Return to Transcripts main page
Nancy Grace
Family of Laci Peterson Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Scott
Aired June 06, 2008 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MIKE BROOKS, GUEST HOST: Tonight: She goes missing on Christmas Eve 2002. Her body washes ashore Easter weekend 2003, along with that of her unborn baby boy, Conner. After a sensational trial making headlines, Scott Peterson convicted of double murder, Peterson now sitting on San Quentin`s death row, still proclaiming his innocence.
But tonight: It`s not over yet, the death row inmate set to stand trial again, this time in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Laci Peterson`s family against their former son-in-law.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A jury found him guilty back in 2004 of killing his wife and their unborn child, the bodies of Laci Peterson and baby Conner washing ashore April 2003. And now in the last hours, a judge ruled Scott Peterson will have to stand trial in a wrongful death lawsuit. The parents of Laci Peterson are seeking unspecified damages.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like Scott to know I trusted him and stood by him in the initial phases of my sister`s disappearance. However, Scott has not been forthcoming with information regarding my sister`s disappearance, and I`m only left to question what else he may be hiding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: And tonight: A shocking discovery caught on surveillance video at a children`s hospital in upstate New York. Hospital staff can`t believe their eyes as they watch someone try to suffocate a 7-month-old baby patient right there in her own hospital room. Tonight: We learn the alleged perp, the baby girl`s own mom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A mother is in jail and awaiting a mental evaluation after being charged with trying to smother her hospitalized baby with a stuffed animal and a pillow, the 7-month-old baby girl hospitalized for seizures. The hospital staff called police after they allegedly witnessed mother Marcia Mitchell (ph) suffocating the baby. Mitchell has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder charges and is awaiting a mental evaluation. But many are asking what drove a mother to allegedly suffocate her 7-month-old baby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: Good evening. I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. Tonight: It`s another date with Lady Justice for convicted double murderer and death row inmate Scott Peterson, as he heads back to trial in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Laci Peterson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even after a jury finds him guilty of murdering his wife and their unborn son, Scott Peterson still says he`s innocent from death row. But Peterson will have to stand trial in a wrongful death lawsuit by Laci Peterson`s family, the trial set to begin in just weeks. But will there be an appeal to this latest ruling?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Several times, I wake up during the night or I`ll be driving down the street or just doing anything and not really thinking about Laci, then all of a sudden, it literally will take my breath away and I realize that she`s gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: Well, Scott Peterson`s back in the news again. It seems like we just cannot stop hearing about this guy. We haven`t heard about him in years. I want to go right out to Jane Velez-Mitchell joining us tonight. She`s an investigative reporter and author of "Secrets Can Be Murder." Jane, you were there for the trial. I was there. I actually broke his arrest when it happened. Why is he going back to court now?
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, Mike, this is absolutely wild. It`s deja vu all over again, as they say. You could call it Scott Peterson, the sequel. We all lived through the criminal trial. We all know what happened there. After a lot of evidence and a lot of testimony, he was found guilty, and now he sits on death row, still maintaining his innocence.
Now we`re going to have a civil wrongful death trial. His -- the parents of the victim are insisting upon it. And it could start very soon. It could start as soon as July 8. So many unanswered questions. Will Scott Peterson appear? The reports we`re hearing now is, no, he will remain in his jail cell. So that could kind of reduce the level of interest from the media, which is probably scrambling to get seats at the trial right now.
He has maintained his innocence. A deposition was taken, and he insisted that he loves Laci and loved Laci and his unborn son, Conner, and took the 5th on some other issues, some of the details surrounding the crime.
BROOKS: He took the 5th? Do you know what details he took the 5th on, Jane?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, probably the details that would incriminate him, and there are so many of those. Remember, all this happened back at Christmas Eve a few years ago. He said he was going on a fishing trip, and his wife and their unborn child ended up in San Francisco Bay dead.
BROOKS: I want to go out to Jo Kwon, producer and reporter for KNX radio 1070. Jo, take us back, and let`s go over the circumstances of the disappearance. She went over -- she went -- she was supposed -- her sister came over. Take it from there.
JO KWON, KNX 1070: Basically, in 2002, you know, Scott Peterson said he was going on a fishing trip. Then, you know, she came up -- they couldn`t find her. And he kept denying what had happened. And unfortunately, in the end, her body ended up in San Francisco Bay, along with her unborn child.
