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Jane Velez-Mitchell
Radio Host Assaulted On-Air; Blood in Missing Mom`s Car
Aired April 26, 2011 - 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, a horrifying new chapter in the war on women. Cops say a man breaks into a Christian radio station and attacks the female host while she`s praying live on the air. He exposes his private parts and threatens her. You will not believe what happens next.
Then, a toddler is found abandoned in a car with the hazard lights flashing. Where is the mom? She`s vanished into thin air. And now her frantic family is pulling out all the stops to find her.
Plus, why is America giving Lindsay Lohan, the poster child for addiction and out-of-control behavior, a standing ovation? That`s exactly what Lilo got on Jay Leno`s show, even as she side-steps jail again and gets another break from our broken justice system. Are we applauding her because we`re just like her?
And we`re just four days from the royal wedding, and new controversy over who`s on and off the guest list. Why is Fergie, the Duchess of York, banned but her kids are in? Is there a royal family feud? And we`re taking your calls.
ISSUES starts now.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to rape and rob this woman?
DONALD DESTIN, ARRESTED FOR ASSAULT: I didn`t want to rape her, but I was -- I was attracted to her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, the escalating war on women hits an insane new low. A man is accused of a brazen and really bizarre sexual assault, attempt anyway, on a radio host while she`s live on the air. You could not make this stuff up.
Police say 30-year-old Donald Destin barged into a Christian radio station in Orlando, Florida, just before 6, sometime between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. yesterday morning, in the morning. Police say a woman, a host, a radio host, was leading prayers live on the air when Destin walked in and began masturbating in front of her. He allegedly threatened her and then tried to sexually assault her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY PIERRE, STATION MANAGER, LA VOIX EVANGELIQUE: She left the microphone on and then she said, "Hey, hey, don`t -- don`t kill me. Let me give you money. Let me give you money. Don`t kill me. Don`t make sex with me." Like this. The guy come for two things: make sex and get money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So guess what? The listeners heard all of this.
The female radio host picked her alleged attacker out of a photo lineup, and he was arrested just a few hours later. So even a woman praying, praying to God live on the radio is not safe from sexual predators. What is the world coming to? Really?
This comes on the heels of another bold rape attempt we told you about just yesterday. And I`ve got to warn you, you`re going to find this video disturbing. The victim managed to get away, and a Brooklyn home surveillance camera caught the entire thing on tape. You`re taking a look at it right there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SCREAMING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Help me! Help me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: She got away. Now, last week we reported on yet another horrific attack on a woman in a public area. This time, at Denver International Airport, of all places. Police say this surveillance video shows a suspect and his female victim walking together moments before he allegedly raped her in a deserted terminal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He grabbed the back of my hair with his hand that he was holding my neck down with and pulled my head up and began to slam my head into the floor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is this a wake-up call, people? Three -- count them, three -- recent attacks with in-your-face video and audio proof. Are these attacks increasing, or are we just seeing it more because modern technology is catching it when it does happen? Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1- 877-586-7297.
Straight out to Gary Pierre, the station manager for a La Croix Evangelique, a Haitian Christian radio station, where yesterday`s attack happened.
Gary, thank you so much for joining us. First of all, how is the radio host doing tonight?
PIERRE: Well, she`s doing pretty well. I spoke with her a few minutes ago. She`s at home. As a manager of the radio station, I gave her two weeks to get rest. But she`s scared, but she`s OK.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What happened as far as you can tell me? I understand this was sometime between 4 and 6 in the morning. You`re the manager, but you`re at home sleeping, and she`s doing this show where she reads prayers. She`s actually praying. What happened, sir?
PIERRE: What happened, I was sleeping and for some reason I wake up at 4:35 in the morning and do some stuff at home, but I put on my phone. My phone starts really ringing. And I say, what`s going on? And people say, "Hey, hey, Gary, wake up, something happened at the radio station." Believe it or not, I just get in my car and go over there.
When I arrive, people, listeners, they were on the floor trying to help the girl, because what she did when the guy come inside the radio station and then she left the microphone on, and the listeners can hear what -- the way she tried to deal with the guy. And then that`s the way they come to the radio and 200 people...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What did he do? How did she try -- wait. You`re saying how many people came to the radio station?
