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Jane Velez-Mitchell
Suspect Charged in Somer Thompson`s Murder; Recovering Addict Explains Doctor Shopping
Aired March 26, 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, fast-breaking news in the horrifying murder of Somer Thompson. This beautiful 7-year-old girl was abducted, raped and killed while walking home from school. It`s every mother`s worst nightmare. Tonight, five months later, the alleged killer next door has finally been charged with murder. We`ll hear from Somer`s heart-broken mother.
And toxic nation, out of control. Seismic developments in the tragic death of Corey Haim. Twenty doctors have now been subpoenaed in connection with a massive California drug ring. Did these doctors prescribe Corey a deadly dose of drugs? Tonight, this recovering addict tells us how she went doctor shopping for mind-altering drugs.
Also, it`s happened again. A teen has been set on fire in Florida. This young woman fighting for her life, burns on 60 percent of her body. First Michael Brewer. Now this. Why? What is going on with teenagers in Florida?
Plus, one Hollywood couple, four alleged mistresses and thousands of tattoos. Shocking new details in the Sandra Bullock/Jesse James sex scandal. Four women now claim they`ve slept with the biker star while he was married. The latest twist will astound you.
ISSUES starts now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: A heart-wrenching, incredibly emotional day for the family of 7-year-old Somer Thompson. They are applauding the fact that the one and only suspect in her murder is now charged with murder, but they are also having to relive the horror of the day little Somer was abducted and killed.
Here`s the man police say did it, 24-year-old Jared Harrell. After Somer`s murder, this monster was initially arrested on child porn charges. He used to live in Somer`s neighborhood. Now he is charged with premeditated murder and sexual battery.
Cops say Harrell allegedly grabbed this beautiful little girl as she walked home from school in Orange Park, Florida, last October. Somer`s mom fought back tears as she vowed to fight the predators who are stalking our children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIENA THOMPSON, SOMER`S MOTHER: He had an impulse, and he took something away from me that no one will ever be able to give back to me. I never liked Mondays, but as far as I`m concerned, there will be no Mondays in my life, because that`s the day my life ended.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That poor woman.
After Somer`s disappearance, police actually searched Harrell`s house. And police dogs were actually in his back yard. They were so close all along, but they didn`t connect the dots.
Turns out police had an opportunity to get this sicko off the streets months before Somer`s murder, when his roommates turned him in for having child porn. Why was he not arrested back then in August? If they had, would Somer still be alive tonight?
Straight out to my fantastic panel: clinical psychologist Brenda Wade; criminal defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh; defense attorney and CEO of the Pasadena Recovery Center, Allison Triessl; and we are honored to have the father of Somer Thompson, Samuel Thompson, who is joining us by telephone.
Sir, first of all, our condolences. I speak for everyone on this panel and on the ISSUES staff to say our hearts go out to you in this time. I can`t imagine what you`re going through. There`s been so much emotion. Can you describe how this charge of murder against this Jared Harrell has hit you emotionally?
SAMUEL THOMPSON, FATHER OF SOMER (via phone): Well, to start off, it was -- it was a great thing to hear that they -- you know, we finally had solid evidence and the beginning of our healing on knowing who actually -- this is the guy that took our daughter.
And -- but on the flip side of that, you know, it`s just like reliving it all over again except worse, because we have more information now. You know, we -- we know she was -- was raped and was murdered. And, you know, that was one thing that I was really -- he hadn`t done to her before he took her life, you know?
Words don`t describe the pain that -- that I feel for my daughter. You know, all the special things that she had left to go through in her life.
And I`m just -- I can`t say thank you enough to the detectives that -- that put their dedication and their heart and soul and diligence into finding this guy. There aren`t words in our human language to describe the gratitude I have for them. They did a great job.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Samuel, the overwhelming grief over Somer`s death was so palpable today when Somer`s aunt almost fainted right at the podium. One moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
D. THOMPSON: Just hearing asphyxiation, that`s enough to -- to destroy you, to break you down. It almost feels like it`s the first day again when she went missing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That poor woman, who almost fainted, is the sister of Somer`s mom. And we`re thankful that she`s OK. But this gives you just a clear-cut, you know, all-too-raw insight into what this family is going through.
Samuel, your daughter was so beautiful. Tell us about Somer.
S. THOMPSON: Say that again.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tell us about your beautiful daughter. Tell us about Somer.
