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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Gay Bar Attack; Lifesaving Doctors; Katrina Cleanup: So Little Progress; Mother and Baby Murdered
Aired February 02, 2006 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Last night he allegedly ordered two drinks using a fake ID. They would be the only drinks he'd have there before hate took over and he took out his hatchet. CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was just before midnight at the Puzzles Lounge, a small crowed bar, when a man in a black hooded sweatshirt walked in.
PHILLIP, BARTENDER: He had asked me whether or not this was a gay bar, and I had confirmed with him at that time that yes, it was a gay bar.
FEYERICK: The bartender, who asked that we call him Phillip, showed CNN where the man he considered suspicious entered and approached two men in the back of the bar.
(On camera): The bartender says the suspect downed two drinks pretty quickly and then he came here, sat one of these stools just next to the popcorn machine. Two men were playing pool at this pool table. When one of them turned his back, that's when the bartender says the suspect pulled out a hatchet and began hitting him.
(Voice-over): Police say 18-year old Jacob Robida then struck a second man in the face with a hatchet. He dropped it only when a customer tackled him. Then, he pulled out the gun.
RICHARD SPIRLET, CAPTAIN, NEW BEDFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT: One individual was shot in the back and another individual was shot in the chest.
FEYERICK: They're in critical condition. A third man was also shot, but treated and released. The district attorney is still investigating whether the shooter knew any of his victims.
PAUL WALSH, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Whether it was personal, we don't know. Whether it was just sexual orientation, we don't know that either.
FEYERICK: Robida lives with his mother in a modest home on a quiet street. Upstairs Neighbor Laura DeCosta has known Jacob Robida since he was a child.
LAURA DECOSTA, NEIGHBOR: He stayed to himself and he has his room with all swap stickers on his walls. And other than that, you know, and he belongs to -- it's rare he walks with that clique there you know, he doesn't like anybody.
FEYERICK: On a personal Web site, myspace.com, Robida is seen is with a swastika tattoo. Another shows him holding a pistol. There's also a picture of a large machine gun.
Police have not said what kind of gun was used in the attack. Finally, there is text that reads, "Pass the Axe" and "Get your hands bloody baby!"
Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New Bedford, Massachusetts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, joining me now from New Bedford with the latest on the search for Jacob Robida is New Bedford Police Captain Richard Spirlet.
Captain, thanks for being with us. At this point, are you any closer to finding this man?
SPIRLET: Right now, we're interviewing numerous people who know this individual. When it first happened, we put out approximately 20 detectives as well as state police and (unintelligible) of the District Attorney's office were involved. These officers worked from approximately 2:00 o'clock this morning. They broke off at approximately 4:00 o'clock this evening.
We brought in another 10 or so and they're out there still interviewing -- as I just left the station, were still interviewing friends of this person that we're looking for.
COOPER: Is this guy -- I mean, is he an active neo-Nazi or is it just that, you know, he had this stuff on his wall and on his Web site?
SPIRLET: Well, as far as we knew, he flew under the radar screen from us. He's not been active like for the police to know about it until he did this hideous crime earlier this morning.
COOPER: My understanding is he was at one point in sort of a police program for sort of troubled youth. What can you tell us about that?
SPIRLET: Well, it's a junior police academy. It's approximately a 12-week course. It's on a Saturday and one afternoon, and they're involved with the police. They do calisthenics, they go camping, they'll do rope climbing. They'll do a lot of agility -- kind of do a lot of the discipline. It's not necessarily just the people who are put there by the courts, but we'll have some, you know, some kids who have parents who just say jeez, I think my son -- our daughter, because girls involved needs a little more discipline. So I really don't know the reason how he came. I don't know if he was court mandated or he just came on his own.
COOPER: But to your knowledge, he doesn't have a record right now with you guys?
SPIRLET: I didn't look. In Massachusetts, we can't state a person's past criminal history. It would be part of a CHRI (ph) violation.
COOPER: Okay. Do you have any sense, I mean, if he's still in New Bedford, or do you have any indication he tried to go on the road?
SPIRLET: Well, we're kind of looking at basically he's 18 years old. Some of these individuals, they go 50 miles away, they think they're practically the other side of the country. The way we're looking now, we feel he might still be in the area. We've broadcast a nationwide alert for the vehicle that was involved, mostly if our officers were to approach that vehicle. We executed a search warrant at the individual's home. We found quite a bit of information and it's just something that we're -- we don't want any officers walking up to this individual, due to the type of what he had just done earlier, where he's been to, go against gays and other sexual orient of person or their gender.
COOPER: We know he took out a hatchet, bludgeoned several people -- do you know the condition of the people he attacked?
SPIRLET: My latest is one person is still in critical condition, another person was in fair, and I do not know the condition of the third party.
COOPER: He then shot several people as well. The bartender has said that he pointed the gun at the bartender on his way out, pulled the trigger, but it clicked, that there were no more bullets. Is he still -- I mean, do you have the weapons? Is he still armed to your knowledge?