PIERRE: Two hundred or 300. Believe it or not, 200 people showed up to help her. Because she has a popular show on the radio station.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Two hundred people show up? Like before dawn?
PIERRE: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Before dawn?
PIERRE: Yes. They come to the radio to help the girl. And then, thank God -- because this is a Christian radio station. God helped her to deal with the guy, because the guy come for two things: do sex and get some money. He didn`t get nothing, because people come, and he flew away. The police come, and then my radio station is very secured. I have a 24-hour recording. I have the evidence. Yesterday at 4:30 p.m. they found him.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: How did he get in? Did she leave the door opened? Which I`m not -- certainly not blaming the victim here. Some of us do live in a world where we assume the best of human nature, and it would never occur to us that somebody could barge into a radio station and try to sexually assault a female host while she`s live on the air reading prayers, no less. But what security was there?
PIERRE: Say that again, please?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What security? Is the door open? Was he able to just waltz in?
PIERRE: Well, the problem was, for some reason, opened. I don`t know if she left it opened. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I realize that one of the door was opened.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. Well, let me tell you something. She must have a very popular radio show and be a very popular lady for 200 listeners to show up, and I hope none of that ever happens. Nothing like that ever happens to me, but I would be very happy if 200 people showed up if they heard me saying that something bad was happening on the air. That is a testament to the good people that are out there. There are more good people than bad, but all it takes is one bad one.
Turns out the suspect`s rap sheet is as long as my arm. Are you ready? Burglary, criminal mischief, making threats, grand theft, indecent exposure, resisting an officer, frequenting a brothel, trespassing and stalking. And those last two were just from last year. So maybe this time he`ll actually get locked up, Lauren Lake, so that no woman has to go through what that poor radio host endured.
LAUREN LAKE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, Jane, it`s despicable to think what happened there. You would think at a Christian radio station you could pray without being preyed upon.
However, as a defense attorney, I have to say that this young man obviously had some problems and some issues. I know he`s homeless. I`ve read that. He also may have some psychological issues. So this may go a little bit deeper than just him wanting to come in and get money and also rape. There may be something really wrong with this guy mentally, and it`s going to have to be evaluated.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Dr. Dale Archer, clinical psychologist, what on earth would make this man barge into a public place, like a radio station, and allegedly start masturbating while standing in front of a woman who is praying live on the air and then committing sexual battery, allegedly?
DR. DALE ARCHER, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, you can certainly think a lot of theories, Jane. But the bottom line is, we don`t have a psychiatric diagnosis that would cover this, and we do know that sexual predators, such as this, have a very progressive history.
So my big fear is this is...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: When you say that, you`re saying progressive history means they`ve got to do it more and more and worse and worse.
ARCHER: They do it more, they do it worse, and it also becomes violent. So this is the third strike against him. I think right now this guy needs to be convicted and locked up for a long time, because we don`t have a psychiatric treatment at this point for this type of condition.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wait a second, Dr. Dale. But there is this -- we all know the perv, the classic perv who walks around with a trench coat and opens it up. So is there any psychological motive concept behind -- I don`t like to say the word -- but masturbating in that manner?
ARCHER: You know what, Jane. This is all part of a continuum of sexual deviancy. So to take that and make that separate than someone who has a more violent history or someone who actually assaults women, we really put it on the same continuum, just earlier on.
So no, there is no theory which would define this. Basically, these are criminals. They`re sexual deviants. They`re perverts. And they need to be thrown in jail because sometimes with a long jail term, it actually does help.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Interesting. Deborah from Louisiana, your question or thought, ma`am.
CALLER: Yes, Jane, I want to thank you for everything that you do for women.
But first of all, regarding this, I agree with you 110 percent. This world is just going to hell in a hand basket. People like this need to stay locked up, put away for years, because if they`ll try this once, they`ll try it over and over and over. And women and children and elderly are not even safe. It is -- it`s beyond ridiculous.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You are absolutely right.
Now, on the other side of the break, we`re going to talk to Lauren Book, who is right there. She is a survivor of sexual abuse. But in her case, she was perpetrated against in secret. The commonality with these cases is that surveillance video or audio caught them in the act. So we`re going to talk to her about her perspective, because if you shine a spotlight on something, you can go a long way towards eliminating it.
We`re taking your calls on this: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1-877-586- 7297.
