the wives told their children the same thing. So, anyway.

WALLACE: Donna says her faith helped her when she worried most. So did her family. Her son Daniel (ph) says there was also something else.

DANIEL SCHULTZ: Obviously the piano. I mean, that's kind of mom's therapy as far as I'm concerned.

WALLACE: Now the family is preparing to celebrate. On Christmas, Karl says he's not going anywhere. He plans to stay up late admiring the tree.

KARL SCHULTZ: And thank God, you know, I made it through that year.

WALLACE: Donna says she's not thinking about all the shopping she still hasn't done. Her thoughts are elsewhere.

DONNA SCHULTZ: It's just hard to explain because the -- all the other junk that goes along with the holiday, I'm not even thinking about. He's just -- he's here. That's just it, he's here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: Definitely an amazing woman. And Donna told us something else. She says she appreciates her husband more now than she ever did. She says that's going to make this Christmas extra special. Soledad, she says she appreciates him so much, trivial things don't bother her. Like the fact that he put Christmas lights up on the porch and they don't work.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh. WALLACE: She's letting that go.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Letting it go. Gosh, what a nice story.

WALLACE: Yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Great, great job.

You know, does she give advice to other people who look at her and say, wow, you're holding it together, you were able to do it, what can I do as a military wife? Maybe not with 11 kids but with two or three or any number who's struggling.

WALLACE: Exactly. And we asked her that, because we wanted to try and get that message out. She said, a couple of things. Number one, remember how important this is, what their loved one is doing in Iraq. It's important. Don't forget that.

Number two, just sort of think about the holidays. It's about family and you're still going to have that even if your loved one is overseas. She also said, there is light at the end of the tunnel. You know, hopefully everything works out. She thought her situation would never end, but ultimately the husband or the wife does come home, you adjust, and you get back on with your life. She did say, Soledad, that it strengthened her family too.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, I bet.

WALLACE: And in some ways she said this experience has strengthened her family, her relationship. It's made them better.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, I would -- I believe that. Kelly, what a beautiful thought.

WALLACE: She's lovely.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thank you. Thanks.

WALLACE: Sure.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Rick.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, guys.

Andy's going to be joining us in just a little bit with something really cool and expected.

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. That's right. And also, Rick, we're going to tell you that there are rewards for those who wait. We'll give you the latest on holiday shopping coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Diane Sawyer is celebrating her big 60 today.

SANCHEZ: Would you believe it?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: She looks like a gazillion bucks, doesn't she? Fantastic.

SERWER: Happy birthday over at GMA, right?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Also, one of our producers, Carl Schwitzer (ph), celebrating. How old is Carl today? Anybody? Anybody?

SANCHEZ: Does anybody know how old Carl is?

SERWER: No. No.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: He won't tell us.

SERWER: Thirty-nine.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: So I'm getting no answer.

SERWER: Twenty-nine.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Twenty-nine.

SANCHEZ: He was watching it snow in Miami back in '77 though.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Carl's 55 today.

SERWER: Thirty-nine, as I said. Thirty-nine years old.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And Carl, until you admit it, we're going to go with that number.

Welcome back, everybody.

Thirty-five. Congratulations.

SANCHEZ: Well, retailers are, well, making it worth the want or worth the wait, I should say.

SERWER: Worth the wait.

SANCHEZ: Makes a little more sense, doesn't it?

SERWER: Worth the want, worth the wait, the whole deal.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: We're following (ph) you.

SANCHEZ: Well, what they're doing is they're getting the procrastinators and they're finding ways to get people in, right?

SANCHEZ: That's right. I mean, it used to be the markdowns came after Christmas, Rick. Now it seems like they start around Thanksgiving. The sales have begun in earnest and we want to run through some of them for you. Obviously retailers looking to get people in the stores. Only three days left. Saks Fifth Avenue marking things down 40 percent on top of previous markdowns, now 60 percent. Lordies (ph), that would be Lord and Taylors to most people, down 25 percent to 40 percent. JC Penney sending out $10 gift certificates. Were on track to do about 3 to 4 percent up in Christmas sales this year.