BROOKS: I want to go back out to Jane Velez-Mitchell, investigative reporter. Jane, hadn`t she -- wasn`t her -- didn`t her sister come over or -- and she was supposed to actually come over to the family`s house and she didn`t show up?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Listen, the story here is that this is a man who was living a double life. He had a pregnant wife and he also had a mistress. And his mistress had no idea that he was married. And then her friend discovers that he`s married and confronts him. And he says, Well, I was married, but she`s gone. And shortly thereafter, he turns that lie into the truth. So this is a man who didn`t have the courage to come clean with his pregnant wife, but has the perverse ability to kill her and their unborn child.
BROOKS: You know, right now, I want to go out to Gloria Allred, former attorney for Amber Frey, who was Scott Peterson`s girlfriend, that he said, Oh, yes, you know, my wife is gone. Gloria, thanks for being with us.
GLORIA ALLRED, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR AMBER FREY: Thank you.
BROOKS: Now, the money they`re asking for is in the millions. Are they trying to get blood out of a turnip, you know? And why are they doing it now? It`s been a number of years.
ALLRED: Well, reports, Mike, are that the reason they`re bringing the wrongful death case is to win a judgment of damages, so that if, as and when Scott Peterson should ever decide to write a book, they will be able to seize the profits of that book to satisfy the judgment, which they hope and expect to win and most likely would be successful in winning.
BROOKS: Now, has he -- I know there`s been a number of movies. Has he gotten any monetary value out of this as of right now?
ALLRED: Has who?
BROOKS: Scott Peterson.
ALLRED: Oh, Stacy Peterson? Not to my knowledge. But of course, if he were to write a book and sell it and get an advance and/or royalties, then he would be able to. I doubt that he has much in the way of assets now. Most likely, he`s paid whatever he has to his attorneys for his defense. And course, his parents also, I remember at one point, even mortgaged their home to help him pay his legal costs.
BROOKS: That`s -- you know, it just keeps going on. But I guarantee you right now, the media is licking their chops. July 8 is coming up, and everybody is going to want to be in that courtroom.
Right now, I want to unchain the lawyers. Anne Bremner, defense attorney out of Seattle, and Peter Schaffer, defense attorney here in New York City. OK, Anne, why did it take this long to bring the suit?
ANNE BREMNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: In civil cases, Mike, usually, it`s about 18 months from the time you file the case until the time it actually comes into court. It`s not like criminal, where you have rights to speedy trial. I mean, justice delayed is justice denied, of course, but it takes a long time. There`s lots and lots of cases, especially in California.
And of course, this case will not be as involved as the criminal case in a lot of ways because he was found guilty, and that establishes his guilt or liability in a civil case under a doctrine called collateral estoppel.
BROOKS: Now, Peter, his case right now -- and it`s, you know, under appeal. And we know how -- we know how long death row cases will drag out. Will this wrongful death suit -- will it affect his appeal at all?
PETER SCHAFFER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Has nothing to do with it. The appeal is just whether there was legal mistakes made during the course of the trial. This case is really a non-issue. As Anne said, the issue of liability has already been decided. I don`t think anybody expects that he would prevail in this case, so...
BROOKS: Well, we`re taking your calls live. In fact, I want to go out to the lines right now. Jennifer in New Mexico, you have a question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, my question is -- well, first of all, I`d like to give my condolences to the family and (INAUDIBLE) that it was wrongful (ph), what happened. But my thing is, why go for a lawsuit now and deal with it and try to bring up these old memories and stuff like that? Let that sucker rot in prison and do, you know, his time.
BROOKS: I -- you know, I would have to agree with you. Let him do his time. He`s on death row. But Anne Bremner, you know, why now?
BREMNER: Well, because it`s exactly -- justice also is to hold him accountable in a way where he can`t ever make money off this and the family can see that that doesn`t happen and they can take anything because the "Son of Sam" laws across our nation have been struck down. And so criminals can go out and profit, sell, be in movies, have screenplays, anything else like that, and they can make money. And that would be the worst thing for this family.
And there won`t be that much brought up in this case, like in the criminal, because he is held accountable under the doctrine that I just mentioned.
