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Jane Velez-Mitchell
Casey Anthony Forced Back to School?; Should Parents Have Known Better?; Saving the Hurricane Animals; Police Search Home of Missing Woman`s Husband; Families Argue Over Reality Star`s Suicide
Aired August 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)
MIKE GALANOS, HOST (voice-over): Just one day after Susan Powell`s father-in-law makes disturbing claims that he had a sexual relationship for her, his son`s wife, cops scour the home he shares with his son. They say they have probable cause. Do they finally have proof to crack this case?
And Casey Anthony goes back to school. Is she really going to hit the books while she`s on probation?
Plus a Florida couple`s pet python strangles the woman`s toddler to death. Now the two are facing years behind bars. So why are they blaming Casey Anthony for their conviction?
ISSUES starts now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GALANOS: Hi, everyone. I`m Mike Galanos in for Jane Velez-Mitchell. Jane will be back on Monday. We`ll look into those stories in a moment. Excuse me.
First, though, some breaking news. Keeping a close eye on this massive storm, Hurricane Irene. Coming up, I`m going to talk to somebody who`s riding out the storm in her home on the water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators won`t say exactly what they`re looking for in the house Josh shares with his father.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We arrived. Everybody seemed pretty surprised to see us.
JOSH POWELL, SUSAN POWELL`S HUSBAND: I don`t know where she`s at. I don`t even know where to start looking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s been slandering Susan. We felt like it was time to step up and speak for Susan.
J. POWELL: They made up a lot of things about me, things that have obviously gotten them nowhere. They never will.
I -- I didn`t do anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: So tonight, is there new evidence in the case of missing Utah mom Susan Powell, who vanished nearly two years ago? It wasn`t until yesterday that police searched the Washington home where her husband, Josh, lives with his dad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today we served a search warrant with the West Valley City Police Department on Josh Powell`s residence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is just a step that has taken us a while to get to. We finally reached the step. We had the probable cause that we needed to be inside the home and inside the vehicles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: Now police took out some boxes and computers. They say they were looking for something specific here. Won`t say what.
The focus landed squarely on Josh Powell after his wife vanished in 2009. His story about a camping trip with their little sons in freezing cold conditions. And he`s like forgetting what day it is. Let`s face it: it`s a farfetched story.
Police have never called, though, Josh a suspect. He, though, has been dubbed a person of interest. They say the timing of yesterday`s search has nothing to do with the staggering claims made by Josh`s dad this week. We were floored when we heard this on "Good Morning America."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE POWELL, JOSH`S FATHER: Susan was very -- very sexual with me. She was very flirtatious. We interacted in a lot of sexual ways, because Susan enjoys doing that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think a part of you started falling in love with Susan?
S. POWELL: That`s pretty likely, yes. I mean, yes, I would say so. And -- and there`s no question in my mind that the feelings were mutual.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: Who goes on national television and says that? I, for one, think it is sick. And it`s got to make -- make you wonder if police are looking at Steve Powell, the dad here, in a whole new light.
Straight out to Andrew Adams, reporter, KSL News.
The Powells claim police were searching the home for Susan`s journals. What more do we know?
ANDREW ADAMS, REPORTER, KSL NEWS: Well, yes, that is the primary item they were looking for on the search warrant. Of course, that is according to Josh and Steve Powell. They talked about it a little bit further.
And then we also understand from Steve Powell -- he talked to us earlier today -- that they took his own personal journal. Also took some photographs and videos that he contends actually prove his relationship with Susan and also some computers, as well. And anybody who was standing outside the residence can see some evidence bags being carried away, as well.
GALANOS: And why now? As I mentioned, Josh`s story has been shaky all along. You`re taking your toddlers camping in the middle of the night in freezing temperatures. So why now? We have the issue searching abandoned mines in Nevada and now the search of the homes. What`s going on?
ADAMS: Well, I mean, it certainly is curious. I mean, it is the million-dollar question: why now? I mean, December 6, 2009, I mean, that`s when this all started. That was the last time that Susan Powell was last seen. And the trail had gone quiet, at least to this point. Went out to Ely for that search, and there were a lot of questions there. What were they looking for. And you know, could she really have wound up so far away from Salt Lake City? Especially on a night, if you believe that that was when she was never seen again, where it was snowy, it was cold. A long road down to Ely, Nevada. It`s a good 240 miles away from Salt Lake City. So I mean, those are some questions that certainly, you know, we don`t have the answer to.
Also, police in both cases, also with the Washington search, as well, saying they`re following up on prior -- prior search warrants, just trying to develop some things, and it`s curious.
Let`s bring in our criminal profiler, Pat Brown. Pat, what do you make of this.
Again, we`ve been looking suspiciously at Josh Powell since day one, since he told the story of the camping trip after there was so much suspicion around him. Why do you think now is the time? Why do you think it`s taken so long?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: I think, Mike, I`ve just been hoping up until this point they would simply stumble across her, there would be some evidence that would lead them somewhere. They`ve just been looking at everything for so long.
