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Jane Velez-Mitchell

Pastor Charged with Killing Wife; Ex-Trooper Who Killed 2 Asks for Worker`s Comp

Aired September 29, 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, dark secrets of a Pennsylvania pastor, now facing trial. This popular reverend has two dead wives, and a parishioner committed suicide inside his church office. Tonight, stunning new claims. Is this pastor now engaged to the suicide victim`s wife?

Was a college freshman pushed to suicide? Police believe a student jumped off the George Washington Bridge after he was secretly videotaped having sex with another man. This sex tape was broadcast live on the Internet. Could the sick photographer be charged with murder?

Plus a devastated father fights back. Horrifying new allegations in the Petit murder trial. This prominent family picked at random and brutally murdered. The heartbroken father the only one to survive. Tonight, are the monsters responsible for this actually trying to blame the father?

And parents gone crazy. A 3-year-old birthday party ends in an all- out brawl. Cops say 75 people were punching it out in the middle of the party. What the hell is wrong with these people?

ISSUES starts now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, breaking news as a man of God becomes a murder suspect. The mysterious deaths of two wives share one thing in common: Pastor Arthur Schirmer. Tonight, he is charged with murdering his second wife and staging a car crash to cover it up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Schirmer, do you have anything to say about the crash that day? Do you want to say anything about what happened that day, Mr. Schirmer?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: There he is, Pastor Schirmer. Now, his most recent wife, Betty Jean Schirmer`s, death in 2008 was initially ruled an accident. Cops eventually decided to take a closer look after a parishioner committed suicide inside the pastor`s church office.

Cops say the pastor was having an affair with that man`s wife. And get this: reports are that woman and the pastor are still a couple, even though he is now behind bars charged with murder.

With so many people dying around this pastor, what happened was, cops decided to reopen the investigation into the death of wife No. 2. Then they discovered her injuries were far too severe to have come from some minor car crash. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. They found a slew of holes in the pastor`s story. He denies having anything to do with the death of his second wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON REISH, SCHIRMER`S ATTORNEY: We were fully prepared to be able to surrender Mr. Schirmer. We anticipated that they were investigating, and we`d have to face these accusations, and we`re fully prepared to do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Pastor Schirmer`s first wife, Jewel, died in 1999. He told police he found her hurt and unconscious at the bottom of a staircase. Well, now, that case is being reinvestigated, as well. Two dead wives, and a man who commits suicide. Could the pastor be a victim of horrifically bad luck, or could he be some sort of serial killer?

Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.

Straight out to my expert panel. But first to a very special guest, Joanne. We are not using her last name intentionally. Her uncle, Joe Musante, is the very man who committed suicide inside Pastor Schirmer`s office.

Joanne, thank you for joining us tonight. We understand this is...

JOANNE, NIECE OF SUICIDE VICTIM (via phone): Thank you for having me on.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... very difficult for you. Joanne, what is your reaction to the murder charge just filed against Pastor Schirmer in the murder of his second wife?

JOANNE: Oh, I mean, I knew because of everything that happened with my uncle, that they were investigating him. And I am just so relieved, and I`m sure my uncle is up in heaven just looking down and just so relieved that all this has happened, as well. I just cannot believe that this man is -- has done what he has done. And I`m just so glad that he`s being charged with it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, they`re also investigating the death of his first wife. Do you think that that death is fishy?

JOANNE: I believe that he also killed his first wife, too, yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, let`s talk about the bizarre circumstances surrounding your -- your uncle`s suicide.

Three months after the second wife`s death...

JOANNE: Correct.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... Joe Musante, your uncle, discovers that the pastor is having an affair with his wife, Cindy, who is the pastor`s secretary.

JOANNE: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: He calls up the pastor. He confronts him. The next day, your uncle shoots himself inside the pastor`s church office. And two years later, the widow, his widow, Cindy, and this pastor are still reportedly dating?

JOANNE: Yes, they are.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, is it true that this pastor that we`re looking at actually had the nerve to do marriage counseling with your uncle and his wife, even as he, the pastor, was secretly having an affair with her? Tell us about that.

