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Jane Velez-Mitchell
Long Island Serial Killer Working Alone?; Aruba Suspect Goes Free
Aired November 30, 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): Police now believe just one person slaughtered eight women, one man and a little girl and dumped their bodies along a desolate beach just outside New York City. I`ll talk to one of the victims` inconsolable mothers.
And yet another accuser in the Jerry Sandusky child rape scandal comes forward. This alleged victim says Sandusky sexually assaulted him more than 100 times when he was just a boy, and threatened his family to keep quiet. We`re investigating.
Plus, outrage from a missing woman`s boyfriend as the prime suspect in her disappearance is set free. Gerry Giordano waltzes out of prison, vaults back to the United States, and makes the media rounds. We`re taking your calls.
ISSUES starts now.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... that it could be and was a unit (ph) off the side of the road.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have now another body found in the same area.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was just the worst feeling. I feel like I`ve been stabbed in my stomach.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I could have saved that girl if I had known something was going to happen. I could have kept her from getting out of here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our group is out here investigating specific locations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But he was targeting a specific group of women from a specific Web site.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the last place she was. She walked out the door and was never seen again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there are any more bodies out there we want to find them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Breaking news tonight: new information in the grizzly -- and I mean grizzly -- case of ten bodies all discovered along the very same beach.
Good evening, everyone. Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live from New York City. Just a short distance away on Long Island cops now hunting for a single individual, a serial killer who`s believed to have brutally murdered eight women. Eight. Along with one man and even a precious little girl. What a horror, and it`s all happening in this area. A quarter-mile strip of property on Gilgo Beach, and it`s this disturbing dumping ground that police believe is the key to finding this killer.
Listen to the family of one of the distraught victims. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARI GILBERT, VICTIM`S MOTHER: Her last phone call was 23 minutes to 911. When she was grabbed and pulled into his truck. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was basically running away, trying to leave. He -- it was heard, you know, "Get away from me, get away from me," and she was running and knocking on people`s doors. And...
GILBERT: Screaming "He`s trying to kill me."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Police got thousands and thousands of tips, but so far only four of the murdered women have been identified. Tonight, I`m going to be joined by the mother of one of those victims. Are there even more victims out there? Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. I want to hear what your theories are: 1-877-586-7297.
Straight out to Christine Pelisek, writer for Newsweek and the Daily Beast.
Christine, why has this investigation changed? Why do they now believe there is one serial killer?
CHRISTINE PELISEK, WRITER, "NEWSWEEK": Well, they haven`t said why they think it`s just one serial killer. It`s interesting, because four months ago they were saying that it was the work of two or three. So now they`re changing their tune, and they`re going against what the -- the district attorney is saying who he believes that are two or three. And now they`re saying that there`s just one serial killer.
So it`s very interesting because they all the -- you know, they all died in a variety of different ways. The four women that were found in December were all strangled, and two of the other victims that they are say are linked, they were dismembered and their bodies were found in different areas, one in 2000 and the other one in 2003.
And now they`re also saying that an Asian male who was found dressed in a woman`s clothing and a toddler who is linked to a woman who was found about a mile away from her are also linked. So it`s very interesting.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. It`s interesting. It`s tragic. It`s horrifying for the families who are wondering what happened, what horror befell their loved one.
This entire investigation began with one woman, Shannon Gilbert, who went missing in the very same area that all these bodies were found. It was 4:45 in the morning on May 1, 2010, and you`re about to hear from the man who may have been the last person to see her alive. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven`t slept in two nights. I could have saved that girl if I had known something was going to happen. I could have kept her from getting out of here. That weighs heavily on you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to go to Commissioner Richard Dormer. He`s joining me now.
Commissioner, you don`t believe that Shannon Gilbert`s disappearance is connected to this case, and I`m wondering why not, since it`s in the same geographic area and, let`s face it, her profile is similar to some of the other women.
COMMISSIONER RICHARD DORMER (via phone): Well, I know that that`s a leap that, you know, a lot of people have made because of the coincidence of being on Craigslist. You know, that was how she -- she connected with clients. And also, Oak Beach is right across the street from Gilgo Beach. But the M.O. is completely different.
A driver drove her to meet a client. The driver stayed in the location at Oak Beach. And, you know, we vetted and investigated the people that were involved with Shannon Gilbert very thoroughly.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK.