S. THOMPSON: Somer was -- like I`ve always said, you know, out of the twins, Somer was the leader. She was always the first one to -- when I took them to the beach, she was the first one in the water. You know, she was a very loving child, a caring child. You know, if you gave her a dollar, she would want to make sure that her little twin brother, Samuel, well, what`s he going to get? You know, all of my children are like that. You know, they -- they think about other people before they do themselves. And she was just a wonderful, wonderful child. And...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Samuel, I -- again, our condolences. And this is so hard to discuss, but it`s our duty as journalists to discuss issues surrounding this case. So I want to get your take on this.
Here`s my big issue. Was this, to a certain degree, after-the-fact justice?
We have to tell you, audience, back in August, two months before little Somer was murdered, this suspect, Jared Harrell`s roommates turned him in for allegedly having child porn. That is two months before. So my question is why didn`t cops arrest Harrell back then before he allegedly murdered Somer?
S. THOMPSON: You know...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hold on one second. Let me just hear from the sheriff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF RICK BESELER, CLAY COUNTY: How many people are actually doing that in our community right now. And I`m talking not in dozens. I`m talking hundreds, hundreds of cases that we`ve got out there. It`s a very scary thing, but not everyone who -- who participates in that type of conduct actually ever becomes an offender that attacks someone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, we have called law enforcement to find out exactly what did they do when Jared`s roommates reportedly handed cops a computer allegedly used by Jared that was chock full of child porn. That computer allegedly had a file called "toddler insertion."
It was only after Somer was murdered that Jared was arrested on dozens of unrelated counts of child porn. He is also charged with child molestation, which authorities believe happened back in 2008. Cops believe he took lewd pictures and video in his bedroom of a girl ages 3 to 5 back in 2008.
Now, authorities say the alleged victim was not Somer Thompson. So my question, and I want to go briefly to Mark Eiglarsh, is why didn`t cops act in August when they were handed that computer by his roommates, who told them they were worried he had done precisely this sort of thing?
MARK EIGLARSH, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They should have. They dropped the ball. Now, I haven`t heard from them, you know, what their explanation is. Could it be resources? No excuse. Could it have been, well, we -- I think as he`s suggesting, we didn`t know he was going to go and commit some horrible offense.
Well, just looking and creating a demand for that type of material is enough. They prosecute that all over this country. So I haven`t heard any legitimate, real reason why they didn`t.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And we want to hear from Samuel, the father of Somer Thompson, right after the break, as well as the rest of your panel. Everybody stay right where you are. We`re going to have a lot more from Somer Thompson`s heartbroken family.
Plus, the net widens in the alleged Corey Haim drug ring. Was the `80s superstar shopping doctors to get his hands on thousands of pills?
But first, disturbing new insight into the last minutes of little Somer Thompson`s life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BESELER: Jared Harrell has now been formally charged with the murder of Somer Thompson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
D. THOMPSON: Different emotions. Every single emotion you can think of. Like is this really it this time? I mean, is it -- once again, are you in a dream? Am I dreaming? Because wake me up. Because that`s how much -- during this whole event, I`ve felt like this is all just a really bad dream, and I`m going to wake up. And I haven`t woke up. And today, I guess, is the alarm finally going off, because the monster`s -- the monster`s gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Somer`s courageous mom thanked law enforcement today, a group that has come to be known as Team Somer.
Samuel, we are so grateful that you are here with us tonight talking. You are the father of the victim, Somer. Does -- does your family wonder why Harrell wasn`t arrested back in August when his roommates turned him in for child pornography?
S. THOMPSON: Well, you know, I`m sure everyone has questions as to why he wasn`t. And I -- I don`t have any information on why he wasn`t. I don`t know what the police department was thinking or waiting on. But I don`t have anything bad to say about the police department or Somer`s team, because I don`t have enough praise for them for catching this man that killed my daughter.
So, you know, as far as -- do I have feelings on that subject? Yes, I -- I do have feelings on that, but I don`t have the whole story.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Well, can I give you a little -- few more details that have surfaced just in the last -- very recently? When asked why he didn`t arrest Jared Harrell in August, the sheriff had this to say. Let`s listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BESELER: Mr. Harrell had not come onto anyone`s radar screen as far as someone who might commit a crime like this. The things that he was accused of early on, you know, don`t necessarily -- not necessarily a precursor to this type of event.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, really, sheriff? We have to ask. Take a look at the affidavit for Harrell`s arrest from last month, describing the videos cops were given back in August in this computer.