JOANNE: Yes, that`s -- that`s what I have heard through my family, is that he obviously was a pastor of the church, and he was obviously involved with my family, being that Cindy was his secretary. And my uncle and Cindy were having problems in their marriage, having difficulties, and the pastor was there. And he was supposed to be, you know, helping -- leaning towards Cindy to help her in her marriage. And it all unfolded that they were having an affair.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That, Michelle Golland, you`re a clinical psychologist.

MICHELLE GOLLAND, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I think of all the things that I`ve heard about this bizarre case, that one just, you know, causes the hair on my arm to go up. This guy clearly, if that`s true, just demented.

JOANNE: Yes, absolutely.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: To counsel a couple while you`re you-know-whatting the wife.

GOLLAND: It`s horrible. And you know, Jane, to me this is a classic case of someone who is truly a psychopath. They are someone who can live a double life and then go on and use people, abuse people, and then ultimately, we see in his wake, we have, really, three dead bodies.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Now, paramedics testified about Pastor Schirmer`s car crash back in 2008. He said wife No. 2, Betty Jean, was bleeding profusely, but the pastor, oh, my gosh, he didn`t have a scratch.

Now, he also admits he didn`t call 911, even though he had his cell phone right there with him. The car`s air bags never deployed. Neither were wearing seat belts. Pastor Schirmer told cops he was driving 50 miles an hour when he swerved to avoid a deer and crashed.

Cops reconstructed the accident. They determined, "Unh-uh, you`re going less than 20 miles an hour when you had this crash."

So Carlos Diaz, it seems to me that there is a mountain of evidence that would have initially pointed to homicide here. But perhaps they were blinded by his vestments and called it an accidental death.

CARLOS DIAZ, SYNDICATED RADIO HOST: Yes, there`s so many things that are -- that are wrong. They said there was no evidence of swerving to -- to avoid this alleged deer. You know, he says his wife was playing a game to see how long she could keep her seat belt off before the warning signal went off. And he said that he, you know, hit the guardrail at 45. They say 25.

And when the paramedics arrived, they said that her -- she was covered in blood, his wife, Betty Jean. And her injuries were not consistent with the type of force the car hit the guardrail.

Now, here`s the thing, too. There`s a lot of similarities between Betty Jean`s death and his first wife from 1999, Jewel, her death. The -- the forensic evidence in that case said that she died of head trauma that is consistent with 750 pounds of force to the head, which is the equivalent of getting hit in the head with a baseball bat. So it`s an obvious pattern of things going on in this pastor`s life.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I`ve got to ask Pat Brown, criminal profiler, why on earth didn`t they see the light on these cases back when they happened? It seems like it`s crying out for homicide.

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Yes, Jane, this really upset me when I read that. When his first wife supposedly fell down the steps and the injuries are inconsistent with that, that should have been a red flag right there. That should have been investigated as a possible homicide.

But, you know, clearly when he killed -- well, allegedly probably did in his second wife. He couldn`t throw her down the bottom of the stairs because it would look so much like the first one, so he came up with a second staging. And even that they let go, until this man supposedly committed suicide. I hope he really committed suicide and it wasn`t a homicide, as well. Because they seem to be overlooking a whole lot of very obvious pieces of evidence. I`m really stunned by it all.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you, even though it`s officially as suicide, cops have closed the book on that one, said, you know, this guy broke into the pastor`s office and killed himself, you have your doubts, Pat Brown?

BROWN: Well, I haven`t read the report on where the gun came from, and exactly what went down. But hey, with a guy who likely killed off two women already, and this was the husband of the man he -- excuse me, this was the husband of the woman he was having an affair with, I would be checking very carefully to be sure that was a suicide. I don`t know. But hey, they`ve been overlooking all the evidence so far, so maybe they overlooked that, as well.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that`s very true. Joanne, they don`t have a lot of credibility in this matter any more, given that they kind of let him get away with two very suspicious deaths for so long.

JOANNE: Yes. I mean, from my understanding, they reopened the case because of my uncle`s death. And of course, at the time when they investigated my uncle`s death, they ruled it suicide immediately. Yet, they didn`t know what this pastor was capable of. They had no idea what he had done.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, this is just a bizarre, bizarre story. On the other side of the break, you won`t believe what happened to wife No. 2`s body after the crash. I`ll tell you. It`s unbelievable.

Everybody stay right where you are. More on these mysterious deaths. And we`re taking your calls: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.

