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Jane Velez-Mitchell

Massacre at Fort Hood Claims 12; Humane Society Documents Cruelty to Calves

Aired November 05, 2009 - 19:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, breaking news. A shooting rampage rips through a U.S. Army base, Ft. Hood, Texas. At least 12 people have been killed, dozens more injured. Police say at least one gunman dressed in military uniform opened fire in an area used to prepare soldiers for deployment.

ISSUES is all over this story. We will have the very latest breaking developments.

And the face of the devil. Hellish new details in Cleveland`s house of horrors, with 11 bodies and counting. Yet another woman now claims she was attacked by Anthony Sowell. She says his eyes were glowing. You could see demons inside him.

Meantime, a community has been rocked by the gruesome discovery. Clergy members converge for an emergency prayer service as neighbors demand answers from police. Why wasn`t this nightmare, all these bodies discovered sooner?

Also, earth-shaking insight into Rihanna`s toxic relationship. The pop singer finally breaks her silence and talks publicly for the first time about her abusive relationship with Chris Brown. The superstar says she`s embarrassed and ashamed to have ever fallen in love with him, and she regrets returning to him after he beat her. Tonight we will have her new warning to other young women.

Plus, disturbing new insight into Lindsay Lohan`s alleged drug addiction. Never-before-heard, highly-emotional tapes reveal her parents` desperate struggle to get her help. We will play the tapes as Lindsay sobs uncontrollably over the phone. Is Lindsay`s life spiraling out of control? Why is her dad releasing these tapes? Is it to get Lindsay help or to get him publicity?

ISSUES starts now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, an unimaginable massacre at Ft. Hood Army Base in Texas. In a horrifying rampage, at least one gunman opened fire just hours ago, killing 11 victims and injuring 31 other people. Two other suspects were also taken into custody. All three suspects are reportedly U.S. soldiers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. BOB CONE, FT. HOOD: At this time, the numbers that we`re looking at are 12 dead and 31 wounded. And they`re dispersed among the local hospitals here in the Central Texas area. Again, the extent of injuries varies significantly. And again, we`re getting great cooperation from the Central Texas medical facilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Among the 12 dead is believed to be the primary shooter. He had two weapons, both handguns, and he was reportedly shot dead by responding law enforcement. He has been identified as a U.S. Army major by the name of Malik Nadal Hassan. He`s about 40 years old. He is from Virginia. He was reportedly an Army mental health professional. That`s right, a psychiatrist.

Two other suspects are in custody and presumably being interrogated even as we speak.

At least one gunman opened fire. Reports say they believe this all happened at the old sports dome. This file footage shows the relatively small area containing a large number of people. Could that have made it easy to shoot so many people at one time?

Now let`s move outside. Here are CNN`s Tom Foreman and Wolf Blitzer with a look at the general area where this massacre occurred.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It looks like we`re really talking about a focused area here. Remember, we had reports throughout this about some activity near the Howze Theater. We have reports of various activity at the softball fields. We have reports about what might have gone on down here at the PX down here further away.

But I know from my experience around big shootings like this, that`s also not uncommon that people become -- you know, people start fleeing. People get nervous, things happen. And many people see all sorts of things that they report which may or may not have anything to do with it. It may all be contained in this readiness center here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Straight out to my expert panel: Dr. Dale Archer, clinical psychiatrist; Jayne Weintraub, criminal defense attorney; Tom Kenniff, commissioned officer in the Army National Guard`s Jaguar Corps and a former prosecutor; and Todd Jeffries, news director, News Radio 590 KLBJ.

I want to start with you, Todd. Clarify this question of how many suspects were believed to be involved in this actual shooting. We`ve heard this Army major was the primary shooter. Did witnesses report seeing anybody else firing shots?

TODD JEFFRIES, NEWS DIRECTOR, NEWS RADIO 590 KLBG (via phone): No, witnesses here on the team say he was the primary shooter. They did say that they did apprehend two other soldiers in uniform at a nearby building there in the readiness compound.

