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Jane Velez-Mitchell
More Details Emerge in Corey Haim`s Death
Aired March 12, 2010 - 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, did Corey Haim have a, quote, "doctor problem"? That`s what his friend says. Heartbreaking new details in the tragic death of the `80s superstar. Haim`s former fiancee told this show just last night Haim was addicted to drugs and popped more than 40 pills a day.
Now NBC reports Haim`s friends are being forced to auction Corey`s personal possessions on eBay just to pay for his funeral. We`ll go inside the final days of Corey`s troubled life.
And stomach-churning new insight into the dark, disturbing life of a convicted sex offender, John Gardner, accused of raping and murdering Chelsea King. He`s also the focus in the brutal murder of Amber Dubois. Now we know he`s also the father of twins. What? Tonight, shocking stories on this monster`s double life.
Plus, have you been dumped bay boyfriend? Well, now you can file a lawsuit. Tonight, a relationship expert suing her ex-boyfriend, claiming he loved her and then left her pregnant. She says this guy bankrolled her fertility treatments and promised to marry her. But does she really have a case? Tonight, we`ll talk to NeNe from "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." What does she think of this kooky lawsuit?
ISSUES starts now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, shocking new details emerging about Corey Haim`s tragic life and sudden death. HLN is reporting that Corey was getting drugs from a Van Nuys pharmacy two weeks before his death and that Corey`s primary care physician later called that pharmacy to ask what those drugs were, because another doctor had written the prescription, and Corey was not feeling well. The coroner has now confirmed that the autopsy is complete.
Corey`s close friend made a profound and disturbing declaration on NBC this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOAH BERLOW, COREY HAIM`S FRIEND: I did not see it coming at all. Corey was on prescribed medication. And he was recovering with prescriptions. And it`s definitely a difficult thing for anyone to say that he had a drug problem. He had a doctor problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What`s the difference?
Yesterday`s program, I had a conversation with Corey`s former fiancee that sounded like it was straight out of a screenplay. Tiffany said Corey took, quote, "40-some-odd pills a day," end quote.
Shocked, I asked, "How many?"
Tiffany estimated, "Forty, 50?"
TMZ reported the coroner found Vicodin, Valium, an antipsychotic drug, and a muscle relaxant in Corey`s apartment. The coroner says the former child star did have an enlarged heart and fluid in the lungs, but they have not ruled out an overdose, and they await the toxicology test results.
Meantime, another tragic twist. Corey`s friends now talking about how destitute he was at the end of his life. One friend tells NBC`s "Today" he`s even had to auction off Corey`s personal possessions on eBay just to be able to pay for the funeral.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anything from his films?
SCOTT SCHWARTZ, FRIEND OF COREY HAIM: Yes. "American...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Sunset"?
SCHWARTZ: "American Sunset."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the movie he just shot.
SCHWARTZ: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That friend, Scott Schwartz, is with me for an exclusive prime-time interview. Scott is currently an actor who you probably remember as the kid who got his tongue stuck on the pole in "A Christmas Story." Scott was a good friend of Corey Haim.
Also with us, Dr. Kathleen London, board-certified family practice physician; Jen Berman, psychotherapist. And I`m thrilled to have my old friend Jerry Penacoli, correspondent with "Extra," with us tonight.
Jerry, thanks for being here. You just spoke to another of Corey`s close friends, Daisy De La Hoya, who dated Corey recently. What did she have to say?
JERRY PENACOLI, CORRESPONDENT, "EXTRA": Yes, actually Corey Feldman, she says, introduced Daisy and Corey Haim right around Super Bowl time and they went on a few dates. And I just spoke with her not more than an hour ago.
And she said that she knew that he was a tortured soul. She was really glad that she had met him because she, too, had a history. And she thought that the two of them together would be a good thing, and they could help each other. And she wanted to see him kind of rise up and get better.
And I asked her point-blank about any knowledge of prescription drugs, and she said not to her knowledge. But she said that doesn`t necessarily mean that he wasn`t taking anything.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Corey`s agent told us here on ISSUES that Corey was trying to wean himself off drug addiction in the weeks before his death. But I was rather shocked last night when his former fiancee dropped this bombshell. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIFFANY SHEPIS, COREY HAIM`S FORMER FIANCEE: At the time when I knew him, you know, was ingesting 40-some-odd pills a day.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: How many?