Plus, a police officer admits to mowing down two young women while he`s yapping on his cell phone with his girlfriend. You will not believe what he is demanding now.

But first, two dead wives, and a suicide in a pastor`s office. We will go inside the dark past of this very, very strange minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON REISH, SCHIRMER`S ATTORNEY: We were fully prepared to be able to surrender Mr. Schirmer. We anticipated that they were investigating, and we`d have to face these accusations, and we`re fully prepared to do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Schirmer, anything to say about the crash that day? Do you want to say anything about what happened that day, Mr. Schirmer?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: He`s not wearing his vestments there. He`s in shorts and a T-shirt. That`s a retired pastor, charged with murdering his second wife and staging her death in a phony car crash.

Will he also be charged in the mysterious death of his first wife, all of this coming to the surface after the suicide of a man in the pastor`s office, a man who it turns out, well, the pastor was having an affair with this man`s wife at the very same time that the pastor was counseling the couple in marriage ceremony. And -- you know, marriage therapy, I should say. Marriage therapy. You know, you can`t make this stuff up. It`s beyond comprehension.

Romy, Washington, your question or thought?

CALLER: Yes. Hi, Jane. We all love you here in the northwest. Yay!

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hey, Romy.

CALLER: My question is, did they take a toxicology report on the husband to find out if there were any sedatives in his system before he supposedly shot himself? And No. 2, were there powder burns on his fingers? And my last question is, was he left-handed or right-handed to the entrance of the bullet?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Joanne, you`re the niece of the uncle who committed suicide in the pastor`s church office. What do you know about the circumstances of your uncle`s suicide?

JOANNE: I know that he ended up supposedly calling Mr. Schirmer, and they had gotten into an argument over the phone that evening. And my uncle showed up at the church and parked his car down the road, and had supposedly broken into the church, and then got -- went into the office of the pastor and committed -- allegedly committed the suicide.

However, there was no note found. The toxicology report that was done showed no drugs and no alcohol in his system.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So Debra Opri, family law attorney, how the heck can they say flat out this is a suicide. We`re going to close the case on this. We`re not going to talk about that. That`s something we can`t talk about. It`s a suicide. Don`t question us, even though they got it wrong on these two deaths of his wives.

DEBRA OPRI, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: You can`t. Jane, they can`t. Any investigative reporter is going to say, you`ve got to look at the details.

If you do a character study of this retired pastor, you can`t just look at the fact that the second wife, whose body was cremated, so the case is going to rely on DNA and circumstantial evidence connecting him. Blood in the garage could be connected to a million different things. But what caused her death and will it ever be proven?

So you have to take everything else in the circumference of it, including this young man`s alleged suicide. What was he doing in the office? Who was there with him? Why did he go there? It`s all going to be circumstantially presented to a jury to give a sum total of this definition of who this pastor was.

And what`s most distressing to me, is that these men of the cloth in current times are coming more and more out as being very, very problematic personalities. Almost God-like figures in how they can lead their lives.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s not -- let`s not, you know, take a broad brush, and just...

OPRI: Why not?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... indict all men of the cloth. Because there are some very good people...

OPRI: I didn`t say all men of the cloth. I said a lot of. A lot of.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Well, that`s a subject, I think, for another day. Only with the exception that perhaps it was the fact that he was wearing vestments, and he was this popular pastor that perhaps intimidated the police into not doing the kind of investigation -- go ahead.

GOLLAND: Jane, I was...

OPRI: They didn`t question him.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go ahead, Michelle.

OPRI: I just wanted to say, you know, one of the things that, Debra, the attorney is alluding to, and I think there is a point to be made, that sometimes individuals that are very psychopathic will pick personas that are so opposite of their psychopathic personality, so that they can get away with these sort of behaviors.

So they can get away with either a sexual abuse or in this case, you know, murdering two women, and being able to look like a good, clean image of this pastor in the community.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, it`s a perfect smoke screen. I mean, it is. A perfect smoke screen to be a pastor.

GOLLAND: Yes. And psychopaths are very cunning, Jane. Psychopaths are very cunning, and they`re very clear. They`re not disorganized like sociopaths. They`re very -- they`ve very cunning and manipulative, and they know exactly what they`re doing.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Shelley, Mississippi, your question or thought?

