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CNN Saturday Morning News

Oklahoma Girl's Body Found In Neighbor's Apartment; Bodies Of Two Boys Found In Milwaukee

Aired April 15, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Take a look. Standing in line to snatch a ticket, hundreds of gay parents and their kids who want to be part of the White House Easter Egg Roll. We're talking about that.
From the CNN Center right here in Atlanta, Georgia, I'm Betty Nguyen. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Good morning, everybody.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, I'm Tony Harris. Thank you for starting your day with us. Our top story in just a moment, but first a look at what else is happening right "Now in the News."

The search for a missing Oklahoma girl comes to a sad, tragic end. Authorities say the body of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin was found in a neighbor's apartment last night. The neighbor, Kevin Ray Underwood, is under arrest. The DA says he will seek the death penalty.

We expect official word today on two bodies found in a Milwaukee pond. They are believed to be the bodies of two missing boys. CNN affiliate WIMJ talked to the families of 12-year-old Quadrevion Henning and 11-year-old Purvis Parker. They say the bodies are those of the boys.

NGUYEN: A second night in a row of stormy spring weather in the Midwest. You hear that? Strong storms swept across Indiana. They spawned two reported tornadoes in the Lafayette area. Lots of hail. Elsewhere, was there widespread wind damage and plenty of hail damage. Trees and power lines were also down.

Easter eggs will roll on the White House lawn as usual but with a little twist this year. Hundreds of gay and lesbian parents stood in line all night to get tickets. The line is dwindling down a little bit right now. The White House says all families are welcome to Monday morning's events. And we're going to talk with one of the parents who waited in line for tickets in about 10 minutes.

Missing almost a month now, now their bodies may have been found, not far from home. You may remember the outpouring of support following the disappearance of two Milwaukee boys, 12-year-old Quadrevion Henning and 11-year-old Purvis Parker were described as good student, not likely to run away.

Now police believe two bodies found in a pond are the boys. Official autopsy results could come today but reporter Ty Milburn of affiliate WTMJ says family members have confirmed the tragic outcome. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TY MILBURN, WTMJ REPORTER (voice-over): After weeks of an exhaustive search police found Quadrevion Henning and Purvis Parker's bodies at one of the first places they looked, in a park just blocks away from where the boys lived.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two people walking through this park discovered a body floating in the lagoon.

MILBURN: The first body was found early Friday evening. The second body surfaced a few hours later. Police say the bodies were badly decomposed. Police showed family members photos of the bodies. They I.D.'d them, all this while a group of neighbors and complete strangers said prayers and held a vigil outside the Henning family house.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, a similar tragedy is unfolding in Purcell, Oklahoma. The body police say is 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin was found in a neighbor's apartment. Two days ago police had speculated she might have been abducted by an Internet predator. Yesterday's gruesome discovery cast doubt on that story.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Purcell with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two days of searching for 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin came to a devastating end Friday afternoon here in the town of Purcell, Oklahoma, where authorities discovered her body in an apartment complex not too far away from where she was last seen. In fact, that is the disturbing twist to this story.

Her body was discovered in the apartment of 26-year-old Kevin Ray Underwood, who lived just downstairs, 15 feet away from where Jamie Rose Bolin and her family lived in this apartment complex.

The district attorney here in Purcell says that Underwood will be charged with first degree murder on Monday and will face the death penalty. And he says this is the most gruesome crime he has ever seen.

TIM KUYKENDALL, DISTRICT 21 D.A.: This is one of the most, if not the most, heinous, atrocious and cruel case that I've been involved with in my 24 years as a district attorney.

LAVANDERA: The news of Jamie Rose Bolin's death came as a devastating blow to her family. In fact, the family was brought here, to the police station, just moments after they had discovered the body in the apartment complex. Her father collapsed here. He was taken away by ambulance and family members say he has been sedated at a local hospital. MARK CHILES, UNCLE: This happened right there in the apartment below him. And you need to know who your neighbors are. Don't let your kids get away from you, because, I mean, this can happen in a flash.