SHEPIS: Forty? 50?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Forty, 50, Vicodin, Valium?
SHEPIS: All of them combined, an absurd amount. And, you know, there would be moments where, you know, he`d sit there and, you know, he seemed to want to get sober and seemed to want to get off of it and talk about it and go to different specialists. And, you know, you guys are right. I mean, these specialists would prescribe absurd things. And I`m going, "Well, how is this helping you get off of this?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you heard the other friend say he was in recovery with prescription meds. Now, for a lot of us in sobriety -- and I`m a recovering alcoholic in sobriety -- that doesn`t make a lot of sense.
Dr. London, Corey`s agent said he worked with an addiction specialist who gave him drugs to wean him off drugs. TMZ claims a prominent L.A. psychiatrist prescribed pills allegedly found in his apartment: Vicodin, Valium, a muscle relaxant, an anti-psychotic drug.
And now we`re hearing about a primary care physician calling a Van Nuys pharmacy to inquire where drugs prescribed, what drugs, because he was having a reaction of some sort.
So the other friend says he had a doctor problem. I`m taking all those disparate elements and asking you to add it up.
KATHLEEN LONDON, PHYSICIAN: Well, absolutely. Three of those drugs interact and enhance each other, the Soma, the Vicodin, and the Valium. All of them cause sedation. You put those together, you can get into a lot of trouble.
And all of them have the potential to have allergic reactions, which could be part of the reason for the fluid in his lungs. And with an enlarged heart, the Halidol, the antipsychotic, can cause more problems with arrhythmias. So all the way around, this doesn`t make much sense medically at all.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: A friend says, Jen Berman, he has a doctor problem. What I thought of is doctor shopping.
JEN BERMAN, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Yes, absolutely. And it`s very common, as you know, with addiction for people to go from doctor to doctor, and celebrities have a particularly easy time getting doctors to prescribe medications for them that are not necessarily appropriate, especially when it comes to addiction.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Back in 60 seconds with more analysis and a good friend of Corey Haim`s.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Corey Haim`s good friend, Scott Schwartz, says he has been forced to sell Corey`s personal possessions on eBay just to pay for Corey`s funeral. Here`s a quick clip from NBC`s "Today."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anything from his films?
SCHWARTZ: Yes. "American...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Sunset"?
SCHWARTZ: "American Sunset."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the movie he just shot.
SCHWARTZ: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Corey Feldman told Larry King that Haim was living in the Oakwood apartments with his mom, very broke, very destitute. Feldman described the arrangement as month-to-month living.
So Scott Schwartz, you`re the former child actor who`s a good friend of Corey Haim`s, who is selling Corey`s stuff on eBay to help raise money for the funeral.
I don`t get it. Corey Haim had a lot of projects in the pipeline: directing gigs, producing and acting. He had films that were already in the can, some in the works. Why was he destitute?
SCHWARTZ: Well, things that are in the pipeline are not things that are done. And I just want to kind of cover something as far as time line. Tiffany and Corey were together sometime in the end of `08, the beginning of `09, so we`re talking about 14 or 15 months ago.
The last several months of his life were much cleaner, much more sober, and he was looking forward to doing more projects over the next several years.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Let me -- let me just say this about much more sober. Either you`re sober or you`re not sober.
SCHWARTZ: I understand that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You can`t be much more sober. And let me just explain something. Corey`s agent came on the show and originally said that he was working with him for a year and a half and he had been sober. He insisted on that. And then when we asked him the details he said, well, he`s being weaned off hard drugs for a year and a half.
And I said, "Well, how long was he actually sober?"
And he said, "Well, two weeks."
Then I said, "Well, wait a second. You told me that he may have had a bad reaction to meds that he was being given as part of his sobriety treatment."
And then he said, "Well, you know, it was -- it used to be so intense."
I could tell you as a recovering alcoholic, you don`t -- you don`t become sober till you`re drug free. It`s not about a lower dosage.
SCHWARTZ: Jane, you -- Jane, you`ve been there.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me finish. Go ahead, Scott.
SCHWARTZ: I was going to say you`ve been there. I haven`t. I`ve never been into drugs; I`ve never been into alcohol. Maybe sober was sort of the wrong word that I used to kind of reach your button.
But I know that the amount of medications he was taking was much less over the last several months of his life. And I think basically the damage that he did to himself from the years of the abuse that he did to himself is what caused his passing.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dr. Kathleen, you want to say something?