There were 24 pornographic images of children and five movies that contained child pornography. Now, a lot of this stuff is way too graphic to discuss on television, but suffice it to say, the children were videotaped and photographed in various stages of undress, posed in totally inappropriate, provocative positions.
The affidavit also states that the roommates were looking for images that Jared possibly had taken of -- and that person`s name is blacked out. So who is that person? Now, we know that he`s accused of molesting a child under the age of 5.
So, Allison Triessl, you`re the defense attorney and addiction specialist. What should they have done?
ALLISON TRIESSL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY/ADDICTION SPECIALIST: There`s a lot more that they could have done. Frankly, I disagree. He was on the radar. There are so few people in the country that come forward and tell the police, "Our roommate, our friend, our brother is looking at child pornography." They should have been all over it.
These are -- these cases can be -- you can do something early on. And yes, there`s a bit of a leap that this person would go out and kill somebody, but they should have been on the radar looking at this person, interviewing him immediately, taking him in, questioning him. More -- much more could have been done.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Any thoughts, Samuel?
S. THOMPSON: Well, that`s -- that`s some pretty heavy information there.
BRENDA WADE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, Jane. And anybody who is engaging in child porn is definitely someone who should be watched. We can`t afford to wait.
And I think the case here demonstrates that law enforcement actually needs better training about these kinds of things so we can look at predictors more accurately.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Somer`s mom, Diena, wants what I want, which is freedom from fear, for children to be able to be children. Let`s listen to Diena.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
D. THOMPSON: I`m glad he`s behind there, but there`s many more lurking in the depths, and that`s what we`ve got to try to figure out, how to get to them, how to find them, how to keep them away from our children. Because I got to walk to school. I got to ride my bike to school. And I`m 35 years old. So that means nobody got me. Something has got to be -- something has got to give.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So Mark Eiglarsh, to me what I`m seeing over and over again is reactive, reactive justice. In other words, when the big crime occurs, throw every resource at it.
But when you`re handed something on a silver platter, like a computer filled with horrific images of children in sexual positions and the roommates of the person who -- whose computer it allegedly is says, "I`m worried about this guy. We think he might have done something to `X`," and you don`t act on it, that`s -- that`s very disturbing to me.
EIGLARSH: I`m troubled, as well. I don`t understand what he`s suggesting. Like we couldn`t do anything, because we don`t know that he would have committed this horrific offense, but they`ve got a horrific offense.
All around the country, I`m involved in these cases in the criminal justice system. Prosecutors seek many years in prison for people simply downloading and possessing these, because either they`re going to molest, either they`re going to do something worse, or they`re just committing a criminal offense. I don`t understand why they didn`t act on it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now I want to give Samuel Thompson, the father of the victim, Somer Thompson, a chance to weigh in on all this. Because I know, sir, that some of this information may be new to you. And I certainly don`t want to shock you. You`ve gone through enough already.
But we are trying to search for justice. Justice for your daughter and -- and how to learn to make sure this doesn`t ever happen again. So your thoughts, sir?
S. THOMPSON: Well, my thoughts on this, you know, I think maybe they -- they should have reacted to that, since I have the information now.
But here`s the point. We don`t live in 1975 anymore. This world has completely -- completely turned inside out since the day that we used to put our kids outside and not let them come back in until the sun went down. We have to not react to a situation like this. We need to prevent them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
S. THOMPSON: In the simple way that, if our kids are outside, we need to be outside with them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Right.
S. THOMPSON: OK? It would be nice to live in a fairytale land that our children could walk to school and ride their bicycles to school without having to worry about predators like this, but the simple fact is, we don`t live in that world anymore.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And, Samuel -- Brenda Wade, isn`t that why prevention is so important?
WADE: Prevention is key, Jane. But prevention has to happen on three fronts. I agree with Samuel about parents being vigilant. Kids need to double up. Law enforcement needs to be more proactive. But we have to raise our boys so that they are in touch with their feelings and are taught to respect and protect girls and women.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Fantastic panel, thank you so much.
Teenagers addicted to violence. A Florida teen set on fire, burned on 60 percent of her body. The sad thing is this horrifying attack is not an isolated incident.