SPIRLET: He's still armed, and that's what makes him so dangerous. And the state of mind he's in, that's why we know he's still armed with a handgun. We don't know what other type of ammunition or handguns that this individual would have.
COOPER: Captain Spirlet, I appreciate it. I know it's been a busy time for you and your officers. Good luck in the investigation. Thanks.
SPIRLET: Thank you.
COOPER: We're going to have new details emerging tonight about the ambush that left three American soldiers badly wounded, along with ABC News Anchorman Bob Woodruff and Photographer Doug Vogt. The accounts coming from the troops who were there.
Not surprisingly, at least not to those who know Bob and Doug, it's a picture of two professionals taking chances to do what they came for, to get closer to the story. They left the relative safety of an American patrol, to ride with Iraqi forces. A gutsy call that has now landed them in a hospital stateside where happily, Doug Vogt is doing well; and Bob Woodruff, while still seriously hurt, is doing better. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): Doctors at Bethesda Naval Hospital are saying little about the condition of Bob Woodruff today. ABC says he's slowly being brought out of sedation and showing small signs of improvement, occasionally waking or making small movements.
DAVID WOODRUFF, BOB WOODRUFF'S BROTHER: He's doing great. I mean, I, you know, like I said before, I think he's been through an incredible thing. So, he's doing better certainly than all of us expected. And we fully expect and hope that he'll continue to improve.
COOPER: Woodruff and his Cameraman Doug Vogt were flown back to the States on Tuesday from an Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. On board with them, three U.S. soldiers, also seriously wounded in similar bomb attacks.
Vogt is said to be doing well, sitting up and joking with the staff.
BOB WOODRUFF, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: There was no way to make it over the land because the bridge over to Jordan opened up too late. We wouldn't have made our flight, so we had to charter this one.
COOPER: The pair were on assignment in Iraq, traveling in a convoy with Iraqi security forces when they hit an improvised explosive device.
According to the ABC News Web site, Woodruff and Vogt had climbed into an Iraqi military vehicle just 10 minutes before the roadside bomb exploded.
Woodruff became the co-anchor of the ABC evening news less than a month ago, taking over for the late Peter Jennings and sharing the desk with Elizabeth Vargas.
ABC says it will take two of its highest profile talents, Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson, to fill in for him.
Yesterday, Woodruff's wife issued a statement, thanking the military for the care they gave her husband and thanking the public for its support, saying, "Your positive thoughts, prayers and good wishes have sustained us over the last 72 hours as we have experienced the highs and lows of this emotional roller coaster."
They know, however, Woodruff's race to recovery will be more of a marathon, than a sprint.
WOODRUFF: So this is a long road. We all know that, we're prepared for that and we think he's going to be under great care here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (on camera): Well, in a moment you'll hear an Air Force surgeon describe his work at a field hospital in Iraq, as Groundhog Day. It is both the sadness of his job -- one wounded GI after another; and the joy, one more life to save. On Sunday, Doctors Jeff Bailey and Brett Shifka saved a -- I'm sorry, it's Schlifka. I always like to get the names right -- saved a lot of lives, including Bob Woodruff's and Doug Vogt.
Today, they described their day, Groundhog Day, to CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I want to go back to Sunday. Obviously, a lot of people are talking about Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt. How did you guys first find out about those two?
MAJOR BRETT SCHLIFKA, NEUROSURGEON, U.S. ARMY: Well, both are -- in fact, it was kind of funny that my wife e-mailed me after I got out of surgery from the surgery the other day, and she told me who we operated on. I really didn't have any idea until we were finished with the case. Like I said, we treat everybody the same, so people's identity really is irrelevant. We take care of their wounds.
GUPTA: How many wounded did you see on that particular day, on Sunday? What was that day like for you?
SCHLIFKA: It varies, sir. We see quite a few. The last several weeks have been quite busy, but you know, the wounded come as they may and we just handle it.
LT. COL. JEFF BAILEY, CHIEF OF TRAUMA, U.S. AIR FORCE: Every -- they say for us, every day is Groundhog Day. Today is actually Groundhog Day, but everyday really is Groundhog Day for us because every day essentially is the same.
SCHLIFKA: That's quite true, sir.
GUPTA: And Major Schlifka, you know that I'm a neurosurgeon as well. There was a sign apparently on Bob Woodruff's bed that said, caution, left bone flap missing. And I think what they're referring to is what's called a craniectomy, which is actually removing part of the bone, leaving it off. Why would that be done?
SCHLIFKA: We do the decompressive craniectomies, either a unilateral or a bilateral, to counteract the swelling of the brain because not only do we have to deal with the penetrating injuries, but the kinetic energy that's transferred that causes the brain to swell. And since these patients sometimes have to undergo transports back to Landstuhl and back to the States, it's one of the safer ways to protect them against malignant intracranial hypertension.