CALLER: Yes, I was just wondering, when -- when the first wife was killed, did the pastor know, or was he possibly having an affair with his second wife?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Joanne, what do you know about this philandering pastor and what was happening before he had the affair with the wife of your uncle, who then committed suicide?

JOANNE: I don`t know. I couldn`t answer that question. I would not know anything about that.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But what -- let me get back to your uncle, that cops said committed suicide. Didn`t he complain? And wasn`t he going to meet with somebody, like, in the day after he committed suicide, or soon after that he committed suicide to complain about this pastor?

JOANNE: Yes. He -- he was obviously very upset and very distraught after he found out that his wife was having an affair. And so he was going to other officials in the church, and he had an appointment set for the following morning with the head of the church, because he wanted that person to know what was going on about the affair with his wife.

And for whatever reason, he decided not to, I guess, keep that appointment, and then opted to go ahead and allegedly kill himself instead of keeping the appointment that he had set the following day.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, quickly, Pat Brown, wouldn`t that be a motive, though?

JOANNE: I would believe it would be...

BROWN: A motive to -- well, I think it`s a motive for the pastor to want to get rid of him, absolutely.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.

BROWN: And the fact that he has theoretically staged two other crimes, why wouldn`t he stage this one, as well?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Exactly.

BROWN: He`s obviously a pretty smart psychopath if that`s what he`s done.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, boy. Unbelievable. Thank you, Joanne, for sharing your painful story. We`re going to stay on top of this case.

All right. Up next, did a secret sex tape lead to suicide? We`re going to go inside one college student`s nightmare.

Plus, a state trooper, you won`t believe what this guy`s doing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Outrage tonight over a killer cop`s brazen demands for money. This Illinois state trooper raced to an accident scene at 126 miles an hour, while sending e-mails and talking on his cell phone to his girlfriend. Next thing you know, his cruiser slams head-on into a car. Two sisters were killed in this horrific 2007 crash.

The trooper, Matt Mitchell, pleads guilty to reckless homicide and reckless driving. He gets off with probation. No jail time. Now this guy thinks he`s owed something. He has filed for worker`s comp based on the injuries he got in the accident he himself caused. The nerve of this man.

Joining me now, Tom Keefe, the attorney for the devastated parents of Jessica and Kelly Uhl, the two sisters who were killed when the cop hit them.

Mr. Keefe, thanks for joining us. How do your clients feel about this killer cop trying to get worker`s comp?

TOM KEEFE, ATTORNEY FOR JESSICA AND KELLY UHL: Well, I think, more than anything, I think what they`re disappointed about is that their daughters` death has become a vehicle for dishonoring police officers in general, and dishonoring the worker`s compensation case in general.

This is -- this man has no character. And as a result of that, he reflects poorly on the uniform. He reflects poorly on the worker`s compensation statute.

So it`s a situation where there just doesn`t seem to be any end in sight to this case. And it`s hard for my clients. And it`s hard for my clients to continue to have to talk about this case.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m sure they feel violated all over again.

Take a look at these beautiful girls: 18-year-old Jessica, and 13- year-old Kelly, both of them are dead.

Matt Mitchell pleaded guilty in criminal court. But later, when the dead girls` parents sued the state, the cop denied responsibility. Taxpayers have been paying through the nose, between the criminal trial and the lawsuit. The parents are suing for $46 million. And you know what? I hope they get it.

But now this cop has the audacity to ask for worker`s comp for an accident that prosecutors say he basically created.

Is there a possibility, Tom, that he`s going to collect and could your clients sue to go after any worker`s comp money he does get?

KEEFE: Well, the answer to the question is, No. 2, no, my clients cannot sue them. My clients` case is against the state of Illinois, which is what`s ironic. He`s an Illinois state trooper. Therefore, the claim is against the state of Illinois. He received his salary during the pendency of the criminal case. And now their civil case is also against the state of Illinois.

And to answer your first question, yes, he will likely collect, because the accident occurred during the course of his employment. And he`ll probably be awarded compensation benefits, which unfortunately bastardizes the compensation statute.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why the heck isn`t there some kind of clause that says if you create your own injury through negligence, you can`t collect?

KEEFE: I agree with that. But let me tell you what the problem is. The problem with this entire case is that this guy`s a one-man wrecking crew. I mean, he has -- he`s dishonored the uniform and, as a result of that, he`s undermined the respect for law enforcement.