It`s very possible, as this stuff unfolds, that those two guys may have just been running away and appeared to be suspects. That`s something we`re still waiting for confirmation from General Cohen, who spoke to us earlier.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now I have to talk to Dr. Dale Archer. You are a clinical psychiatrist. I almost fell off my chair when I got the news that the suspect, the suspected shooter who was shot dead, is not just a U.S. Army major by the name of Malik Nadal Hassan, but he is a doctor. He was assigned to Darnall Army Medical Center in Ft. Hood, and he was a fellow in disaster and preventive psychiatry.

This is a 39- or 40-year-old man from Virginia -- and we do have his photo; we`re going to show it to you again in a second -- who allegedly opened fire on his fellow soldiers. And we understand that the horror and the irony of this is that his specialty was preventive psychiatry and disaster psychiatry, Dr. Dale Archer.

DR. DALE ARCHER, CLINICAL PSYCHIATRIST: Yes, when I heard the thing, just as you, Jane, I was stunned and shocked.

I think that the important point to look at here is to do an analysis and say, OK, first of all, it`s very unlikely that this was a schizophrenic or psychotic condition, because this has onset in the late teens and early 20s.

Next, if he was acting alone, then we`re looking at, a stress overload situation. Was he having problems, perhaps, with a wife, with kids, with a financial situation that got to be much and he snapped? But finally, if he wasn`t acting alone, then we`re looking at an ideological condition, because he had to have a cause he believed in, and he had to be charismatic enough to convince other people to join him in this cause to this horrific end.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, there`s so much information that is just coming in, and we`ve got also Lieutenant General Russel Honore with us, a CNN contributor, deputy commander.

You were with the 1st Cavalry for two years in Ft. Hood. So you know this area. Ft. Hood is the largest military base by size in the entire world. It`s like a city. Now, Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison spoke to CNN`s Wolf Blitzer. Let`s hear what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: There`s a lot of family members, young kids and spouses on the base, as well.

SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: Oh, absolutely. There are big housing complexes and housing facilities. There are nine schools on the base.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Lieutenant General, what Senator Hutchison went on to say was that there are reports that the suspect was complaining about being deployed to Iraq. What are your thoughts?

LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, FORMER DEPUTY COMMANDER AT FORT HOOD: Well, I cannot confirm or deny that, but these soldiers that he was working with or about to deploy with, many of them have been deployed many times. So we don`t know if we`ve got a mental issue here or what this soldier`s problem was or whether it was ideology. And I`m sure that will come out in the investigation.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you raise an interesting point about ideology because Tom Kenniff, you`re the former JAG officer. Senator Hutchison also said that they are going to have to investigate motive, and among the possibilities, they are going to have to see if there was any group that was trying to infiltrate our military, given that this wasn`t necessarily the act of a lone gunman, that they are interviewing two other suspects right now, so there may have been more than one person involved.

TOM KENNIFF, FORMER JAG: Yes, given the fact that it`s a high-ranking officer, a major which is only a couple of grades away from a general and given the fact that, you know, when you first hear the story you wonder, gee, is this a couple of soldiers or a few soldiers who came back from multiple deployments and maybe were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and just snapped.

This is a situation where you`re dealing with a medical doctor within the Army. They`re not considered combatants. They`re generally not carrying firearms when they`re in deployed environments. And you don`t associate them with suffering the same sort of battle stress that a soldier or, you know, perhaps an infantry soldier who is deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan might feel.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do you make of this, Tom? You know, you are a former JAG officer. What do you make of a U.S. Army major who is a psychiatrist, OK, a mental health professional, taking this kind of action when he is specifically trained in preventing disasters?

KENNIFF: Well, it`s ironic. It`s bizarre. It`s tragic. To me, if I had to kind of give an educated guess as to what the motive might be here, it smacks a lot more towards ideology than anything else or sort of stress or so forth, again, because this is someone with a medical degree. This is someone who`s not out there on the frontlines of the war, suffering the same sort of battle stresses that a lower enlisted person would be dealing with.

You know, given the fact that the reports are that he seems to have a name of Islamic descent, it reminds me a lot of the Akbar case back in 2003 where he will threw a grenade into a tent in Kuwait and killed two officers and injured several other soldiers.

You know, it`s too early to draw any sort of definitive conclusion, but based on what we know so far, it seems to me to gravitate more towards something that maybe ideologically motivated.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, we have to make sure that we do not jump to any conclusions whatsoever, because right now we do not know. All we know is that 12 people died, including the suspected gunman. And 31 have been wounded, 12 of them in very critical condition. So this -- tragically, this death toll could conceivably rise.