Plus, the latest on Corey Haim. You won`t believe it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, are doctors feeding addiction? Authorities investigating Corey Haim`s death are demanding records from 20 different doctors. Investigators say the actor got thousands of pills under the names of these 20 doctors in just the last year. That dovetails with what Corey`s former fiancee told me just days after the actor`s death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIFFANY SHEPIS, FORMER FIANCEE OF COREY HAIM: 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. The specialist would prescribe absurd things. And I`m going, "Well, how is this helping you get off of this?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The autopsy found Corey had pneumonia and an enlarged heart when he died March 10, but until the toxicology results are back, we don`t know exactly what role drugs may have played in his death. But Corey had a long struggle with drug abuse.
So how in the world does somebody get their hands on so many prescription drugs? Well, tonight, my special guest -- we will call her Nikki, not her real name -- she is a recovering prescription pill addict. We are showing her in shadow to protect her identity.
Nikki, you doctor shopped and also illegally sold prescription drugs. How many doctors did you have? How spread out were they? And how did you get them all to give you all these pills?
NIKKI, RECOVERING PRESCRIPTION PILL ADDICT: Yes. I went to about four different doctors at a time. After having multiple spinal surgeries, I used to keep my records with me. I would go to the doctor and I would say, "You know, I want to get a doctor closer to home" or I wanted to get a doctor closer to work or I thought the city would be better. I had two doctors in the city, one in the suburbs and one in another borough.
But most of the time I would say to them, "You know, I`ve been on very strong medication for a very long time, and I want to wean off of some of it." So I would tell them exactly what milligram I wanted to come down to.
And to have it covered by insurance, as long as the strength and milligrams was different, you could get as many prescriptions as you want for that month. So I could have four different prescriptions for OxyContin, as long as the strength was different.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That is absolutely mind-boggling. Now, we`re hearing the ex-fiancee say, you know, Corey Haim took 40, 50 pills. How many pills were you taking at the height of this?
NIKKI: I was probably taking about that many. And mine were more OxyContin than anything else. Everything else was just more of a chaser. The OxyContin is what really had me to my knees. And it -- it took about three years for the insurance companies to find me. But I was able to get away with it for that long.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why do you think you were -- why didn`t the doctors pick up on it? That`s what everybody wonders.
NIKKI: Well, you know, I had a valid injury. And to tell you the truth, I quote unquote, don`t look like a drug addict. You know, we`re very good actors when we want what we want. And it was very easy to -- you know, these were fine doctors. These were not doctors that were doling out pills. These were well-respected hospitals and doctors. And addicts are just really good liars. We`re very good at getting what we want to get and what we need.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. This is an astounding story. And is it very common? We only have a few seconds left.
NIKKI: It`s more common than anybody knows, because you know what? Nobody can afford to buy that kind of medication. You can`t afford to buy it. And the insurance company cost me $1 a prescription, $3 a prescription for 150 pills. So times that by four.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Got to go. Wow. Thank you, Nikki, not your real name, for being so honest.
NIKKI: Thank you, Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Horrifying teen violence rips through Florida. Another teen set on fire. You don`t believe it, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s happened again. A teen has been set on fire in Florida. This young woman fighting for her life; burns on 60 percent of her body. First Michael Brewer, now this? Why? What is going on with teenagers in Florida?
Plus, one Hollywood couple, four alleged mistresses and thousands of tattoos: shocking new details in the Sandra Bullock/Jesse James sex scandal. Four women now claim they`ve slept with the biker star while he was married. The latest twist will astound you.
Tonight, a dark cloud over the Sunshine State: another teenager set on fire in Florida. 19-year-old Audreanna Zimmerman is in critical condition, clinging to life after being burned over 60 percent of her body. A neighbor spotted this teenager at about 9:30 at night stumbling down the street screaming for help and begging for water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARDRIA NETTLES, NEIGHBOR: It scares me, you know, for anybody to do a person like that. They don`t have no heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Audreanna was able to tell police that she was intentionally set on fire and that an accelerant was used. Police have not released any information on the suspect, but they have questioned an individual.
The "Pensacola News Journal" reports someone pulled Audreanna out of her home and then set her on fire. Police say she was burned from head to toe and left for dead in a wooded area less than two miles from her home.
Now, you remember this horrifying case. Fifteen-year-old Michael Brewer was doused with rubbing alcohol and burned from head to toe. This also happened in Florida.