Now he`s undermining the worker`s compensation statute. The comp statute is a good law. I mean, it helps lots of injured people, but now he`s bringing shame on that. Should there be a provision if it`s a result of your own negligence? I don`t know. Should there be such a provision as a result of criminal misconduct? Maybe.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, I think more than maybe. Our hearts go out to your clients, the parents of those beautiful children. I don`t know how they are withstanding all of this. Thank you, sir.

Blaming the victim. A horrifying new theory emerges in the Petit family murder trial. It`s disgusting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The devastated father fights back horrifying new allegations in the Petit murder trial. This prominent family picked at random and brutally murdered; the heart broken father, the only one to survive. Tonight, are the monsters responsible for this actually trying to blame the father?

And parents gone crazy: a 3-year-old birthday party ends in an all-out brawl. Cops say 75 people were punching it out, in the middle of the party. What the hell is wrong with these people?

Tonight, the very last witness in that gruesome home invasion-rape trial in Connecticut strikes a nerve. Steven Hayes is the first defendant/monster to go on trial for the killings of wife and mother Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two beautiful daughters, Michaela and Hayley.

Their father, Dr. William Petit was beaten to a pulp by a baseball bat and he`s the only one who made it out of the house alive, literally covered in blood. Well, now the ridiculous theory that Dr. Petit might have had something to do with the horrific home invasion has resurfaced in court.

Dr. Petit`s father-in-law is outraged, understandably, saying this victimizes the doctor all over again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD HAWKE, JENNIFER HAWKE-PETIT`S FATHER: A person has to be very insensitive to make a statement of such a man who has spent his life trying to build his family. And the words that were said today were insensitive. They were cruel. And out of place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Straight out to my fantastic expert panel: we begin with attorney Darren Kavinoky. Darren, the corrections officer testified that he overheard the suspect on trial, Steven Hayes, and another inmate behind bars talking about the possibility of Dr. Petit`s involvement in the home invasion of his own home. Isn`t it obvious that bringing up this nonsensical -- really nonsensical theory is simply going to violate this doctor all over again?

DARREN KAVINOKY, ATTORNEY: Yes. It certainly was a blockbuster day because courtroom observers have long concluded that guilt was basically being conceded and that this exercise was just to get everybody to the penalty phase where jurors would deliberate over life in prison versus the death penalty.

But it`s an interesting tactical issue which could blow up, because frankly as we just heard from the relatives, this kind of stuff can so inflame the passions of the jurors, that they may not fully appreciate the defense attorney when they`re in possession of evidence that tends to exculpate their client, or inculpate somebody else. They`re actually duty bound to bring it up but this one could really blow up in the defendant`s face.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s listen to what Dr. Petit had to say. This is the man himself who survived this hideous attack by these two, after court yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. WILLIAM PETIT, VICTIM: Really, the only thing I have to say is that Jennifer, Hayley and Michaela were the most important people in my life, and I really can`t dignify that insinuation with a response. And I think the evidence put on by the prosecution speaks for itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Michelle Golland, psychologist --

MICHELLE GOLLAND, PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- I do not understand how that man is standing up.

GOLLAND: I know.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: He has been sitting day after day in court listening to the horrific testimony, just grotesque details of the rape of his daughter and his wife and how they were set on fire after these sickos poured gasoline on them.

GOLLAND: Right. I mean, this is obviously such a courageous and devastated father and husband. And again, what this criminal and, you know, sociopath is doing is re-victimizing this entire family and truthfully the community and all of us. It`s offensive. It`s ridiculous. And I think as Darren pointed out, it will most likely backfire.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And just -- these trials are supposed to be about justice. Not about humiliating the survivors of a horrific, gruesome, explicit crime all over again.

Ellen in New York, your question or thought, ma`am?

ELLEN, NEW YORK, (via telephone): Hi, Jane. Happy birthday --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you.

ELLEN: -- first of all. Thanks for taking my call.

This is a disgusting situation. However, I have to admit that when I first heard about this crime, my thoughts did go to, how did the father get away if he was that badly injured, and the rest of the crime scene so horrific. But as it went on, I thought, what about the neighbors that he got to, did they take the stand, you know, where it would make this a pretty hard statement.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: To answer your question, Ellen, it has been determined unequivocally that Dr. Petit had nothing to do with this. The way he got out was he was -- first of all, they came in and beat him over the head with a bat, knocking him out. They drag him downstairs to the basement. They tie him up to a pole. He is sliding up and down the pole, going in and out of consciousness.