GUPTA: And Major Schlifka, you made a comment that obviously just about everyone gets operated on from a neurosurgical standpoint, unless they are brain dead, essentially. Why is that? What is the goal? What is the command there in terms of taking care of patients?
SCHLIFKA: We err on the side of the benefit of the patient. A lot of times we receive the patient intibated, and paralyzed and sedated. And I think that if they are not, you know, showing signs of a brain stem damage, we give them the benefit of the doubt and perform an operation to treat their penetrating injuries or to their blunt injuries to the brain. Particularly important in the American soldiers, you know, Dr. Baka (ph) and I don't pretend to play God here and we think it's important that we try to prevent any of our soldiers from dying in country. We would prefer them to be in Landstuhl with their family if God forbid, they were to expire from injuries.
GUPTA: And obviously, you know, we want to respect the privacy of Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt, and so the pattern of injuries, obviously, you can't comment on, but what would you say their prognosis is then? And what determines that?
SCHLIFKA: I think it determines initially what their intracranial pressure is after surgery and what their injuries are. Certainly, people who have lower ICPs after surgery, or intracranial pressures, tend to do a bit better than those whose ICPs are more poorly controlled.
GUPTA: And their ICPs were -- at least Bob's, I guess. Doug was up talking, from what I understand. But Bob's ICPs were well- controlled?
SCHLIFKA: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. We had no issues controlling either of their ICPs after surgery.
GUPTA: Well, thank you very much. I hope you guys get some rest out there. I know you're very busy and I applaud your work. Good luck.
SCHLIFKA: Thank you, Dr. Gupta.
BAILEY: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, coming up, "Keeping them Honest." We take you back to Waveland, Mississippi, where residents want answers. Why is it taking so long to remove the debris that was left behind after Katrina? It is all still there.
And the Entwistle case. A mother and baby murdered in their own home in her own bed, and her husband has fled to England and is not returning.
You're watching 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: More than five months after Katrina, so many questions, so little progress by any number of measures. We're talking about the Gulf Coast recovery, of course. We promised back in September to keep those in charge honest. And today in Washington there was more testimony about what went wrong and who's to blame. CNN's Jeanne Meserve tonight, "Keeping them Honest." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their states still staggering from Katrina's blow. Two governors appeared before a Senate committee Thursday to answer questions and make a plea.
GOVERNOR KATHLEEN BLANCO (D), LOUISIANA: Please, be our lasting partner. That's what we need from you. Stand by us as we rebuild.
MESERVE: The White House made a bow in that direction, saying Thursday it will request another $18 billion from Congress. That would bring the total appropriated to $103 billion.
Leaders of the Senate investigation into Katrina revisited the region two weeks ago.
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: I think we were both stunned by the continuing devastation that exists.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very difficult to figure out where the money has gone.
MESERVE: $40 billion has already been spent on the recovery, including $3.8 billion on trailers and $6.2 billion on other housing assistance. $14 billion on flood insurance claims. $349 million to rehabilitate schools and $50 million to fix federal highways and bridges.
But a new report from the Brookings Institution says there is little tangible evidence of recovery. A growing number of mortgages are not being paid back. In fact, in Louisiana, one out of every four loans is now at least a month past due. The state lost 100,000 members of its labor force between November and December, and essential services remain overwhelmed. Waits at emergency rooms can run six hours. Some are estimating that the recovery will ultimately cost $200 billion.
But the impact of Katrina is not just measured in dollars and cents, it is measured in lives. And Thursday, two of more than 100 still unidentified victims of the storm were put in their graves.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, coming up, Waveland's woes. An update on how the Mississippi town is doing after Katrina. Another "Keeping them Honest," report.
But first, Erica Hill, from "HEADLINE NEWS," joins us with some of the other stories we're following right now -- Erica.
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Anderson.
In West Virginia today, as part of a safety timeout called for by the governor after the death of two more miners yesterday, thousands or miners started their shifts with a safety lecture. And officials began a round of accelerated inspections at mines across the state. Sixteen West Virginia miners have been killed in just the past month, making this the deadliest year for the state's miners in a decade.
In Florida, a grand jury has indicted three teenagers on charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder in the baseball beatings of three homeless men. One of the beatings was caught on tape by a surveillance camera. All three teens will be tried as adults.
A close call in Alaska. A 600-foot tanker carrying 100,000 barrels of oil and fuel ran aground southwest of Anchorage. One of the ship's officers, though, said the hull does appear to be intact. The vessel broke free from the dock where it was loading. It's unclear right now why that happened.
And America's truckers are super steamed over a Super Bowl ad, which is scheduled to run on Sunday. The ad shows a large truck carrying Coca Cola's full throttle energy drink forcing a small passenger car off the road. The American Trucking Association said that ad reinforces a negative image of truckers and it's urging Coca Cola to either pull it or change it. So watch closely on Sunday -- Anderson.
COOPER: I thought we were going to see the ad?
HILL: I thought we were too, but was that the lovely (unintelligible) of the headquarters? You know.
COOPER: All right. We now know what the Coca Cola headquarters looks like.