And I want to say that I believe Josh Powell when he says, "I didn`t do anything." He didn`t do anything, but he did do something. And that something is probably exactly what we think it is. Especially because he came out with that really ridiculous story about her cleaning the rug. I mean, you can not claim she`s running away from home, leaving her children, her husband and everything behind her, but she`s concerned that she`s going to leave a stained rug for you. I mean, that is a ludicrous story.
So I think what`s happening now is police are going back over everything. They`re looking for any kind of information that might lead them to know where he might have put her, because people tend to go to places they`re familiar with. Maybe a place they camped once, they fished once, they traveled to once. So maybe they`ve gone back over that and come across some interesting locations they think they should check out.
GALANOS: Let`s -- Josh Powell gave an interview to "Good Morning America." And you wonder, what was the relationship like? There`s been a lot of stories about that, between Josh and Susan. How was the marriage? Was it a strained marriage? Did he still love her?
So on "Good Morning America," he was asked that very question: do you still love Susan, even though she`s been missing all this time and all this suspicion surrounds you? Let`s listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you kill your wife?
J. POWELL: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you have anything to do with the disappearance of your wife?
J. POWELL: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing?
J. POWELL: Nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you still love her?
J. POWELL: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: Let`s bring in a clinical psychologist, Jeff Gardere. Jeff, good to see you, by the way. You hear that.
JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Set the scene (ph).
GALANOS: That long pause there, what do you make of that? And what`s going on in Josh Powell`s mind as he gives that answer?
GARDERE: And I think Pat might be able to add onto something to this, too. When the interviewer says, "Did you kill your wife," he blinks as he says no.
And then he has that long pause, Mike, as you talked about. His eyes kind of roll up in his head like he`s thinking about it. There`s nothing to think about. If you didn`t do it, you`re going to answer right away. So that`s very incriminating in itself just looking at his body language.
Pat, let`s let you weigh in on that, as we heard that answer.
BROWN: Yes. They`re also very simple answers, so you know, he can answer those -- although, like Jeff says, there`s a lit bit of that pause. What I think is funny is when asked about does he still love Susan? Well, it`s interesting that he still loves his daddy, because his daddy apparently was having an affair with his wife, according to Dad. But that didn`t bother him during the marriage, doesn`t bother him now. So you have to question what does -- what does he even consider love to mean?
GALANOS: OK. We -- let`s go to it. Steve Powell, this is Josh`s dad. And I want to say this: I`m repulsed by what I hear from this man. No man would go on national television, basically saying you want to have sex with your son`s wife. But that`s what Steve Powell has done.
He even went to the point where he wrote a song -- again, this is his son`s wife, Susan Powell. Let`s listen to a little bit of that as we kind of glean where Steve Powell is coming from.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
S. POWELL (singing): You were my first love. I could hear your voice before I knew you. Your heartbeat was calling to me through you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: All right. Before I get everybody else in, I want to get our Joey Jackson in on this. And let`s not comment on the singing at this point, Joey. But is it time that Mr. Steve Powell lawyers up?
JOEY JACKSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Oh, absolutely. Listen, I think obviously there`s something amiss here. And I think the strangeness of the relationship between the father, too, adds another level of complexity. Was it Josh who had anything to do with it?
The story is additionally strange because the kids are 4 and 2. Again, it`s the middle of the night, as you suggested. There are freezing cold temperatures. He doesn`t show up for work the next day. He doesn`t return until 5 p.m.. He leaves town three weeks later. And so there`s a real problem here from a defense perspective in terms of how you do it. I think the police right now are searching for anything.
Now just quickly, Mike, the good news is that, because it could potentially be murder -- we hope not. Maybe she`s missing or, as he suggested, she ran off with another man. But the good news is, there`s no statute of limitations for murder. So there`s no reason at all for the police to jump the gun. They`re going to move in, and when they feel it appropriate and that they have enough evidence, they will do the right thing here.
And I think in terms of the search warrant of the house, they`re looking for information, not only as to what obviously happened to her or the diaries or anything else that would explain it, but what if any involvement might Steve have had in this whole thing? We will find out.
GALANOS: We`re going to hit a lit bit more on that. Again, my point, who goes on national television and basically emasculates your son like that? We`ll talk about that coming up.
Stay right there, by the way.
A pet python -- talk about horror -- kills a toddler. Well, now the child`s mom and her boyfriend, they`re facing years in prison. I`m going to talk to their lawyer.
But first, more on this police raid at Susan Powell`s father-in-law. He`s speaking out about their alleged sexual relationship. Really?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you want to accuse my daughter of being promiscuous and everything else.
S. POWELL: Susan had a very troubled childhood. She was suicidal. She told Josh, and it`s in her journals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no, no.