LONDON: Yes. If he really was on that much Valium, you have to wean it slowly, because the seizure risk is very high. And Soma can also cause seizures. So depending on what he had been on, if he was taking 40 a day, then it`s very likely he was on much lower doses, but you can`t just stop it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. But we`re talking about a weaning that, if the agent`s time line is accurate, occurs over a year and a half. That`s a very long weaning. And that is, in my book, more like managing your addiction as opposed to getting sober. We won`t know until we get the tox test.
Everyone, stay right where you are. We`re just getting started. More on Corey Haim`s tragic death.
Plus, toxic secrets and double lives. Disturbing new twists in Chelsea King`s horrifying murder. We now know the monster accused of this gruesome murder is the father of -- are you sitting down? -- twins. We will have all the details.
First, another childhood actor dead at such a young age. We will go inside Corey Haim`s lifelong battle with addiction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COREY FELDMAN, FRIEND OF COREY HAIM: Well, he was his own enemy. A lot of people that are artists tend to be their own worst enemy, because we`re passionate people, and we can`t help it. Corey is a guy who, granted, burnt a lot of bridges in the industry. He made mistakes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FELDMAN: I was sober by the time I was 18 years old.
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": And when you stopped you stopped?
FELDMAN: Right. Never looked back.
KING: You, it was longer, right?
COREY HAIM, ACTOR: I was what you would have called back then probably chronic relapser for the rest of my life. So I always tried to stay...
FELDMAN: Not the rest of your life.
HAIM: Not the rest of my life. But I like to have a great support group around me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That was Corey Haim a few years back on "LARRY KING LIVE." Contrast that with what he said just a couple weeks ago to TMZ.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you doing now? Doing much better?
HAIM: Doing well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re looking good, man.
HAIM: Thanks, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Corey, are you doing anything new?
HAIM: Yes, a whole bunch of new things coming up. I`m directing for the first time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you -- did you go to rehab? Are you getting sober again at all?
HAIM: No, no a while, man. Actually, we`re going to be doing "License to Fly." A whole bunch of things are happening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, and that was just a couple of weeks ago and now, tragically, that actor is dead.
And we have with us tonight, and we`re delighted to have, Scott Schwartz, a former child actor himself, a very good friend of Corey Haim`s.
Tell us about your efforts to raise money for Corey`s funeral.
SCHWARTZ: Well, I do eBay as part of what I do every day and suggested to Judy, Corey`s mom, that we put up some of his items up on eBay: his shirts, his hats, his sweatpants, his sneakers, his Xbox, basically anything and everything to help money -- to raise the money for his burial.
I mean, you know, funerals aren`t cheap. Flying the body to Canada isn`t cheap. And with Judy going through cancer right now, through radiation treatments, any -- every dollar helps.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We want to pull up a full screen. If people want to make donations so that Corey Haim can have a decent funeral, there you are. Send it to P.O. Box 87655, 298 John Street, Thornhill, Ontario in Canada. We hope that he has a beautiful funeral.
And Scott, we`re not trying to attack him in any way, shape, or form. You know, drug addiction, prescription drug addiction, is an epidemic in this country.
SCHWARTZ: It`s much too easy to get them. That`s why.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, of course it is.
SCHWARTZ: It`s much too easy to go to a doctor and say, "This is how I feel. Write me a prescription."
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And it`s rampant in Hollywood. I think we all know that.
SCHWARTZ: I think it`s rampant everywhere. I think Hollywood is just the tip of it because that`s what industry we`re in. But it`s everywhere. It`s in Oklahoma; it`s in Mississippi, you know.
We just hear about it because celebrities are at the forefront. So when a celebrity gets sick and he goes to the doctor or she goes to the doctor, it`s "Write me a prescription, write me a prescription." No problem. Nobody wants to say no to a celebrity.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That is true. It is harder to say no -- well, it`s harder, I think for some people, Jen Berman, but give us your thoughts.
BERMAN: I completely agree. I think that many doctors are very taken with the celebrity, and they don`t want to lose a celebrity client, because for them it could potentially mean business not only with that client but also with other people. "Oh, I`m so-and-so`s doctor." That can carry a lot of weight.
And it`s unfortunate that many doctors are quick to hand out that prescription when they really shouldn`t.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: TMZ found a chilling clip...