HILL: Right down the street from where I am.
COOPER: Erica, thanks very much.
More than five months after Katrina and two days after the president's State of the Union Address, in Waveland, Mississippi, why is everything taking so long and why does it all still look the same? Tonight, "Keeping them Honest."
Plus, a murder mystery that stretches across two continents. His wife and infant daughter are dead. Now he is a person of interest. A lot of people want to know why did he leave the country and why didn't he come home for this woman and this baby's funeral?
Across America and around the world, you're watching 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: We return tonight to Waveland, Mississippi, for a reality check. It's all about our promise to keep them honest. And by them, we mean the people in charge who have made so many promises to the Gulf Coast. Two nights ago, President Bush devoted about 60 seconds of his State of the Union Address to the Gulf Coast recovery, 60 seconds in a 51-minute speech. When you visit Waveland more than five months after Katrina, you can see why they, the people there, were hoping for more than just 60 seconds.
Here's CNN's Sean Callebs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This machine is finishing off what nature started. The destruction of this Waveland, Mississippi, home, damaged by Katrina. It's heartbreaking for Tammie Wise and her 10-year-old daughter.
TAMMIE WISE, WAVELAND RESIDENT: It is hard, but it's like I said, it's a good thing. We can't go forward until it's gone.
CALLEBS: This is how Waveland looked the last time we were here, about three weeks ago. And today, the same area, clearly progress is being made. But more than five months after the storm, residents here are demanding to know why more debris hasn't been removed by now.
SGT. CARL CHILDS, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: We hear it every day.
CALLEBS: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been hired to clean up much of the mess. Sgt. Carl Child says a mind numbing three million cubic yards of debris has already been removed. He says that's only about half of the mess strewn over this area. And Child says the Corps cannot remove any debris from private land without receiving written authorization, called a Right of Entry.
CHILDS: There's a lot of people that are out of state that still haven't filed for a Right of Entry, and our hands are tied and we can't do anything on that property.
CALLEBS: So, debris sits. While the Corps says it continues to ramp up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very proud community.
CALLEBS: Waveland Mayor Tommy Longo isn't buying the government's excuse and says he has had it with bureaucratic speak.
MAYOR TOMMY LONGO, WAVELAND: That I'm in their radar and ramping up are two terms that when this disaster is over, are coming out of my dictionary. It doesn't mean anything positive to me at this point.
CALLEBS: He says the Corps of Engineers should have been much more aggressive in pursuing Right of Entry authorizations. And now he's considering asking the city to fire the Corps and yank the debris removal contract.
LONGO: I pick my battles and I pick them fairly well. There's nothing I can do short of firing the Corps of Engineers and quite frankly, I'm not saying that's not going to happen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS, (on camera): Live now in Waveland Mississippi. The mayor says this is not some veiled threat. He plans on bringing the possibility of firing the Corps up at an upcoming meeting either Tuesday or Wednesday here with the city.
Now for their part, the Corps says they hope to have all of this debris picked up by perhaps June if the weather cooperates.
And that certainly isn't what Mayor Longo and others here in this area want to hear. Because the mayor points out that the matching funds or the funds -- the federal funds to pay for 100 percent of the debris cleanup runs out March 15. So this tiny little community could face the possibility of paying millions to have a mess cleaned up that they believe should have been cleaned up by now.
And, Anderson, if this area looks familiar, well it should. This is where we talked to you from last time we were here about three weeks ago. And if you look around me, not much has been cleaned up. Some of the debris has been pushed around, but very little of it here has actually been removed -- Anderson.
COOPER: Sean, it is just incredible to look at where you're standing. I mean, it looks identical to where, you know, I was standing more than five months ago now. I mean, that's all just laying out there, all that debris, it hasn't been touched, right?
CALLEBS: Well, it's been pushed a little bit. Apparently, it looks like maybe a backhoe or something tried to come back up in this area, but you're exactly right. And when we were here today, the residents talk about when you were down at the end of the street right after the hurricane. And to them, this isn't just an eye sore. It reminds them every day of what they have to deal with. And it's a very cheerless, a very painful environment to live in. They understand the Corps is perhaps plagued by bureaucratic snafus, but they want this stuff cleaned up. They want it now. And we're probably going to hear a lot more about this as the months begin to get warmer and warmer and warmer.
COOPER: It is, it's just unbelievable to see it like that. Sean, appreciate it. Thanks very much. "Keeping them Honest," tonight, Sean Callebs.
Coming up ahead, though, on 360, the Entwistle murders. A tragedy, a mystery, an international hunt for the truth. Already the killing of a mother and her baby. I mean look at that picture. That baby was shot in the stomach. The mother shot in the head. Little Lillian Rose, buried yesterday. It already seems like this is going to stand as one of the top crime stories of this year. We'll bring you the latest.