S. POWELL: She told Josh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J. POWELL: A lot of times I just go camping with my boys, you know, not -- not anything big. I just go overnight, and we do s`mores and stuff like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: That was Josh Powell, 2009, days after his wife, Susan, vanished. This week, Josh`s dad went on national TV and made some jaw- dropping claims. Check this out. It`s on NBC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
S. POWELL: She had just waxed her legs. She would invite me to feel her thighs because they`re nice and smooth. And, you know, I was willing to pass judgment by the touch test or whatever.
She was very flirtatious and very sexual with people. I mean, there was a lot of titillation going on. Sometimes -- frankly, sometimes I wish we had done a little more than we did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: That`s despicable. That is despicable that a father would talk about his son`s wife like that. And that`s my humble opinion in all this. I`m going to go back. Criminal profiler Pat Brown.
Beyond that, Pat, let`s get back to the case here. Does that seem credible to you at all? Because Susan says no. Let me give you the back story real quick.
They lived -- when they first got married, they lived in the same home as the dad, and she felt creeped out from the beginning and tried to put a curtain up around the dining room for some privacy. She claims he was looking in on her. Then you hear him, and he was saying it`s all mutual.
BROWN: Right.
GALANOS: Who you believing here, Pat?
BROWN: Yes. Let`s really weigh these things out here. We`ve got a guy who apparently has no morals, no ethics, would go behind the back of his own son to have sex with his wife, essentially and think it`s perfectly fine. But we already know what he is. Can we say probably psychopathic?
Then we`ve got a son whose wife goes missing. No mind missing; he has no concerns over that. Goes back to Dad, gets back together with Dad, says terrible things about his wife. Can we say maybe psychopathic?
So what my biggest fear is, the two little boys have to grow up with this wonderful male role models in the house. Even that`s charming. So I would like to see this case come to a conclusion and get the boys out of there.
GALANOS: Yes. I`m going to bring you Jeff Gardere. Jeff, we could do an hour on this alone, I`m sure, as you look at this guy. OK. This could go two ways. This could just be a smokescreen that they`re trying a smear campaign on Susan. Beside that, from all -- from some accounts, we`ll say this father-in-law had eyes for his son`s wife. Who does that? What father-in-law eyes up and down their son`s wife?
GARDERE: Someone who is a psychopathic personality. Pat is absolutely correct on that. Maybe a narcissistic personality.
But I`m overjoyed that this man, Steve Powell, has come out with these revelations, whether -- whether they`re made up, whether they`re real, because now it gives us a better insight into a very dysfunctional home, a dysfunctional home in which his son Josh Powell grew up in. And I think it really shines a light that there was something really wrong in that household, in that family, which gives us more evidence that this woman is not missing, that something really bad happened to her. All of the wrong pieces are there.
GALANOS: You`re absolutely right.
Real quick on the other side of that, if this is your father -- again, I want to get your take on it, Jeff -- I think Josh Powell has got some serious issues if that guy is your dad. Because there are accounts that he knew his father was kind of coming on to his wife and didn`t do a thing about it. Talk about emasculation from your own dad.
GARDERE: Well, then we have to look at. And I agree with you: was that something that was a motive for him to now be disconnected from his wife or to even begin to hate his wife? And therefore, does that give him some sort of modus operandi to act out against her in some way.
The fact that he says that he believes she ran away with another guy. How many times have we heard that before? And we know that leads to something really, really bad.
And if nothing else, we know that this woman was not -- they said many bad things about her, his family, but we know that she was not a bad mother. If she could simply divorce him, why would she run away with another man, never to see her kids again? So the whole thing is hooey.
GALANOS: Let`s listen to -- this is Jennifer Graves. This is the daughter of Steve Powell, the guy in question we`re talking about, Josh`s sister. And that she is confirming that her dad made unwanted advances towards Susan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER GRAVES, JOSH`S SISTER: Susan did not like my dad. She was uncomfortable being around him. He had made advances towards her.
When they were in the car and my dad offered to her that they could share, Josh and he could just share her.
The book that he gave -- that he gave her of Mel Gibson pictures, and he had slipped a bunch of nude photos of men in between the pages.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: Well, that obviously leads to one of many questions: are Josh and dad covering up for each other here? Pat, let`s go back to you on that.
BROWN: Yes, I`d go with that. I mean, it`s very unusual to find a daughter, or a sister who will be that blatantly honest and go against her male kin folk. Usually, they`re the ones that go, "Oh, no, he wouldn`t do that." It`s usually the guys that are more realistic and say, "Yes, that guy, he`s like that." Usually, the women don`t.
So since women don`t and she`s doing it, my guess is she`s right on the money there. She is telling it like it is. This is a sick dynamic between the father and the son, and, unfortunately, I think Susan Powell is just an object to both of them. And when she didn`t give them each what they wanted, they both got angry with her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know who I hear sorry for in all this?