And at one point he hears, it`s going to be all over soon. And at that point is when he decides, I`ve got to wake up, I`ve got to do something. He literally pulls himself out, somehow gets his arms free, hops up with his legs still tied, a couple of steps, gets out of the house, rolls, physically rolls on his yard across to the neighbor`s house and then bangs on the door, covered in blood to the point where the neighbor didn`t even recognize him. Ok? So that`s how he got out.

And that`s the excuse they`re using.

KAVINOKY: Jane, it`s so interesting, though, because the timing of this evidence, as the jurors are about to go on this extended break, and just sit with this material, this is the legal equivalent of a fourth- quarter time`s running out Hail Mary pass. But what they`re hoping is that one of those 12 jurors will go through exactly the same kind of thought process that this caller just did.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I certainly hope not. Thank you all. We`re going to stay on top of that trial, obviously.

Now, tonight -- we`re going to switch gears here -- unbelievable heartache for a family whose son killed himself. Jumping off a bridge after finding out his roommate, allegedly, turned on the web cam and sent out a live signal to the world showing 18-year-old Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi having sex in his dorm room.

Clementi wrote on his Facebook page, "Jumping of the GW Bridge. Sorry." Clementi`s roommate, 18-year-old Dharum Ravi and another Rutgers student, Molly Wei, are now charged with invasion of privacy for setting up the web cam in Clementi`s dorm room.

September 19th, Ravi allegedly tweets, "Roommate asked for the room until midnight. I went into molly`s room and turned on my web cam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."

Call me, 1-877-JVM-SAYS.

Straight out to my fantastic panel, and we have to begin with clinical psychologist, Michelle Golland. This is so twisted and so very sad that a young man who should have really -- I pray that he could have just stayed alive to file whatever legal action or criminal action against his violators.

GOLLAND: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Instead takes it out on himself and jumps off the George Washington Bridge.

GOLLAND: And I have to say, Jane, what it brings up for me is, was there other cyber bullying? This is cyber bullying. I mean to be doing this and to be putting it out there publicly, clearly we have no idea what this student`s mental state was anyway. What other support systems he had, or did not have and if he was out as a gay male or not.

And what that meant to him, and his family, or himself or his community, it`s devastating. And it`s bullying and it`s against the law. And it`s exactly what we need to do in this country to stop this sort of behavior.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Here`s my big issue tonight: vicious video; vicious, vicious video. This is just plain vicious to do something like this. This guy is his roommate.

Two days after the first live web cam sexual encounter, apparently there was a first initial encounter. Then this suspect allegedly sends another tweet, directing nearly 150 twitter followers to watch this live video feed of this young man having a sexual encounter.

Quote, "Anyone with iChat I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes, it`s happening again."

You know, Carlos Diaz, these web cams are very dangerous. You never know when you`re being videotaped anymore. It can be sent out live over the Internet.

CARLOS DIAZ, SYNDICATED RADIO HOST: It`s a new form of invasion of privacy. And you know, Jane, when you go to college, first off, you`re trying to find yourself in college. So, you know, events like this are very traumatic. Secondly, this becomes folklore. If you don`t think that every college campus in America now knows this story, it`s spreading like wildfire.

I`m sorry, but they have got to throw the book at Ravi and Wei in this example because of the fact that everyone`s going to be looking at what happens to these two. And if they get off scot free, we`re looking at a very serious problem in colleges all over America.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: This isn`t just cyber voyeurism. I think there`s a bullying aspect here. Let`s take this other --

GOLLAND: Oh, completely.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- case. A 13-year-old in Texas committed suicide last week. His parents say not only was their son gay, he was also bullied. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID TRUONG, ASHER`S STEP-FATHER: Our brilliant, compassionate loving child ended his life after being a victim of constant and relentless bullying throughout his school life. Yes, he was gay. He was also a Buddhist. He was also a child with a disability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE GOLLAND: I have to say, Jane -- I`m sorry.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I have to read a statement from the family of this latest victim, Tyler Clementi, saying Tyler was a fine young man, a distinguished musician. The family is heartbroken beyond words. They respectfully request that they be given time to grieve their great loss and that their privacy at this painful time be respected by all.