Plus, remember this video? We're going to talk to the attorney who somehow, some way escaped the hand of death. What was he thinking then? What are his thoughts today? We're also going to hear from the gunman. First time I've ever heard that, when 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Welcome back. A mother and her infant daughter found murdered in their Massachusetts home. The mystery goes beyond who did it. What's also keeping this a page one story both here and abroad is the behavior of the husband and the baby's father. He skipped his family's funeral to remain in his native England, even as London and Boston newspapers raised tantalizing questions about his alleged interest in Internet pornography sites.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: One day after the funeral for Rachel Entwistle and her 9-month-old baby girl, Lillian Rose, still no sign of her husband, Neil Entwistle. These pictures are the last we say of him, staying at his parent's house in England. The 27-year-old has left the house, but prosecutors say they are tracking his movements.
Sources also say that Entwistle's car has been seized by Hopkinton police.
Prosecutors insist, however, Neil Entwistle is still just a person of interest.
MARTHA COAKLEY, MIDDLESEX DISTRICT ATTORNEY: He is somebody we would always be interested in talking to in that the husband of two people who have been killed. There are other people that we are interested in talking to, but he is not -- I am not going to label him a suspect at this stage.
COOPER: 27-year-old Rachel and her baby, Lillian, were found murdered in their home in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Sunday evening, January 22. Rachel was shot once in the head. Lillian Rose was shot in the belly and was lying in bed alongside her mother.
Saturday evening family and friends had been invited to dinner, but when no one answered the door, they grew suspicious.
Despite several searches of the house by family and police, the bodies were not discovered until Sunday evening.
Neil Entwistle was nowhere to be found.
COAKLEY: We do not believe this was random. There was no sign of a forced entry or any sign of burglary.
COOPER: Prosecutors believe the murders happened sometime between Thursday night and Saturday. Neil Entwistle flew to London somewhere between late Friday and early Saturday morning, raising many questions about his whereabouts during the killings.
Entwistle agreed to be questioned by U.S. investigators at the Embassy in London last week, but refused to answer questions about the killings.
A family source was quoted in the British Sun Newspaper, saying that Entwistle phoned Rachel's stepfather, Joseph Matterazzo, after the murders and said, quote, "I can't remember how I got to England. Is it true Rachel and Lillian are dead?"
A spokesperson for Rachel's family says they would not comment on whether they've been in touch with Neil Entwistle and why they chose to omit him from both Rachel's and Lillian's death notices.
JOE FLAHERTY, FAMILY SPOKESMAN: Rachel was a wonderful wife, daughter, granddaughter, sister and mother. She was always first to share her beliefs, her love and her support to others. She made her close friends a part of her family and she always kept her family at the center of her life.
COOPER: The couple's life together began in England, when they met her junior year abroad. After they married, Rachel was a teacher in England; Neil, a computer programmer. They moved to Massachusetts last summer, shortly after the baby was born. First living with Rachel's mother and stepfather, and then moving in to this rental home just 10 days before the bodies were found.
Rachel stayed home and took care of Lillian, as Neil found work as a computer programmer.
Prosecutors say he was running a get rich quick Internet site that showed customers how to start an Internet porn site.
The couple also ran a business on eBay that was shut down when customers complained the goods weren't being delivered. Some wrote comments, calling Rachel a thieving liar.
Prosecutors say they're looking into all aspects of the Entwistles lives, including their business interests. However, they're not commenting on the possibility of Rachel being a victim of angry customers. Nor would they comment on a "Boston Herald" report on the gun collection that Rachel's stepfather owns and whether others had access to it, another possibility in an already puzzling case.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (on camera): Well, police are taking a closer look at the timeline immediately before and after Rachel and Lillian Rose were murdered. Let's just review what we know at this point.
On Thursday night, January 19, Rachel spoke with her family. It would be the last time she'd ever talk to them. That's because sometime over the next days, sometime between early Friday and early Saturday, Rachel and Lillian Rose were shot to death.
On that Saturday, January 21, at 8:15 a.m., Eastern, according to the "Boston Globe," Neil Entwistle had a reservation on a flight for London.
Later that night, at 8:27 police search the Entwistle home in Hopkinton. They found nothing. The lights were on, so was a TV.
Then Sunday afternoon, friends and family were concerned. They searched the home. They found no one inside.
Then at 5:00 p.m., still no sign of them. A missing persons report was filed.
And on Sunday evening, 6:30 p.m., the terrible discovery, the bodies of Rachel and her baby were finally discovered by police in the bedroom.
Dave Wedge is a "Boston Herald" investigative reporter who has been following this story. We talked to him earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: What can you tell us about Rachel's stepfather's gun collection?
DAVE WEDGE, BOSTON HERALD INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Mr. Matterazzo, Joseph Matterazzo, who is Rachel's step dad, was an avid gun collector. He had a lot of antique guns, as well as new guns. We don't know what the calibers were of the weapons.
COOPER: Are any missing?
WEDGE: Our information is that there are none missing at this -- that investigators have found, that's right.
COOPER: Are they -- I assume they're going to look to see if any of them have been fired recently?