LAVANDERA: Authorities here in Oklahoma will not say how Jamie Rose Bolin was killed, nor will they go into any details as to how Kevin Ray Underwood came into contact with her. But they do say they will spend the weekend getting the necessary search warrants so they can search his apartment and car and be prepared to file those murder charges on Monday.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Purcell, Oklahoma.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And you know, the weather story today is a little dicey as well. You could see some more severe weather, possible tornadoes through the Midwest today.

NGUYEN: It's almost like we're getting used to it. It happens every weekend it seems. Reynolds Wolf is here to talk about that. It's something that we're just going have to just stay on top of, I assume, since it is this time of year.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm telling you, it's one of the great things -- well, not a great thing, but one of the things you have to deal with spring. I mean, you, of course, have the daffodils, you get the warmer weather, and, of course, you get the bad weather.

We are not seeing much right now in the portions of the Midwest, the rough stuff that went through parts of Indiana and Illinois, now moving off to the east. However we are starting to see some storms begin to pick up in parts of Missouri. Springfield, right here on the map, some cells just south of there from Lebanon right back to Rolla. And this is clear for the time being.

And in St. Louis, things are clear for the time being. And speaking of St. Louis, we have a live image from KSDK, the powerhouse station in St. Louis. Great shot we have there of the arch. Nothing in terms of rainfall as of yet for St. Louis. However, later on we could have a rumble of thunder and possibly a spell of rough weather as well.

Let's go back to the weather computer, and as we do so we are going to continue to march to the north up towards Minneapolis and let's see just to the east of Fargo we're seeing scattered showers, but the big weather-maker today is going to be this system you see right here in Colorado.

In parts of the Rockies right now there's definitely very light rainfall. You go back on 70 to the higher elevations, some of that is some light to moderate snowfall and that's going to continue to march its way, not the snow, but the moisture will march its way into the central plains and I'm thinking later this afternoon. I'd say from 3:00, 4:00 into the early evening hours we're going see this system intensify, possibly producing some rough weather in parts of Nebraska into Kansas, perhaps even Iowa and into portions of Missouri.

We're talking with the potential of heavy rains, some large hail and perhaps even some tornadoes as well. That area is going to be one we're going to monitor very, very carefully. That's the latest we have for you. Again, it's not what you want to deal with on a holiday weekend, but it's what we've got.

HARRIS: The latest, that's enough.

WOLF: You bet.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Reynolds, thanks.

NGUYEN: Well, still talking about the weather outside, we've been seeing a lot of strong storms this spring. Is this the norm or do we have something unusual in the making here and what can we expect this hurricane season? Oh, yes, that's coming up, too. CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano looks for answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Tornado Alley has been busy this spring, nearly 500 tornadoes have struck, 300 more than last year. A very warm winter in the Plains has gotten things popping early. That same early warm weather sparked New Mexico wildfires this week, far ahead of the spring fire season. And a new outlook predicts more fires across the South and West in the coming weeks.

On the West Coast it's been wet, wet and wet. More than two weeks of steady rain and mudslides killed a man in California Wednesday and nine counties have been declared disaster areas. More rain is predicted for Easter Sunday. And for the East and Gulf coasts hurricane season begins June 1. Forecasters were gearing up for it Friday in Orlando.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, it looks like another pretty active year this year. We're calling for a total of 17 named storms, nine hurricanes and five major hurricanes which are the Category 3, 4, and 5 storms.

MARCIANO: It may be hard to imagine a hurricane season worse than last year, but after last year, anything seems possible.

Rob Marciano, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: How about this? The largest mumps outbreak in 20 years is hitting eight states, 600 case cases reported in Iowa alone. Most of those cases are in college campuses. Mumps symptoms include fever, headache and swollen glands under the jaw.