BROOKS: Right. Right. You know, and I think -- in fact, I think it`s disgusting that criminals can profit off their crime, especially this guy. This guy, you know -- I was out there in Modesto this whole time -- in fact, when he was trying to go to Torrey (ph) Pines golf course to play golf and he had all this cash, camping gear, as you recall, and his brother`s ID with him when they went ahead and took him down as he was pulling into the parking lot of Torrey Pines golf course. And that`s when he was arrested and then brought back to Modesto.
Angie from Virginia, thanks for joining us. You have a question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I think my question might already have been answered, but it was, What could Laci Peterson`s family possibly gain from this lawsuit? He`s on death row.
BROOKS: Yes, Peter -- again, I think right now what we`re hearing, though, what they want to do, Peter, is they want to just prevent any money at all going to that guy while he`s rotting on death row.
SCHAFFER: Yes, and I think it`s another shot at getting -- I don`t want to use the term "revenge," but I think that`s part of the motivation here because he`s on death row. He`s not playing golf now. He`s not -- he doesn`t have any benefits. I mean, you know, what is he going to get, a couple of bags of potato chips at the commissary?
BROOKS: You know? I don`t care, Peter! Every last dime that guy`s got, if he owns a putter that he used to use at his country club, it should go to her parents. You know, that guy should not have a dime to his name. You know, and I know -- I watched his parents, his poor parents go in and out of that courtroom every single day out in Modesto. And you know, you feel sorry for them. They defend him. They defend him because that`s their son. But you know what? Any dime at all that they can get out of that guy, I`d say take it all. Take every -- take his orange jumpsuit, if that`s all he has.
Right now, I want to go out to Ron Schindel. He`s a former inspector with NYPD here in New York City. Ron, thanks for being with me.
RON SCHINDEL, FORMER NYPD DEPUTY INSPECTOR: Good to see you, Mike.
BROOKS: Ron, now, he is not -- as Jane Velez-Mitchell said, he`s not going to be brought to the courtroom. But let`s say they said, OK, you`re going to go to the courtroom. I mean, what kind of security can you provide for a death row inmate in a courthouse?
SCHINDEL: Well, you`re going to have to provide a pretty good level of security just because of the media circus that`s going to follow this entire case. He`s going to have to be transported daily. There`s going to be times when the media`s going to want to take pictures of him, snapshots, film. There`s going to be a huge media circus at this particular event. So security is going to be hard to just judge with the media.
But then there`s going to be the onlookers. There`s going to be lots of onlookers who want a good view of Scott Peterson coming and going. I mean, this a big thing in California, and it was a big media case throughout the country.
BROOKS: No, and I have to -- I have to say they ran a tight ship in Modesto. They came out with creds for everybody, and if you didn`t have a media cred, you couldn`t get in a certain distance. And this was -- that was even for just the preliminary hearing part of the whole -- of his -- of his hearings. But they did -- but they did a fantastic job.
I want to go out to the lines. Sheeba from Illinois.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Mike.
BROOKS: Hi, Sheeba.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is, how can this man be so arrogant? Even the film clips you`re showing. He`s so arrogant, he`s still saying, I didn`t kill my wife, I didn`t kill my baby. And everybody on God`s green earth knows, yes, you did.
BROOKS: You know, I -- yes, he did. It`s been proven, you know, by - - they say -- he`s now saying, I`m innocent, I love my wife. Yes, Amber Frey, too.
But Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist, go ahead, tell us a little bit about the mind of a guy like Scott Peterson.
PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, it`s not a mind that any of us really want to crawl around in.
BROOKS: That`s for sure.
SAUNDERS: And I think we all have a horrified fascination with a psychopath. It`s now called anti-social personality disorder or a sociopath, but psychopath works for me.
This is a person who is not quite a socialized human being. They lack a conscience, and therefore, they have no sense of remorse or guilt. It`s hard for us to understand it, but they are out there, and Scott Peterson is a living example of it. They also don`t experience very high levels of anxiety, so it`s really easy to lie and lie and lie. And the caller is right, he`s really arrogant, grandiose.
BROOKS: You know, and we`re looking right now at some of the excerpts from the deposition that was taken there on death row. You know, questions of my -- you know, that just makes me sick. He says, "An objective look at the evidence showed that I did not kill my family." No. Yes. Well, yes, it did show you killed your family. Then he`s also said, "I`ve been wrongfully convicted of killing my family. On the advice of my attorney, I am not going to answer any questions. How much -- however much I would love to, I`m sorry. I continue to not answer questions on the advice of my attorney."