DORMER: And it`s our belief, even though there are coincidences, that they`re not related to the serial killer that we`re looking for now.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Commissioner, do you have a suspect? Do you have an individual you think -- I don`t want to you name anybody, but do you think you know who is the man responsible?
DORMER: No, I`m not ready to say that at this time. I really don`t want to comment on persons of interest.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. If you don`t want to -- you do not have a suspect or a person of interest. Is that fair to say?
DORMER: No, I don`t want to comment on that at this particular time. I don`t want to...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I know you don`t want to comment. But would you be - - would you agree to say that you don`t have a suspect?
DORMER: No.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You won`t say either way.
DORMER: Let me finish my sentence.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sure.
DORMER: I -- I`m not going to comment on whether we have a person of interest or a suspect. I`m not going to get into that. We`re following up on a lot of leads right now. Leads that have, you know, come in because of the media coverage on these murders. And that takes time to follow up on all of the leads that have come in. So I don`t want to in any way compromise...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. I understand, sir. And I`m not interrupting you to be rude, sir. I just want to get to all this. It`s a life and death matter and I have to hit a lot of different issues here.
Here is the criminal profile of the suspect done by the "New York Times." He`s likely a white male, married or has a girlfriend, is educated, financially secure. He may have sought treatment for poison ivy, which he may have contacted on the beach where he disposed of his victims. He may be a landscaper, a contractor, a fisherman because he has access to burlap sacks.
One final question, sir. Commissioner, is that, in your opinion, an accurate profile?
DORMER: I should mention that profiles are one of the most inaccurate investigative techniques that we encounter. You know, that could -- that profile could fit thousands of people on Long Island. And to be honest with you, you know, it`s not very scientific. It`s just something that somebody makes up. And, you know, we really can`t rely on that, to be honest with you.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Well, sir, I want to thank you for your time and, again, not to rush. It`s that we -- we have a lot of people here, and we want to get to all these different issues.
DORMER: OK.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s a very complicated case. I thank you, sir...
DORMER: Thank you very much.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... for joining us tonight. Thank you.
I want to go to Lorraine Ela, the mother of Megan Waterman.
Lorraine, are you there? I know you`re -- you`re going through a very, very difficult time.
LORRAINE ELA, MOTHER OF MEGAN WATERMAN (via phone): Yes, I am here.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to thank you for joining us. Our hearts go out to you. We are doing this because we want to help find your daughter. We want to help find out what happened to your daughter. What is your reaction to hearing this news that now, after thinking it may have been a couple of many different people, authorities are now saying they believe it is one man.
ELA: I guess the only question that I really have for Commissioner Dormer is why in the beginning was he saying it was one person? Then it jumped to three people, then four people. Why did it take them a year for him to finally say that it`s only one person? And he has had two people of interest that they`ve been watching.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Whoa.
ELA: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You`re saying that they have two people of interest? You`ve heard that?
ELA: Yes. I heard that back in -- it was either January or February.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Well, stand by because we have other questions to get to you, but we want to proceed with some of the clues here. If there`s one thing we`ve learned, it`s that serial killers follow patterns.
Listen to this. It`s another infamous mass murderer, the BTK serial killer, speaking out in court. You`ll remember this one.
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DENNIS RADER, BTK KILLER: Thanks. I can`t believe the people that have been involved in this, starting with -- I think you as society have to, even though I`m a criminal, you have to appreciate the police department. They`ve done a lot of work. Even though it took a long time, they gathered evidence. They gathered evidence, and when they got their key suspect, they zeroed in on it very rapidly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now that one always blew my blind. It turned out that the BTK serial killer was this ideal family man. He was involved with the church. He had a wife. She had absolutely, no idea, no clue that she was married to this infamous serial killer.
I want to bring in Laura Fleury, executive producer of "The Long Island Serial Killer," which is going to be on A&E, what, this coming Monday?
LAURA FLEURY, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, A&E`s "THE LONG ISLAND SERIAL KILLER": Yes, Monday at 9 a.m.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you are a walking encyclopedia. I`ve been testing you now while we`ve been sitting here. What is your show going to outline in terms of the commonalities that all of these victims have?
FLEURY: There are several, and we really retell the story from the beginning. We were very interested in this case. Obviously, it`s an open case. It`s a very scary situation that this killer or killers is still out there.