Also, I wanted to show you this little e-mail that went out from J. Crew. This is kind of a local story. We thought we'd tell you about it. Calling all New Yorkers. We know it's tough getting around and shopping. So if you buy $150 worth of merchandise at the J. Crew web site, free shipping. And listen to this, you're able to order as late as 11:0 a.m. on the 23rd. That's very interesting, the on-line shoppers are moving that deadline back and back. And you know UPS and FedEx are going to be busy, busy, busy over the next couple days.

Want to talk about the biggest shopping days of the year. And, as we told you, it's not black Friday after Thanksgiving. In fact, this year, it's the Friday -- previous Friday, December 16th, $5.2 billion. But I think this Saturday, Soledad, could be huge. You've got warm weather coming to the East Coast, maybe the end of the strike here in New York City, I'm hoping.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Plus, you have a lot of people who are just in New York City for work . . .

SERWER: Right.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You know, out that so that the shoppers could come in.

SERWER: Right. Absolutely.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: That's my theory.

SERWER: So I think we're going to get a big bump that last (INAUDIBLE).

SANCHEZ: Man, you are cool.

SERWER: Really?

SANCHEZ: That Lordies line just blew me away.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, yes, I was going to say, you know you're the only person who calls it Lordies, right?

SERWER: I think that's retail -- that's retail speak, OK.

SANCHEZ: Man. Lordies.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Uh-huh.

SERWER: Yes, right.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Well, Johnny Cash made Folsom Prison famous. And now the man in black is going back. A screening of the Johnny Cash biopic . . .

SERWER: Biopic.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Biopic.

SERWER: Biopic.

SANCHEZ: There you go.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: "Walk the Line" will be held at the prison in January. The lead actor, Joaquin Phoenix, is expected to attend as well. Cash recorded a concert at Folsom Prison back in 1968. It was huge hit. The movie and lead actors have all been nominated for Golden Globe Awards. That movie's gotten some great reviews.

SERWER: Yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Have you seen this story? It comes to us out of Tokyo. Where did it go here? Oh, this -- diamonds. Take a look at this cake. Can we show that picture? Do we have it? Isn't it a lovely cake.

SERWER: Yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Is it worth $1.7 million, though, are you asking yourself.

SERWER: What?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Because it is studded with diamonds, 223 diamonds, including -- there's a five carat heart shaped stone.

SERWER: Crunch. That's not good for the teeth.

SANCHEZ: No, I wouldn't think. What do you pick the diamonds out as you're eating it?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It's from a department store in central Tokyo and they are marketing this. And they say it's entirely edible except for the diamonds, of course.

SERWER: Yes, no.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: So in case you guys, speaking of procrastination, are looking for something to get me this year . . .

SERWER: Let her eat cake. That cake, though.

SANCHEZ: Right.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, I'll eat cake. No problem.

SERWER: Cake is a girl's best friend.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Absolutely. Now it is.

SERWER: Right, that kind of cake.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, we're going to get to the day's top stories, including that bipartisan compromise to extend The Patriot Act. Feedback from Tom Ridge this morning. He, of course, is the former head of Homeland Security about the wire tapping controversy. He'll also tell us if he thinks America is safer today. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Coming up next week on AMERICAN MORNING, just in time for those New Year's resolutions you've made, we're going to tell you about five diets that really work. They are tried and true methods to help you shed the unwanted pounds in 2006. That's all next week on AMERICAN MORNING.

And a reminder, we begin at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Still to come this morning, just a few days left before the end of the tax year. We've got tips on what you can do right now to maximize what you can write off come tax time. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Good morning. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Commuter chaos day three. Seven million New Yorkers are hoping for an end to the transit strike. We're live on the strike watch this morning.

RICK SANCHEZ: I'm Rick Sanchez in for Miles O'Brien.

Katrina wiped out their home. Now accusations that some evacuees are being denied housing because of their race. It's a disturbing story. It's head.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And you might think it's a little bit to early to talk about income

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