You know -- and then he says, "Well, it`s difficult being innocent and being in this position." Yes, you`re in the position of death row, pal! Get used to it! You`re going to be there until they stick that needle in your arm. And then it says, "Well, it`s ridiculous, what happened." Yes, it`s ridiculous that you killed your wife.
Oh, and this is the one I like here. And Gloria, I`m sure you`ll enjoy this one, too. "I love my wife. I love my son. I will always love them. I have always loved them. I should be able to hug them right now. I should be able to hold my son. But you know, this Modesto Police Department never investigated for them. That could have brought them home. And that`s the reality we have today." Scott Peterson, you must be kidding me!
Jane Velez-Mitchell, tell us a little bit about what his living conditions right now at San Quentin prison on death row.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you know, he`s on death row, but he remains the arrogant person, the narcissistic person he always was. And he is pen pals with a whole bunch of women, and in fact, has been reported to be pen pals with a woman who served on the jury that convicted him.
BROOKS: You are kidding me!
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I am not kidding you. It`s a shocker. But unfortunately, a certain quality of woman is attracted to a guy like Scott Peterson.
BROOKS: A scumbag like Scott Peterson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I could actually physically feel myself begin to rise out of the chair as I just wanted to lunge over towards Scott. And that`s when I said that divorce is always an option, not murder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHARON ROCHA, LACI`S MOTHER: I love my daughter so much. I miss her every minute of every day. Someone has taken all of this away from me and everyone else who loves her and has seen her. I miss our talks together. I miss listening to the excitement in her voice when she talks to me about her baby. I miss sharing our thoughts and our lives together. I miss her smile and her laughter and her sense of humor. The world collapsed around me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. Well, Scott Peterson is going to be back -- well, he`s not going to be in a courtroom. But again, he`s now going to face Lady Justice one more time -- hopefully, the last time -- to get every dime, every dime this guy has.
And speaking of every dime this guy has, one of our producers was just telling me -- you know this guy has a Web site? This guy has the audacity to have a Web site! Here it is, ScottPetersonappeal.org. And get this, folks. You can even sign up and have a Paypal -- you can click on and make a donation. A donation to this guy!
Let me ask you, Gloria Allred. I don`t know how you feel hearing that he has a Web site. And secondly, any of this money that he`s getting on the Web site, will that be able to go to the family, to Laci`s family, if a judgment is ruled in their favor?
ALLRED: Well, if, in fact, they obtain a judgment, Mike, then they can execute on that judgment and they can seize assets. And as long as they can identify those assets, yes, they`ll be able to seize them. I imagine he won`t make too much money, but whatever he does make, they will able to seize.
And I think for them, it isn`t just about the money. It`s also symbolic, and they want to go after him for anything and everything that he has to make him accountable. And that makes sense to me.
BROOKS: It does. You know, but the mindset of somebody that would send this guy money -- but then we heard -- you know, then again, with Jane Velez, we heard that, you know, women that were on his jury are now, you know, e-mailing him or sending him -- oh, it just makes me puke!
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And Mike, can I jump in here?
BROOKS: Real quick.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I think that he might actually enjoy all this new attention. I mean, he was kind of forgotten, and now we`re all talking about him again. And this narcissistic personality loves that attention.
BROOKS: And we`re going to talk some more about that narcissistic personality.
But tonight`s "Case Alert." Disturbing and graphic video, $10,000 reward in a horrific hit-and-run caught on tape. The victim, a 78-year-old man now paralyzed. Police say Angel Torres (ph) walking across the street in Hartford, Connecticut, when he`s struck down out of nowhere, that car street racing and speeding down the wrong side of the road. Police on the lookout for the blue or black late model Honda that hit Torres, plus a tan late model Toyota involved in that high-speed race. If you have any information, please call the Hartford police crime scene division, 860-757- 4229.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t foresee him to become a Ted Bundy or anybody like that, that will sit down and give an in-depth interview on exactly what did happen. I think he`ll go to his grave with his mouth tightly sealed, just like he has all along.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks, in for Nancy Grace. We were just talking about the narcissistic behavior of Scott Peterson. I want to go out to Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist. Why do you think, Patricia, that he is such a narcissist? And also, Patricia, why do people, you know, write him, and you know, want to glom onto him and with his notoriety on death -- while he`s on death row?
