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Nancy Grace
Love Triangle Murder?
Aired January 01, 2008 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MIKE BROOKS, HOST: Tonight, a young father of two pulls a high- powered rifle after his teacher wife lures a boy student into a sex affair. The husband claims the shooting was an accident, but does a 911 call to police prove he planned to murder his teenage love rival? New developments tonight in this bizarre and deadly love triangle.
A brand new indictment against Eric McLean. His second degree murder charge now upgraded to first-degree murder. Since the shooting, his teacher wife goes MIA taking off with the couple`s two children. Tonight, where is Erin McLean and where are the kids?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sean Powell was shot outside the couple`s home. According to police, the husband, Eric McLean called them to report an intruder was at his home.
ERIC MCLEAN: Hello. I have an intruder at my house.
DISPATCHER: Where are you?
ERIC MCLEAN: 2424 Coker Avenue.
DISPATCHER: You have an intruder in your house? What do you mean by an intruder?
ERIC MCLEAN: Trespasser.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Minutes later though, his wife also called police and told them that in fact, he had shot her alleged teen lover Sean Powell.
DISPATCHER: 911.
ERIN MCLEAN: My husband just killed someone.
DISPATCHER: What`s the address, ma`am?
ERIN MCLEAN: 2424 Coker.
DISPATCHER: Is he there with you right now?
ERIN MCLEAN: No. The body`s here.
DISPATCHER: How did he do it?
ERIN MCLEAN: He shot him with a shotgun. Please come. Hurry! Hurry.
DISPATCHER: Stay on the line please, don`t hang up.
ERIN MCLEAN: Oh, my god. Oh, my god.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKS: Good evening, I`m Mike Brooks in for Nancy Grace. Tonight, was a shooting death of a teen student by his teacher`s husband really an accident or did the father of two, Eric McLean, plan to murder his teenage love rival?
For the very latest, let`s go out to Jamie Satterfield, reporter with the "Knoxville News Sentinel." Jamie, thanks for joining us. What is the latest in this bizarre and deadly, deadly case?
JAMIE SATTERFIELD, KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL (on phone): The latest is that the lead prosecutor in the case has represented it to a grand jury upping the charge from second degree murder which carries 25 years to first-degree murder which could carry in this case probably life with or without parole, would be the top penalty.
Brooks: Right now do we know where Erin McLean is?
SATTERFIELD: No, not for sure. Court records filed in the divorce case indicate that she is moving around in different places. The last place being Austin, Texas.
BROOKS: Now, has he taken to the airwaves? Has Eric been on the radio recently pleading his case and looking for his kids?
SATTERFIELD: He did this weekend, I believe. He has been doing that fairly consistently since she went missing a few months ago.
BROOKS: Now, was he rearrested and where is he now?
SATTERFIELD: He was not rearrested. He was rebooked. And the judge is allowing him to stay out under the same bond he was already under.
BROOKS: Right now I want to go to a very special guest joining us from Knoxville, Tennessee. That`s Bruce Poston, Eric McLean`s attorney. Thanks for being with us Mr. Poston.
BRUCE POSTON, ERIC MCLEAN`S ATTORNEY: Thanks for having me.
BROOKS: Now where is Eric right now and how is he doing?
POSTON: He is doing terrible as we get closer to the holidays. The impact of not being around the boys and worrying about them just is weighing him down. The new charge was obviously a shock to him. But he is out on bond. He is working on a farm, like a 40-hour a week, just taking care of normal farm things, kind of waiting for the trial.
BROOKS: Now, when was the last time that he saw his children?
POSTON: The last time he saw them was right before this shooting took place. That is the last time he saw them and the last time he ever talked to them he had a very short phone call with one of the boys in June. So he`s been totally cut off from any communication with them since then.
BROOKS: Now, what was he originally charged with?
POSTON: He was originally charged with first-degree murder. There was a preliminary hearing in the case that was sent to the grand jury. And the prosecutor presented the evidence they had to that grand jury. The grand jury came back with an indictment for second-degree murder.