How could this happen again? Could this be a copycat? What is it with all of this violence involving teens?
Straight out to my fantastic expert panel: criminal defense attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, who is out of Florida; psychologist Brenda Wade; and talk radio host, Dan Gaffney of WGMD 92.7 Radio.
But first, we go to Sheriff David Morgan of the Escambia Sheriff`s Department. Sheriff, what is the latest on this poor child -- this girl -- 19-year-old girl`s condition? And why would anybody want to do this to her?
SHERIFF DAVID MORGAN, ESCAMBIA SHERIFF`S DEPARTMENT (via telephone): Well, we`ve of course stayed in daily contact with the hospital that she was transported to and she`s still listed in critical condition. And I guess, clinging to life would be an appropriate way to say this.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. But you`ve interviewed an individual. Is that person a person of interest? Do you have any idea why somebody would pull her out of her house and set her on fire? What kind of motive could there be?
MORGAN: We have multiple persons of interest, meaning more than one. And also we have an odd mixture here of a neighborhood dispute and possibly a domestic violence twist to this.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that`s new information, Sheriff. So you`re saying that it could be more than one person who was involved in this atrocity?
MORGAN: That is correct.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you`re saying that it could have stemmed from a Hatfield and McCoy kind of, you know, dispute between neighbors but that also domestic violence involving this victim`s significant other may have been involved?
MORGAN: Or someone else`s significant other. That`s correct.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, ok. So, in other words, there`s a dispute, she`s at one end of the dispute, there`s somebody else on the other end of the dispute and then the person -- now, let me just ask you. The domestic violence is -- was she objecting to domestic violence that she was observing?
MORGAN: No, that is not correct.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok.
MORGAN: No. This is a long-running -- as we understand it -- this time a long-running neighborhood dispute in that particular trailer park that unfortunately reached critical mass.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. My only question is what does the domestic violence have to do with it?
MORGAN: Other parties in the trailer park, other individuals, married individuals and those that are dating.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And they are -- they are possibly connected to --
MORGAN: That is correct.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. You know -- thank you, sheriff. And please stay there as long as you can because you`re providing some excellent information.
As horrifying as this crime is, as we all know it`s not the first time it`s happened. Fifteen-year-old Michael Brewer was doused with rubbing alcohol and set on fire allegedly by teenage boys who were his so- called friends.
Here he is -- courageous young man -- having a miraculous recovery.
But listen to Michael`s mom describing his pain, and imagine what this poor 19-year-old girl will go through if she`s lucky enough to survive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIE BREWER, MOTHER OF MICHAEL BREWER: In the shower they take a piece of gauze and they wipe off all of the dead skin. They give him pain killers for that. But it`s -- it`s incredibly painful and it breaks my heart every time that they have to do it because he -- it`s just incredibly painful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that what you call the torture hour?
BREWER: That`s what -- we call it torture hour, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: My gosh. Dan Gaffney, you`ve been listening to all of this. You`ve covered so many of these kinds of stories. What do you make of it?
DAN GAFFNEY, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, WGMD 92.7 RADIO: Right. I don`t know. The sheriff -- it sounds like some kind of love triangle situation. I take it that`s what you`re saying.
I want to uplift this woman in prayer and her families. This is a horrible, horrible story. But I don`t know if it`s really a surprise. As our culture falls apart and as we stray away from the -- the cultural traditions that made America great, the crimes get worse and worse.
Copycat, probably. You know, somebody has got to have some kind of idea how to torture somebody. It`s horrible. If you ask Middle America, Jane, and looked them in the face -- I know it`s not popular to say this here in the city -- but if you look them in the face, I think Middle America or rural America would look at you and say, people are turning away from God. And this is the result.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well. You know, not to get religious, but obviously I`m a spiritual person. And I do feel that this is the ultimate in alienation. And the ultimate in narcissism to think that whatever your problem is, is so important that you can set somebody else on fire because you`re having a feud with them in your trailer --
GAFFNEY: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- park.
GAFFNEY: Just trying to give you -- I`m just trying to give you some kind of answer on what I think. People outside -- people that you talk to, good Americans will say when you ask them why, we all struggle for reasons why these kinds of things happen. I think a lot of good people in this country would tell you that that`s the reason. We`re straying away from a foundation.