It certainly seems from all of the evidence that we could gather and we interviewed Commissioner Dormer, as well. We spoke to the parents of many of the victims and of various other folks in the communities and including Shannon`s driver so the connection that seems to connect all of the victims is that they were working in the sex industry. And that they were soliciting online. It`s not sure that the -- that the woman...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Certainly not the little child, but you`re saying she might have been connected.
FLEURY: It`s a theory. At this point, there`s nothing for sure. The theory is she perhaps was working with her young child with her. That happens sometimes in that business, in the sex business. And the Asian man who was found, his remains were found with women`s clothing around him, so the theory is that perhaps he was involved in the same industry. And he could have been...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And cross dressing is quite often what male prostitutes do. They do cross dress. Hang on. Again, I told you an encyclopedia of information about this. We`re taking your calls: 1-877- JVM-SAYS.
Cops believe the Long Island serial killer is working alone. More with the mother of a distraught -- a distraught mom who is trying to find her precious daughter. We want to help her find her daughter. Stay right there.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t think it`s a coincidence that four bodies ended up in this area. You know, that`s a good -- you know, that`s a good direction to go, that they were all dumped here by the same person. We`re looking at that, that we could have a serial killer.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At that point was five days from the first call came in and, you know, caller I.D., Melissa. She answers. She`s all excited and there`s a guy on the other end. We didn`t know what he did to her, if she was still alive. He wouldn`t say, you know, if he wanted money.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. That`s right. This mystery Long Island serial killer actually called the sister of one of his victims. How sadistic, how horrific is that? The call reportedly made from Times Square where it`s so busy and crowded it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for police to identify any caller. Imagine making a call from this. Of course the cops aren`t going to be able to track that individual down.
And this teaches us this was an organized serial killer, careful, meticulous, as opposed to someone who`s impulsive. It shows he is a sadist, the type of person who enjoys the killing and the taunting of the victims` families.
Lisa Bloom, we are fascinated, unfortunately, by serial killers because we cannot comprehend in our minds the possibility that somebody would be this sadistic, this demented to go out and target women in this manner.
LISA BLOOM, ATTORNEY: It`s obviously a sociopath. And I think that what`s going on is a cat-and-mouse game, except of course, it`s not a game. It`s a horrible tragedy for these families. But between the killer and the police.
And the reason why the police have changed their stories from time to time may be that they`re giving out false information. There`s nothing wrong with that, because they`re trying to catch a killer. And sometimes they do that in hopes of provoking the killer to come forward, to call them, to give some clue, some information.
Also when they catch someone, they want to know if the person really has information about the case or if they`re just following news reports. So it wouldn`t surprise me if the police are putting out multiple theories, because they`re trying to catch a killer here.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: A&E has done an entire special called "The Long Island Serial Killer." It`s going to be amazing. It premieres on A&E December 5, this coming Monday. Here`s a special preview right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We knew that Melissa had been in telephone contact with her sister Amanda. And little bits and pieces began to emerge that the family didn`t know about and didn`t make very much sense.
The police said talk to the sister. Well, then questioned Amanda and Amanda broke down crying, and she said, "Mom, Melissa confided in me some things that I`m not supposed to tell you." And Amanda all of a sudden presented a fact pattern.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hmm. Well, again, I am back with Laura Fleury, the executive producer of this amazing special. I`m going to be all over it, watching it every single second, because you have spent months and months and months investigating. So, is there one theme that you`ve come out with after studying this for so long?
FLEURY: Well, it goes back to the idea that this is an organized serial killer. This is somebody who is targeting their victims online. They are very easy targets because they live a transient lifestyle. If they go missing initially, police are basically trained not to -- trained not to respond, but they don`t respond immediately, because oftentimes, sex workers show up a few days later. So they don`t respond immediately. It`s an easy way to get away with -- with killing people if you`re targeting prostitutes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is this man, this serial killer, in your mind, if you had to guess, a customer? Is he a john?
FLEURY: Sure. I mean, that`s his -- that`s his mode of targeting these women. That`s how he gets to them. That`s how he gets them alone so that he can do what he does with them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Lorraine Ela, mother of Megan Waterman. Your daughter tragically was found dead. We want to find out what happened to her. Do you feel the police have given this case the attention that it deserves, Lorraine? Lorraine?
ELA: Hi. What was that?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you think this case has been given the attention it deserves by police?