BROOKS: Did they say why they changed it from first degree to second degree and now why up to first degree again?
POSTON: I`ll give you my opinion.
BROOKS: OK, that`s what I want to hear.
POSTON: My opinion is that had we gone to trial in about a month with second degree as the charge, there`s no way the state would have never gotten that.
BROOKS: Why?
POSTON: Because if you look at the definition of second degree, it is a knowing shooting or killing. Voluntary manslaughter is a knowing killing in the heat of passion. Knowing the facts of this case the most the state would have been able to get, in my opinion, would have been voluntary manslaughter and they know it.
BROOKS: OK, now you think - OK. You think that this was in the heat of passion. That is what your defense is going to be?
POSTON: Well, I`m not saying that. That`s one of the options here. Given the facts of this case, given what I know, in my opinion, the most the state could have proven was voluntary manslaughter with a charge of second-degree murder. By upping the stakes to first degree, what you`re hoping for if you`re the state is that a jury listens and compromises on the second-degree verdict.
In other words, some people say well maybe it`s first, some people say voluntary, reckless, whatever. And they end up compromising on a second degree charge, which juries do that.
And Jamie Satterfield is well aware of about two years ago I had a very similar case in the county right next to Knox County where that actually played out. It was a first-degree case. We went to trial. It was not guilty on first and hung on the other and we had to do two trials to get voluntary.
BROOKS: Any chance at all for any kind of plea agreement right now at this juncture?
POSTON: I had a very, very brief discussion with the DA prior to the new presentment. The answer is no. I see this going to trial. It would stun me if we could work it out. We wanted to. It can`t be done.
BROOKS: What is going to be your defense though in this case?
POSTON: My defense is we will lay all the facts out. This relationship and the crucial seven and a half minutes and show that basically had Eric McLean wanted to kill this boy, he had plenty of reasons to and opportunities to well before this day if this had been a planned thing or a knowing killing.
And that here are the facts, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, and you decide what it is. Is it voluntary? Is it reckless homicide? Is it negligent homicide or is it an accident? But we know it`s not first or second degree murder.
BROOKS: Now early on were you saying it was an accident? Because I don`t see any way how going to his car, retrieving a high-powered rifle, a 30/30 Winchester if I`m not mistaken, and going up to this kid`s car and shooting him in the head. How is that an accident?
POSTON: Well I never said that, as a matter of fact. I know that Eric made a statement to the police right after he was arrested. And also in the Matt Lauer interview you might recall that when he admitted being the one who pulled the trigger, he was asked whether it was an accident, he blurted out yes. So those are more the things that he said. I`m more anxious to put the proof in front of the jury and see what they think.
BROOKS: Let`s unleash the attorneys. Joining us here in New York, Paul Batista, noted defense attorney as well as Meg Strickler.
OK Paul, he blurts out on Matt Lauer, it was an accident. Is this going to be used against him in court when it goes to trial?
PAUL BATISTA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: A big mistake. He should not have appeared on Matt Lauer. He shouldn`t be talking to the radio stations. He should be keeping his mouth shut. And yes, the admission that he was the trigger man, that he did the deed, and the claim that it was an accident certainly will, it seems to me, if this were New York, come in as evidence against him.
BROOKS: Now Meg, what do you think about that? Do you think it should be or do you think it was just a crime of passion?
MEG STRICKLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well I would argue like Mr. Poston is going to be arguing if this is my client. But I also agree with Mr. Batista.
He went on Matt Lauer, the "Today" show, that absolutely will come into evidence. And that hurts him, I think. We no longer have an issue of who done it. It`s more of how it happened. And Mr. Poston said the seven minutes are key. Could we show this was heat of passion? Because I agree, it couldn`t possible be a knowing second-degree or intentional premeditated murder, no way.