Traps are set in a forest near Cleveland, Tennessee, in hopes capturing a rogue black bear. The animal attacked a mother and her two small children Thursday, killing the 6-year-old girl. The area is now closed to the public as game officials hunt for the bear.

In New York's Greenwich Village, luck is with a black cat named Molly. She was trapped in a tiny crawl space for two weeks. Last night the feisty feline was pulled out with all of her nine lives intact. Look at the eyes, look at the eyes.

NGUYEN: They're haunting, aren't they?

HARRIS: Going to get you. Rescuers had to drill a hole through a brick wall to reach her.

NGUYEN: Watch out, yes, she'll come at you. She's got those nine lives still left.

HARRIS: Man, still ahead, he doesn't show any remorse for what happened on September 11th, so how can lawyers defend someone like Zacarias Moussaoui? Our legal ladies hammer out the issue.

Plus...

NGUYEN: Hundreds of pilgrims are in the holy city of Jerusalem for Easter Sunday. We are going take you there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: So you go the church in the morning, and there is R&B legend Patti LaBelle singing gospel music, what a treat, and what a way to spend your Easter Sunday. Patti LaBelle and Bishop Eddie Long join us for a preview of what's billed as the largest Easter service in the U.S.

HARRIS: Here?

NGUYEN: Live right here.

HARRIS: They're going to be here?

NGUYEN: Right here. You'll be speaking to them.

HARRIS: Wow! Is that tomorrow?

NGUYEN: That's tomorrow morning, "CNN SUNDAY MORNING," beginning at 7:00 a.m. Eastern.

HARRIS: Can't wait.

NGUYEN: Get ready.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: An equal opportunity egg hunt, and that's what hundreds of gay and lesbian parents hope to find at this year's annual White House Easter Egg roll. They lined up to get tickets to Monday's event. Now not everyone is happy. Critics complain this is an inappropriate use of a children's event to make a political statement. So joining us to talk about it is Jennifer Chrisler of the Family Pride Coalition.

We thank you for your time. Good morning.

JENNIFER CHRISLER, FAMILY PRIDE COALITION: Good morning, how are you?

NGUYEN: I'm doing well. You are there, you stood in line earlier today to get tickets for yourself and your family. A lot of gay parents stood in line beginning yesterday to get tickets to this event. Why such a focus this event, the Easter Egg roll?

CHRISLER: You know, this is a great American tradition. Parents all over this country love to take their children to the White House egg roll. And gay and lesbian parents wanted to be a part of such an amazing event. I'm thrilled that I got tickets for my 4-year-old twins and my partner and I are really looking forward to going on Monday.

NGUYEN: Now just to be clear though, this event has always been open to everyone. It's been open to the public and it's safe to assume that there have been gay parents who have attended in the past, but this year you're putting out a unified statement. Many gay and lesbian parents will be wearing leis. Why the unifying message?

CHRISLER: You know, it's very important at this point in our country's conversation about gay and lesbian families for us to be visibly involved in great American traditions like the White House egg roll. It's a chance for us really to introduce our families to the American public and to talk about who we are and the kinds of things we like to do with our kids like going to the White House egg roll.

NGUYEN: Well, critics would say, why do you need to put up a unified gathering? This has been done in the past. Gay and lesbian parents have attended in the past. And they're saying that this is more of a protest. Is this a protest?

CHRISLER: It's not at all a protest. This really is about gay and lesbian families taking their kids to a great American tradition. You know, there are a lot of voices right now talking about gay and lesbian families and we think it's really important that our voices be heard since we are those families and we are the ones raising those kids. And one way to do that is to identify ourselves when we participate in the events like the White House egg roll.

NGUYEN: Quickly, are you fearful at all that this could turn ugly among the parents in attendance? And this is, of course, going to be an event where there are going to be children that could be witness to it.

CHRISLER: You know, I think every parent taking their child to this egg roll has one goal in mind and that's a good time. I know that's my number one goal. I think that's all parents' number one goal. And I think that's what's going to be the focus of the event on Monday.