LONDON: It`s a HIPAA violation to say that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, just jump in there, Doctor, real quick.
LONDON: That`s a HIPAA violation to reveal who your patient is, so how is that going to help your business? That`s nonsense. Those are doctors who need to get slapped. Absolutely.
BERMAN: Well, there are many doctors that are proud to say that they have a celebrity client, and they`re afraid to lose that client. I`m not saying all doctors, by any means. There are many wonderful doctors out there who don`t do that, but there are also a lot doctors who are not familiar with addiction, and are quick to give out a prescription that might be appropriate for a client that does not have an addiction problem but is not appropriate for someone with an addition.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s face it...
SCHWARTZ: The fact is this. Hang on. The fact is this. How many doctors` offices do we go in, in Chicago, Boston, and Florida that have celebrities` pictures on their wall? "To Dr. Bob, you`re the best." Only in Hollywood. People...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
SCHWARTZ: They see that, they want that. They`re going to keep giving celebrities more than what they need or whatever they ask for, because they want that picture. They want that little bit of fame.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You believe, in fact, that he did have a doctor problem.
SCHWARTZ: I think all celebrities who are in the recovery or not in recovery but are taking these things are in the problem. They`re all a part of the problem.
It`s not just young people. It`s older people. It`s everybody in Hollywood who has to go to a doctor that needs drugs that they don`t really need. Nobody needs prescription drugs like Vicodin.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: America is in the midst of a drug epidemic.
SCHWARTZ: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hang on. Stay with us. We`ve got more.
Also, pregnant, dumped. How did this woman decide to cope? She`s filing a lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend. How does that work? Does she have a case? We`re going to hear what NeNe from "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" has to say about all of it.
Plus, more on the tragic loss of Corey Haim.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEO ROSSI, FRIEND OF COREY HAIM: When he started to spiral down, I didn`t have a lot of contact. He called me once and said, "Pops, I can`t get an agent. Can you help me out?"
So I got him an agent, you know, through a friendship, and the agent was a little leery. And then the agent called me a couple of weeks later and said, "What`s up with this kid?"
I said, "What do you mean?"
He said, "Because he won`t go to an audition. I got him a movie of the week, lead, and he won`t audition. He won`t read for it."
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow.
ROSSI: I said, "Let me call him." I said, "Let me call him." I called Corey. I said, "What`s up? What are you doing?"
And he said, "I`m Corey Haim. I don`t read."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Actor Leo Rossi, appearing on ISSUES just last night weighing in about Corey Haim`s apparent desperation.
Scott Schwartz, you`re a former child actor as well as being Corey`s good friend. Does this sound like textbook Hollywood child star scenario? He`s unable to land a job, and yet he`s unwilling to stoop to auditioning for a job.
SCHWARTZ: Well, sometimes people think they`re a little bit bigger than they are. You know, I think everybody should audition, whether you`re an A-lister or a C-lister.
You know, Corey had done a lot of work in the past and, depending on the role, if it was two lines or five lines, maybe he shouldn`t have auditioned for that particular job. If it was a lead role, he should always audition.
You know, having done "A Time to Live" back in 1985 with Liza Minnelli, and Corey was my little brother, I always went on auditions. But then again, you know, I was never -- I never considered myself a star. I was a kid from Jersey who got in the movies and got very lucky. Corey was sort of handpicked out of Toronto, and his career just skyrocketed over the course of a couple of years.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, it sounds like you have a very genuine identity, irrespective of acting, that carries you through. You know who you are. And some of these child stars never get a chance to develop that.
TMZ found a chilling clip from Haim`s reality show, "The Two Coreys." Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAIM: I just went like that (ph) and felt this rush of air pass through my heart and went -- and I totally lost breath.
FELDMAN: Well, you have to tell me about the whole past history.
HAIM: Well, past history is gone, like, one point whatever -- however much money on drugs. I mean, this is just beyond crazy what I`ve done in my life to myself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?
HAIM: Well, OxyContin, Soma, Percodans or Percocets, actually, cocaine, which I got into at a really young age. I knew I`d basically be here trying to lie to you and get pills and stuff. I think what`s happened is I`ve done so much to my body that it`s, like, freaking out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right, Dr. Kathleen London, OxyContin, Soma, Valium. He`s talking about in the old days doing some of the drugs that were, according to TMZ, found in his apartment at the time of his death. Your thoughts?