ELA: You want my honest opinion? No. I had just found out three weeks ago. It was three weeks, about a month ago that the only investigation that Suffolk County Police Department did when they finally got the report from Scott Romaine (ph) was they went to the hotel to pick up my daughter`s stuff. They never did a search for my daughter. If they had done a search, would they have found...
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sorry, we have to leave it right there. We`ll stay on top of it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An American suspected in the disappearance of his traveling companion in Aruba is a free man today. Gary Giordano was released from jail last night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Certainly, if Robyn was still alive, she would have turned up by now. She would have presented herself, and Gary wouldn`t be going through this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Disturbing new developments tonight out of Aruba. The prime suspect in the disappearance of beautiful missing American woman Robyn Gardner waltzes free.
Reporters and bystanders actually heckled Gary Giordano last night after his release. The 50-year-old`s travel companion Robyn vanished. There she is. There`s the missing woman. Vanished while supposedly during a snorkeling excursion -- parents don`t believe that -- almost four months ago.
Prosecutors were denied their last appeal today. Gary Giordano is now back on U.S. soil, but the family says they`re not giving up.
Giordano`s attorney, Jose Baez, says meantime that, if Gary is ever asked to return to Aruba, he would. Let`s hear Jose from "GMA."
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JOSE BAEZ, GIORDANO`S ATTORNEY: We`re hoping that, of course, this is the end of it. However, you know, he`s not running, so if -- if they have a legal basis to require him to come back, he`s going to come back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Straight out to my very special guest, Robyn`s very loyal and very devoted boyfriend Richard Forester. Richard, your reaction to Gary Giordano being a free man, back on U.S. soil tonight as we speak?
RICHARD FORESTER, ROBYN`S BOYFRIEND: Frustration. Absolute frustration. There`s just too many questions that are still unanswered.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you feel he is a flight risk? Jose Baez`s attorney, who of course, is of Casey Anthony fame and now has another high- profile case. He says he`s not a flight risk, that he`s going to come back whenever he`s called back to Aruba. Do you believe it?
FORESTER: I don`t know if I believe it. I hope it`s the case. I mean, I can`t say. I don`t know how far we can trust him. But we just have to go with what they`re saying, I guess.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Have you spoken with Robyn`s family at all and gotten their reaction to this really, I think, absolutely outrageous development?
FORESTER: Yes. Yes. We talk quite a bit and, you know, like everybody we`re, you know, upset about it, but it`s -- it is what it is, and we just hope that we can -0- we can find Robyn. That`s -- that`s the biggest question right there is, you know, where`s Robyn?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What are the Aruban authorities doing about finding her? I remember during the Natalee Holloway case, Natalee of course, also disappeared on the island of Aruba. There were flyovers. There were ponds that were drained. Is the same thing happening for Robyn?
FORESTER: I don`t see that happening. I don`t see that happening. We`d offered to bring search-and-rescue teams in there, and you know, they`ve done their search. I guess they had a search last week again in the water. But I think that they`re just looking in the wrong place. I don`t think she`s anywhere near Aruba.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This guy is the prime suspect. I`m looking at the press release from the prosecutors in Aruba. They were very upset that he was released. But he says they say, you know, there`s nothing they can do, that you can`t continue to hold somebody indefinitely without charging them...
FORESTER: Sure.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... because that`s the way it -- that`s the way it is. In fact in Aruba, you can hold them longer than you can here in the United States.
FORESTER: Yes. I think that they -- you know, he`s been there for four months, and I don`t know why they can`t find anything. I mean, there`s -- you know, what happened to the insurance policy? What happened to the blood on the towel? What happened to the rental car in the videotape? You know, the witnesses? The witnesses saw them on the beach was let go before -- before the police talked to him. So, I don`t know.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So, you think that they should be able to charge him, based on circumstantial evidence. Thank you, Richard.
FORESTER: Yes, I do.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tomorrow I interview Jose Baez, Gary`s attorney.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are seeing the first lawsuit in the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. It has been filed by a man who said he was 10 years old when he first met former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. His attorneys say Sandusky sexually abused the victim more than 100 times.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think it would be beyond the realm of possibility that there are other victims that exist here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There were people who knew he wouldn`t be the only one. And they are the ones that are the target of his anger and his feelings of betrayal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He also began to coerce this child, then 10, to satisfy his own perverse sexual impulse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the playground for Lamont Elementary School (ph). Right over here is Jerry Sandusky`s house and from his back porch he has a clear view of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bottom line remains that Jerry has always maintained his innocence from the outset of the first allegations and he continues to maintain his innocence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Breaking news tonight in the Penn State child sex scandal. A brand new accuser has just stepped forward to say he too was sexually assaulted by disgraced and just retired assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. This new 29-year-old man says Sandusky attacked him sexually more than 100 times when he was 10 to 14 years of age.