BRENDA WADE, PSYCHOLOGIST: I also, Jane, want to add that I believe ultimately when we talk about spirituality, what we`re talking about is our capacity to learn to love one another. That`s what every spiritual tradition teaches.
And this is not an act of love by any stretch. This is an act of someone forgetting that we may have angry feelings, we may have angry impulses, but only animals act on them to eat or defend themselves. As human beings, our job is to love one another, be there for one another. And if you have a dispute, sit down like a mature, civilized person and work it out.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, there you got to the word "mature". I mean, these kids --
GAFFNEY: And don`t get yourself in these situations.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It seems like a lot of people have no empathy anymore.
WADE: Right.
GAFFNEY: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: If you really don`t want to harm another human being or another creature, it`s because you have empathy. You can feel their pain.
WADE: Empathy is taught at home Jane. And one of the things we have to take a hard look at is what are our children learning at home? Children who come from loving homes don`t go out and commit violent crimes. We have to look deeper. We have to keep our children loved.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And another act of violence on a teen in Florida, Josie Ratley (ph), is also clinging to life. She is in a medically-induced coma after she was allegedly beaten by a teenage boy who stomped on her head with steel-toed boots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILDA GOTAY RATLEY, JOSIE RATLEY`S MOTHER: I don`t sleep very much. I just want the way things were. You know, I mean, I want things back to normal. I don`t know if that`s ever going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Mark Eiglarsh, Josie went to the same school as burn victim Michael Brewer. You`re based in Florida. What is going on in the state of Florida?
MARK EIGLARSH, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I wish I knew the specific reason so we can get to it. I don`t think it`s a coincidence that you`re seeing a lot of media coverage of these acts of violence. Kids get the ideas and when those ideas meet a teenager whose frontal lobe is not fully developed, that being the portion that covers reason and judgment, they go out and they do horrible things, especially as your panelists have pointed that they`re devoid of spirituality.
They don`t love themselves. They haven`t learned how to do that and focus on just themselves. That`s what makes them predators in this day and age.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And at this point, we don`t know the age of the latest suspects who have not been identified and not caught who set this poor woman on fire. That`s going to be fascinating.
We`re staying on top of the story. Thank you so much, incredible panel.
GAFFNEY: Thank you Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: New mistresses coming forward claiming they had sex with Jesse James. Now we are finally hearing how Sandra Bullock feels about her betrayal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA BULLOCK, ACTRESS: I just became more selective and had -- you know, I have this work before. That was my family until I had a family. And I realize work became number 2. By elimination of certain things, my work became better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: A dizzying array of very disturbing developments in the Jesse James sex scandal tonight. Four women now claim they hooked up with bad boy biker husband of Hollywood superstar Sandra Bullock.
We don`t know who she is, but alleged mistress number four has now hired -- you guessed it -- famed attorney Gloria Allred. Gloria says her new client is a model who had a, quote, "intimate three-year relationship with Jesse".
Now, Gloria says she has proof including hundreds of texts, e- mails and photos. E! Online`s Ken Baker asked her about those photos.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLORIA ALLRED, REPRESENTS JESSE JAMES` ALLEGED 4TH MISTRESS: I`ll just say she has evidence of the relationship; strong evidence.
KEN BAKER, E! ONLINE: We`re talking sexual pictures? I mean, what are we talking about here?
ALLRED: I`d prefer not to comment further on that. There will be no dispute there was a relationship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I guess we can use all our imaginations to fill in the blanks on that one. I don`t know about you, but I personally don`t collect evidence when I`m in a relationship. Gloria says number four, her relationship with Jesse ended just after the scandal broke. The other three women have not remained so anonymous.
Alleged mistress number three seen here on TMZ is L.A. photographer Brigitte Daguerre who says she did some styling work for Jesse on a photo shoot. Brigitte claims she had sex with him four times.
Alleged mistress number two here on "Star" magazine claims Jesse texted her just yesterday. RadarOnline reports Jesse`s text said quote, "I`m angry at you and disappointed you`d do this" end quote.
We`ll analyze that in a minute.
And alleged mistress number one, Michelle "Bombshell" McGee, her dad is now speaking out. You will not believe what he has to say.
Straight out to my fantastic panel: Stacy Schneider, trial attorney, former divorce attorney and author of "She Had it Coming: How to outsmart your husband and win your divorce" -- I think Sandra Bullock should read that one perhaps; Brenda Wade, clinical psychologist, and Bradley Jacobs, senior editor of "Us Weekly."