WEDGE: Investigators are taking a close look at these guns. We know that. And I would assume that, you know, any guns that he owned that matched the type of weapon that the mother and baby were killed with, they'd be doing ballistic tests on.
COOPER: Right. Because it is a small caliber handgun and it has not been found.
Now, when friends showed up for dinner on Saturday night, the lights were on -- or at least one light was on, I understand. The TV was on. What happened to the couple's dog? Was the dog there?
WEDGE: We're still looking into -- we believe -- actually I believe we have confirmed the dog was in the house during those searches and that's another angle that the investigators are looking at is, you know, if the dog was there when the murders actually occurred.
COOPER: Because it would be strange. I mean, it's a basset hound. It would be a strange thing to have the dog in the house and clearly it would have been disturbing for the dog. You'd think the dog would somehow maybe point out what was going on.
It's a rental house. How did the family and the friends gain entrance to it on Sunday? Did they have keys?
WEDGE: Apparently a neighbor had the code to the keypad alarm on Entwistle's house and that's how the police were able to get in. The door was locked, according to Martha Coakley's office. When police went to recover the bodies, they had to gain entry that way again. COOPER: And when did police actually locate Neil Entwistle's BMW?
WEDGE: I believe his car was located by police right away at the airport, I believe sometime on Sunday or Monday.
COOPER: So they didn't impound it right away?
WEDGE: It was not impounded. It sat there for a good four or five days. Then it was moved to another part of the airport where it was surrounded by state police vehicles and today it was moved -- either sometime yesterday or today, it was moved to the Hopkinton police station, where it's been impounded and there is a search warrant for that car.
COOPER: And there was a legal reason for not impounding it, which we'll talk about a little bit later on. Do you know for a fact that Neil Entwistle was on that Saturday morning flight to England? The papers there have reported that he had a reservation. Do we know for a fact he actually boarded that flight?
WEDGE: We don't know. All the investigators are saying is that he left sometime between late Friday night and sometime early Saturday. It makes the most sense that he was on that 8:15 flight. We just haven't been able to gain confirmation on that.
COOPER: And are they focusing -- I mean, they've said he's just a person of interest, he's not a suspect. Are there any other persons of interest or suspects out there that we know of?
WEDGE: None that we know of and none that anyone has said. We do know that Matterazzo family was spoken to today by investigators, presumably about Neil and possibly this gun collection. It's hard to say what they were talking about, but all indications are that he remains the main person that this is being focused on and that there's no one else that's being looked at.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, there's no indication that Neil Entwistle may travel back to the U.S. anytime soon. But could police force him to return? Earlier, I talked about that and other issues with CNN's Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Can they get him back unless they charge him with a crime?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Absolutely not. That's a clear rule. You have to be arrested, you have to be charged before extradition can take place. Being a witness, even a grand jury subpoena, isn't enough to bring him back.
COOPER: So, I mean, that's a pretty high bar to jump, to actually have a charge against him. So, I mean, so what happens now? They'll impanel a grand jury?
TOOBIN: Well, they will have to decide who they want to proceed. They can go by grand jury, they can just get an arrest warrant. But that's only the beginning of the extradition process. It then takes several turns that take a long time to make happen.
COOPER: Why is that?
TOOBIN: Well, basically, it's a process that involves the State Department. It's a treaty between the United States and Great Britain. We do have a treaty between us. And what happens is the local authorities, the Massachusetts -- either the state police or the Hopkinton police, whoever are the authorities, have to go to the State Department and do essentially a checklist of what the charges are, what the evidence is, what the potential penalties are. The State Department then reviews this. They go to the British Foreign Office. The British Foreign Office looks and sees if it meets their requirements, then they go to their local authorities and try to get an arrest warrant. Just from describing it, you can imagine how long the bureaucracy takes. It can take two years.
COOPER: But is there anything, you know, that some countries don't extradite people to a country that has a death penalty.
TOOBIN: Right.
COOPER: Could that play a role?
TOOBIN: Well, England is one of those countries. They will not extradite someone if they are potentially exposed to the death penalty. Massachusetts does not have a death penalty, so I don't think that will be relevant in this case.
So, certainly, all the pieces are in place for a successful extradition here. This is a crime that's covered by the extradition treaty. The penalty, which is life in prison in Massachusetts, is eligible for extradition. So there shouldn't be any roadblocks. It's just a slow and cumbersome process.
COOPER: But it's also, I mean, based on -- it's going to be hard to get any evidence if you can't talk to the guy, if you can't get any...
TOOBIN: Well, that's the paradox. Well, even if you were in the United States, presumably he would be citing the Fifth Amendment and he wouldn't be cooperating. So, he's unlikely to give much evidence. But they can't even get fingerprints from him because you can't subpoena him for fingerprints. You can't get a blood sample from him. You can't get a DNA sample from him. So, it does make it harder to make the case work from the United States with him in England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: It is hard to believe.