NGUYEN: And one last thing. Your response to critics who say that you're using your children to make a political statement?

CHRISLER: No. You know, I'm taking my children to the White House egg roll, and I love talking about my kids and that means talking about the fact that they have two moms. And we're engaged in a pretty important conversation in this country right now about what kind of protections they deserve and we're helping people understand that we're here and that we're participating in great events like the egg roll.

NGUYEN: Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of Family Pride Coalition, thanks for your time today.

CHRISLER: Thanks so much.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He said that he wished the survivors who did come to testify had actually died in the attack. He said that he wished that September 11th was also the 12th and the 13th and the 14th and the 15th and on and on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Man, chilling words from convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui. CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena was in the courtroom as he took the stand in the penalty phase of his trial. Moussaoui is facing the death penalty for his role in the September 11th attacks. He not only said he wished more attacks would have had happened, he said he would warm any American he came into contact with while in prison. So how do you defend such a character? Our legal ladies are on the story this morning. Lida Rodriguez-Taseff is in Miami.

Lida, good morning.

LIDA RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Good morning, Tony.

HARRIS: And Pamela Bethel is in Washington, D.C. Pamela, good morning to you.

PAMELA BETHEL, FMR. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Good morning, Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Lida, what do you do as a defense attorney with a guy like Moussaoui?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: You take a deep breath and you defend him. That's what the American justice system requires. You represent him to the best of your abilities. You make the arguments that he is too insane or too lunatic to make and you try to protect him from himself even. And that's your job as a defense lawyer. You have to do it.

HARRIS: But he's making it terribly difficult for you. I mean, he's getting on the stand and he's going on and on and on and on. And he's -- you know, it's like two against one. It's, you're the defense attorney and your client is against you. And you know the prosecution team is against you. RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Yes, Tony, nobody ever said the job was easy, but you have to do it and in fact it's been the defense lawyers that have brought up the most important and compelling evidence that will be presented in this case, including the evidence we'll hear next week from the mental health expert who are going to testify that Moussaoui is a paranoid schizophrenic who should not be executed.

And in fact it was the defense lawyers who negotiated the bringing down of Richard Reid, the shoe-bomber, who -- well, now there is going to be an issue as to whether he will or will not testify. But there will be evidence provided from Richard Reid, thanks to the defense lawyers, that will show that Zacarias Moussaoui was not an important player here and he was nothing but a guy who has delusions of grandeur and was not the 20th bomber and was nothing big in here.

HARRIS: Right. Hey, Pamela, you don't want to put a paranoid -- you're the prosecutor here, all right?

BETHEL: All right.

HARRIS: You don't want to put a paranoid schizophrenic with delusions of grandeur to death, do you?

BETHEL: Well, let me put it like this. I don't trust Moussaoui. I think he's crazy like a fox. I think he believes that if he can show signs that he's unstable, because no one wants to mock the process, leer at the judge, make the statements he's making. But I don't trust him. I think he's crazy like a fox. And I think...

HARRIS: That's not -- Pamela, that's not what I asked you. I asked you, do you want to put a paranoid schizophrenic -- a man, if it's demonstrated, with mental disorders to death?

BETHEL: Well, what I'm saying is, I don't believe that he -- I don't believe he meets the legal definition of someone who is too insane to face the death penalty and that's basically unable to comprehend the impact of his actions. So, yes, in this case if the jury returns a verdict that he should be put to death, I have no problems with that.

HARRIS: Lida, how troubled are you with this idea of potentially putting someone to death for what they didn't do and what's the precedent in that?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Bad precedent. This man didn't kill anybody. Far from being the 20th hijacker, far from being the mastermind who would have flown the fifth jet into the White House, this guy is some lowly nobody who is crazy. Who -- he's a terrorist and he's full of hate, but we're basically testing -- this is the showcase prosecution for the September 11th attacks and we're basically using it to try and execute a guy who is nuts. Right penalty, wrong terrorist. We need...