This is a horror story. We`re going to stay on top of it. Everybody stay right where are you.

ISSUES is all over this story. We`re going to have more on this massacre in Ft. Hood, Texas, right after the break. We are taking your calls on this: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.

It is a very sad day for Ft. Hood, for Texas and for the United States of America. Here is Texas Governor Rick Perry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: The state of Texas has had a significant loss today with a tragedy at Ft. Hood, and I think along with all Texans, Anita and I are keeping those affected today in our prayers and hope that each of you would -- would do the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It`s difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We are back, talking about the obscene shooting rampage at Ft. Hood. Twelve people dead tonight. One of them, the man believed to be the gunman. Thirty-one wounded, we`re told. At least 12 are in critical condition. So the toll could rise.

Two other suspects are in custody. All three of the alleged suspects at this point soldiers, which is pretty scary right there.

Now, Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison spoke to Wolf Blitzer of CNN just a short time ago by phone. Listen to what she had to say about the dead suspected shooter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUTCHINSON (VIA PHONE): All I can say is that I know he was scheduled to be deployed and appeared to be upset about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, the Pentagon has asked the media not to speculate on motive, but we`re here to talk, and we can certainly hypothesize about possible motives for a major in the Army, a medical doctor, to open fire on his colleagues, perhaps even some of his patients. Who knows?

Casey Jordan, criminologist, you have been listening to all this. And Senator Hutchison also want -- went on to say we`re going to have to see if there`s any group trying to infiltrate our military. We have no idea, but it`s something they`re going to have to explore.

CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST: And they`ll explore it, absolutely. But this is very unprecedented as we look at case studies of other mass murder.

I will be very surprised to -- if the other two suspects in custody are actually linked to the gunman. It would be very rare, although cases of what we call master-disciple mass murder do happen. Far more likely that it is a lone gunman incident.

Just because he`s a psychiatrist, a health-care professional, does not make him immune from all the other stresses, especially pre-deployment stresses, of war. And in fact, if his job is listening to all the other soldiers` stories and helping to deprogram them after they come back and resettle into normal life, he carries a lot of the weight of all of the other soldiers` anxiety and stress on his shoulders in an everyday work world.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right.

JORDAN: None of this excuses his actions.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Obviously.

JORDAN: But to explain it, we need to look at the big picture.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: At this point, we have no idea why this happened. We do know many of the soldiers at Ft. Hood have experienced significant stress. CNN`s Brooke Baldwin spoke to a soldier about the incidence of suicide at Ft. Hood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He did talk about how he has definitely noticed, we`ve talked to Barbara Starr talking about these increased sentences of suicide at Ft. Hood. And he said, you know, absolutely, he has noticed a difference between before his deployment and now, increased steps to mitigate PTSD among soldiers.

And as I mentioned, he is just back from Iraq, went through the re- entries likely at that same facility. And he told me, though, when it comes to sitting down with a counselor, that he said, "You know what, this place is really huge, and a lot of people tend to fall through the cracks." He said the counseling he received was not incredibly aggressive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And again, that reporter was not talking about the suspect. She`s talking about a young soldier that she spoke with. And that soldier was saying, "Hey, a lot of the soldiers coming back and going out, some of them have been several tours, and there is a lot of stress."

Now, here is something very, very strange, Dr. Dale Archer. This gunman, it turns out, is a graduate of Virginia Tech, which as we all know, is infamous for the massacre that occurred there that left 33 dead, including that gunman. So this guy, who was shot dead, who was believed to be responsible for the massacre at Ft. Hood, went to Virginia Tech, where there was also a massacre. What does that say?

ARCHER: Well, I don`t -- you know, it`s, I guess, just a shocking coincidence, Jane. But I want to talk about the suicide angle for just a bit. And folks need to understand that suicide is incomprehensible to someone who doesn`t have a psychiatric condition, typically depression. But you have to have a hopeless situation aggressively.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Nobody committed suicide here, unless you want to talk about suicide by cop.

ARCHER: No, no.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: This was homicide. This was mass homicide. We were mentioning the suicide rates, because it gives you an idea of some of the stress levels at this particular facility.