That new accuser has filed a civil suit against Sandusky, Penn State and the Second Mile Foundation, the charity Sandusky used as his personal hunting ground to prey allegedly on young boys.
This case, come on, it sparked riots. Remember this? Whoa. Overturning a news van; yes, this is happening on the Penn State campus or at least it did.
Sandusky already accused of 40 counts of child sexual assault in connection with eight other boys. The attorney for this new alleged victim -- and I`m holding the lawsuit in my hand -- says the fault goes way, way, beyond just Jerry Sandusky.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCI HAMILTON, ATTORNEY: That`s really what this case is about. It`s about institutional concealment and a callous disregard of child sexual abuse by powerful men in a powerful institution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Meantime right now as we speak and we`re going to show you a stream of Skype, there it is. You have Penn State students having a summit with Penn State University officials and children -- students are asking questions. Maybe we can listen in for a second. Let`s hear it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigative committee does not have an undergraduate student. I know that Pete does great work as the student representative on the board of trustees, but I was wondering how the decision was made not to include an undergraduate voice on such an important procedure.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So, basically, that young man is asking is a very good question saying hey they are going have this huge panel with the former FBI director, et cetera, et cetera. Where are the students? Where are the students?
Straight out to Sarah Ganim, the "Patriot News" reporter who broke the story; Sarah, what do you know about this astounding new lawsuit and I just finished reading it and it is a shocker.
SARAH GANIM, REPORTER, "PATRIOT NEWS": Is this first lawsuit, Jane, that`s been filed in this case against Penn State, against the Second Mile and against Jerry Sandusky and, you know, the allegations that are outlined in that suit are very similar to some of the allegations that are within that grand jury presentment. However, the person, the accuser is not one of the eight alleged victims in that grand jury presentment and the attorney general`s office will only say today that they are continuing their ongoing investigation and we believe that that includes several people that have come forward since the charges have been filed.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me tell you, here I`m holding the lawsuit in my hand. You can read it all on hlntv.com. Again, along with the grand jury indictment, by the way, this is very frightening stuff. Every parent should check this out. Because you should know a lot of the words we can`t even repeat on television if you know what I mean.
Today the new alleged victim attorney describes Sandusky`s grooming tactics -- alleged -- buying lavish gifts and taking this little boy to games. He described moving from gifts to you know what.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF ANDERSON, VICTIM ONE`S ATTORNEY: He also began to coerce this child, then 10, to satisfy his own perverse sexual impulse, which he could not control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Buzz Bissinger, "Newsweek" contributor. Like the others, this boy was allegedly met through Jerry`s charity, the Second Mile and assaulted in Sandusky`s home, in the Penn State locker room and on trips to Philly in a bowl game. Does this pattern remind you of the other cases against Sandusky that are contained in the grand jury indictment?
BUZZ BISSINGER, "NEWSWEEK CONTRIBUTOR": Yes. I mean the pattern is exactly the same. You know, he woos these kids in with gifts. They`re impressionable. They`re young. He`s a superstar. He`s the defensive coach at Penn State, linebacker u. The whole thing -- the whole suit is incredibly disturbing; I mean more than 100 different acts.
It brings -- if you include the grand jury report 300 separate acts roughly that he`s alleged to have committed but the worse thing too is at a bowl game. He`s bringing kids to bowl games. What are these other coaches thinking? Do not tell me that they don`t have any suspicion.
I said this before. Coaches gossip all the time. They are with each other all the time. They spend a lot of their time when they are not practicing talking about everybody else. They didn`t think something was up? Absolutely not.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You`re actually right. If I see an adult always walking around with a different kid that`s not his, particular biological child or adopted child and this guy did have adopted children, that`s another story. Of course I`m going to wonder. Why is he walking around with these little kids all the time? What is that about?