LONDON: It sounds like he was back at it. I mean, you know, whether he was ever fully sober, as you said, it doesn`t sound like it. The fact that Vicodin is in that, you know, that class there, the Soma, the Valium, that`s -- that`s frightening. It`s very frightening.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Scott, I want to give you the final word. I want to give you the final word here. You`re obviously a very good friend. What - - what do you make of it all?
SCHWARTZ: I -- I think it`s a mess. You know, personally I didn`t know the words OxyContin and Vicodin until I came out of California, and ten years ago it became popular.
You know, Corey Haim was a great kid. He was a fun kid. He loved to live life and smile and make you laugh. And he walked in a room, and the room lit up, you know. And I`m going to miss him. He was my little brother. I`m going to miss him.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Thank you, Scott. You`re a good, good friend.
SCHWARTZ: Thank you.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thanks to my fabulous panel.
Next, the man they investigated for the murder of Chelsea King is a father of twins? Jaw-dropping new information.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, shocking and disturbing new evidence into how convicted sex offender John Gardner III was allowed to stay out of prison and allegedly hunt for more victims.
This man violated his parole for molesting a 13-year-old girl in 2000. He violated it time and time and time again. But they never took him off the streets.
Plus, did you know that he is the father of twin boys?
Gardner is charged with rape and murder in the death of 17-year-old Chelsea King. She was attacked and killed last month while jogging in a San Diego park. And now cops are looking at him for the murder of 14-year- old Amber Dubois. Her remains were found last week not too far from where Chelsea was discovered.
Listen to John Gardner in court this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE DAVID DANIELSEN, SAN DIEGO SUPERIOR COURT: Has Mr. Gardner been advised of those rights?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has your honor.
DANIELSEN: Mr. Gardner, do you understand those rights?
JOHN GARDNER III, ACCUSED OF RAPE AND MURDER: Yes, your honor.
DANIELSEN: Do you agree to waive time for your preliminary examination?
GARDNER: Yes, your honor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Parole records show Gardner was caught living too close to a school in 2007. Plus he had at least six other violations -- six. Let`s not forget that he was living just a couple of miles from Escondido High School when Amber Dubois disappeared in February of 2009.
If authorities had done their job properly, this poor family might still have their daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY KING, CHELSEA KING`S MOTHER: How many times do our daughters need to be raped before we put these monsters behind bars forever?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We really have to fix this junk justice system. It is broken.
Straight out to my fantastic panel: criminal defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh; former criminal investigator, Steve Kardian; psychotherapist Jenn Berman; and we`re honored to have with us again tonight Erin Runnion. Thank you so much for joining us, Erin.
Erin`s 5-year-old daughter, Samantha -- precious child -- was kidnapped and murdered in 2002. Erin, what is your reaction to Gardner`s ability to violate his parole so many times and still live on the outside?
ERIN RUNNION, MOTHER OF SAMANTHA RUNNION: It is infuriating. You know, we keep passing laws to give law enforcement more and more tools to get these guys when they violate their parole, and yet we`re not using those tools. It`s just -- it`s very disheartening.
And I think that it`s time that we in California, at least, take a stand and make sure that we are funding our parole officers to be able to have safe teams who are looking after these guys in a real fashion.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Steve Kardian, the spokesperson for the Corrections Department responded to this news that, oh, there were all these parole violations by saying, quote, There was nothing to indicate that he would do this or allegedly do this. I guess one can always look back, but we don`t have the luxury, bunk.
In 2000, there was a psychiatrist who testified he was predatory and a danger to society; begged them not to release him and said that he would attack girls again.
STEVE KARDIAN, FORMER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR: Yes, Jane. We`ve talked about broken justice before and we see here where the district attorney`s office and the court system failed. The psychiatrist had indicated he was likely to commit again and he did, and he was only given a short sentence of prison.
All the red flags that occurred post him being released were red flags. But the probation department may not have been able to act upon those red flags because of the minor degree and nature although they are red flags that should have been looked at closely.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know what? Ok.
Four of the infractions to his parole involved letting the battery on his ankle bracelet run low; one, Mark Eiglarsh, for missing a meeting with his parole officer; and one for alleged marijuana possession that apparently couldn`t be substantiated. Why not? Why not?
And this is what they go on to say, Mark. Oh, these are considered minor. Quite frankly, if we were to blanket the system of parolees with minor offenses we would overwhelm the system. We`d close the system down.