ARCHER: And that`s what I wanted to -- I was going to make that point. So basically, you have to be in a hopeless situation where you feel that you will never get better. And therefore, if your life is going to go on in a hopeless situation, you`re better off dead.

So that type of stress level can, of course, manifest itself in different ways in different individuals.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Right.

ARCHER: So it is possible that the stress that might lead one individual to a suicide could lead another individual to become a gunman and to go on a rampage.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jeff in Michigan, your question or thought, sir?

CALLER: Yes. I am just a regular Joe Six-Pack American. And I think America is the best country in the world. But with all our tax dollars and everything, why can`t these people figure out that you got loonies right inside the service? I mean, co-workers, people underneath him, above him, I mean, I`m sure there were signs before this that, you know, something was not right.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that`s for sure, sir. Something is absolutely not right in this case. And we cannot jump to conclusions. We don`t have the answers, but we are going to stay on top of it.

Thank you, fantastic panel. Oh, we`ll have more on this breaking news in a minute.

And gut-wrenching new developments in the alleged Cleveland serial killer. Eleven bodies.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Horrifying video from an undercover Humane Society investigation documents hideous animal cruelty. Thankfully, it resulted in the shutdown of the slaughterhouse specializing in killing bob veal. This is tonight`s spotlight segment. Those are male dairy calves that are just days old.

We have to warn you: the footage you`re about to see is extremely disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For three weeks, a Humane Society of the United States investigator was employed as a floor cleaner at a veal calf slaughter plant in Vermont. And what he documented on video was particularly cruel and inhumane treatment of calves. Animal who are too weak even to walk to their own slaughter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Get up. (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Being kicked. Being electrically prodded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, get up. There ain`t nothing wrong with you. You can walk. Looky there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, believe it or not, we have selected the least graphic images to show you. So you could only imagine the hideously cruel treatment these babies, these male calves just days old, actually endured. If you want to see the whole thing, and I suggest you do, go to CNN.com/Jane.

Joining me now is Paul Shapiro, senior director of the factory farming campaign for the Humane Society of the United States.

Paul, the USDA is supposed to monitor and prevent these horrors. But what did your investigation reveal about the USDA inspector here?

PAUL SHAPIRO, SENIOR DIRECTOR, FACTORY FARMING CAMPAIGN, HUMANE SOCIETY: This new investigation from the Humane Society of the United States uncovered really problematic areas of inspection with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Basically, workers were skinning -- were skinning a calf alive directly in front of a USDA inspector, who on our hidden camera, tells another worker if another inspector saw him doing this, they would be shut down.

In another case, the same USDA inspector, again on hidden camera, tells our investigator not to let him know when he finds live calves on piles of dead animals, because otherwise he could shut them down.

There was a breakdown in the oversight of the admittedly very modest rules that we have to protect farm animals at these slaughter plants.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.

SHAPIRO: And it was absolutely disturbing.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me tell you something, U.S. government, USDA, I hope you`re watching. You`re not doing your job. You are not doing your job. Shame on you!

This slaughterhouse was certified as organic. Most consumers think that means humane. But it really means they`re not raising the animals with hormones or chemicals.

What changes did the Humane Society of the United States want to see in the wake of this horror?

SHAPIRO: We need to recognize that this is not just a case of one rotten egg.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: No.

SHAPIRO: Investigation after investigation after investigation has shown that cruelty till to animals is far more systemic in the meat, egg, and dairy industries than many people are likely to believe. What we need to see from USDA is, really, two importantly critical reforms.

The first is to ban the slaughter of calves who are too weak even to stand and walk to their own slaughter.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely.

SHAPIRO: Earlier this year, President Obama admirably banned the slaughter of downer cattle, but there was a loophole that allowed for these young calves to still go to their slaughter even if they can`t even stand up. It`s cruel. It`s inhumane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look at this baby. He can`t stand up, and they`re dragging him, because when -- when they get him to stand even for a second, then they can slaughter them. These animals are just a couple of days old. They do not deserve to be treated like this.

Paul Shapiro, thank you.

USDA, shame on you.

Twelve people gunned down at Ft. Hood. We`ll have the latest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Excuse me there. The latest on the dead alleged shooter in that horrific mass shooting at Fort Hood Army Base in Texas. This just in: the two people initially detained have been released. But there is one other person in custody -- this is getting more and more perplexing -- and then of course, there is the alleged shooter, deceased. He is Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan.