GALANOS: And let`s point out that they`re living together, by the way.
GARDERE: With the little kids.
GALANOS: And that stinks.
What about the little kids in the midst of this environment? You know who I feel sorry for, though? Chuck Cox, Susan`s dad, not -- the daughter, and he`s praying that she`s alive, praying for that miracle, but it sounds in interviews they could be resigned to the fact that the worst has happened here.
But yet that now he`s got to worry about also defending his daughter`s reputation from these two? Let`s listen to that. He was on ISSUES. Let`s listen to Chuck Cox, Susan`s dad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me your reaction to these unreal claims, these unbelievable claims that Susan, your daughter, had an inappropriate sexual relationship with her father-in-law?
COX: Absolutely not. There`s no way this is true. This is a clear attack upon my daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: You know, bottom line, I don`t know how Chuck Cox doesn`t haul off and punch Steve Powell in the mouth. That`s just me.
And I want to thank everyone. We`re going to stay all over this story.
Well, Casey Anthony, her plans for probation revealed. What does the future hold?
And the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" backlash after the death of Russell Armstrong. Stick around for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of issues in my marriage are definitely addressed this year.
POWELL: Two weeks before he died, he took himself off his anti- depression medication, those are things that can be made up.
There are graphic photos, showing Taylor Armstrong with a cut on the right side of her face from her mouth to her eye socket.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, ANCHOR: Taylor tried to keep those injuries under wraps.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said, "This is the way reality TV is." I said, "Russell, this is brutal."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: The drama never ends in the "Housewives" circuit. Tonight, we`re learning that Russell Armstrong`s wife, Taylor, "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," isn`t even invited to her husband`s funeral in Texas. Turnabout is fair play, because Taylor Armstrong held a memorial for her husband this week in Los Angeles, and none of Russell`s Texas relatives showed up. Not even his mom.
Russell Armstrong committed suicide last week, following reports of financial ruin, domestic abuse, chronicled on the Bravo reality show.
Straight out to Alexis Tereszcuk, Radar Online reporter. Help us understand this. Two funerals? Two sets of mourners? What`s the tale (ph) here?
ALEXIS TERESZCUK, SCENE REPORTER: The family is feuding. Taylor Armstrong is not a favorite of Russell`s family. They hate her. They feel like she drove him to this suicide. They feel it was her love of the money and the lifestyle that caused him to overextend himself and ultimately, to commit suicide.
So they`ve been battling over his remains. They`d split up. He was cremated, his body, and think split up his ashes.
GALANOS: Wait a minute.
TERESZCUK: His family is keeping half, and Taylor is keeping half.
GALANOS: Part of his remains are in Texas, and part are staying in California.
TERESZCUK: Yes, absolutely. That`s how nasty this battle has become between the two families. So Taylor had a memorial service in Los Angeles, and the family is having one in Texas, and they`re not attending either one of them. They even talked -- the family wants to sue -- they want to sue Bravo. They`re really mad about their son`s death. And they really hold Taylor responsible.
GALANOS: What are they going to do if he shows up on the show at all? Talking about mom.
TERESZCUK: The mom has threatened to sue Bravo. She said she doesn`t want to see a single frame of her son. Everybody in his extended family, even his stepbrother says, you know, if the parents don`t sue, I want to sue. They are piping mad.
GALANOS: What`s Bravo saying? I mean, can we expect to see him? I mean, are they going to stick to their guns and do what they want? Do we have any idea?
TERESZCUK: They may be -- they may be toning it down a lit bit, but they`re not going to cut him out entirely. You know, this is Taylor`s livelihood now. She`s in the show. She needs to be a part of the show. She`s got to make money with her daughter. So they`re going to keep her in.
And they might change it a lit bit, but it was a very honest season. You know, they had therapy. They signed away, you know, rights to keep that private. They are going to show that on the show. They have a lot of really dark secrets about the two of their relationship, and they might want to show it on the season.
GALANOS: I want to hit on more reality housewives drama. This time out of New Jersey. Housewife Jackie Levine`s (ph) ex-husband, father of their daughter, Ashley, arrested along with his current wife. What, insurance fraud here? Is that -- is he a big part of her life?
TERESZCUK: You know, the dad is not a huge part of her life, but he actually just showed up on the show to do an intervention. So he`s been involved.
She defended him. Ashley said that her dad is not at fault.
But here`s the thing. His house burned down back in March. He got $429,000 from insurance. Well, now somebody has come forward and said, "We saw him at the house about 30 minutes before the fire started, throwing gasoline and kerosene on the house burned down."
GALANOS: Wow.
TERESZCUK: So there`s an investigation. He was jailed. He`s been charged with arson, insurance fraud. It`s a huge legal problem for him.
GALANOS: There`s our housewives update. Alexis, thanks so much.