Plus, it`s royal wedding week, and we are learning all the inside scoop about -- well, it could be a royal family feud. And it`s over this redhead and her two kids. And grandmother.
Plus, a young mom vanishes, but her baby is left behind. We`re going to try to find this beautiful, young woman.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing in this investigation has suggested that she was suicidal, suffers from a debilitating mental illness, or would have wanted to voluntarily absent herself from the vehicle or the child.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you want to rape and rob this woman?
DESTIN: I didn`t want to rape her, but I was -- I was attracted to her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: He was attracted to her? That`s what he said? Now accused tonight of trying to rape a radio host as she was reading prayers live on the air at a Christian radio station. This sicko allegedly walked into the station and began masturbating and making threats. Thankfully the radio host`s listeners heard the confrontation, called 911, and something like 200 of them raced to the radio station to help her. Truly amazing. A miracle, I would say.
I want to go to Lauren Book, who is a sexual abuse survivor. Your nanny sexually abused you for six years in secret. Do you wish you had had a radio microphone or surveillance camera there so that it could have been picked up because this was perpetuated precisely because she did it in secret -- Lauren.
LAUREN BOOK, SEXUAL ABUSE SURVIVOR: Absolutely. That`s why we advocate for secret video cameras, for nanny -- nanny cams throughout the houses. I mean, I would have loved to have that technology back when I was a child so that this would not have gone on as long as it did. I would have been able to be safer, and my parents would have known much sooner, and I wouldn`t have had to have been a victim for six years.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So as awful as what happened to the radio host is, at least she had the good sense, the smarts to keep the microphone on. And as soon as somebody else hears it, then it`s not a "he said, she said." It`s something that can be verified and the person can be prosecuted.
The radio station attack, the rape at the Denver airport, the attempted rape in Brooklyn, they all have an important theme. Technology spotted the crimes. I shudder to think where these victims would be without cameras and microphones.
The confrontation at the radio station, broadcast live. Listeners called 911. They showed up at the station. Surveillance from the Denver airport shows the rape victim and the suspect, who offered to walk her to her gate when she missed her flight. These images will prove crucial as evidence.
And once the surveillance of the Brooklyn attack got out, this attack, police who had initially ignored this entire case were finally pressured into investigating it.
So my question, to Lauren lake, criminal defense attorney, is violence really on the rise? Or are we just at a time in history where technology makes us more aware of the violence because it`s recorded?
LAKE: You know, that`s so interesting. That`s such a great question, Jane. I think that violence is on the rise. However, I do feel like technology is giving us an inside look at some of our dirty little secrets in America, things that people have swept under the rug or that have gone unspoken or untold.
Now we`re able to tell it, because we`re able to show it and we`re able to hear it. But I do think our culture is a lot more violent than it`s been in the past. And we`re seeing it firsthand.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And here`s my big issue, public predators. It is disturbing when men are able to commit brazen acts on women right out in the open. All of these examples, the radio station, the airport, the Brooklyn sidewalk. Men seem so brazen, these particular men. They apparently have no fear and apparently no shame. What`s that about, Dr. Dale Archer?
ARCHER: Well, I`m not sure it`s about fear and shame, Jane. I think it`s more that these are sick individuals, and we know that sexual predators have a common theme, that they are compelled with these actions. And we know it`s a continuum. The only thing we don`t know is how did we stop the continuum from progressing? So if we can catch them early, is there a way to...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why is this guy smiling? He looks like he is smiling on his mug shot. It`s really bizarre. He has got a smile on his face. It`s like he does not understand the seriousness of the crime that he is accused of. Dr. Archer?
ARCHER: Well, I don`t know that he doesn`t understand the serious of it, Jane. But I think that, with these individuals, we find it very fascinating that when they do go to jail, they are model citizens. They are on perfect behavior. But of course, there is no one for them to molest when they are in jail.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. North Carolina, your question or thought, Vonnie?
CALLER: Yes. My comment is, I believe that the police do not take women as seriously as they do men. That`s not fair and it`s not just the war against women. It`s anything that`s done against women.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I agree with you Vonnie. We`re going to give Lauren Book, sexual abuse survivor, the last word on that.