Bradley, my head is spinning. What is the very latest?
BRADLEY JACOBS, SENIOR EDITOR, "US WEEKLY: Well, "Us" magazine actually quotes a long-time friend of Sandra Bullock`s costumer named Jim Vorhees (ph), who told us that this is probably the most devastating thing that has ever happened to Sandra. And knowing her the way he does, he doesn`t think that she would ever take Jesse back in this situation.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. Now, any word on anything new? I mean, that`s enough, four mistresses. But are there any new developments? Because it seems that every five minutes there`s something else that`s coming down the pike here.
JACOBS: Yes, it`s sort of seeming like it`s turning into a little bit of a Tiger Woods type situation here where we have more and more bimbo interruptions as they used to call them, more and more women stepping forward. All it takes is one to sort of call them out and then a bunch of women turn up. It happened just a few months ago with Tiger and now we`re seeing Gloria Allred representing many more.
So it could be that four is not the limit.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. Yes. Anonymous mistress number four, alleged, has lawyered-up with famed attorney Gloria Allred. Gloria says her client had a three-year relationship with Jesse during his marriage to Sandra and she says there is hard evidence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALLRED: She has hundreds of texts and e-mails and photos. And the relationship just ended recently after the scandal broke.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Gloria also describes her client as a businesswoman. I`d say so. Why did she hire such a powerhouse attorney? I suppose it is the thing to do when you find yourself smack in the middle of a scandal.
But, Stacy Schneider is there possibly another motivation here to lawyer up?
STACY SCHNEIDER, TRIAL ATTORNEY, FORMER DIVORCE ATTORNEY: Yes. There`s money all over the place here, Jane. Gloria Allred is the most media-savvy lawyer right now. She`s kind of like become the Johnny Cochran for all the bimbos, strippers and hookers who want to make a dime off a scandal.
BEHAR: Well, well, listen Gloria defends women and she`s done it for a long time and she`s defended a lot of woman who find themselves in the middle of a scandal through -- through sometimes no fault of their own.
SCHNEIDER: She`s a great lawyer, Jane --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
SCHNEIDER: -- but I haven`t seen her take a case of serious legal merit for a long time now.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well --
SCHNEIDER: She seems to represent the periphery of any scandal.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- let`s not debate Gloria Allred because she`s a friend of the show and she`s done -- I know, a lot of good work pro bono for a lot of people over the years.
But what do you make of this? Let`s stick to Jesse.
SCHNEIDER: If Jesse had any sense of feeling or caring for Sandra Bullock, I would tell him to go to Gloria Allred and cut a deal with this last alleged mistress so that Sandra does not have to listen to any more of these horrible details being run through the media.
She`s been humiliated enough. The heartache is great enough. After the speech she gave at the Oscars telling everyone that Jesse is the only person who has got her back, she just doesn`t need another stab in the heart. He should take care of these problems quickly.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes and RadarOnline is reporting she`s devastated, she`s beyond upset and she has every right to be. She was on top of the world with her Oscar victory and now this. It is such a difficult thing for her to deal with.
So she clearly seems to be hurting.
Now, the father of alleged mistress number one spoke out to CNN affiliate WJW in Cleveland. Listen to how he found out about his daughter`s alleged actions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENNY MCGEE, MICHELLE "BOMBSHELL" FATHER: She told me that she was going out with Jesse James and I`m like, "Jesse James? The cowboy has been dead for 100 years." And she said, "No, Jesse James is the motorcycle guy."
And I`m like, "Oh, I thought he was married to Sandra Bullock." Then she goes, "Well, they were but they have a thing now where they kind of live apart and she`s on the scene for movies and stuff and, you know, I`m here in San Diego and now we go up to L.A. on weekends and we see each other."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: HLN has reached out to Jesse James` reps we have not heard back. Jesse, you have an open invitation to appear here on ISSUES to tell your side of the story anytime. "Bombshell`s" dad also says his daughter decided to go public after seeing Sandra and Jesse on the Academy Awards show and realizing they were still very much married.
So Bradley Jacobs, why would she think otherwise?
JACOBS: Well, I mean, that`s just ridiculous. Sandra was taking Jesse to every awards show throughout the Oscars season. Just a week or two before the Oscars, he was holding her umbrella on the Red Carpet of a different show.