Coming up, Casey Anthony back to school? What does the future hold for her?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s not allowed to drink too much or leave Orange County without permission. And she has to go to school or get a job.
CASEY ANTHONY, ACQUITTED FOR MURDER OF DAUGHTER: I just wanted to let everyone know I`m sorry for what I did.
Sorry -- sorry --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s going to be going to school online, but she has not requested that of our office.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST: She has been ordered back to the city where she is public enemy number one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice for Caylee. Justice for Caylee. Justice for Caylee.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re going to be treating her just like any other offender.
JUDGE BELVIN PERRY, PRESIDED OVER CASEY ANTHONY CASE: I`m also well aware of threats --
C. ANTHONY: Can someone let me -- come on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE GALANOS, HLN HOST: Things like that really fuel the fire of people against Casey Anthony. Now we see her. Where is she going next? Maybe she`s going to get some class. By that I mean she`s going back to school.
Hi everyone. Mike Galanos again, in for Jane Velez-Mitchell. Jane`s going to be back on Monday.
Casey Anthony has not been seen since she went on probation, well a couple of days ago when she reported at a secretive reporting for her security. But that`s not going to stop her from getting again that education. Reports say that Casey will enrol online college courses.
So we wonder why the sudden interest in earning a degree. Well, it`s because part of her probation entails getting a job. And because Casey can`t go anywhere without receiving death threats, she`s probably not going to opt for the typical 9:00 to 5:00 work day.
Check this out. That`s Casey`s signature on the probation order signed August 24th, a couple of days ago. This was just released by the Florida Department of Corrections to verify that Casey did register with them. Where? We still don`t know.
How serious though is Casey about a new career as a student.
Listen to Gretl Plessinger last night right here on ISSUES.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRETL PLESSINGER, PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIR., FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: Somewhere along the line, people believe that she was going to be doing school online, but she has not requested that of our office. So there were issues, people were concerned with that, allowing her to go to school instead of have a job. She has not requested that.
If she does request that from her probation officer, we`ll have to look at that at that time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: One big question here: did Casey ever even graduate from high school? Here`s a yearbook photo of her from Colonial High School in Orland. Her mom Cindy has said that Casey never got her diploma. She dropped out with just one half-credit to go.
We`re trying to clear things up for you in a number of fronts.
I want to go to Mike Walters from TMZ. Mike thanks again, for being with us. You guys are all over this story. What have you dug up? I mean we see this college; did she ever even get the GED to get out of high school?
MIKE WALTERS, ASSIGNMENT MANAGER, TMZ: Well, we looked into it and we have not been able to find out whether she actually got a high school diploma, but I am told by people close to her that she will go and get this GED and start the college courses.
Now, I don`t know if that means she didn`t graduate and she has to do that first. But I do know she`s starting online college courses. As of yesterday, she`s enrolling. And one of the reasons is like you said before, like you guys just heard, she has to either work or go to school.
The second reason is I`m told, obviously she`s now having to stay in Florida for a year under probation and it`s the most dangerous place probably in the country for her to be because of the fact that the concentrated area that she`s in doesn`t like her. These are the people that really are upset, besides everybody else.
So she has to stay indoors. She can`t really go to the mall and hang out or go work at a restaurant down the street from where she lives. She has to stay home. So this is a way she can go to school, start this process.
I am told she wants to do it so that she can try to better her life. The fact is that she was uneducated and some of the decisions she made in the past, we all know what some of those were, were a cause of her not having her life on track. She feels this is a way that she can get on the right road.
GALANOS: Ok. Any idea where she is? I was in Orlando when she was released and there was a fire for her. I`m not sure how much has subsided, Mike. Any idea where she could be?
WALTERS: I don`t know exactly where she is located. I do know they`re going to leave that address and all the information about her probation private in public record. But I can tell you, she drives to meet with the probation officer, so I guess that would tell you a little proximity to where she is. But I am told they`re also going to ask her to meet at different places and times with her probation officer so she`s not waltzing into the front door of the probation office so that people can yell at her or protest or cameras can`t get shots of her going in.
GALANOS: Let`s hit on a little bit of that Mike. That`s one of the major questions here. How can she stay safe?
As we take a look at some of the protesters, bottom line, they were calling for her head. Let`s watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Caylee. Caylee. Caylee. Caylee. Caylee. Caylee. Caylee.
Caylee. Caylee. Caylee. Caylee. Caylee.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No money for the killer. No money for the killer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: Ok, that`s a taste of what the fervor was like after the verdict and then some of those last shots, that was at the release. I was there with Jane as we watched. And it was like someone lit a match when they got a glimpse of Casey Anthony walking out of that jail.
So Mike Walters, back to you -- security, do we know anything about it. I mean is this a 24/7 lockdown right now for Casey Anthony somewhere?