MARK EIGLARSH, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Jane, is that your man voice? I don`t know what that was.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s my bureaucrat voice.
EIGLARSH: Bureaucratic voice. Ok. Let me respond.
Yes. In hindsight, I do agree with them in some respects. In hindsight, it`s easy to go back and say my God we should have nailed him on one of these what we call technicals. But these technical violations are difficult to prove and you can`t launch (ph) someone for 10, 20 years typically on these types of offenses.
It`s easy to do that looking back but at the time they were minor technicalities that probably dealt with to the best of their level and ability at the time.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. You know what? The Corrections Department fought like heck to keep us from learning this, ok? There was an effort to stop these documents from being released.
Why? Maybe they feel a little guilty. I dispute the notion that it`s impossible to verify that you`ve let your monitoring battery die or get low, Erin Runnion. I think it`s easy to verify. It would be low.
RUNNION: It`s very easy to verify, and he would have been -- he should have been eligible for lifetime GPS. He should not have been off of his GPS. He was taken off of that after just I think 2 1/2 years.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. After he commits these infractions.
RUNNION: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jenn Berman. After he commits all these infractions and they fail to lock him up, they then take off his ankle bracelet and chuck it and say run free.
JENN BERMAN, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: These child predators just don`t get better. Our children are never safe as long as these kinds of people are out there, and the law needs to take it a whole lot more seriously and protect our kids.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It would appear there`s a lot of drinking going on in the Gardner family, and we would love to hear from them or their attorneys to get their side of the story.
In his probation report, Gardner says his uncle, stepfather and biological father are all alcoholics. His mother and stepfather reportedly belong to some sort of drinking and running club. And how`s this for chilling irony? The club held a run on the very same day and in the location where Gardner was accused of attacking Chelsea King. Ok. Oh, actually, that was before. That was in December.
That woman, her name was Candice, was the jogger who elbowed this guy in the face and ran away. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: You know, I have a real problem with the fact that he was allowed to be there, first of all. And that when news broke of this and you -- you have a son who had a past like this, as a mother, how can you not at least think about it and think about the possibility of what may have happened and how you may know something?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jenn Berman, here`s a shocker. Court documents show Gardner was taking at least eight different psychiatric medications while living with his mother, including Ritalin, Zoloft, and Paxil. What do you make of that?
BERMAN: Well, I mean, someone is prescribing -- they said this guy is depressed. Clearly he had a bad childhood but there`s no bad childhood that can justify the kind of heinous acts that this man has committed.
And I agree. I do think that if this is true, if he was living in his mother`s home without being registered as a sex offender and she knew about this, then her -- this child`s blood is on her hands.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me get to this. This man who molested a 13-year- old girl, it turns out is the father of twin boys. John Gardner never married the mother. We believe she is Jariah Baker (ph). Here she is from her Facebook page.
Baker and Gardner lived together in 2009 not far from Escondido High School, Steve Kardian. That`s where 14-year-old Amber Dubois disappeared. To her credit, Baker is now working with authorities on this case.
KARDIAN: And Jane, hopefully she can provide them with some inside information into the case. The timing, the location of where she went missing and where he was at the time that she went missing is just too coincidental.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s so disturbing. And we`re going to stay on top of this one.
Coming up right after the break, a disturbing update on this poor animal, a zebra, escaped from the circus, roamed through the streets of Atlanta, a tragic ending.
Plus, get dumped, get even; a scorned woman suing her ex-boyfriend for leaving her pregnant and alone. Will she be laughed out of court? I will talk about this with a "Real Housewife of Atlanta." You know, Nene.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. An ugly breakup leads to a lawsuit? You don`t want to miss this one. That`s next.
But first, "Top of the Block" tonight.
The zebra that broke free from the circus and sprinted down the highway in Atlanta has been euthanized and that means put to death. This beautiful animal suffered severe hoof injuries during his 40-minute sprint towards freedom. Veterinarians were unable, they say, to repair the damage. Barnum & Bailey Circus says they thought this was the humane thing to do.
But, you know, critics of circuses in general say these animals are being kept in prisons, paraded in front of audiences and it`s all about money. Let`s think about these animals like this zebra. This zebra apparently wanted to be free. Now he`s dead. I believe we need to put these animals back in the wild, not under the big top.
Rest in peace, zebra. We`re sorry to lose you.