BROOKS: Help me understand this. If it is not premeditated - first of all, correct me if I`m wrong, but the rifle did not belong to him, Meg.
STRICKLER: Right.
BROOKS: OK, so what does he want a rifle for? He borrowed that from a friend.
STRICKLER: I think he testified to the detective that he was thinking about contemplating suicide. So he was planning on killing himself. That is what he said to the detective that night, I believe.
BROOKS: OK, in an affidavit for a search warrant right here it says that this is the -- what was signed by a judge. It said during the interview McLean stated that he had learned that his wife had been having an adulterous affair with Powell. McLean stated that the victim had come to his home and was inside the residence and that he told Powell to get out. McLean called 911 and stated an intruder was in his home. McLean told dispatchers to disregard the call because the intruder was leaving. McLean said that he felt a great amount of stress due to his wife`s relationship with Powell. McLean stated that he went to his Toyota pickup truck on the street in front of his house and retrieved the rifle and that he remembered shooting Powell. How is that heat of passion? Help me understand that.
STRICKLER: I can answer that very easily. We don`t know what happened in the seven minutes. He was hanging out while Mr. Powell was in the car. Maybe something happened that none of us know about. There were three people there. Now there is only one left to talk about. We have Erin who is missing in action, like you said. The other fellow is dead, Mr. Powell. We just have Mr. McLean here. And maybe he saw something that made him absolutely see red and go in an absolute blur like he stated to the detective. He doesn`t remember what happened. He just got absolutely outraged.
BROOKS: Maybe just a little bit of selective amnesia. Paul, what do you think about that?
BATISTA: Well, you know, universally, the heat of passion means that the spouse or the boyfriend or the girlfriend witnesses the conduct, witnesses the act. Heat of passion may apply here if this happened, for example, in the bedroom. It has to be spontaneous. It has to be an ignition that triggers this kind of conduct.
BROOKS: Let me go back out to Bruce Poston, Eric McLean`s attorney. Correct me if 9`m wrong, but didn`t the victim, Powell, Eric and Erin, hadn`t they done things before and he knew of this boy? I should say man. He`s 18-years-old.
POSTON: I think the proof is going to show that he became aware of the affair before this day and that he had been around, whether Eric wanted him around or not, he had been around with them.
BROOKS: Then why not go to court and do the proper procedure instead of killing this guy?
POSTON: Well, I think love is blind. I think he was trying to ride out this affair and hold on to his marriage. He was committed to his sons. He was the caregiver and he hoped that maybe his wife would come back to him.
BROOKS: I want to go out to - joining us from L.A., Bethany Marshall, Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst and author of "Deal Breakers." Bethany, we`ve seen relationships like this before where someone finds out about an affair and they think that they can make it better and then it winds up like this. What makes these kind of people decide to just continue on in -- with their wife and try to fix things?
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, usually what happens is they cannot hold together both the good aspects and the disappointing aspects of the other person all at the same time in their mind. So they go into sort of a state of denial. Can I make a comment about the crime of passion?
BROOKS: Sure.
MARSHALL: From a mental health perspective, Meg said that he got the gun ostensibly because of a suicidal impulse. But what we know is that the homicidal and the suicidal impulse lie side by side. And people who commit homicide or suicide often contemplate one side or the other.
So they`ll say, will I be less miserable if you are dead or will I be less miserable if I`m dead? You, me, you, me, and they oscillate and they go back and forth. And usually one side or the other wins out.
In terms of crimes of passion, what we also terms again from a mental health perspective is that one can contemplate homicide at an unconscious level and not be fully aware that they are contemplating homicide and then it just sort of spills over at some point and that a person`s ability to process what is happening to them is diminished when they so to speak see red.
BROOKS: That is a very, very interesting perspective. We`re going to be talking more about this. More on the Eric McLean case when we come back.