I am back with Casey Jordan, criminal profiler and Todd Jeffries, news director at KLBJ Radio from Austin, Texas. But we also have on the line Marty from Virginia.

Marty, I understand that your husband is in lockdown in Fort Hood. Tell us about that.

MARTY, HUSBAND IN LOCKDOWN AT FORT HOOD (via telephone): Yes, Jane, that`s correct. I got a telephone call from him this afternoon around 4:00, 4:30 saying that the entire fort was on lockdown, that nobody could get on or off the fort, that everybody was locked down in the buildings there. And that they had shut down all the air conditioning systems in case this was a terrorist attack and there was any, you know, germ warfare or anything like that involved.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. So they are really terrified at the initial point where the shooting erupted and now it seems that this situation is contained, although we`re hearing some new information about two of the suspects originally caught being released. But now there`s a third suspect.

Marty I want to ask you this. What do you make of the fact that the person they believe is the primary shooter who is now dead is a U.S. Army major, Malik Nidal Hasan, assigned to the Darnall Medical Center at Fort Hood. He`s actually a psychiatrist himself. What do you make of that as a person who has a loved one on this military base?

MARTY: Well, I think it shows the stress that goes on with not only just the soldiers there, but the doctors, the psychiatrists, everybody that`s involved.

And granted, he has to listen to these people each and every day and I`m sure he must take that home with him at night. And you know, I`m sure the stress -- I mean, that`s the only thing I can think of.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I want to thank you, and I certainly hope that your husband is okay. It sounds like he`s all right. And ...

MARTY: He`s going to be fine. He said he would call me as soon as the lockdown was over and that he could get off base.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. This is -- this is rough. It`s rough for these people.

Todd Jeffries, you`ve been covering this. What do you know about this sort of mix-up now where they`re saying, oh, the two suspects that they originally arrested that survived this thing have been released but they`ve gone for a third suspect.

TODD JEFFRIES, NEWS DIRECTOR, KLBJ RADIO, AUSTIN, TEXAS: Yes, that`s correct. What we`re getting here on the base is that the shooter may have walked into this facility with a couple of people. He may have known some of the soldiers that were there inside the readiness center.

The readiness center is like a hub and civilians know it very well. It`s a community center. There`s concerts here. They often greet returning soldiers here with big celebrations.

But you touched on something earlier that is a common theme here in this central Texas military community. There is a growing frustration of being deployed and deployed and deployed. And that could be the situation. That could be the tension or the emotions or the frustration that this major was going through himself.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but then we`re hearing, Casey, from the Senator Hutchison, and again we cannot jump to any conclusions that he may have been upset about being deployed himself. We only have a couple of seconds.

CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST: Yes, I think he was upset about being deployed himself because he`s heard firsthand from all the returning soldiers the horrors that he would face being over there. And it may not be politically correct, but you can`t overlook that his name indicates he`s of Middle Eastern descent. That would cause all kinds of personal conflict with him that you really can`t discount as part of the big picture how this man may have snapped.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. We`re going to stay on top of this obviously in the days and weeks to come. We will learn more about the motive, about the why.

Meanwhile, our condolences to everyone impacted at Fort Hood.

Thank you panel.

Turning now to a chilling tale of survival from a woman who escaped the accused Cleveland serial killer: police say Anthony Sowell hid the bodies of at least 11 women at his home in Cleveland.

Gladys Wade believes she was nearly one of those victims. She said last December Sowell beat her senseless inside his house of horrors. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLADYS WADE, ALLEGED VICTIM OF ANTHONY SOWELL: And he just kind of twisted my neck, twisting it, twisting it, twisting it, and I was gouging his face at the same time. At the same time, I was trying to take his eyeballs out.

It was like the devil, you know? Eyes glowing. You can tell he was demonic or something. You can just see the demons in him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Gladys says she fell down the stairs through a window and then ran away; she was one of the lucky ones. Of the 11 bodies found, only three have been identified. The third just identified moments ago. The relatives of local missing women are now holding their breath.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something in my heart is telling me that my sister is one of the victims. I don`t want it to be true. I pray and I cry and I pray and I cry and I talk to someone. I miss her. I just miss her. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonia Carmichael was the first victim identified. Her family says when she went missing, police showed no urgency because she was a drug addict. Is that true? We will ask a community leader.