That is tonight`s "Top of the Block".
Beware of a woman scorned. A New York woman is suing mad after she says her boyfriend wined her, dined her, promised to marry her, got her pregnant and then dumped her. Now Karen Salmansohn is getting even. She has filed a lawsuit for breach of oral contract; breach of oral contract.
Karen is a $200-an-hour life coach and the author of various best- selling self-help books such as "How to be Happy, Damn it", "Even God is Single", and my favorite, "How to Make your Man Behave in 21 Days or Less using the Secrets of Successful Dog Trainers".
Here she is, dishing out dating advice on YouTube.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN SALMANSOHN, AUTHOR: So at the very beginning of dating my boyfriend, I said to him, I`m sorry and he said for what? You didn`t do anything wrong. And I said I know. I explained that I was giving him an I`m sorry coupon now to redeem later because I knew eventually unwittingly I was going to do something imperfect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, this new age self-help guru may have fallen for the oldest line in the book. She started dating a wealthy guy known as the Long Island Laundry King -- you can`t make this up. She says he promised that he was divorcing his wife and would marry her. She may need to read her own book because she was not able to house break this guy.
Here`s Karen with her laundry king in a photo from "The New York Post". She claims he gave her a blinging Tiffany engagement ring and paid 30 grand for her to get fertility treatments so they could have a baby together.
But Karen says he went from IVF to MIA. She says she got pregnant and he ran for the hills. Karen has now dubbed him the fugitive father. But remember there are two sides to every story. We reached out to this man and his attorney; we did not get his side. But anytime you want to come back and tell your side, you`re invited.
Straight out to my fantastic expert panel; also joining me, we`re delighted to have Bravo`s "Real Housewives of Atlanta" --
NENE LEAKES, BRAVO`S "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA": Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- Nene Leakes.
LEAKES: Hi, you guys.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hey, how are doing? She`s also the author of "Never Make the Same Mistake Twice".
Nene, I know that this lady, this self-help guru, should have read your book, ok. What do you make of this? This is cooky.
LEAKES: I was sort of laughing here when you were saying all that stuff because she might want to take some of her own advice or either take mine. Close your legs to married men. That`s what I say all the time. Close your legs to married men.
This happens all the time. How many times have you heard of dating a man and he makes all of these promises, including me and then they leave? I have an older child. I dated his father. He promised to marry me, we were going to have this great life and we ended up having nothing. It was a promise. Get over it. Close your legs to married men, period.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And Nene, that sounds kind of familiar to me. Oh, wait a second. I think you said that once before.
LEAKES: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: In fact, all of this could be a plotline for Bravo`s "Real Housewives of Atlanta".
LEAKES: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Take a look at this clip of your co-star, Kim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM, "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA": Right before the birthday party, I got the surprise of my life. Big Papa proposed to me. I guess he`s had time to evaluate himself, his life, our relationship and he realized he couldn`t live without me. I can`t blame him.
I just got engaged officially two hours ago. I swear to God. Guess what I got tonight? Look at my left finger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw it. It`s (EXPLETIVE DELETED) huge.
KIM: The rock was so big, I was like, hell to yes. Cheers (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with all your glasses. Come on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kim is running around telling everyone that she and big Papa are back together and that they`re engaged. Isn`t he married?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Nene, you had that same advice for Kim. Listen to this, also from Bravo`s "Real Housewives of Atlanta."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM: Going through a divorce. He is legally married, which is what everybody wants to know.
LEAKES: Close your legs to married men. Close your legs to married men.
KIM: Close, close --
LEAKES: Close your legs to married men.
KIM: Wow, Nene.
LEAKES: You heard it. You heard it. You`re the one that`s troubled. You`re the one that`s going around lying on everybody.
KIM: I don`t think so.
LEAKES: You are. Every chance you get you lie.
KIM: I don`t think so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jenn Berman, this is going to be like "Pants on the Ground", the new catchphrase. Forget about pants on the ground. Close your legs to married men.
BERMAN: I do think that this serves as a cautionary tale that if you are planning to have a baby with someone, you should be married to them or you should have legal document that show the agreement that you have between the two of you.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We talked to Karen Salmansohn and she says, "You know what, my blog explains everything." So here are some highlights of her blog. She writes, "Why he never mentioned he had doubts about fatherhood before he spent 28 grand of his cash on IVF it`s completely incomprehensible. He suggested he pay to renovate my place so when we had our baby my apartment would be a workable place for a family of three. He told me if I`d abort he`d stay engaged with me. He suddenly realized that he didn`t want to become a father at age 51."