BOOK: I think you`re absolutely right. It`s very unfortunate. Actually, in Panama City when we were walking, there was a young girl that was sexually assaulted by nine men. When she went home to report this case to her father and he called the police chief, he said, "You know, we can`t send a police officer out for everybody who cries rape." I mean, this is something serious that we all need to be aware of and look for.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s horrifying.
BOOK: It is.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, we want to cover that story.
Gary Pierre, we`re glad you were on our show and that your radio host is OK. Please give her our best wishes.
Lindsay Lohan is up next.
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LT. CHRISTOPHER PERLEY, TOWN OF CONWAY POLICE DEPARTMENT: When they approached the car, they found that it was unoccupied. It was running. The driver`s door was slightly ajar, and there was a baby in the back seat.
KAYLA DITTMEYER, MISSING WOMAN`S SISTER: If anyone at all remembers seeing her at any -- please let us know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, a chilling mystery leaves a family fearing the worst. Did somebody snatch 20-year-old mom, Krista Dittmeyer, right out of her car?
The black Nissan Sentra was found in a parking lot in a New Hampshire ski area on Saturday. The driver`s door was open. The engine was running. The hazard lights were on and her baby daughter was still strapped in her car seat. Thankfully, that little girl is OK, but investigators fear her mom is not. They`re testing blood found in her car. Police searched the woods and drained a nearby pond. They have not found any sign of Krista.
Straight out to Ken Altshuler, radio talk show host on WGAN, 560 AM. Ken, what is the very latest?
KEN ALTSHULER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, the big news is that the FBI has joined the search of the Conway Police Department, Jane, and they`ve had some progress with her cell phone.
As you know, she was missing since Saturday morning, Jane. There is some dispute as to whether or not the blood was actually in the second car that they searched. The sheriff has said that there was blood evidence. The Conway Police Department is saying they`re not going to comment. So we don`t know if blood evidence was found or not. The Conway police says that the sheriff`s department was not involved in the investigation.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Krista drove about an hour and a half from Portland, Maine, to Conway, New Hampshire, possibly to visit friends. Police have already zeroed in, as you just heard, on a second car at a location in the area of where she vanished. Listen to this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are processing some physical evidence that we seized both at the scene and at a separate location in the town of Conway. We seized two vehicles, one of them being the vehicle of Krista Dittmeyer, the other one being a vehicle we seized in the town of North Conway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So what led police to the second car? Who possibly owns the second car? And what do we know about the baby`s father?
ALTSHULER: Well, the baby`s father, they say, is not a suspect now. They say he had an alibi at the time.
But, Jane, remember that Conway is an hour and a half from Portland. Her car was missing, the baby left there at 6:30 in the morning. That`s Saturday morning, Jane. Was she abducted Friday night? Was she abducted Saturday morning? Did she go visit friends in North Conway and Saturday morning meet this fate?
One thing we do know, Jane, is that it sounds like, if she was abducted, she protected her daughter by talking the abductor into leaving the baby in the car with the lights flashing, the car running, and the door ajar. Did she save her baby`s life by sacrificing herself? That`s what everybody in Maine and Nashua are asking themselves.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So this is seeming like a stranger abduction. Some stranger.
ALTSHULER: That is the conventional wisdom, Jane, because from all accounts, she talked to her mother at 8 p.m. on Friday night. No indication that she told her mother that she was going to North Conway. She has friends in North Conway, but what was she doing there? What happened between 8 on Friday night and 6:30 Saturday morning?
It sounds like it`s a stranger abduction. But they have a car. They have a cell phone. They say there`s evidence. Jane, if there`s blood evidence, we should know who owned the car. We should know who`s blood it is. We need to know more about this story as each unfolding minute happens.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We are praying for her that she is OK. Thank you, Ken, so very much. Nancy Grace on top of this story. She`s going to have the very latest at the top of the hour right here on HLN.
What Lindsay Lohan told Jay Leno is causing shock waves. You`re going to hear it next right here on ISSUES.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why is America giving Lindsay Lohan, the poster child for addiction and out-of-control behavior, a standing ovation? That`s exactly what Lilo got on Jay Leno`s show even as she side steps jail again and gets another break from our broken justice system. Are we applauding her because we`re just like her?