Michelle Golland, ten seconds to wrap this horrific case up.

GOLLAND: You know, Jane, I think what this goes to, this is about being anti-gay. This is about a hate crime in my estimation. And I believe that probably the -- the -- the gentleman in college is where the hate crime as well.

And again, it`s because our country needs to wake up, and face the facts about gay marriage, getting rid of "don`t ask, don`t tell" and giving people civil rights that they deserve. It`s ridiculous and disgusting.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: This man deserved the right of privacy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: A toddler`s birthday party ends in a bloody brawl. That`s next.

But first "Top of the Block" tonight.

Living a nightmare: Two young men at the center of the Bishop Eddie Long sex scandal have now broken their silence. They are describing the anti-gay bishop as a predator and a monster. The mega church pastor is accused of using his massive power to force young men into sex. The details -- alleged -- are horrifying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMAL PARRIS, ACCUSER: I cannot get the sound of his voice out of my head. And I cannot forget the smell of his cologne. And I cannot forget the way that he made me cry many nights when I drove in his car on the way home, I`m not able to take enough showers to wipe the smell of him off of my body.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So far, four men have contacted an attorney. But the accusers believe this is just the beginning. Bishop Long denies the allegations. We`ll stay on top of that one.

It`s tonight`s "Top of the Block".

Switching gears tonight, the party from hell: a family feud sparks an all-out war at, of all places, a 3-year-old`s birthday party. A father has pleaded guilty to starting a beer-soaked bloody 75-person brawl -- 75 people -- at his daughter`s princess party, the b-day battle of 15 people hurt and five in the hospital.

We`re talking grown men using broken beer bottles as weapons, throwing punches, all the while terrified toddlers are looking on and going, this is supposed to be our party. The banquet hall was showered with shards of glass. The only thing left intact, the little girl`s three-tier princess cake. And were happy to say at least none of the kids were hurt.

It took 20 cops to control the violent booze-fueled crowd. And get the birthday girl`s dad behind bars. One partygoer actually had to get surgery for his injuries. He was stabbed with a booze bottle. Cops broke up this fight at 1:00 a.m.

What the heck is wrong with our society? They were getting tanked up at a 3-year-old`s party.

All right, fantastic panel, stand by. We begin with syndicated radio host, Carlos Diaz. Carlos, I`m almost afraid to ask what the very latest is on this melee.

CARLOS DIAZ, SYNDICATED RADIO HOST: I mean terrified toddlers? Try terrified cops. The cops show up and they have to call in for backup. They show up and this place is such a melee, it`s like, you know, people are throwing -- there`s one guy in the back throwing beer bottles just at whoever he can.

The cops show up. They have to call for backup for a 3-year-old`s party. And as you said, this is all going on at 1:00 in the morning. This 3-year-old girl, she just -- did she turn three --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.

DIAZ: -- at 1:00 in the morning? I don`t understand. But why in the world would you have 75 people celebrating a 3-year-old`s party in the middle of the night.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes we are very delighted to have Chief William Peskin with the Elmwood Place Police out of Cincinnati with us tonight. Chief, what -- what happened here?

CHIEF WILLIAM PESKIN, ELMWOOD PLACE POLICE: Well, we got called referenced type of disturbance. Upon arrival, the officers discovered about 150 people at the party. About half of which were actively involved in the fight. They were throwing beer bottles, fighting. It was just a crazy scene when they arrived --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What were they fighting about, sir?

PESKIN: There was some type of altercation between the current boyfriend and the ex-husband which started the whole incident.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Of the child? In other words, they`re there to celebrate the child, and two people who were involved, or were involved with the mother, two guys get into it?

PESKIN: Correct. Correct.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. That brings me to my big issue tonight: babies and booze. Surprise, surprise, surprise the parents were all tanked up when they started brawling. My question is why are parents getting loaded at a children`s party? Why was this party for a toddler even being held at 1:00 in the morning?

Now, I have to say, there have been a slew of fights breaking out all across the country, at Chuck E Cheese establishments. Tennessee Chuck E Cheese, violence erupts after an argument over the photo booth at a child`s birthday. Then you go to Chuck E Cheese in Missouri, a fight escalates, shots are fired.