HARRIS: And, Pamela, but he did -- I mean, he pled guilty.

BETHEL: Well, yes. Let me say this, Tony. With respect to the legal argument of whether or not his conduct fits within what the statute requires, I will concede that there is great comment on both sides of that question, but with respect to Moussaoui himself and his conduct of what he says, if he has got delusions of grandeur that he wants to murder Americans as we walk in the streets, I have no problem with putting him to death.

HARRIS: Hey ladies, thanks for the time this morning. I wanted to talk about the Duke case, but I'm flat out of time. So come on back next week and let's talk about it because there will certainly be developments in the Duke rape case next week. All right?

BETHEL: OK.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Take care, Tony.

HARRIS: Same time, same place, same time, same place. Thank you both, thank you.

Speaking of which, Durham, North Carolina, community leaders are trying to diffuse tension over the Duke rape allegations. Coming up next hour on CNN SATURDAY MORNING, a former Duke football player turned minister talks about the healing process.

NGUYEN: And we are asking you this morning, what safety precautions do you take to protect your child? Do you talk about safety with your kids? Have summer outside rules? Neighborhood Watches? What are you doing? What's your method?

Coming up, we're going to read some of those e-mails.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Hey, all morning long we've been asking for your thoughts on this e-mail question. It's a very important one. What safety precautions do you take to protect your child? You talk about safety with your kids, what are the rules that you have in place? This can help a lot of people and we've gotten some really good responses to this.

This from a father who says: "I'm 71 and when I had my first child 50 years ago I didn't really worry. I have raised five children, the youngest is 11 and now I fear for her safety day and night. She carries her own cell phone which is set for two emergency numbers, 911 and home, she just has to press a button."

HARRIS: That's pretty good. And we have this one that reads -- is it signed, do you know who it's from? OK. "Watch your children. Sit beside your children while they are on the Internet. Go outside with your children when they play outside. Walk or drive your children to school. You cannot be lazy, watch your children. Yes, a 10-year-old is a child."

NGUYEN: And Dave in Nevada says: "America is creating a generation of people who will be cold, unfriendly and anti-social. We have every right to be paranoid, but we refuse to raise our kids to be in terror of every new face." Yes, it's a balance. I mean, it's a balancing act. But you've got to be safe out there.

HARRIS: New day, new time. Come on, it's not like it was, what, how many years ago when I was kid?

NGUYEN: Yes, we won't talk about that.

HARRIS: That long ago.

(LAUGHTER)

NGUYEN: It has been a while.

HARRIS: It has been a while.

NGUYEN: "OPEN HOUSE" with Gerri Willis is straight ahead. Today's topic, some last-minute tax advice you won't want to miss.

HARRIS: And next hour, a divided community, allegations of rape and racism in Durham, North Carolina. Will the wounds ever heal? We'll talk it over with a community leader at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And good morning, everyone. "Now in the News," Purcell, Oklahoma, authorities say the body of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin was found in a neighbor's apartment last night. The neighbor, Kevin Ray Underwood, is under arrest. The DA says he'll seek the death penalty.

The long search is over. The bodies of two children pulled from a Milwaukee pond, CNN affiliate WTMJ talked to the families of 12- year-old Quadrevion Henning and 11-year-old Purvis Parker. They say the bodies are those of the missing boys. No official word yet. Autopsy results are expected later today.

A second night in a row of stormy spring weather in the Midwest, strong storms swept across Indiana. They spawned two reported tornadoes in the Lafayette area. Elsewhere, was there widespread wind and hail damage, trees and power lines were down.

At least 10 people are dead after mudslides in western Columbia. Officials fear the toll will go much higher. One of Columbia's main seaport towns couldn't be reached by land after the slides blocked roads into the town. Hundreds of people are homeless.

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