SAUNDERS: Well, about that narcissism, Mike, the term is psychoanalytical, and that comes from the great myth of Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection. And it has to do with the development, the normal development, of self-love. Some people do not get beyond the egocentrism of their own needs of about a 2-year-old. So people like Scott Peterson are only concerned about their own needs. Other people are only there to serve them.
Now, there have been some studies done about women who fall in love with convicted criminal, and some of them are women who have a history of abuse and neglect themselves. Some of them are really excited by the risk- taking, by their own fantasies, and others turned on by the fantasy that they`re going to be the special woman who`s going to rescue this poor soul. It`s pretty crazy, but there are a lot of women like that.
BROOKS: Well, you know, maybe he can look at his own reflection in his cell toilet!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED PARENT: I love my daughter so much. I miss her every minute of every day.
UNIDENTIFIED RELATIVE: Scott has not been forthcoming with information regarding my sister`s disappearance and I`m only left to question what else he may be hiding.
UNIDENTIFIED PARENT: On April 13th, 2003, Connor`s little body was discovered. On April 14th, 2003, the body of his mother, my daughter, Laci, was discovered.
UNIDENTIFIED PARENT: Our family is going to make it. We`re stronger because of this. And Scott got what he deserved.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scott came in with a great big smile on his face, laughing. Well, guess what, Scotty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: San Quentin`s your new home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks in for Nancy Grace.
Well, you just heard some of -- some of the sentiment from the family and friends of Laci Peterson on Scott Peterson.
Yes, and he does have a new home at San Quentin.
And talking about his home, I want to go back out to Ron Shindel, retired NYPD deputy inspector.
Ron, what`s it like in -- on death row?
RON SHINDEL, FMR. NYPD DEPUTY INSPECTOR: Well, Mike, San Quentin has got probably the most notorious death row in the entire country. It`s highly populated. You have a lot of really well publicized cases out there. A lot of people out there. For a time Charles Manson himself was out there at San Quentin.
So San Quentin death row is one of the most professional death rows, if you can put it that way, in the country. They`re well versed with what they have to do. They know what they need to do with these people and they watch them very seriously and they take everything very seriously out there.
So it`s no picnic for Scott Peterson.
BROOKS: No, but -- at least he`s got a water view. That`s real nice.
I want to go out to the phones. Bernadette from New Mexico, you have a question?
BERNADETTE, NEW MEXICO RESIDENT: Yes, I just want to know how come they don`t you let it go? I mean just let Laci and Connor rest in peace because they`re only making this idiot famous again.
BROOKS: Well, you know, I -- yes, a lot of people would say that they`re making him famous again, Bernadette. But I`m all for getting anything at all. Now that we know he got this Web site, if they get his -- if they get a judgment against him, I say take everything he`s got down to the last stick of furniture, even he if he has anything in storage.
So I think that`s the reason. And it`s going to be very, very painful, I`m sure, for the family to go through this all again. In fact, I think, Bernadette, they blocked out almost five weeks for this trial.
But I don`t think it should take that long to find, yes, he was responsible for the death of Laci Peterson.
Back out to the phones, Stacey from California.
STACEY, CALIFORNIA RESIDENT: Hi.
BROOKS: Hi, Stacey.
STACEY: Thanks for taking my call. I want to know. I pray for Laci`s family every night and I pray that I`m still alive when Scott gets executed. How long is that going to take?
BROOKS: That`s a great question.
Anne Bremner, defense attorney, what is the average length that a death row inmate stays on death row until all the appeals go away down to the last minute of their life?
ANNE BREMNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Mike, I`m sorry to tell your caller that it`s decades. In California it can be upwards of 20 years. My state, Washington, is a lot different. A lot of states are. But California has the most -- or many, many inmates. And with all these automatic appeals, which is the right of the accused in a death case, I mean you`ve got these rights to automatic appeals, it can at least a decade.
BROOKS: Yes.
BREMNER: Maybe two.
BROOKS: Well, too bad it`s not in Texas or in Georgia where they get them to -- used to be Old Sparky. I wish they had Old Sparky so he could suffer just a little bit like Laci and Baby Connor did.
Linda from Pennsylvania, thanks for joining us.
LINDA, PENNSYLVANIA: Hi, Mike.
BROOKS: Hi, Linda.