WALTERS: Well, yes. I`m told she actually has her own 24-hour-a-day security staff that will be staying with her and going with her anytime or anywhere she goes out of her house.
But you guys just heard the chanting and the people. There`s no way this woman can get a job or go to college. Can you imagine if she went to the local community college and tried to take a class? It wouldn`t be possible. This is what would happen every time that she did that.
So, the one interesting point, and I can`t tell you the answer, but a lot of people are saying to me, listen, this woman doesn`t have any money. So what`s the -- how is she affording the 24-hour-a-day of security staff and all the stuff that comes with being Casey Anthony.
GALANOS: Yes.
WALTERS: I don`t know the answer to that, but I can tell you the online courses is something she`s going to start now and she hopes to stay as much indoors as possible for her safety.
GALANOS: Ok. Mike, always good talking to you, thanks again for the update.
I want to bring in Judge Larry Seidlin. We know the judge from the Anna Nicole Smith case and always some wisdom from the bench when we talk to Judge Seidlin.
Judge, is this the way it has to be for Casey Anthony right now with that fire? You were there in Orlando. You know what people are thinking and believing and feeling.
JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, PRESIDED OVER ANNA NICOLE SMITH CASE: We didn`t want to set her up for failure. You didn`t want to say to her you must get a job because any place she went to work, the store would go out of business. And you don`t want to require her to attend a college because she`d be ostracized and maybe violence would take place towards her.
They`re handling it well. They`re making special circumstances for her therefore she can survive and succeed. We don`t want her to fail. One of the reasons for probation is to rehabilitate the person and get her the proper therapy she needs.
GALANOS: Right.
SEIDLIN: She`s going to eventually have a golden ticket. She`s going to make a big living in America from different things that she`s going to be able to do. I think she`s going to wait until probation ends.
GALANOS: Yes.
SEIDLIN: Before she enters these other venues.
GALANOS: No, Judge is right. There`s got to be a cooling off here.
Joey Jackson, criminal defense attorney -- and I use the term -- I want to get that title out there again because I believe it`s those attorneys, Jose Baez and Cheney Mason, they`ve got to be the ones helping her out right now, don`t you think? Making sure she`s safe and has some money and she can live safely at this point?
JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It certainly seems likely. I think ultimately, Mike, there`s certainly going to be a payoff here somehow. I mean the judge alluded, what I think she`s going to make a fine living.
And interestingly enough, Mike, I think all of this attention helps her, why? It keeps her on the straight and narrow. If you have security detail around you all the time, if you can`t go anywhere any of the time, obviously you have to play your cards close to your vest, you have to stay home and what trouble can you get into there?
Because remember, in the event she would violate probation, now we have another issue where she could be returning to a penal institution. And so I think all of this helps her ultimately to straighten her life around, rehabilitate herself and become a productive member of this society.
She`s only 25. She`s got a long way to go. And let`s hope she spends those years in a way that would benefit her. Education is the first start. Do it online, be successful and who knows.
GALANOS: Here`s another thing to consider. Last month, Anne Fennell, one of the defense attorneys said Casey may be considering a legal career and told "People" magazine -- I`m quoting here -- "She`s been exposed to the criminal justice system, I think that might be a pursuit of hers. Whether it`s a paralegal or an advocate for social justice, I don`t know."
Ok. There`s that on the table. Judge, I want to get your take on that. You know what else I think. I think she`s got to have good people around her. My fear for her is that you`re going to get these parasites who want to hang on because of the celebrity. She needs good people, mentors, if you will, who are going to constantly put her in the right direction. Because, I mean if you get the O.J. Simpson style hangers on, we`ve got trouble in the future.
Judge, your thoughts on that?
SEIDLIN: I agree with you. You need, when you have fame or fortune, you need mentors around you. You need sort of like a bodyguard that protects you. You need it in the sports world, you need it in the entertainment world.
And hopefully the attorneys around her who did a splendid job during the trial, they`ll insulate her and protect. I believe she`ll be eventually in the entertainment world. There`s different forms of entertainment that`s going to fit what the public wants in her.
There`s going to be a great clamoring for her after this cooling out off period. In a year when this probation ends, there`s going to be a demand for her; magazines, interviews and all this stuff.
GALANOS: There`s still got to be the cooling off period. And think Michael Vick who came around him a great man like a Tony Dungy (ph). It`s going to take a team of people like that, I believe around Casey Anthony for her to have any kind of shot.
Judge it`s always good talking to you.
(CROSSTALK)
GALANOS: Straight ahead speaking of Casey Anthony, you have this Florida couple, irresponsible as their pet python strangles their toddler. They`re blaming Casey Anthony for the verdict in the sentence. I`m going to talk to their lawyer.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was in her crib sleeping and the snake got out of its cage somehow and went into the room and it was hungry, I guess and it started -- it bit her.