One of the most shocking aspects of this scandal was the report, the claim that assistant coach Mike McQueary, well he said he saw Jerry Sandusky raping a boy in a Penn State shower in 2002. Well now, in another shocker, Sandusky`s lawyer is claiming the boy himself is now saying it never happened. Listen to this one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE AMENDOLA, JERRY SANDUSKY`S ATTORNEY: What I`m saying is that young man was in my office several weeks ago following the initiation of the charges against Jerry, and he sat here with his mother and brother and said that he was not a victim, that he was the young man he believed in the shower the night that McQueary said he went in and saw Jerry engaging in some sort of sexual act. The young man said that he was the boy in the shower as far as he knew but that he was not engaged in any sexual acts with Jerry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sports radio host, Arnie Spanier, do you find it suspicious that it`s the lawyer for the accused pedophile claiming the boy is now denying it, not the boy`s family, not the boy`s lawyer, not the cops.
ARNIE SPANIER, HOST, CBS RADIO 105.3 DALLAS, TEXAS: Enough, Jane. Enough. It`s amazing. That would just (INAUDIBLE) perhaps there was another boy in the shower and another boy in the shower. How many boys in the shower were there? How many boys were going on this trip?
Jane, I had enough of this. We`ve seen enough. We don`t need to see he`s innocent until proven guilty. This SOB is guilty. Get him off the streets. Why is he walking around? He needs a needle in his arm. What are we doing Jane?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, listen. That`s your statement. I agree with you that he shouldn`t be walking around the streets and I find that absolutely outrageous that this man is free on bail tonight with no ankle bracelet given these accusations. Let`s not convict him here. He does deserve his day in court.
And as if a new accuser claiming Sandusky sexually assaulted him more than 100 times isn`t enough; Sandusky`s lawyer again has made another jaw- dropping statement that at least three of Sandusky`s accusers have remained friends with Jerry Sandusky right up until this summer. Here`s this claim from Sandusky`s lawyer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GANIM: Are any of these eight still in contact with Jerry Sandusky?
AMENDOLA: Yes. As a matter of fact, the young man we believe to be the person in the number two allegation and the young man we believe to be the person in number six allegation had maintained friendships with Jerry and his wife Dottie. And in fact Jerry and Dottie had dinner with them this past summer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Lisa Bloom, I find this absolutely mind-boggling. Sandusky`s lawyers claiming the boy who was allegedly raped by Sandusky in the Penn State showers in 2002, an act that was purportedly witnessed by somebody who is a staff member in all this; he`s saying that this boy has remained friends with Sandusky as recently as this summer. Your thoughts.
LISA BLOOM, ATTORNEY, THE BLOOMFIRM.COM: Well, I represented a lot of sexually abused victims who are children. And let me explain how it works. It`s very, very common for that child to identify with the perpetrator, to even love in their childish mind, love the perpetrator, identify with them, want to maintain a relationship with them. That`s why there can be 100 incidents of sexual abuse because the child keeps going back. It`s a very confusing situation for the child.
That doesn`t surprise me at all if it`s even true. It`s neither here nor there. The man is presumed innocent. But children tend to report sexual abuse, then they recant, then they go back to the perpetrator. Unfortunately, it`s a very confusing situation and that`s how it works.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. I agree with you. And that`s one of the reasons why this crime is so insidious because we`re dealing with children, children very impressionable. And obviously these crimes, if they indeed occurred crippling, crippling emotionally, psychologically to these children well into adulthood. They suffer shame even though they have done absolutely nothing wrong.
The Penn State child sex scandal sparked a similar scandal at Syracuse University by prompting accusers to come forward against another sports figure that`s legendary, assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine -- there he is. He was just fired, the one in the glasses.
Now a second accuser has just gone on camera to describe what he says Bernie did to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE LANG, SECOND BERNIE FINE ACCUSER: He touched me. He kept touching me.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So where, though? Where did he touch you?
LANG: In my leg and my (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
TUCHMAN: Did you say something to him?
LANG: Yes. I said "Bernie please stop this because I`m not that kind and I won`t tolerate it. If you don`t want me to come over here anymore I won`t come over here. But if you keep doing it I`m not going to come over here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Buzz, two sports figures involved in this. Do you think this could go the way of the Catholic Church sex abuse -- child sex abuse scandal?
BISSINGER: Well, you know, it`s hard to say but you have now two cases of alleged sexual perpetrators at big time schools, Syracuse and Penn State and so, frankly, being very honest, I find it very hard to believe this has not happened at other places.