And how did Sowell`s grizzly secrets go undetected for so long? Didn`t the entire neighborhood catch the stench of death pouring from his home?

Straight out to my fantastic panel, and I also want to welcome reporter Dan Haggerty from HLN affiliate WEWS and Cleveland City councilman Zach Reed.

Zach, thank you for joining us, sir.

ZACH REED, COUNCILMAN, CLEVELAND, OHIO: Thank you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The question everybody`s asking, how could he have 11 bodies in there and people complaining about the stench for at least two years and numerous women as we`ve heard racing from the home for their lives and nobody goes there to see what`s happening until 37 days after one of the surviving victims claims she was raped?

REED: That`s a darn good question. That`s why I think we need to have an independent investigation so that we can get to the reason to answer that question. That`s a very good question.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, what kind of independent investigation do you want? I know the community`s up in arms. Everybody`s gathered there. What`s the consensus? What do you think?

REED: Well, I think if you look at the fact that now I believe I was the first public entity to understand -- to see exactly what happened here in the sense that I got a call on June 29th, 2007, from a resident across the street from this location that said, "Councilman, there`s a foul odor across the street, and it smells like a dead person."

I then contacted the health department who subsequently went out, looked, evaluated and because it`s adjacent to a sausage factory, we all just believed it was the sausage factory. It comes now, we were completely wrong.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. Unbelievable.

We have more now of Gladys Wade`s chilling story. She`s certain Sowell intended to kill her the night he beat her inside his house.

REED: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WADE: I could actually have been one of them. So I feel for the families of the ones that are gone now. And if they wouldn`t let that man go, them people would be here. They let him go. They let that man go, and that wasn`t right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s not clear if Wade ever reported Sowell to the police. Another woman, Tonya Dawes claimed Sowell beat and strangled her too. She says she never report it had because she had been to jail on drug charges and just assumed cops wouldn`t believe her.

Dan Haggerty, you`ve been covering this, is one of the factors in all of this his being undetected for so long that he targeted women who had troubles, who were drug addicts perhaps or in some other kind of trouble?

DAN HAGGERTY, REPORTER, WEWS: Well, that`s kind of what police are hinting at right now. That`s what people in the community think, but they`ve only identified three people right now. One of those victims, their family said that they were known to use drugs.

That part of the investigation is still coming out, but Gladys Wade, I sat down and talked to her yesterday. She did file a police report. After she escaped from that house, she ran across the street, called police, ran down the street some more, found a patrol car, talked to police there.

In the report, everything that she said in the interview you just ran was in that police report. She went to the hospital. Had stitches put in her hand rather near her thumb. She had wounds to her neck that were taken care of, as well.

We`re still trying to figure out why nothing happened after that. They had that police report, but Sowell was never arrested.

JAYNE WEINTRAUB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER: I guess they never heard of the "War on women" down there.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. Who`s that? Jump in whoever you are.

WEINTRAUB: It`s Jayne.

I have to tell you, Jane, that there`s only one way to stop these registered sex offenders from killing more women. And we need to have emergency legislation in the United States to get the sex offenders and group them and prioritize dangerous violent sex offenders from people that are just looking at pictures on the Internet.

And that way, maybe we can rationalize and we can donate and get people and money and arm our troops to get together and stop and eradicate these homicides. How many more cases do we have to do on TV about women being killed in groups?

If President Barack Obama can bail out companies, Jane, we need to bail out our citizens and the women and children in our own states. And every governor should get legislation on the books right now to prioritize and group sex offenders that are violent and dangerous.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I agree with you 100 percent. We can`t just lump everybody into this one phrase, sex offender. Let`s get the serious ones on our radar. Thank you, fantastic panel.

Rihanna breaks her silence, finally talking about her toxic relationship with Chris Brown. Why did she go back to him after the abuse, after the beating? And what`s her new warning for young girls?

Plus Lindsay Lohan`s dad begging her to go to rehab; now he`s releasing shocking new phone calls that say it prove Lindsay needs help. Do you believe him? We`re taking your calls; 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586- 7297. Call me.