But first, check out the latest message from Nancy on the Baby Blog, plus photos and video of the twins. That`s all at CNN.com/NancyGrace. And exciting news, Nancy is back on Headline News on January 7th at 8 p.m. Eastern. So mark it down on your calendar and be here with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m PFC Truman here in Baghdad. I want to say hello to my mom in Louisville, Kentucky. How are you doing, mom?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DISPATCHER: Knox County 911. Hello? Sir?
ERIC MCLEAN: Hello. I have an intruder at my house.
DISPATCHER: Where are you?
ERIC MCLEAN: 2424 Coker Avenue.
DISPATCHER: You have an intruder in your house? What do you mean by an intruder?
ERIC MCLEAN: Uh?
DISPATCHER: I mean, you`re having a casual conversation and an intruder could mean someone who has broken in. What does it mean to you?
ERIC MCLEAN: Trespasser.
DISPATCHER: OK, is it someone that you opened the door for or did they break in?
ERIC MCLEAN: Um.
DISPATCHER: OK.
ERIC MCLEAN: He tried to walk in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks in for Nancy Grace. Those are the 911 calls that Eric McLean made to the dispatcher when Sean Powell walked into his home. He said he was an intruder. Then they said OK, is he really an intruder is he a trespasser? That is the question. And then there was about seven and a half minutes and then Sean Powell was shot dead in front of the house.
I want to go back out, joining us by phone from Knoxville, Tennessee, Jamie Satterfield with "The Knoxville News Sentinel."
Jamie take us back to the night of the shooting. Kind of walk us through exactly what happens.
SATTERFIELD: Well based on testimony at the preliminary hearing, what happened was that Eric was there moving belongings from the house and Sean was there. Either - I believe he arrived after Eric. In any event, he was inside the house. Eric, as you heard, phoned 911, labeled Powell an intruder. He was calm. You could hear Sean in the background. He also sounded calm, agreed to leave and Eric sort of stood down the police and said everything was fine.
And then seven minutes later, Sean Powell was shot. He was sitting in his vehicle smoking a cigarette, was unarmed when he was shot. After the shooting Eric left and later was found sort of wandering around in a bit of a stupor. And I believe still had the weapon with him.
BROOKS: Interesting. I want to go back out to Knoxville, Tennessee, with Bruce Poston. He`s Eric McLean`s attorney. Mr. Poston, what happened? What is he saying happened in that seven and a half minute gap that we hear so much about?
POSTON: I wish I could tell you, but I can`t. The other attorneys will confirm this. I can`t really get into the evidence that will be presented at trial.
BROOKS: OK, I understand that.
POSTON: Sorry.
BROOKS: No, no. As a former investigator, I totally, I can totally see where you are coming from. Let`s talk a little bit about Erin. Where is she right now?
POSTON: The latest we had, and this is about three weeks old, she is in the Boulder, Colorado area. Apparently Austin got a little too hot.
BROOKS: You said Austin got too hot. What do you mean by that?
POSTON: Well she knew that we had found her there. Eric`s mother had gone out there. I was out there. We were looking for her to try to serve her the divorce papers and to talk about custody issues. And I think she was made aware of that by someone and the next thing you know she popped up in the Boulder, Colorado area with the boys and a new 19-year-old boyfriend she met at a work place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Senior Airman Green from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I`d like to give a shout out to my family and friends back home in Columbus, Ohio. Just have a happy holiday. Hi, kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you still love her? Mr. McLean, do you still love her?
ERIC MCLEAN: I love who I thought she was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks in for Nancy Grace. Well that is Eric McLean saying that he really loves her, still loves his wife.
I want to go out to Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst and author of "Deal Breakers: When to Work on a Relationship and When to Walk Away." Too bad they didn`t have your book, Bethany.
MARSHALL: Right.
BROOKS: When you see this - when you see that interview again, you were there. You saw that interview. What do you think is going through his mind and what drives him? And then I want to talk about Erin.
MARSHALL: Yes. Well, I think what is interesting, some couples who are very chaotic or enraged towards each other, what they do is they direct their anger that should be towards each other toward third outside parties. So was his building rage towards his wife, Erin, was that directed towards Sean Powell?