The problem is this code of Omerta that exists among the coaching fraternity. You never ever turn in your own no matter what is happening. It`s a similar situation with Syracuse.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Got to leave it right there.
Up next missing woman.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A Florida man is now the primary suspect in the disappearance of his former fiancee who appeared on "The People`s Court". Remember this?
MICHELLE PARKER, MISSING WOMAN: I felt somebody grab me and yank me around. He`s crying, I`m crying. He`s sorry, I`m sorry.
YVONNE STEWART, MICHELLE PARKER`S MOTHER: This isn`t a wallet. This isn`t just a purse. This is my baby girl. We need to find her.
PARKER: We brushed it under the rug and I stayed with him for a few more months.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are like drugs to each other. You`re addicted to each other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are officially naming Dale Smith the ex-fiance as primary suspect in the disappearance of Michelle Parker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This weekend SWAT team raided Smith`s parents` house. Then we found out he refused to take a polygraph test.
STEWART: My daughter is still not found. She is still missing. I`m so sad that this has happened. But we have to do what we have to do. We still need to find Michelle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`ve got breaking news out of the Orlando area in the disappearance of that beautiful mom who vanished after battling it out on "The People`s Court" with her ex-fiance.
We`re sad to say, the body of a woman has just been found near the Florida/Georgia border, about 190 miles away from Orlando. So the obvious question, could it be the body of missing mom Michelle Parker? Cops converging on the scene as we speak.
Meantime today, in a tumultuous scene, the prime suspect walked out of court today shielded by cameras from, it seems to be an entourage of some sort. He`s in the white shirt there, right there -- the blonde in the white shirt.
Guess what. He had just won a huge court victory. He gets to keep the kids. That`s right. The missing mom`s young twins are now back in the custody of their father Dale Smith even though he`s the prime suspect in the suspicious disappearance of the mother.
What? The twins were taken from their dad`s care yesterday but today a different judge gave the 3-year-old twins back to the dad saying there`s no probable cause. Really? Did I mention he has a violent criminal history?
The twins` mom, Michelle Parker last seen dropping the twins off at the same person`s home, the father`s home a week and a half ago. The cops named Michelle`s ex, Dale Smith the former hot body champion, we have to show you, there he is. What is it these hot body contests. Ok. They named him the prime suspect but he`s not under arrest. Michelle`s mother has been begging, begging him please cooperate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: If you could have avoided this, Dale, if you could have cooperated with the police and took a polygraph test when they asked you, you know, you could have eliminated a lot of stress. So unfortunately you brought this on yourself. We`re not going to stop until we find out who did this. We love our Michelle so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, that poor mother tonight hearing that a body has just been found. We don`t know if it`s Michelle but if Dale Smith is the prime suspect in Michelle Parker`s disappearance why was Michelle`s mom hugging and kissing him after the child custody hearing today? We`re going to explain that in a second. There is an explanation.
1-877-JVM-SAYS. Give me a call.
I want to go straight to John Lucich. In light of this new information we`re hearing from "First Coast News" a sheriff`s spokesman saying it could be Michelle and that the body has been there for some time is all they are saying. She went missing on November 17th which is what?
JOHN LUCICH, FORMER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR: 13 days.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: 13 days ago. Your thoughts?
LUCICH: It may not be connected to the case but it could be. They should be able to make a preliminary determination whether this is Michelle just by looking at the body, hair color, weight, size everything about that body. They are going to have to wait for DNA testing unless you could actually see her face. But I don`t think a lot of decomposition can happen in 13 days and I know that the summer can be hot there but we`re already talking about November time frame.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. But remember, the sheriff said it could be her. If they had been able to do a positive ID just from facial would they have said that?
LUCICH: Remember this is 190 miles away. This is not the sheriff that actually is working the case. And he may not know what she looks like.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Lisa Bloom, I for one am outraged that this dad gets custody when he has a rap sheet, refuses to take a polygraph and is the prime suspect. What say you?
BLOOM: Well, you know I might have to disagree with you at this point. It certainly looks very bad for him. On the other hand I understand the defense attorney has a pretty tight timeline that would make it difficult for him to have effectuated this murder if it is a murder. And if this is here body 190 miles away, it would have been very difficult for him to have disposed of it there.