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(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok, what`s the problem? Tell me exactly what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our snake, we have a Burmese python. She`s about 12 feet long. She got out of the cage and got into the baby`s crib and strangled her to death. I`m going to kill the (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stay on the line, please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, God.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GALANOS: An unbelievable, horrific story out of Florida; a precious 2-year-old, little Shaianna Hare (ph) was strangled to death in her crib by the family`s pet Burmese python.
Shaianna`s mom, Gerrin Hare (ph) and live-in boyfriend, Charles Jason Darnell, sentenced to 12 years in prison for manslaughter, third degree murder and child neglect.
Cops say that the boyfriend owned two snakes, as a matter of fact, the python and a boa constrictor. The python lived in a tank with a quilt as the top, not secured lockdown, a quilt; that was the cover. And this snake had not been fed in a month. In fact, the snake should have weighed 100 pounds instead only weighed 13.5 pounds.
But the little girl was not the only one in danger. Two other small kids were sleeping in the same room. Despite the evidence, the defense is crying foul. Listen to who they`re blaming.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RHIANNON ARNOLD, CLIENT SENTENCED TO 12 YEARS IN PRISON: Certainly the fact that our case went the week after Casey Anthony was acquitted for all charges. After going 31 days allegedly without claiming that her child was missing definitely had an impact on my case -- certainly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: Now, the couple says the toddler`s death was a terrible accident. So were these two convicted because of Casey Anthony backlash or is this just an attempt to excuse an inexcusable crime?
Straight out to our exclusive guest, J. Rhiannon Arnold, the attorney for Charles Jason Darnell -- again, he owns the snake.
All right. I hear where you`re coming from. But let`s look at the facts of where I`m seeing it from. Your client did not have a permit. The snake was not properly caged. It had escaped several times before the deadly incident, wasn`t fed and became a deadly animal and ended up killing a toddler. What does Casey Anthony have to do with all that?
ARNOLD: I think that what you have to understand is here in the central Florida community, just two counties over, one week later is when we were hearing this case. Everyone in the media had been exposed to Casey Anthony. We`re simply saying that the fact that we were not able to ask about Casey Anthony and inquire of the jurors, that very well could have had an impact on what the jurors were thinking. And that`s not something we were allowed to ask.
GALANOS: Don`t you think you had an uphill battle? Considering all the facts that I went with and I don`t hear you disputing them either. It just sounds to me they were irresponsible. A quilt covering a cage? An unfed basically snake that had to have been very hungry and saw this beautiful toddler as food. They set the table for this tragedy.
ARNOLD: Well, you know, obviously you weren`t there in the court to hear the evidence. But, in fact, the snake didn`t belong to Mr. Darnell.
And I think what`s important to know is there was some background. This was a snake that had recently molted. That`s typically a time where a snake does not have an appetite and doesn`t want to eat. And even by your own admission with some things you just said in the lead-in, the snake had to pass by two other children and didn`t even bother them.
The snake had never been aggressive. It`s really no different than a dog that`s never been aggressive. It`s just something that we don`t see every day as pets sot it`s got a different stigma.
GALANOS: Well, if you did not feed a dog, let`s say a dog that`s -- a breed known for violence and you didn`t feed it and you ill advisedly and irresponsibly chained it, that dog is more apt to do something, same thing with this python. And I know that in the trial there was an expert who said you can`t tame a python.
Joey Jackson, let me get you in on this here. Do you think -- let me ask you Joey, again, we`re somewhat arguing the facts. And we know what the jury came back with and I think the jury got it right. But beyond that, could Casey Anthony and that verdict had anything to do with this?
JACKSON: With the utmost respect to Miss Arnold who I`m sure is a fabulous defense attorney Casey Anthony has nothing at all and would have nothing at all to do with it. Look, that dog is not going to hunt, that snake is not going to rattle. The fact of the matter is that when you have something like this, where you laid out the facts, I don`t need to, but how do you bring them around children.
Now briefly Mike, what ends up happening is, in our legal system, many people think that murder is I take a gun, I might kill someone. There`s different degrees of murder, manslaughter, recklessness. And whenever your negligent, that is, you fail to perceive the risk, or worse, you`re reckless, that you know there`s a risk but you consciously disregard it, a jury will hold you criminally responsible.
We don`t have to argue the facts, Mike. Why? Because a jury heard those facts and on those facts they rendered a conclusion and they rendered it loud and clear. I don`t care whether Casey Anthony was last week, the week before, last month or it never happened, I think on these facts, any jury could logically conclude that this was an irresponsible thing to have happen and as a result will hold the party accountable. That`s what happened here, period.
GALANOS: I want to bring in Stephen Hudak, who`s done very good work on this for the "Orlando Sentinel". Stephen --
STEPHEN HUDAK, "ORLANDO SENTINEL": Yes, sir.
GALANOS: Do you know the facts of the case.
HUDAK: I do.