And in a fit of homicidal rage, did he direct his homicidal impulses which he wanted to direct towards her towards Sean? So I think he kept his marriage and his love afloat by blaming other people not her.
BROOKS: Very interesting, a little transference, very much so.
I want to go back out to Paul Batista, defense attorney. OK, we are talking about Erin now. She is last seen, we heard from Mr. Poston, in Boulder, Colorado. She has used her maiden name to try to get a job. She got a job as at a teacher at another school to try to lure some other kids. She used her own children and alcohol to lure other minor boys to her. Now she has taken up with a 19-year-old.
She`s got these two children, Eric and Ian. Eric`s 11, Ian is 8. Now look. Tell me why she is not deemed to be a danger to herself or others because these kids are not getting the proper treatment they need.
BATISTA: That is your assumption, Mike. She is traveling around the country. She has the right to do that. These are her children.
BROOKS: The judge has ruled that Eric should get visitation.
BATISTA: They have not been removed from her, Mike. And she has a right to travel. The police in these various states are making no effort to arrest her because she has committed no crime. Is she a danger to her children? I think any of us would agree with that. She however has the custody rights. She has the right to travel. We`re making her a demon. We`re making her a demon. The focus here really ought to be on Eric McLean, not on her.
BROOKS: Eric should have the kids, period.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP0
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, I`m Specialist Jonathan Richter (ph) stationed here in Iraq. I just wanted to say hi and happy holidays to my rest of my family in Colorado. I love you and miss you. See you soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Erin Mclean`s husband, Eric, is charged with fatally shooting a student his teacher wife allegedly had an affair with. The latest development in the saga of Erin Mclean turns to her whereabouts. Now Mclean hits the road with her two sons. Friends and family concerned of her whereabouts. Many are asking an amber alert be issued. But police claim their hands are tied because Erin Mclean has legal custody.
Mclean tonight reaching out to her attorney through e-mail. Where is Erin Mclean and are her kids safe?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Metro Nashville 911, what is the exact location of your emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m not sure. My sister has taken her children and she`s completely unstable and she`s a harm to herself and to her children. She`s not supposed to have them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, do you know where she`s going?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She called somebody from Bellevue.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What exactly is going on? Do you want to send the police to you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My sister has left a mental hospital and the police have been calling on her numerous times the past two weeks. She -- DCS has put her kids with my mom and she came and snuck the house and took her kids.
They don`t have shoes on. They don`t have pants on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. That is her own sister calling the police because of her concern for the children, because her sister is acting irrationally. I want to go back out to defense attorney Paul Batista and also Meg Strickler, joining us here in New York. Meg, you heard what Paul had to say, and you heard this 911 tape of her sister. Tell me why she is not a danger to herself and her kids.
STRICKLER: I respectfully disagree with Mr. Batista. She is absolutely a danger to herself and others. In the states I practice in that`s a major issue. She could be involuntarily committed. She was involuntarily committed because she attempted suicide. Then she breaks out of that, steals her children. As that 911 call said, she had taken her kids. DCS had placed them with the grandmother.
Nobody is talking about these children. They are the people that re severely wounded by this. No one has mentioned the two children. They are not in a stable environment as we speak.
BROOKS: Paul?
BATISTA: Obviously, they are not in a stable environment. I`m a lawyer, so I`m confined to what I know. If she is was bad as claimed to be, why hasn`t a judge in Tennessee issued an order revoking her custody? Any judge can do that? Why are the police in the various states where she has touched base -- why haven`t they arrested her? Mike, you no better than I do.
BROOKS: They should be. But she is running from hotel -- when she can`t pay her bills, she hangs up and she hauls to another place.
BATISTA: Mike, you know the police better than I do.