Can you make your peace with someone who tried to kill you? Ahead, we're going to meet a man who seems to have done exactly that. Though the videotape that shows the attempt on his life is still awfully hard to watch, but we're going to hear from the shooter and from the man who was shot at.
And the return of a weather phenomenon that has a lovely name, but unlovely affects, La Nina, when 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, it is bad enough -- plenty bad enough to go through a near death experience. But imagine having it captured forever on videotape, so that watching it is like nearly dying all over again and again. You're about to see some very graphic footage. If it's hard for you to watch, think what it is like for the man in the footage to watch, the man struggling not to be killed.
This is a story that began some years ago, but it now has a new chapter and we are hearing new voices for the first time.
CNN's Ted Rowlands reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The target in this unforgettable video is Jerry Curry. It was Halloween 2003. Curry, an attorney, says he was outside a Los Angeles area courthouse when a gunman walked up to him, asked him his name and shot him in the neck.
JERRY CURRY, PROBATE ATTORNEY: I knew something bad had happened and I just instinctively turned and went to the ground.
ROWLANDS: There were photographers at the courthouse that day. Their cameras were rolling as Curry used a tree to protect himself.
J. CURRY: I was using a tree -- trying to use a tree to, you know, keep the tree between the gun and my head and my torso. I was entirely focused on the gun. I was just watching the gun. I knew that they guy could kill me. I knew my life could end right there. And I was scared. There was no doubt about it, for about five or 10 seconds.
ROWLANDS: As Curry moved from side to side, the man kept shooting.
J. CURRY: I could feel the bullets hitting me. I was hit in the left shoulder three times and the right forearm. And I could feel the impact, but I didn't feel any pain at that time.
ROWLANDS: Eventually the man ran out of bullets. Curry was still on his feet.
RO CURRY, WIFE: Raising his hands up in the air, saying, you know, someone help me and no one was helping him.
ROWLANDS: Curry's wife, Ro, who's talking for the first time about the video of her husband, says she first saw it when she got home from the hospital on the night of the shooting.
R. CURRY: It was pretty devastating. I started to cry. Even when I see it now, I still get very emotional.
ROWLANDS: Curry was shot five times. One bullet just missed an artery in his neck.
R. CURRY: He could have easily died that day, and he was saved. A miracle happened. He was saved.
J. CURRY: I remembered hearing a click, click, click and I was relieved because I thought, my God, you know, he's out of bullets and I survived. So I was very relieved. Then he just kind of calmly put the gun in his pocket and then calmly walked away. Didn't say a word.
ROWLANDS: That man calmly walking away is William Strier, who after years of public silence, has agreed to talk about the shooting. Why did he do it?
WILLIAM STRIER, SHOOTER: I really can't explain that. The psychiatrist has said that it was a psychotic breakdown.
ROWLANDS: Strier, who's in jail now, says he was so drugged with pain killers for a bad back, that he doesn't remember the shooting. But, he has seen the video.
STRIER: To me, it's my body, but it's not my mind really.
ROWLANDS: Strier claims the shooting was the result of months of growing frustration over a $100,000 trust that was for his medical treatment. Jerry Curry was the lawyer handling the trust.
(On camera): Strier says on the day of the shooting, he was already drugged up and frustrated when he left the courthouse, following the latest hearing on his case.
STIER: I went out, took more -- more pills, and I became pretty weak at that point.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): He also took two handguns out of the trunk of his car.
STRIER: It was like a dream, opening up the trunk. Something happened to me and I can't explain it.
ROWLANDS: Strier and his lawyer say he's innocent of attempted murder and the video proves it. They maintain that no sane person would shoot someone in such a public place, with TV cameras rolling.
ARNA ZLOTNIK, STRIER'S ATTORNEY: It supports the defense's position that he was in a psychotic state, completely and thoroughly. He was totally oblivious to everything around him. He was acting totally irrationally. Nobody in their right mind would make such a plan.
STRIER: That's not something I would do, you know, shooting somebody and cameras, never would I do something like that.
ROWLANDS: The defense brought up that theory at Strier's trial. The prosecution didn't buy it.
JIM FALCO, PROSECUTOR: It was nonsense. He was not stumbling. He had no problem handling the gun, putting it away.
ROWLANDS: They jury found Strier guilty. He's to be sentenced later this month. And at the age of 66, he'll most likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
STRIER: Somebody should have stopped me because evidently I wasn't able to stop myself. And somebody -- I just wish somebody would have stopped me some way. I had no reason to shoot the man.
ROWLANDS: Jerry and Ro Curry, who have three daughters and two grandchildren, say they forgive Strier, but they'd like to see him locked up.
R. CURRY: I don't want him to be let out. No, I don't. Because I don't know what he would do. He would probably still come after us.
ROWLANDS: Curry, who's made a full recovery, says the attack and the video have changed his life.
J. CURRY: You appreciate your life a lot more. You appreciate the small things in your life that you kind of take for granted, you know. And you really appreciate every day, you know, because you realize after something like this happens, how fragile life is and how quickly it can be taken away from you.