LINDA: This name ruffles my feathers every time I hear it. I can`t understand, why is he put up in like a hotel room down there with all the luxuries and that? Now we saw the computer. He gets visitations from his family. And why don`t they put him out with the other guys? Because Laci and Connor didn`t have the opportunity to live or die.
You know, why are we protecting these guys that kill people by putting them in fancy places, keep them away from the other inmates?
BROOKS: Yes, I don`t think it -- you know, I`ve been to San Quentin. I`ve been outside the prison, ridden by there a number of times. And you know, it`s not a great place.
But Jo Kwon, producer and reporter for KNX Radio 1070, what are the conditions like that he`s living in right now on death row?
JO KWON, PRODUCER/REPORTER, KNX RADIO 1070: He`s, you know, at San Quentin State Prison. He`s -- you know, he`s able to go outside. He`s -- you know, it`s like any other problem. He`s not -- you know, obviously, he`s in confined space. But he really is able to just continue living on despite what he did.
BROOKS: Jane Velez-Mitchell, do you know if he has any other contact?
Now, keep in mind, folks, 669 people on death row.
Now is he -- does he have any contact, Jane, with anybody else there on death row? You know, what kind of conditions -- does he have a computer, TV? What is it -- what`s it like there?
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, AUTHOR OF "SECRETS CAN BE MURDER": You know, I really can`t answer that question. I know -- I`ve heard many stories about famous inmates or infamous inmates actually becoming buddies on death row.
And as one of your other experts mentioned, there are some pretty famous names up there. And they do have a tendency to either call to each other or somehow communicate, even if they`re not in direct contact. So they did form bonds.
But, obviously, it is death row. It`s not a lot of fun. And that`s why I think he`s going to take this ball and run with it, Mike. I think he`s going to fight to bring the attention back to himself if only because he has nothing to lose and he`s sitting there with time on his hands, and he wants the attention and he needs a distraction.
So I will predict that he`s going to pull some funny stuff, try to get into that court and say, hey, I have the right to be present if I`m going to be put on civil trial. I think we can expect some fireworks and some bizarre legal maneuvers down the road.
BROOKS: But, Gloria, is there -- Gloria Allred, is there any chance at all that they would want him in that courtroom? And if not, will he be seen via video during this? Or -- because I`m sure they`re going to ask him to testify.
GLORIA ALLRED, FMR. ATTORNEY FOR AMBER FREY: If he is unavailable for trial, then his videotaped deposition, which has been taken, can be viewed in the courtroom and can be admitted as evidence. And apparently he did testify in that deposition.
Yes, he did take the Fifth on certain aspects of what he was being asked. Of course, he did because his criminal case is still on appeal.
BROOKS: Right.
ALLRED: And if, on the -- in -- on the unlikely situation where the conviction is reversed, he would be retried. So he is going to continue to assert his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination in case he gets a new trial.
BROOKS: Peter Schaffer, defense attorney from New York, how long does his criminal appeal for a death row inmate -- how long does that usually take, the appeal process?
PETER SCHAFFER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, as Anne said, it can take 10 or 20 years. He has to go to one level of the California appellate court. Then he goes to the California Supreme Court. And then he can bring what`s called a habeas petition, which is another type of action. That goes all the way up.
And if that`s denied by the highest court in California, he starts in federal district court. Then it would go to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and ultimately he could file a writ for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.
So it could go on indefinitely. And the reason they do that, Mike, is because the death penalty is the harshest penalty that`s allowed in this country.
BROOKS: Right. Right.
SCHAFFER: He`s got it and he has the right to fight it all the way.
BROOKS: Unfortunately. Jane Velez-Mitchell, quickly, who`s paying for all of these appeals for Scott Peterson?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, the taxpayers, of course. We end up footing the bill for all of it. And of course, there`s a lot of frustration and aggravation. The families of the victim say, why do we have to wait decades for justice to be done.
In the meantime that`s why they go after these civil wrongful death suits because they don`t feel they`ve gotten justice in the criminal courts.
BROOKS: You know, it`s -- it will be interesting when July comes around.
But when we get back, a shocking discovery caught on surveillance video at a children`s hospital. Someone tried to suffocate a 7-month-old baby patient in her own hospital room. The alleged perp, the baby girl`s own mom.
Tonight, we salute our troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like to salute my big brother Tech Sergeant Alfonso Real. He has just returned from Iraq. He`s been serving as the firefighter in the United States Air Force for 12 years.