BROOKS: And they should have her civilly committed because there have been many times when I have written up papers for civil commitment because I can articulate that that person is a danger to themselves and others. If she doesn`t meet that criteria, I don`t know who does.
STRICKLER: Her own family agrees with that also. Her godmother said she found the hotel that she was staying in. It was a cesspool or trash and whiskey bottles. That is not a nice environment, period. It`s a danger.
BATISTA: Why aren`t these people going to court, testifying to that under oath, and getting an order from a judge revoking her custody. Mike, you better than I do, if law enforcement wanted to bring her down, arrest her, it would take probably 30 minutes.
BROOKS: It is a matter of finding her. If she is staying in some seedy hotel and she`s got some 19-year-old running a buffer for her, and she`s got her two kids tagging along, how are they going to find her? She doesn`t pay up, move on to the next state.
BATISTA: Mike, they could find you if you took a tour around the country in 30 minutes. They could find her readily. No crime has been committed.
BROOKS: I want to go back out to Mr. Poston. You are Eric Mclean`s attorney.
POSTON: Right.
BROOKS: I know that Eric, because the judge has ruled he should get visitation -- I know that his main concern right now is for the two boys. What are you all doing? That`s a great question. Again, it sounds like running from state to state. What are you all doing to locate her?
POSTON: We`re hoping the public calls in. We found her in the Boulder area through some of your callers. The comment that was made about why aren`t we going to court. He has a lawyer, Steve Sharp, who handles the domestic side and the custody and the divorce issue. That is not my job, but I`m kind of involved. The reason we can`t do that yet is because we haven`t been able to serve her. And I guess Mr. Sharp is going through the process of notification by publication, because she has kept herself away from being served.
So we can`t have these court hearings to bring in people from Nashville and then we would have to bring in people from Austin and Colorado all to tell what we know are facts, plus her own family. Eric`s point is, I don`t care who the kids are with. Her family, my family, anybody but her.
She`s moving them from cesspool to cesspool. A new 19-year-old boyfriend is sharing a bedroom with her and the boys. We`ve heard some tales about that. And they haven`t been in school since this started in Nashville. These were straight A students who haven`t been in school this year. That is pathetic. This is a selfish woman.
BROOKS: I have to agree with you. I want to go back out to Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst and author of "Deal Breakers." Bethany, what kind of long-term effect is it going to have on these two boys? They are not children who are not going to remember this. We`re talking about an eight-year-old and an 11-year-old. It just breaks my heart.
MARSHALL: Let`s remember that neglect is a form of abuse and keeping these kids out of school is neglectful. I understand that they were very good students. These children`s lives -- all of their important attachments keep getting broken again and again. They have been cut off from their dad and from the relatives on both sides. They are going to have what we call an insecure attachment style throughout the rest of their life.
But also, they are being asked to conform to the mother`s compulsions. Think about it, whiskey bottles strewn around the hotel, and the 11-year- old is asked to call the 17-year old that she has an obsessive interest in. Two compulsions, alcohol and her interest in adolescent boys. These boys are used in the service of her compulsions. That is going to have an impact on them.
Is she also not keeping them from both sides of the family and her husband as a form of revenge, and to have control over them, which is what some parents do in custody battles.
BROOKS: As a professional, Bethany, is she is danger to herself or others? Bottom line.
MARSHALL: You know, it is really hard to say. I think at this point she is in a manic state. I don`t mean in terms of bipolar, but she is taking flight. There is a great deal of activity and excitement and drama associated with that. So she might not be in danger now, but as soon as she is caught, she has to give up the boys, and she is kept from all that activity, it could fall into more of a depressive suicidal despair, and then she would be of harm to herself or her children.
But certainly there is neglect and that, in and of itself, is harmful.
BROOKS: I want to go back out to the attorneys, Paul Batista, defense attorney, also Meg Strickler. Why, Meg, can they not be compelled to get the papers to her, to just move on and get this done. Why not?
STRICKLER: Are you talking about the divorce and the visitation?
BROOKS: Yes.