So I think her timing is suspicious there. I think she probably wanted to release this information right when she could hurt Sandra the most, which would be a week after her Oscar win, a week after maybe the greatest night of her life.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Brenda Wade, they say --
WADE: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- you can`t have everything going 100 percent. She won the Oscar. Sandra Bullock is worth something like $85 million.
WADE: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: She`s on top of the world. She does a lot of great charity work on top of that. But is this almost to be expected? Like you can`t have a perfect life and --
WADE: No, Jane. I don`t think it`s to be expected.
How many narcissists does it take to screw in a light bulb, Jane? The answer is none, because the world resolves around the narcissist. And Jesse is as narcissistic a person as you will ever find. This is a man who was so emotionally immature that it is just shocking.
And Sandra Bullock deserves to have it all. From all accounts she`s a good person. And he does have a --
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Got to leave it right there.
By the way, somebody sent me an 18th century gavel, which is a lot larger than my other gavel. So I`m going to try to use it. We need it with this.
More Jesse James stripper sex scandal next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY JO BUTTAFUOCO: Run. Run for the hills. Don`t look back. Go. Bye-bye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s fabulous advice for Sandra from a woman who has been in her shoes and then some. Mary Jo Buttafuoco was actually shot in the head by her husband`s mistress and spoke to Joy Behar earlier this week.
Check this out. In January Sandra had some advice of her own for Tiger Woods` wife, Elin.
Quote, "If I were Elin, man, I would have hit a lot more than she did. I would have kept hitting. Yes, she stopped. She was respectable. I`d get the baseball bat. I`d get everything out."
Wow. She`s got to be furious tonight.
Brenda, give us a sense. You`re the shrink. What is Sandra Bullock going through?
WADE: Well, I think first of all anger, certainly, but grief also. Here`s a woman who just said to all of us on the night of her Oscar win this is the only person I`ve ever felt safe with, who`s got my back. Unfortunately, he stuck a knife in her back while he had her back.
And there is shame. There has to be a sense of humiliation. And also a sense of looking at herself and saying how could I be such a fool as to believe in this man? And I think she must have felt terribly lonely.
And the worst thing, Jane, than being lonely and horny, one is being with a man who hurts you like this.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. Stacy Schneider, we just got some new information just in. There are published reports now that in 2000, years before Jesse James married Sandra Bullock, he was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee and that this claim and this published report is that a lawsuit was filed and that this lawsuit outlined this alleged harassment.
Now, there is another report that came from TMZ earlier this week that a former high-level female executive with West Coast Choppers settled a sexual harassment lawsuit against Jesse James for more than $700,000 in 2007.
I don`t know for sure, but these don`t appear to be the same lawsuit. We`re just getting this information in. Again, we`d love to hear Jesse`s side of the story. But what does that tell you, Stacy?
SCHNEIDER: I hate to say it, but sometimes when there`s smoke there`s fire. Everyone wanted to give Jesse James the benefit of the doubt; that he wasn`t this person doing these things. That this employee -- I`m familiar with one of the lawsuits -- and she claimed some things were going on in the office with him. And that case was settled; one of them you that mentioned, Jane.
You want to think that maybe people do go after celebrities and spouses of celebrities for money, and the case was resolved and went away. And you want to give him the benefit of the doubt that nothing really happened and he paid someone off to make the problem go away. But after this -- these revelations and these lies and the cheating and the awful thing he did to his wife, it doesn`t get worse than this. You want to believe that there was some merit to those lawsuits.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s talk about Tiger Woods for a moment. Ok. I`m not going to ask the already cliched question, is Jesse James the next Tiger Woods? But E Online is posing a similar question. Is Jesse James the best wing man ever?
Is it the timing of this, Bradley -- we only have a few seconds - - bizarre?
JACOBS: Yes, it is because the tiger thing is still on all of our minds. There were new text messages released from Tiger by Joslyn James just a week ago. We haven`t even seen him debut again on the Masters, and already we have another Tiger on our hands, cheating on his wife.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is it something going on in the celebrity water? Maybe it`s those special water bottles they get which I don`t use. I always use like a regular cup because it`s got to be something in the water that`s making --
BRADLEY: And don`t forget about John Edwards.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, yes. Thank you, fabulous panel.
You`re watching issues on HLN.
END