And we`re just four days from the royal wedding and new controversy over who is on and off the guest list. Why is Fergie, the Duchess of York banned, but her kids are in? Is there a Royal Family feud? And we`re taking your calls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSAY LOHAN, ACTRESS: I know that I was ordered to go once a week. And I wasn`t, you know, I wasn`t the missing the classes. I`m not doing anything like that -- I was working mostly. In Morocco, the trip, I was working with children. It wasn`t a vacation. It wasn`t some sort of a joke.
And I respect you and I`ve been taking it seriously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What a soliloquy. What is worse than Lindsay Lohan getting another chance, another chance again -- the fact that she got a standing ovation when she appeared on NBC`s "Tonight Show".
Seriously, this young woman continually thumbs her nose at the criminal justice system as she gets a standing ovation? Aren`t we just saluting bad behavior? After all, Lindsay is fresh out of jail again. She was slapped with a probation violation for allegedly stealing that necklace from the jewelry store.
Lindsay shared some of her brilliant insights on her legal predicament during a taping of NBC`s "Tonight Show" with host Jay Leno. This clip will air tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOHAN: I`m not a kid anymore. I`m 24.
JAY LENO, TALK SHOW HOST: Yes.
LOHAN: I`ve made a lot of mistakes and I recognize that but I`m in the clear now and I feel like as long as I stay focused, then I will be able to achieve what I want to achieve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hello? Lindsay, what are you talking about, in the clear? I hate to break it to you, but you face 120 days in jail for probation violation and for a trial allegedly stealing that necklace. Ok? You face a trial as well for allegedly stealing that necklace. Not to mention, you have been sentenced to almost 500 hours of community service at the morgue and on skid row.
Lindsay, you are nowhere near being in the clear. The only reason you`re not in jail right now is because your lawyer`s appealing your probation violation.
Now, Lindsay Lohan is an addict and while she may be in recovery, she`s certainly no role model considering her elitist you-can`t-touch-me attitude. What do you think? Call me 1-877-JVM-SAYS.
Straight out clinical psychiatrist, Dr. Dale Archer. Dr. Dale, is America applauding Lindsay and giving her a standing ovation because we`re an addict nation suffering from the same issues as she? After all, a shocking new report just out says Americans take 80 percent of the world`s prescription painkillers. We`re 5 percent of the world`s population; we take 80 percent of the world`s prescription painkillers.
DR. DALE ARCHER, CLINICAL PSYCHIATRIST: Yes, we`re basically supporting Lindsay Lohan because we`re living vicariously through her. And the younger generation today says who doesn`t want to be rich, famous, powerful, and be able to thumb their nose at authority and get a pass on everything you do, knowing that the rules don`t apply to you, knowing that you`re always going to get off.
And in our reality TV culture of today, every person thinks, you know what, that could be me. I could be rich, famous and powerful like that. So yes, we are supporting that behavior Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Have you ever heard of a pill mill? That`s what a lot of people call Broward County, Florida, an area with more pain clinics, a.k.a. pill clinics, than fast food restaurants. Every day in Florida seven people OD from prescription drugs.
In 2009 in Florida, a young man named Blaine Lewis died in a drug- related car accident, prescription drugs. Ok? It`s unbelievable what`s happening down in Florida in terms of these pill mills.
Now, I`m very happy to have his mother with us tonight. Renee Doyle, you lost your son to pill addiction. You have now become a leader in this movement to wake America up to this prescription drug crisis which has totally surpassed illegal drugs in terms of the number of people OD`ing.
How did your son die, and how did drugs, and which drugs played a role in your son`s death?
RENEE DOYLE, SON WAS A PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICT: My son was killed by a hit-and-run driver but before that, two weeks before that he overdosed. And when I was in the ICU with him he explained to me about the pill mills and how they doctor shop and they go from one pain clinic to another. And he could get 240 30 milligrams of oxycodone and an additional 120 15 milligrams of oxycodone, 90 Xanax, 60 soma.
I don`t know of anybody that`s in that much pain and then just go to the next pain clinic. This is what is happening in south Florida. It`s an epidemic killing our children.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So he was in a drug haze -- was he in a drug haze --
DOYLE: Yes, he was --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- when he was hit by the car and that was a factor in his death?
DOYLE: He was in a drug haze, yes, he was. I was just coming back from my grandson who was born the day before. And I was at the hospital visiting my grandson and I truly believe in my heart that he was walking to the hospital. He was walking in that path way and as I was driving by, I passed him but he was covered and I didn`t know it was my son.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, my gosh. Our hearts go out to you.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go ahead.