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: and let`s meet today`s winner, Wanda from Chicago. What a great story. After she wrote in seeing our coverage of the Cleveland house of horrors, she says she lived a similar life to some of the victims. Forced into prostitution by her own brother so he could feed his habit, she admits that she was an addict when she had her son but now he is an honor student and her daughter is in college.

In 2003, Wanda quit on her own after what she calls a divine intervention that hit her on the way to buy drugs. Instead of getting high, she went home and slept for three days. Now she is getting ready to take the test to become a drug and alcohol counselor.

Way to go, Wanda. What a fabulous story of recovery.

For sharing your story, you`re going to be getting an autographed copy of my new book, "I Want" plus a chance to win a trip to New York City and visit me right here on the set of ISSUES. we`re going to have a real sober good time.

You can also order my book by going to cnn.com/Jane. If you have a problem with drugs or alcohol, it can help.

Moving on to a related subject perhaps, two troubled starlets: on the outside, they`re living lavish lifestyles; on the inside, they`re battling demons.

The world watched as Rihanna became the poster child for domestic child violence and has Lindsay succumbed to addiction? Tonight, the young stars speak out.

First, Rihanna breaks months of silence, opening up about her violent relationship with pop star Chris Brown. Here she is on ABC`s "Good Morning America."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIHANNA, ASSAULTED BY CHRIS BROWN: I`ll say that to any young girls who`s going through domestic violence. Don`t react off of love -- F love. Come out of the situation and look at it, third person and for what it really is and then make your decision because love is so blind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`ll have much more from Rihanna`s shocking first interview.

Also, Lindsay Lohan fighting rehab sobbing uncontrollably and allegedly punching her mom in the face? What? Her dad says she`s hooked on drugs and needs help. But is he going about it the right way. His latest tactic: releasing recordings of private family conversations. This one posted on Radar Online.

Listen to mom, Dina Lohan.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DINA LOHAN, LINDSAY LOHAN`S MOTHER: Sad and really hurt and really despondent, you know? So she`s been through a lot Michael. You don`t eve know what I went through trying to get her into, like, rehab and stuff. Punch me in the face, threw me out of the car; like you don`t know the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) I went through trying to get her an intervention by myself. It was very difficult.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That was 2008. Lindsay had already been to rehab three times. Lindsay`s response? She tweets, "My father is such a loser." I can just picture her saying that.

Can these stars save themselves? Straight out to my fabulous expert panel, attorney and popsquire.com blogger Russell Wetanson. Also with us, Alicia Quarles, entertainment reporter for the Associated Press -- great to see you, girl -- and addiction specialist and host of "Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew" on VH-1, Dr. Drew Pinsky.

Dr. Drew, let`s start with Lindsay Lohan. She`s lashing out at her dad for talking publicly about what really should be a private matter but dad says, "Hey I tried to reach out privately with no success."

DR. DREW PINSKY, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: Dad is desperate as many co- dependent and parents are. The fact is that it`s a sad situation. He`s reaching for any means he has at his disposal. He`s gone to what are sort of extraordinary and anybody would say unethical means but he`s trying desperately.

The problem is that Lindsay has severe addiction. She`s had sustained excellent treatment. She rejected it. She doesn`t want sobriety.

As you know Jane, you`ve got to want it in order to get well. She`s not hit the bottom yet in terms of her own thinking and she is getting sicker and sicker and they`re getting more desperate, believe she`s going to die. And something horrible is going to happen to her. Then one day hopefully she will be sober.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Lindsay has a long history of addiction. She`s been in rehab three times, arrested twice. Her dad released this recording of Lindsay herself sobbing in despair. Listen closely. It was on RadarOnline.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

LINDSAY LOHAN, ACTRESS: No one cares about me, by the way. No one cares about me that much. It was never about that. It`s about how they feel, not how I feel. No, it`s not about me. It`s never been about me, unless I fight for it.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh. Wow. Alicia Quarles, that`s what I call a real pity party.

ALICIA QUARLES, ASSOCIATED PRESS: That is a pity party. And you know what, Jane, my heart really goes out to her. I`ve been interviewing Lindsay for probably the past six years and a month ago, I was at a fashion show and she sat right next to me. I was shocked because this girl was one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood and I was looking at a shell of a person. It`s just really, really sad.