GALANOS: You know the Casey Anthony story as well. Do you think that there was some Casey Anthony backlash here?
HUDAK: Honestly, my opinion is that from speaking to the foreperson of the jury, and we did ask that question, because it was around the same time period as the outrage and the Casey Anthony case was a national story. It was a logical question to ask the foreperson of the jury and she cut us off and said no, that had nothing to do with it. She didn`t know the facts about the Casey Anthony case, didn`t pay attention to it. And said it wasn`t part of their deliberation.
GALANOS: Ok. I want to thank my guests for joining me.
Coming up, it may be the worst storm to hit the northeast in 50 years, but we`re going to talk to someone who`s staying put.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is your biggest concern?
NICHOLAS K. COCH, QUEENS COLLEGE: The New Yorker.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?
COCH: Because they don`t listen. You can always tell a New Yorker but you can`t tell them very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: They don`t listen, huh. The East Coast -- no laughing matter -- taking a beating; first the earthquake shocked everybody and now Hurricane Irene. It has been 26 years since a hurricane this size hit New York City. That was Hurricane Gloria.
But it`s just been alluded to. It seems like the Big Apple -- you know it`s hard to order the mandatory evacuations. How is everyone going to dodge this thing? Talk about major gridlock.
But many memories of Hurricane Katrina come and one of the saddest, all the animals left behind -- just too many. What do you do? An animal is our family. It is our pets.
One of those who is going to ride it out in North Carolina, Kristy Lalonde from Edenton, to be exact. There we have a map for you here and as we look at things, it could take a good wallop.
Kristy, thanks for being with us. So why are you going to stay put here?
KRISTY LALONDE, NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENT: I`m sorry, say that again?
GALANOS: We know the storm is coming. You`re staying put. Why?
LALONDE: Well, well, now it is kind of late to leave. There is a lot of tourists that are -- that didn`t heed the warnings. And our highways are kind of clogged up. And, you know, we don`t want to be stuck on the highway, but most importantly we have -- we rescue animals. We have four here in our home. And, you know, we don`t know where we would go with four animals. And we would never leave them behind.
GALANOS: So what was the -- as you process this, here comes Irene and it looks like it is coming your way, were there thoughts of, ok, let`s pack our four animals and let`s go somewhere and just get out of the way?
LALONDE: Initially, no. I`ve been here in North Carolina since 1989. I`ve been through numerous hurricanes. I`ve been through Floyd, been through Isabel, and I didn`t really think it was much to worry about until yesterday. It really started hitting home.
And we contemplated it, but it is just not feasible. So we`re going to stick it out.
GALANOS: How are you going to ride it out? What`s your plan?
LALONDE: We picked up everything that can be a flying projectile. And we`re just staying up in our house. We do live in a -- a pretty sturdy foundation. And we just hope to make it through this one.
GALANOS: You know, and I was talking to my producer about this story, and that was one of the saddest scenes of many with Katrina, but just all the animals. I believe it is 250,000 had to be left behind abandoned. That`s got to be part of where your heart is on this when you look at -- our animals are pets, they`re family, right?
LALONDE: Yes. It is very disheartening. You know, I guess some people don`t have a choice and they have to leave their animals behind. During Hurricane Floyd, I had to be -- my family had to be taken out by the National Guard and they told that me I couldn`t take my dog. And I told them they would have to leave me there and take my children. And they eventually did let me take my dog.
But, you know, I guess some people don`t have a choice. And I`ve seen some pretty terrible horror stories of animals left behind.
GALANOS: Ok. Kristy, who is it? So it is you, your four animals, anybody else riding this out with you?
LALONDE: My husband, our daughter and our son.
GALANOS: Ok. Well, we wish you best.
LALONDE: Well, thank you.
GALANOS: Thanks for coming on. And we hope you have a good plan. You guys stay calm. Say your prayers and we hope to talk to you and, again, thank you so much. Stay safe.
More coming up. Stay with us.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEAU PIHLAJA, ACADEMIC ADVISER, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS: My name is Beau Pihlaja, I`m an academic adviser and lecturer at the University of Texas at el Paso, and my colleague Jessica Archuleta is a breakthrough woman.
Last spring, Jessica graduated with her bachelor`s degree in social work. That puts her in an elite group, only 2 percent of those who age out of foster care graduate. What makes Jessica unique is not only that she succeeded under difficult circumstances but now she`s also turning around and she`s working with a group here at the university called the Foster Homeless and Adopted Resources Group to mentor students who are coming out of a situation very similar to her own.
I hear Jessica asking what do you want to accomplish? What are your goals? And she`s creating possibilities for these students, but more importantly, she can say I`ve been where you`re at right now, I succeeded, and I`m going to help you succeed as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALANOS: I`m Mike Galanos. Jane will be back on Monday.
I want to let everybody know, "NANCY GRACE" is next. Take care.
END