DOYLE: Thank you. Thank you.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you have guilt? You shouldn`t have guilt.
DOYLE: And I got the visit --
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You shouldn`t have any guilt. This is not something that any parent could stop. I`m a recovering drug alcoholic. I`m a recovering alcoholic. There`s nothing that a parental unit could do to stop my alcoholism. Only I can stop it; which I did thankfully one day at a time 16 years ago. And let`s knock on wood that I stay sober.
DOYLE: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Was Lindsay Lohan sincere in her interview with NBC`s the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno? You be the judge. Check her out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LENO: At what point did you realize, oh, my God, I could lose this? It could slip away from me?
LOHAN: I think that when, you know, being young and being in a position that I was in, you don`t really take the time to appreciate what you`ve -- you know, what you have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Perhaps people are in love with Lindsay because many of us are just like her.
A shocking new study shows 80 percent of all prescription drugs in the world are sold in the United States. We`re talking about painkillers. Remember the drugs Lindsay had in her system when she was drug tested last year? She tested positive for amphetamines, opiates, which are considered very serious drugs. Some of them have been compared in strength to morphine or heroin. We`re talking Adderall and Dilaudid. But this was not considered a violation because Lindsay was prescribed these drugs by a doctor.
Hello? That`s a problem. Most of the pills that people are taking across the country are prescribed by doctors. They can still become addicted.
I`d like to go out to Nikki, who is a recovering pill addict and we keep her in silhouette because she used prescription pills and sold them.
Nikki, a lot of people don`t really understand what the typical addict looks like today. It`s not some guy on the street, who is homeless and who is a crack head. It`s a middle class person who has a home, has a job, and who is often has good standing in the community.
So let`s look at you. We can`t show your face, but tell us who you are and what you got hooked on.
NIKKI, RECOVERING PILL ADDICT: Yes, I`m a soccer mom. I have two sons. And I was at every school event. I never missed anything. I`m from an upper class neighborhood. You would never in a million years think that there was anything, quote-unquote, "wrong" with me. I`m well educated.
I had an injury and the injury took me to the doctor. And unfortunately, I couldn`t control. Once the opiates got into my system, I needed more and more and more until the point that I couldn`t control what was going into my body.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And what were you taking?
NIKKI: I was taking Oxycontin, Sentinel (ph), Percocet, Vicodin, you know, and that led me back to cocaine as well. I mean once that is in your body, you really have no control over it.
And you know, when I got caught taking it, I did the same thing as Lindsay. I turned on the water works. All the people around me, I explained to them why I truly needed this and how truly sorry I was. And I probably could have gotten a standing ovation as well.
But we know the truth. She knows the truth. She doesn`t -- you know, when she`s alone and by herself, she feels something completely different.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Becky, Texas, your question or thought, quickly, if I can. Becky?
BECKY, TEXAS (via telephone): Hello?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hello. Your question or thought, ma`am; quickly, if you could.
BECKY: Yes. This is regarding Lindsay Lohan.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
BECKY: And I just would like to say that I would like to be judge for a day in Los Angeles; that I would clean house, people like her and Paris Hilton would not be on the news every night whining and crying and getting chance after chance to --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me jump in and go back to Renee Doyle, then. Last word -- by applauding these people who thumb their nose at the system and celebrate their bad behavior, are we prolonging this prescription pill crisis?
DOYLE: Yes, we are. Yes, we are. Yes. We need to stand firm and wipe out this epidemic. Tell the parents to get into their medicine cabinets, get involved, you know. Watch their children, be aware of what their surroundings and we want to close these pain clinics in Florida.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, we have to. Thank you, fabulous panel.
Close the pain clinics. For more on this story, Dr. Drew tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern and check out "Addict Nation". It`s my book. If you`re grappling with an addiction or know someone who is, you can find out what you can do about it. "Addict Nation" available at amazon.com; read it and get liberated from addiction.
The Royal Family up next. Are you addicted?
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MARK FLANAGAN, ROYAL CHEF, BUCKINGHAM PALACE: Well, obviously the closer we get to the actual service period, the tension will ramp up.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Even the royal chef is getting the jitters about Friday`s royal wedding. It`s getting closer and closer. I seriously doubt Prince William and Kate have a very big RSVP no list but there are a few awkward family situations.
