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Nancy Grace
Madonna Stalker Recaptured
Aired February 10, 2012 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: We are getting breaking news tonight out of Los Angeles. A man convicted of stalking and threatening to kill Hollywood mega-star Madonna escapes from a mental health facility, authorities are saying that man highly psychotic with violent tendencies. Oscar winner Halle Berry also in danger after allegedly receiving threats from the same man. She`s so terrified, there are reports that Berry wants to move out of the country.
But just moments ago, in a major development, Madonna`s stalker is caught.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police are scrambling to find a man who used to stalk Madonna.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prosecutors say Hoskins is still thinking the same way he did.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he escaped from the mental hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is still obsessed with Madonna.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Violent tendencies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Violent tendencies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn`t want to see him come back out again because I know when he does come out, he`s going to continue to do this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Violent tendencies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hoskins scrawled graffiti in his jail cell professing his strange love for Madonna.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madonna, I love you. Will you be my wife?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, Robert Hoskins once threatened to knife the singer if she didn`t marry him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Violent tendencies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Madonna`s stalker escaped from an LA mental hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) as much as I have.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Madonna even testified that he gave her nightmares.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Good evening. I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session" on the truTV network, in for Nancy Grace. Thank you so much for joining us.
You just saw video of Madonna`s borderline (ph) (INAUDIBLE) a man convicted of stalking and threatening to kill Hollywood mega-star Madonna and Halle Berry escaped from a mental health facility. But just moments ago, that man, considered highly psychotic with violent tendencies, is caught.
For the latest, let`s go to Kim Serafin, senior editor with "In Touch Weekly." Kim, what happened?
KIM SERAFIN, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Yes, this is breaking news. Right now, we`re finding out that police did find this man who had escaped from this mental hospital last Friday. He was considered volatile, psychotic. He wasn`t on his medication. So people were very concerned because this was a man who had served 10 years in prison, then went to a mental health facility and then was arrested on vandalism last year and then went back to the mental health facility. So very scary, but very good that he is now in custody. Police located him in Long Beach.
CASAREZ: But David Caplan, the issue is -- entertainment reporter, joining us from New York -- the issue is this man escaped. This is a man that police and investigators say is violent, has violent tendencies, can be highly psychotic. He was convicted of threatening to kill Madonna. He went to prison for up to 10 years. Now he`s in a mental health facility, and he just walks out?
DAVID CAPLAN, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Yes. It`s very surprising. You know, and in particular, this facility, which is located in Norwalk, California -- it`s a little bit southeast of Los Angeles -- it has a history, actually, spanning nearly 25 years of bad security.
I can tell you three quick points. I`m doing research about this hospital. In 1986, the then mayor of Norwalk actually raised a red flag. She described the facility as, quote, "a country club," saying security there was very lax. (INAUDIBLE) also had escapees in the late `80s.
Fast forward to much more recently. Actually, in May, the state of California was revising their budget to add $9.5 million to the budget for security at state mental institutions like this one and to create a new department to oversee this.
And then just in August, health care workers and other workers at this specific facility in August staged a rally and a protest, saying that the security wasn`t adequate at this facility (INAUDIBLE) was explaining a lot of people running away and also incidents of crime at the facility, you know, people who were staying there who were attacking staff.
So this specific place has a long history of issues like this.
CASAREZ: I guess so. And everyone, we want to remind you, Robert Dewey Hoskins -- he is 54 years old. He was convicted of threatening to kill Madonna. He has been after Halle Berry with threats also, escaped from Downy (ph) Hospital in southern California, Los Angeles suburbs.
I want to go to LAPD spokesperson Sergeant Mitzi Fierro, who is with us now. Your office came out saying that this man has violent tendencies, highly psychotic when he`s not on his medication. Why do you believe he`s such a threat to the community?
SGT. MITZI FIERRO, LAPD SPOKESWOMAN (via telephone): I`m sorry. Would you repeat the last part of the question?
CASAREZ: Why do you believe that he is such a threat to the community that you even told the public to not go up to him if they see him and if they spot him after he escaped from the mental health facility?
FIERRO: Well, based upon all of the contacts that we had with him and his history, he`s been diagnosed as suffering from psychotic episodes. He has demonstrated violent behavior in the past. When he is not on his medication, his medical personnel has stated he could be prone to violence.
Our base assumption was since he walked away from the medical facility and had no known access to his medications, that he could possibly -- very possibly become violent. And we really wanted the public to stay away from him, if anybody recognized him, to call us in immediately so there wouldn`t be any chance of anybody being harmed by Mr. Hoskins had he, you know, gone into any type of violent episode.
CASAREZ: And everybody, this is the man that was convicted of stalking Madonna. You probably heard about it. It was a very large trial in Los Angeles. He climbed over her fence of her Hollywood Hills home twice. He rang her doorbell, told her he was going to slash her throat from ear to ear. He escaped from a mental hospital.