Again, I don`t know what she`s doing, if she`s doing anything. But she needs to get it together. It`s very sad.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: She really does.

Dr. Drew Pinsky, what is her status? I mean, we`ve all watched her arrest. We`ve all watched her going in and out of rehab.

PINSKY: That was interesting. I`m still here.

QUARLES: I`m here.

PINSKY: Did we have an earthquake in Los Angeles?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sometimes I feel like I`m on "Star Trek." You know how it is? Live long and prosper, everyone.

But basically, I mean, Dr. Drew, can we confirm for sure she`s just not sober or can we not say that.

PINSKY: Well, no. Listen, Jane, please I do not know Lindsey personally but I know that she was treated well for a sustained period of time and whenever you have somebody with severe enough addiction to need that kind of an intervention who is not active in their recovery and behaving strangely and looking sick, they are using, period, end of story.

And...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right.

PINSKY: And somebody that needs six months of residential treatment who is actively using life is in danger.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Rihanna up next. Stay right there. Rihanna.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS BROWN, SINGER: "What is wrong with you," that`s what I was thinking with myself. So that`s my thoughts basically now, it`s just ok how do we get past it? How do you, Chris, like talking to myself. How do you, Chris, go from to point A to point B learn from your mistake, turn it into a positive and help other people with the situation. And at the end of the day become -- become the person that you want to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It always worries me when people refer to themselves in the third person. That was pop star Chris Brown speaking out about abusing his then-girlfriend Rihanna. And today Rihanna finally breaking her silence. Here she is on "GMA."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIHANNA, ASSAULTED BY CHRIS BROWN: Even if Chris never hit me again who`s to say that their boyfriend won`t? Who`s to say they won`t kill these girls? And these are -- these are young girls? And I can not -- I just didn`t realize how much of an impact I had on these girls` lives until that happened. Until that happened. It was a wake up call -- it was a wake-up call for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dr. Drew, we often discuss addiction and co- dependency in terms of alcoholism or drug addiction. But it can also occur with violence, can it not?

PINSKY: It can occur with violence and it can occur with relationships. In fact one of the ways to conceptualize what she is describing is love addiction which is to say she has built this guy into a bigger-than-life fantasy. She is attached to that fantasy. She feels like she can`t live without and it`s really a pseudo intimacy they established.

This is a classic pattern of abuse where somebody is abused and has this stinking-thinking, that oh my goodness, this guy loves me so much. Look at how his love for me upsets him when in fact he`s at an ultra state and just abusing her when he`s in that state.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes and I also think there`s something called addiction to drama. I know because I`m a recovering drama addict myself.

PINSKY: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Rihanna says she now knows Chris attacking her wasn`t her fault. Listen to her on ABC`s "GMA."

Ok, we don`t have it. But anyway Alicia Quarles, essentially what she says is, "This happened to me. I didn`t cause this. I didn`t do this. This happened to me and it can happen to anybody." And I think that`s a very good realization but why did it take her so long to make that realization?

QUARLES: Well I think it`s a powerful message but you`ve got to also understand her album is coming out very soon, her single has dropped. So she`s going to have to do interviews to promote this album. Now is the time to finally speak about this issue.

She`s been quiet so long and people saw that her silence, she was almost siding with Chris Brown so it`s very nice to hear that she`s saying, you know what? He was at fault. It wasn`t my fault and she wants to be a role model for all the little girls who look up to her.

PINSKY: Hey Jane...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dr. Drew, yes, go ahead.

PINSKY: Yes, I`ve got to say, you know I treat lots of people like this and it`s rarely some sort of strategy that they`re following. There maybe more opportunities to go into the public when something is about to happen like a records dropping or something, but the fact is usually they`ve had some treatment.

And I suspect she`s had enough treatment, talked to somebody sufficiently to gain some objectivity, to look at how sick this situation is and to realize in fact that she does have an impact on a lot of young women and this is not ok.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I applaud her. I applaud her for the change that she made because she was the poster child for battered women`s syndrome when she first went back to Chris Brown after the beating. And now she has turned that ship around and she can once again be a role model for young girls.

Thank you to my fabulous panel for joining me tonight and the guy who we vaporized, thank you too.

You are watching ISSUES on HLN.

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