Can you say Fergie, Duchess of York? Like how Fergie, the shamed ex- wife of Prince Andrew will not be coming to the wedding, not invited? But her ex-husband and their two daughters are invited.
Royal watchers say Fergie has been a constant embarrassment ever since she was photographed having her toes sucked by her financial advisor. Ouch.
On that note, straight out to our exclusive HLN royal wedding contributor Lisa Vanderpump and her fabulous pooch, Jiggy. Lisa is royalty in her own right, on the hit show "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills". We`re going to be chatting with Lisa all week as the royal wedding day approaches.
So, Lisa, Fergie says she already has plans for April 29th but I`m pretty sure she would have broken them had she gotten an invitation. Just to recap and review, we have her doing the weight loss commercials and we have her being caught on camera selling access to her ex-husband for something like $700,000. I guess that`s stuff you just can`t recover from in terms of your reputation with the royals.
LISA VANDERPUMP, "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS": Well, Jane, I just think it`s a shame, though. I think when the princesses had been invited, you know, they are going to be there. Their mother has to be there with them. I mean united we stand, divided we fall.
I personally had dinner with the duchess a couple of weeks ago and I know she`s devastated not being invited. And I think they`ve made a big mistake with that. I really do. I feel quite strongly about it.
I think she should be invited. And she should -- even if she wasn`t standing with her daughters, she should absolutely be present at the ceremony.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, if only for her daughters. Imagine how tormented they must feel because of divided loyalties. Either they get to celebrate the big day but they have to leave their mother behind. That kind of reminds me of those Bronte sister novels.
VANDERPUMP: Exactly. And that`s -- I think it`s very embarrassing for them as well. I think the whole thing has been handled very badly along with the Spencers, you know, having to sit on the other side of the church. I don`t know. It doesn`t sit well with me. I really think the duchess should have been invited 100 percent. And I think nobody knows quite what went down, you know, and that whole issue. And so, it`s bygones be bygones. Let`s move on.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And I know if you were going to royal wedding, there`s somebody you would take and that`s Jiggy. Jiggy would go right with you even in your purse.
VANDERPUMP: Yes, absolutely.
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VANDERPUMP: I`m taking Jiggy there.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. My big issue tonight, is there some kind of Royal Family feud brewing? Probably not, but, hey, we`re talking about it. Right? This is all in good fun.
We wish this couple -- this beautiful, attractive couple, who really - - all reports are they are really sweet, sweet young people -- the very best. But there is talk that Kate doesn`t want to wear a traditional jeweled tiara and instead wants to wear a crown of flowers. I, for one, think that`s a fabulous idea and I applaud her and I hope she does it.
But apparently Prince Charles` wife is not too happy about the tiara of flowers and wants her to wear something a lot more formal. Now, this is the woman who had an affair allegedly, purportedly with Prince Charles even when he was married to William`s mother, Diana.
So Rob Shuter, PopEater`s "Naughty but Nice" columnist, what on earth does Camilla come off -- where does she come off having any kind of say about what Kate is wearing on her head?
ROB SHUTER, COLUMNIST, POPEATER`S "NAUGHTY BUT NICE": I think like every family, when you`re planning a wedding, there is different opinions about what people think is appropriate. And I think that the new wife of Prince Charles, Camilla, believes that she should be wearing a tiara. And that`s her prerogative. She is probably not going to wear one but I think she has the right to say it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I wonder, though, if the two you`re looking at here, Prince Charles and Camilla, might be a little miffed, either subconsciously or consciously, that Will and Kate are more popular than they are and the vast majority of people would like to see Will and Kate leap over them to ascend to the throne, should that time arrive.
Jim, Oregon, you`re question or thought sir, quickly.
JIM, OREGON (via telephone): Yes, Jane. It`s good talking to you again.
Jane, I don`t know why anybody`s making such a huff about Fergie not being invited. Families have a lot of problems and I, myself, have two brothers that are blood brothers that I would not invite to my wedding. Some things just cannot be fixed and she`s putting (INAUDIBLE) in a real spot.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I think you put it exactly where it needs to be. We`ve got to realize that royalty or not, this is a wedding and families have their feuds and their differences. It just is a fact of life. Whether you`re royal or not, you`re still a human being.