Jenn Berman, it sounds like the second that she found out she was pregnant he had a change of heart.
BERMAN: Well, the person I feel the most sorry for in all this is the child that`s being born to --
LEAKES: Right.
BERMAN: -- this mom who wasn`t ready to take it on herself to this man who clearly now doesn`t want a baby. That`s really the person who`s going to suffer the most and that`s the most unfortunate part.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And Nene, it`s always the ones giving advice, right, that end up having these problems. That`s the irony of all this. This woman is a self-help guru. She`s going to people`s houses and telling them how to fix their lives.
Everybody, stay right where you are. Everybody`s been dumped before, but does that mean we have the right to sue?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: A scorned woman is suing her ex-boyfriend saying he paid for her to get fertility treatments so they can have a baby together and then dumped her when she actually got pregnant.
Phone lines lighting up on this one. Sandy, Florida, your question or thought, ma`am.
SANDY, FLORIDA (via telephone): Did she have a DNA test done? Shouldn`t she have known better?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, what`s your point? I`m not sure.
SANDY: my point is she`s 49 years old and she`s supposed to be an expert at this. Why would she even listen to a guy that`s married making her promises he couldn`t keep?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I don`t get the DNA angle. I mean, she`s the mom. He donated, well, did he? That`s interesting.
SANDY: Yes, did he, is right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Help me out here, Mark Eiglarsh. I always toss the hot potato to the man.
EIGLARSH: I have no idea what the question is. DNA what? What does it have to do with anything?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I don`t know.
EIGLARSH: I`ll answer it. It`s irrelevant. Next?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you. Nene, tell us about your book. I think it`s very apropos. Never make the same mistake twice. What was your mistake that you made twice apparently?
LEAKES: I`ve made so many mistakes twice Jane and I wish I could take them back. But I`ve learned from them all. I, too, as the young lady is saying, I, too, was single and I had a baby out of wedlock, myself. I didn`t want to sue the guy. You know, not for leaving me.
I knew that was a possibility in any case, even married, dating, what have you. That was one of the things I never wanted to do anyone again and I didn`t.
I have made mistakes twice. I dated the wrong guys and just doing outrageous things. In my book "Never Make the Same Mistake Twice", I talk about my upbringing, not finding the love of my mother, some of the jobs I had to take as a single mom and just lots of things I have made mistakes on. It`s a great book. It`s a great read. I suggest you all go out and get it.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You better stay out of trouble because if you make another mistake we`re going to do one of these whole stories on you just like we`re doing on this lady.
Here`s my big issue tonight. Help yourself, honey. This woman is supposed to be a self-help guru. She has written dozens of books. She dishes out relationship advice for a living.
Take a look at this video posted on YouTube.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN SALMANSOHN, AUTHOR: Are you walking around feeling like you have a "kick me" sign on your heart because you keep getting caught up in these really bad relationships? Well, if so, I have some age-old advice for you. It`s very age-old.
From Aristotle -- I actually think of Aristotle as the world`s first self-help book author. He wrote a lot about happiness and he wrote a lot about happiness and relationships. And he said there were three kinds of relationships and only one of them will bring you true happiness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That was excellent advice, but was she able to take her own advice? I mean, there`s that old cliche, Jenn Berman, you know, the cobbler`s son has no shoes.
BERMAN: You took the words out of my mouth, Jane. I was just going to say that. It`s always the shoemaker`s children who go without shoes. I`m afraid to say that as a therapist, myself.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you find sometimes -- I hate to say this but they say therapists sometimes are the most messed up of all. What do you think about that?
BERMAN: Well, I think that there`s a lot of truth that a lot of therapists go in to therapy to heal themselves. But there are also a lot of great therapists. But please note that she`s not a therapist. She`s not a licensed therapist. She`s a life coach.
And anybody can be a life coach. It does not take any qualifications to be a life coach. I think that`s a very important part of this story when we talk about her as a self-help guru. She does not have any credentials that we know of. She`s not licensed in anything.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know what? She`s a lot of fun. And we`re going to try to get her on our show to hear her side of the story. Thank you, fabulous panel, for joining me.
You are watching ISSUES on HLN.
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