So, for now, I hope that Child Protective Services is watching him closely for the sake of those children but he`s the only parent that those children have right. She trusted him enough to let him have those children for visitations when she was alive if she`s deceased now. So I think it`s a very tough decision but I don`t fault the judge at this point.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. I got to say that this poor mother of this missing woman is in a horrible position. We`re going to explain on the other side of the break why she felt the need to give the prime suspect a hug and she`s got a good reason.
By the way, famed attorney Mark Nejame on Nancy Grace in just a couple of minutes so you have to watch that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: I hope that, you know, we can work something out, because they are so important to me and my family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he tell you anything?
STEWART: He said that he would work, and he would work it out with us so that we could see the grand children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That poor woman. Yes. She`s got to negotiate with that man because she wants to see her grandkids.
We`ve got breaking news just in from Orlando, Orlando police saying the body that was found along the Florida/Georgia border is not that of Michelle Parker. So there is a possibility that she`s still alive, we hope. And so we`re keeping hope going on this case. Let`s not forget Michelle vanished the very same day her ex and she battled on TV on "The People`s Court" had aired. And of course, he was also the last person to see her. Check this out from "The People`s Court".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARKER: He gets pretty malicious and vindictive. And he`s a mean person especially when he`s been drinking. Any of the problems that we`ve ever had has always been alcohol-related.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you drinking last time while this was going on?
PARKER: I`m sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you drinking --
PARKER: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: John Lucich, you`re saying that the family is challenging that timeline now?
LUCICH: Yes. The sister of the woman was challenging that timeline saying that he couldn`t have met her at 4:00 and get back to the parents` house. So there are things. And you know what; the cops have a lot more than this guy knows or his defense attorney knows so they are not going release that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Let`s face it, Lisa Bloom this guy has a rap sheet. He`s got a long rap sheet. And it involves violent acts, ok. We`ve got burglary. We`ve got marijuana possession. We got aggravated battery. We got to put that in the mix as well.
BLOOM: Well, yes, absolutely. She complained about him a number of times. Apparently she went to get a restraining order against him at one point. So there`s a lot of evidence swirling around him. He`s still presumed innocent at this point but yes, he`s a prime suspect.
The boyfriend or the ex-fiance, the husband, they are always the prime suspect until they are ruled out and the police cannot rule him out at this point. And when there`s a history of this kind of, you know, issues between the two of them, of course he`s going to be prime suspect until he can be ruled out.
I don`t know why he wouldn`t take the lie detector test if he`s innocent because that would have helped police rule him out.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Some people are saying hey it`s too obvious. She fights with him, the episode airs that day, she drops the kids off with him and then she disappears. It`s almost too obvious. You have to consider the stupid factor.
LUCICH: Right. The cops don`t go by what is obvious. Cops go by facts. And I can tell you this. Typically cops don`t comment in calling a person a suspect. They always say he`s a person of interest. The fact that these guys call this guy a prime suspect tells me that they have a lot more information than a lot of other people.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: By the way, if Dale Smith`s lawyer or Dale Smith or his relatives or anyone wants to come on our show we would love to have them. We want to get both sides of the story. We`ve reached out to his attorney and we will continue to do so.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Jean -- we`re going to go to the phone lines. Jean, New Hampshire, your question or thought, Jean.
JEAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE (via telephone): Hi.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hi.
JEAN: I love your show.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you.
JEAN: And I`m just wondering why the parents or family, someone in the family hasn`t gone for custody of these dear little children with this guy`s track record?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I mean they wanted to get these children but the court today said they stay with the dad. That`s the big news. They stay with the dad.
Thank you, fantastic panel.
On the other side of the break, you won`t believe it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: A bizarre new chapter in the troubled life of country singer Mindy McCready. She faces a court order to return her son by tomorrow afternoon or possible risk getting arrested. The singer told one of her producers quote, "Zander`s (ph) fine with me. He`s not missing." She wouldn`t say where he is. The singer`s publicist said she`s pregnant with twins.
Mindy`s parents have legal custody of her son. Mindy has visitation. Mindy had a very promising career before her public battles with addiction. She landed on VH-1`s "Celebrity Rehab".
Check this out. She had a seizure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MACKENZIE PHILLIPS, ACTRESS: Mindy. Mindy. Are you ok, kid?
She`s not faking this. She`s having a seizure.
Nurse. Nurse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Mindy we hope that you do what`s right for your little boy. We`re rooting for you to get your life back on track. We hope so.
"NANCY GRACE" is up next.
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