Keep it on HLN for all the royal wedding coverage; "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`S" Brooke Anderson in London for the ceremony. I`m going to be dishing on all the news, Friday evening as well. That`s this Friday.
Stay right there.
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PRINCE WILLIAM, UNITED KINGDOM: I`m actually excited; quite happy when the mystery`s (ph) over. But no, well she`s excited and we`re looking forward to spending the rest of the times and the rest of our lives together.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: What an attractive couple. Prince Harry, the groom`s brother is the best man so naturally he`s got to put together a best man speech. He told "Good Morning America" what he`s planning.
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PRINCE HARRY, UNITED KINGDOM: I`m doing the speech, along with a couple of his friends. So, you know, I`ll tell them a (INAUDIBLE). I will have a few stories. And I think my grandmother will be there so I`ll have to be selective, as one will say. But the speech will be like any normal best man speech between the three of us.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: And of course the grandmother Harry is referring to is the Queen of England.
Lisa Vanderpump, I want to ask you about the whole class issue because much has been made of the fact that Kate Middleton`s mom was a flight attendant at one point and they are commoners. Is that something that is really that important in today`s Britain with the Royal Family today?
VANDERPUMP: Well, actually, Jane, Lady Bowles-Lyon, the queen mother was a commoner, technically even though she`s a lady. When you`re below a certain peerage you`re actually a commoner and so was Lady Diana. So technically she`s not alone in that.
But I think she`s had so much training and I think they`ve integrated her so slowly I think she`s going to do very well. I think she`s a lot better prepared than 19-year-old Lady Diana. I really -- I think she`s going to be in a much better position.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Rob Shuter, some say Lady Diana, even though she might have technically been a commoner had, I know, old blood is red but they call it blue-blood. What do you know?
SHUTER: Definitely. Diana was brought up on a very, very fancy, fancy estate. She lived almost in a castle. Princess Diana`s bloodline goes back a long way. I didn`t ever think Diana was a commoner.
This lady has a very, very different upbringing than Princess Diana and surprisingly it`s actually going to help her because I think it`s made her much more down-to-earth and much more regular which is what Prince William seems to like about her.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Amy, New York, your question or thought?
AMY, NEW YORK: excuse me for my voice. But really I think Kate brings so much more to the Royal Family. Yes, she`s a commoner and, yes, the entire state is going to love her. But I think William did a really good job. She`s intelligent; she`s strong. William is a prince without a princess. He has Diana`s disposition. God love him for it. I think she`s headstrong and I think she can actually pull it off without (INAUDIBLE).
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Amy, very well put and I think your voice is delightful.
Lisa Vanderpump, obviously Diana was a rock star. She had that common touch. She really captured people`s hearts. Can Kate Middleton do the same or is it unfair to even compare her to Diana?
VANDERPUMP: I think it`s an unfair comparison, really. But I think as long as Kate Middleton maintains that approachability that Princess Diana had, I think that`s very important. I think she will. I think a lot of lessons have been learned from Princess Diana and she took away a lot of the austerity that the Royal Family had before. So hopefully she`ll take a leaf from her book.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I loved when Diana said I want to be queen of people`s hearts and she really had an aristocracy that had nothing to do with where you were born or how much money you had.
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VANDERPUMP: Yes. The way she knelt down to the children, the way she held the hands of the AIDS patients, you know, she started to break down barriers which the Royal Family hadn`t done before.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: More in a moment.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: This definitely will not be your typical royal wedding. Prince William and Kate are doing a lot of things their royal relatives had never done like asking guests to contribute to a fund that save endangered black rhinos in Kenya and also having a green wedding of sorts. Invitations printed on recycle paper, greenery and flowers donated. This really reflects, Rob, their identity as individuals, right?
SHUTER: Absolutely. This wedding is going to be so green, even the engagement ring has been recycled.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Really? I like it. Go ahead Lisa.
VANDERPUMP: Even the Duchess of Cornwall has been recycled Rob.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It will be interesting to see just how green it is. I would love to see a vegan wedding. That would be the way to be really green because that`s the biggest cause of global warming. So we`ll have to see how green it is.
Thank you both.
Nancy Grace up next.
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