The whole family would like to let him know how very proud we are of him and that we love him very much. God bless him and all the other troops that have not made it home yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 27-year-old Marcia Mitchell was charged with the attempted murder of her daughter. Police say little Kelly`s mother tried to smother the 7-month-old with a pillow while she was undergoing treatment at Women and Children`s Hospital.
The incident happened right with hospital staff watching nearby on a type of video monitor.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The baby remains in the hand of Child Protective Services. As for Marcia Mitchell, she remains behind bars.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKS: I`m Mike Brooks in for Nancy Grace.
While a 27-year-old mother tries to suffocate her own 7-month-old baby in the hotel -- I mean, in the hospital. In the hospital!
Let`s go right out to T.J. Pignataro, crime reporter for the Buffalo News.
T.J., what happened?
T.J. PIGNATARO, CRIME REPORTER, BUFFALO NEWS: Yes, Mike. How are you?
BROOKS: Good, buddy. Thanks for being with us. What happened?
PIGNATARO: Well, essentially the 7-month-old baby girl was admitted into the hospital May 23rd. She suffered an apparent seizure. And according to reports the mother had been staying with the baby at the hospital.
That subsequent Friday around 6:00 p.m., the mother who had - Marcia Mitchell -- she had battled depression. And she was in the hospital with the sick baby in the baby`s room. There was a video monitor in the room and apparently the mother was aware of the presence of the video camera there and she first attempted to allegedly smother the baby with a stuffed toy penguin.
At that point, police are a little bit sketchy on this, but there might have been a -- some type of alarm system that was monitoring the baby`s vitals that might have been activated. In any case, about 15 minutes later a second incident occurred when Mitchell attempted to use a pillow allegedly to smother the baby.
That was captured on video. Hospital personnel saw that and immediately rushed into the room and pulled Mitchell away from the baby. And at that point they thought it was appropriate to contact police. And police took Mitchell into custody and she was charged with attempted second-degree murder.
BROOKS: Yes, you think it would be right to pull him off -- to pull -- it`s unbelievable. Now, who has -- T.J., who has this tape right now?
PIGNATARO: The Buffalo Police Department homicide unit has seized evidence from the scene. That included the videotape from what I understand.
BROOKS: Now, you know, why was there such a -- there was 15 minutes gapped. Did they not see when she tried to suffocate the baby with the penguin?
PIGNATARO: Well, here`s the thing. Apparently, from what I have learned, she might have -- Mitchell might have actually -- knowing that the video camera was there, she might have actually made adjustments to kind of be either out of the way of the camera`s image, from what I understand, or was just blocking its ability to capture the child when she first tried to smother the baby.
So it`s entirely possible it wasn`t seen on the video the first time around.
BROOKS: Interesting. Sure sounds like it`s premeditated to me.
Now, you know, we`re hearing that she was suffering from depression. And there were some other incidents that happened. You know, the seizures -- was this the first time, T.J., that we know of that the baby had had seizures when it went into the hospital?
PIGNATARO: Well, the baby`s medical history is pretty unknown. And the hospital personnel, following HIPAA rules.
BROOKS: Right.
PIGNATARO: . obviously couldn`t disclose any of that. So we don`t really know much about the baby`s medical history.
The family itself went through some trauma last -- in April when there was an apartment fire at their place in Batavian, New York which is about 30 miles east of Buffalo.
BROOKS: Interesting, interesting. Right now joining us from Los Angeles, Dr. Tanya Altman, a pediatrician.
Dr. Altman, thanks for joining us.
DR. TANYA ALTMAN, PEDIATRICIAN: Thank you, Mike.
BROOKS: Now what would cause or what could be some of the causes that -- for a baby this young to have seizures?
ALTMAN: Well, when I see a 7-month-old with seizures, there are many things I`m looking for. Is there a fever? Could this be a sign of a serious infection such as meningitis or something simple like a febrile seizure?
In addition, there could be an underlying brain damage -- or sorry -- brain issue or other abnormality in the baby`s system causing a seizure. And one thing that we always have to be on the lookout is, could this be child abuse, Munchausen by Proxy, or an ingestion whether accidental or intentional causing the seizure in the baby?
And usually by taking the history, if there was someone who witness the seizure that can describe it to you and doing some examination and tests on the baby we can hopefully determine the cause of the seizure.