STRICKLER: Like Mr. Poston said, he`s absolutely right about giving notice. You have to serve the other party. You can do it by publication, legal paper in the county where he used to live. So that can get taken care of. I think they should go ahead and start filing stuff. Get the ball rolling now so the kids get out of her harm -- harm`s way.
BROOKS: More on the Eric Mclean case when we come back. But first, check out Nancy`s Baby Blog for all the latest messages from Nancy, plus photos and video of the twins. That`s all at CNN.com/NancyGrace. Be sure to join us January 7th, 8:00 Eastern sharp, right here on Headline News, that is when Nancy makes her much-anticipated return. So mark it on your calendar.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWS BREAK)
BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. That is the 911 call that you heard from Erin Mclean after Sean Powell was shot in front of her house, shot allegedly by her husband, Eric, with a high-powered 30/30 Winchester rifle. I want to go back out now -- Joining us by phone, Knoxville, Tennessee, is Jamie Satterfield with the "Knoxville News Sentinel."
Jamie, Eric was just recently on a local radio show asking for people with any information to let them know where his kids are. What exactly did he say and how was it received?
SATTERFIELD: He didn`t really say anything he hasn`t already said. He`s made that request and expressed concern about the kids for some time now. And, frankly, people are very sympathetic to him whenever he`s interviewed. He seems to spur that kind of feeling among people, this protective notion, for whatever reason, I think largely because he comes across as someone who is quite pathetic. I don`t necessarily mean that in a good way. But people are sympathetic toward him.
BROOKS: I mean, is he getting the backing? Has there been any defense fund? A lot of people are setting up defense funds now. Has anybody started a defense fund for him?
SATTERFIELD: Not that I`m aware of. What people may not be aware of is that Bruce Poston has taken his case largely for free. Only recently was allowed to be reappointed to the case.
BROOKS: I want to go back to Mr. Bruce Poston. He`s Eric Mclean`s attorney. Is that true? Have you been doing all of this pro bono?
POSTON: Yes, up until the new first-degree indictment. A prior judge ruled that Eric wasn`t indigent. He was. Rather than have him go without a lawyer that knew what they were doing in this kind of a case, I just stayed on it and have been doing it pro-bono.
BROOKS: Had you been appointed basically as a public defender?
POSTON: Yes. At the initial stage I was appointed. The public defender`s office didn`t want the case. They were overloaded. The court appointed me. We went to criminal court for the first arraignment. The court said he is not indigent. Then I did it pro bono. Now Judge Lebowitz has ruled that he is indigent. And on the new murder case I`m now appointed.
The important thing is not my income, but the important thing is I can now get an investigator and other experts we need to help defend him, because the kid has no money. I have been financing out of my own pocket most of this stuff regarding the kids.
BROOKS: You say right now that Eric is actually working on a farm. What is he doing?
POSTON: He`s just general labor. He earns about 210 dollars a week. And he is happy to have it, given the nature of the charges and all the things that are going on. He`s got to put any career plans, obviously, on hold. We are happy that these people are at least giving him something to do.
BROOKS: Now where is he living now since he basically is indigent, working a menial job, even though it is a job. Where is he living now?
POSTON: Part of the arrangement was he would live with his parents. He has a leg monitor. He has a curfew of 6:00 most days, unless he is meeting with me. Since March he has been under tight restrictions and complied perfectly with them. They call him a model person on bond.
BROOKS: Interesting, very interesting. I didn`t realize that he had electronic monitoring on him at all times. Didn`t realize that at all.
POSTON: That was something I kind of almost asked for, rather than the state insisted on, because I didn`t want any rumors of he is doing this or he is doing that. We always have the ability to know where he is at all times, and nobody can say he is doing something he shouldn`t be doing.
BROOKS: OK, now when has everything been continued until? When is the next court appearance?