ROWLANDS: Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Erica Hill, from "HEADLINE NEWS," joins us with some of the business stories we're following right now -- Erica.
HILL: Hi Anderson.
A pretty dreary day on Wall Street. Fears about higher inflation and slower earnings growth this year gave investors reason to bail out after a strong January. The Dow, shedding nearly 102 points, closing at 10851. The tech-heavy NASDAQ lost 29 points; while the S&P, 500. End of the session, down 11 points.
Meantime, mortgage rates, though, on the rise. The average 30- year fixed rate now stands at 6.23 percent. Compare that with 5.63 percent a year ago.
Jurors in the trial of ex-Enron Chiefs Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay listen to an infamous audiotape today, in which Skilling confronted by an investor about the company's murky earnings reports, calls the man -- let's just say it's a two syllable, not suitable for television name. Think you got the picture. That tape was made just eight months before Enron went bankrupt. And finally, some good news. For all the gamblers out there with a hankering for wings, and oh, those famous orange shorts-clad waitresses who serve them. Today, Las Vegas welcomed the first ever Hooters Casino and Hotel. I mean, now you got it all, right?
COOPER: That's true. Yes, truly, now the city does have it all.
HILL: There you go.
COOPER: Erica Hill, thanks.
You may want to brace yourself for what is ahead. Mother Nature is back and it is cutting no slack. We're going to tell you why the 2006 hurricane season may be as ugly as the last one. That's coming up next on 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, this just in to CNN, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 has jolted northern Japan, shaking some buildings in Tokyo. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage and no tsunami warning was issued.
Well, it is February 2, Groundhog Day, and for the sixth straight year, the chubby little furry guy saw his shadow. But Phil, the groundhog, wasn't the only one breaking news today.
The nation's climate expert delivered their own bombshell. CNN's Rob Marciano takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't like this, like this with me. It's my shadow I see. Six more weeks of mild winter weather there will be.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Punxsutawney Phil may have received all the attention this morning. But there's a much bigger, more powerful weather story out there.
La Nina is Back. The so called sister of El Nino, has perked up in the Pacific and is set to strengthen as we head into spring.
ED O'LENIC, NOAA CLIMATOLOGIST: The jet stream over the Pacific withdraws westward, and the jet stream over the U.S. moves northward, carrying the storms that it would normally carry over the southern U.S. into the northern U.S.
MARCIANO: Simply put, that means more rain and storms in the Northwest and less in the South. And that's not good news for the upcoming fire season. Texas and Oklahoma have already been burned and it could get worse.
In the Pacific Northwest, it's been too much of a good thing. Heavy rain and snow have caused big time headaches. And the rain doesn't usually let up there until June. So what about the warmer weather in parts of the Midwest? For example, in Milwaukee, people are playing golf in February. Is that La Nina? Nope.
What we do know is that La Nina support hurricanes. And if La Nina sticks around when that season begins in June, we could see even more hurricanes than already forecast.
It's not a crystal ball for 2006, but if it does last into the fall, it would be a player.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO (on camera): La Nina is definitely a player, as is El Nino in the hurricane season forecast. In an El Nino pattern, you pretty much have two jet streams; the southern one being kind of strong, and that will limit the development of storms and actually kick them out to see. So El Nino is actually a good thing for us as far as hurricanes go.
La Nina, that jet stream heads off to the north, it weakens, kind of opens the gate for these storms, allowing them to strengthen as well.
Statistically, that ups not only the number of storms, but also the intensity of these storms.
Take a look at this graphic, which highlights a coupe of things. The percentage chance of seeing a major hurricane make U.S. landfall. El Nino years, 23 percent; La Nina years, that number goes up to 63 percent. The good news with all of this is the CPC, the Climate Prediction Center, said that they think this year's La Nina should peak out and weaken before hurricane season starts. And that would be great news, Anderson, because as you know, Mother Nature doesn't need any help from a La Nina this hurricane season.
COOPER: I know. You and I do not want to do anymore hurricanes. I think that's fair to say. Thanks very much, Rob. Appreciate it.
Now a look at what's "On the Radar," stories making news tomorrow.
Lawmakers will keep trying tomorrow to come up with language for the sequel to the Patriot Act. The House passed a version earlier this week, but the Senate version may not be finished until Monday. The original Act was supposed to expire tomorrow, but late tonight the Senate voted to extend it for another five weeks.
And high above us, tomorrow a space suit will go where no space suit has ever gone before -- at least not without an astronaut in it. NASA plans to launch an empty spacesuit from the International Space Station. The idea is to test conditions in space, without putting anyone at risk. And get this, the suit will be equipped with a transmitter. We'll be able to pick up the signal down here.
And somewhere, that men's warehouse guy is saying, why didn't I think of that? In the headlines tomorrow, "On the Radar," tonight. I guarantee it.
More of 360 in a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Thanks for watching 360. "LARRY KING" is next.
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