BROOKS: Interesting.
Joining us by phone from Buffalo, New York, is Barry Dolgoff. He`s the attorney for Marcia Mitchell.
Mr. Dolgoff, thank you for being with us.
BARRY DOLGOFF, ATTORNEY MARCIA MITCHELL: You`re welcome, Mike. Good evening.
BROOKS: Good evening.
Did your client smother her 7-month-old baby?
DOLGOFF: My client has been charged with attempted murder in the second degree.
BROOKS: That`s not what I asked you. It`s on video. It`s on video that she did this. Do you know why she did this?
DOLGOFF: Well, currently she`s undergoing a forensic examination to determine her fitness to proceed. That`s the stage of the proceedings we`re in. We`re not at any stage of the proceedings where there`s any reasons or any trial, nothing like that is happening at this point.
BROOKS: If it does go to trial, what`s going to be your defense?
DOLGOFF: That`s to be seen. We`re not there yet.
BROOKS: But you`ve got to be thinking about it already. Come on, what exactly, you know -- of course, what are you going to claim, mental deficiency?
DOLGOFF: We haven`t even passed the forensic examination at this point to determine whether she`s a person fit to proceed. That we have to determine first.
BROOKS: All right. Well, we`ll go back to this.
But tonight, "CNN HEROES.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JILL LEVINE, MEDICAL MARVEL: Robbie was a great kid. He was fun. He was energetic and he was very athletic. He loved all sports but baseball was really his passion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was standing at first base. Robbie ran past me. I remember thinking about how I never saw him run so fast before. Then a few seconds later he was laying on home plate and I started to try to do CPR.
LEVINE: Someone came banging on my door. You have to come to the hospital right now, something happened to Robbie. We get there, they said he died. I just started screaming. This is a healthy 9-year-old kid. How in the world could his heart just stop?
Robbie really could have had a chance if there was a defibrillator. And I just knew that we needed to do something.
My name is Jill Levine and I help coaches save lives. My goal is to make defibrillators mandatory in youth sports in the same way that you have to wear a batting helmet.
My first priority is to raise awareness about the need.
It really (INAUDIBLE) minutes for a while? You definitely won`t regret it.
We have donated dozens of AEDs. They`re very simple to use but you still need to be trained.
If coaches are prepared, lives can be saved.
In some way, I`m still parenting Robbie. I`m still his mom. I feel like I`m helping people because of him. And that helps me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROOKS: And now a look back at the stories making the rest of the headlines this week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK HOGAN, HULK HOGAN`S SON: I can`t deal with this for eight months. It`s like half the size of my bathroom.
LINDA HOGAN, MOTHER:
NANCY GRACE, CNN HOST: He`s complaining about the size of his room that he`ll probably be in for about four months while the victim in this case is comatose. Wonder what that`s like?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Shocking teen beating and it was all caught on tape. Now the alleged ringleader Mercades Nichols asking a judge to ease house arrest so she can give interviews to the media.
GRACE: Have you seen the video in this case, a brutal all-girl gang attack on an honor student? She loses partial sight and hearing.
How does a soccer mom Anna Rodriguez, age 36, manage to get into the heroin business selling black tar heroin out of her SUV with her two kids, 3-year- old and 6-year-old sons, in the SUV?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A lot of blood. That`s what neighbors saw Wednesday morning in Pacoima. The people who live here had two dogs, a pit bull and pit bull mix. At least one of them turned on a member of the family, a baby boy.
GRACE: I just don`t think under any circumstances an animal should be alone with infants. I just -- it confounds me that anybody would do that. I don`t even allow a cat 18 years old to be around the twins. I mean, no, without me right there, forget it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKS: Tonight, let`s stop to remember Army Staff Sergeant Timothy Cole Jr., 28, from Missouri City, Texas. On a second tour of duty, he also served in the Marine Corps. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, remembered as a great friend and leader. He loved making others laugh, hosting cookouts for his fellow solders, he dreamed of buying a home and a blue corvette.
He leaves behind parents Timothy Sr. and Connie, widow Lindsey, three daughters, one son.
Timothy Cole, a true American hero.
Thank you to all of our guests and thank you at home for being with us. And a special happy birthday to Seattle defense attorney Anne Bremner.
See you tomorrow night 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Until then, stay safe.
END