POSTON: The next court appearance is when the trial date was, January 14th. Hopefully, we will be able to get an earlier trial date. Right now, the trial has been moved until September. I`m hoping that a few things fall into place and we can do this trial as early as June. That is too far away. We were ready to go to trial in January on the second-degree case. I would prefer not to wait all the way to September.
BROOKS: I know one of your main witnesses is going to be Erin. She is one of three people who was there when this happened. What if you never find her up until then?
POSTON: I think she is probably the state`s responsibility. That is their main witness. That is my main lifetime cross-examination, not my main witness.
BROOKS: You are going to need her.
POSTON: Well, not really. One way or the other, that is up to the state. They put her on, we get to cross-examine her, the jury gets to see her. If they don`t put her on, then who tells what happens during the seven and a half minutes. You heard Jamie Satterfield say that Eric Mclean comes across as very truthful. He is.
BROOKS: Now, do you think he is going to be able to get a fair trial in that venue?
POSTON: Absolutely. I`m totally confident in the jury system. I think we`ll get a fair jury. Earlier, one of the lawyers said that never admit being the shooter. Well, each case is different. Eric made a statement to police. He was found wandering with a rifle. His wife was there.
Don`t insult the jury by trying to make the state prove the obvious. This battle isn`t who did it. It`s what was done. We made that clear from the beginning.
BROOKS: Will Eric Mclean take the stand in his own defense?
POSTON: Absolutely.
BROOKS: I want to go back out to the attorneys, Paul Batista and Meg Strickler. OK, you`ve heard what he has to say. Paul, how do you think this case is going to go?
BATISTA: Bruce Poston must be the magician of Tennessee, and I mean this in a very flattering way. He has a client who shot someone through the head who was 18 years old. And that man is free. That man is not only free, but he`s working, living at home, doing radio interviews. Must be a marvelous lawyer, but he has an incredibly difficult task, because in that seven-minute gap if Erin Mclean can`t be found and the only testimony is from Eric Mclean, I think Bruce is going to have a hard time.
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BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks in for Nancy Grace. Well, this bizarre love triangle between Erin Mclean, Eric Mclean and now Sean Powell, dead outside of their home. But where is Erin Mclean and her two sons? That`s the question. If anybody sees her, please let local law enforcement know, because, personally, as a former law enforcement -- and you heard Bethany Marshall -- I think she is a danger to herself and to those two children.
In fact, I want to go back out to Dr. Bethany Marshall, author of "Deal Breakers, When to Work on a Relationship and When to Walk Away." Erin Mclean, is she a sexual predator?
MARSHALL: This is a great question. There is no one type when it comes to sexual predators. They come in all shapes and sizes. It is a very heterogeneous group. I think she is a cross between a love and sex addict, a stalker and she is very predatory in her practices. She is not really a pedophile because to be a pedophile you have to be interested in pre-pubescent children, who are more than five years age difference apart from you.
But she does stalk her victims. She called this 17-year-old 22 times in one day, and she put her 11-year-old up to calling the 17-year-old. That is very predatory, in my mind.
BROOKS: Now, you bring up some very, very interesting things about that. I still think she is a danger to herself and to her children, don`t you, Bethany?
MARSHALL: You know, in my heart of hearts, I do. I said what I did because you would have to be in the room with her, evaluate her. The signs of child abuse are there.
BROOKS: I hope she gets the help she needs and we finally find out where she and the children are.
Tonight, let`s stop to remember Army Specialist Frank Cady III, just 20 from Sacramento, California. Remembered for the sparkle in his eyes and doing anything for a laugh, he dreamed of a military career. He loved playing pool, camping, the Dallas Cowboys and reading Dean Koontz and Stephen King novels. He leaves behind mom, Billy, Joe, step dad John and eight siblings.
Frank Cady III, an American hero.
Thank you to all of our guests. Thank you at home for being with us. Remember to visit Nancy`s Baby Blog at CNN.com/NancyGrace. See you tomorrow at 8:00 eastern. Until then, stay safe.
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