Why? Could it be because they serve beer and wine?

Got to go to Michelle Golland on this one. This didn`t happen at Chuck E Cheese --

GOLLAND: Right.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- but this is happening all over -- all over the United States.

GOLLAND: Right.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why are people with kids drinking and -- and getting involved in these -- these crazy melees?

GOLLAND: It`s ridiculous. I mean, the fact that there were all these parents out at 1:00 a.m. with children, in and of itself, is -- is neglectful, I think. And I -- I agree with you, Jane, I think what is happening is that we have very immature people having children.

And then they go on and they are -- are behaving so badly, and they`re showing their children that this is how you deal with things. This is what you do at a party when you -- you fight. You physically throw beer bottles at people. At Chuck E Cheese, you fight over a photo booth. It`s -- it`s abhorrent.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes and -- and I have to ask you, are we in a caveman culture of some kind? Because you know --

GOLLAND: Right.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- it seems to me like we`re having some kind of societal breakdown, a societal breakdown.

On the other side of the break, we are going to show you a fight that breaks out at a peewee football game that is just absolutely unbelievable and again it`s the parents behaving badly.

That and more on this birthday blowout right after the break. What the heck is going on?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was blood and broken glass. We were told that there was one gentleman just at the back of the room continued to throw bottles until he didn`t have any more in front of him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Using beer bottles as weapons. Tonight a violent birthday brawl. A 3-year-old`s father arrested after a booze-fuelled battle at his daughter`s birthday party.

Mary in Michigan, your question or thought, ma`am?

MARY, MICHIGAN (via telephone): Love your show. Keep up the good work.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thanks.

MARY: First of all, why in the world would a 3-year-old -- be having a birthday party for a 3-year-old with booze in it, number one? And until 1:00 in the morning? And the question revolves in my mind when there`s booze, is there a possibility that there was drugs involved? And can the parents be charged with some kind of child neglect for having that child around alcohol like that?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Chief Peskin, you`re here. What do you say to that caller?

PESKIN: As far as the children`s services were notified to start an investigation in reference to the children. We didn`t find any evidence of drugs on scene.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, this kind of thing though is happening everywhere. I have to show you something that just happened. This is another outrageous adult brawl that broke out at a peewee football game. We`re going to show it to you right now.

After a tense play, a wave of angry dads rushed the field and they begin beating each other up. The 11-year-old players are watching in shock as their fathers swarm the sidelines, the coaches get involved. Everything, all hell breaks loose.

And you know I`m wondering, Debra Opri, are we seeing a lot of lawsuits that stem out of this kind of stuff because it seems like it`s happening more and more.

DEBRA OPRI, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Jane, this is a clear and simple case of parental supervision gone bad. First with the beer party and the bottle throwing in front of 3-year-olds and minors, the Department of Child and Family Services must get involved. These are custodial issues of who`s a proper parent out here.

And I`m angry because you go to this peewee football game and you have parents where the kids are trying to shut them down.

GOLLAND: Right.

Opri: You have parental anger management that should be ruled for every single parent whose name is on a list as being on the list as being in the brawl, on the peewee football and who`s being at that party because anybody who did not take their child out of the party and out of that football game, in my mind should be before a judge and explain why because they are putting the health, safety and welfare of their children on the line.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Michelle Golland, what I see, too, is that it used to be children were seen and not heard. There was the kids` table and the parents` table. Now there is such a focus on what they call helicopter parenting where you`re hovering over your kids all the time that it actually results in the enmeshment of the parental life with the child`s life.

GOLLAND: right.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: There are no boundaries and the kids really -- the parents are living through their children and it becomes sort of pathological.

(CROSSTALK)

GOLLAND: I have to say I think you`re really right, Jane. And the other thing I`m seeing is like these sort of parties that parents have for their children end up really being excuses for them to be able to have parties and not have to get a babysitter or they can`t get a sitter. And so they end up having big events that really are about themselves and not about the children. And so that`s exactly --

OPRI: She`s right.

(CROSSTALK)

GOLLAND: Yes. What we need to do --

OPRI: Parental neglect.

GOLLAND: -- as I say with my couples, get a baby sitter. Go on your own date night.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Get a good babysitter because that is a problem too, sometimes.

You`re watching ISSUES.

END