To Sergeant Mitzi Fierro from the Los Angeles Police Department. how did he get out?
FIERRO: Well, apparently, he just walked out of the facility, is our understanding, and was able to leave on his own. We have -- our detectives have consulted with the Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk to determine how he was able to leave, and it really was the fact that he just got up and left.
From that point on, we initiated a pretty large manhunt. We -- you know, all the surrounding agencies were notified. His picture was distributed. As you saw, we posted his picture on all -- throughout the media in an effort to make sure that he was captured as soon as possible. Fortunately, this morning...
CASAREZ: All right, Sergeant, we`ve gotten -- we have many more questions we want to ask you, but we do have callers. A lot of callers are coming in.
To Jason in Canada. Hi, Jason.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Jean. How are you?
CASAREZ: I`m fine. Thank you for calling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s good. Yes, I have two quick questions. Where were the guards at the time he escaped? And I hear he`s been caught. What is he charged with right now?
CASAREZ: Very good question. Let`s go out to our attorneys. First of all, Sue Moss, family law advocate and family law attorney joining us out of New York, Joey Jackson, defense attorney out of New York, and Karla Bell, defense attorney joining us out of Los Angeles.
To Karla Bell. I`ll go out to you because you`re right there in LA. This is Los Angeles County. Robert Dewey Hoskins had served his 10 years in prison for threatening to kill and assaulting Madonna, but he had a court order that he had to be in this hospital until the end of August. Can there now be charges against this man?
KARLA BELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely. This is a good example of how judges should have more powers to be able to sentence people more liberally on a case-by-case basis. Now, we`re talking about him stalking Madonna and having served his sentence. We don`t really have the facts yet about why he was remanded or ordered to a psychiatric facility. But the judge will resentence him and order him probably to go back to the psychiatric facility.
CASAREZ: You know, Karla Bell, I can tell you why he was remanded in that facility, because of vandalism. Here`s what he did. He wrote -- he had -- he drew a picture on his prison wall about Madonna, that he was her stalker, he was proud of it. And that was vandalism, and that got him into the mental hospital. Serious, right?
BELL: Well, you know, unfortunately, we don`t -- we don`t -- we need to look at mental health more seriously in this country. And perhaps this hospital should be working at treating him or finding some sort of treatment for him where he can be more supervised.
But to answer your question, the judge will remand him back to the psychiatric facility for -- for -- for his -- for more supervision.
CASAREZ: For more treatment, that`s right, more treatment. Then he can be out on the streets in August. So Sergeant Mitzi Fierro from the Los Angeles Police Department. Do you foresee any charges against this man because he violated a court order?
FIERRO: At this point, we weren`t told of any charges that have been or will be filed. At this point, they are returning him to the facility. And I believe that that will be determined by the detectives who will investigate, number one, him -- his ability to walk away from the facility, and number two, if he`d violated anything from that point on.
CASAREZ: To Joey Jackson, defense lawyer. I see this as a very intentional act. This man might be committed to a mental hospital, but he was convicted of threatening Madonna. He has continued to write letters that he wants to marry, or kill in the alternative, Madonna. He told her to her face that he wanted to slash her throat from ear to ear.
This was a very intentional act. He walked out. He knows exactly what he`s doing.
JOEY JACKSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Oh, without question, Jean. Now, two points need to be made. One is if there were a court order in effect -- and obviously, if you`re in contempt of that, it`s not proper. It`s not appropriate. You`re remanded back and you have to follow the court order. So charges could emanate from that.
The second thing, as a matter of public health and safety, there is a civil confinement law in California, which would suggest, be it him or someone else, if they are a threat to the community, which comes first, they would be evaluated, they would be brought back involuntarily, meaning against your will. You could want to stay out. But in the event that you pose a danger to yourself or others, the law provides for you to be taken back, evaluated, and held until such time you are safe and the community is safe.
So it`s an important point to...
CASAREZ: And everybody...
JACKSON: ... raise, and he`ll be dealt with.
CASAREZ: It is. And California has some of the most serious stalking laws in the country. Everyone, we are talking about Robert Dewey Hoskins. He is 54 years old. He was convicted of assaulting and stalking and threatening to kill Madonna. He escaped from a local mental hospital in Los Angeles, California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know. I kind of -- it`s like I have to pinch myself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hoskins invaded Madonna`s Hollywood Hills home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) marry him (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And threatened to kill her.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADONNA, SINGER: Hi. I`m Madonna.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice to meet you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madonna, one shot! One shot! One shot!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Over here, Madonna. Madonna, right here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Work it, Madonna!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A man who used to stock Madonna.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A dangerous Hollywood stalker.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Escaped from the mental hospital. Now he is out on the loose.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nervous? Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is still obsessed with Madonna.
MADONNA: And I`m ready to go to battle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hoskins scrawled graffiti in his jail cell professing his strange love for Madonna.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But he`s also expressing these violent tendencies that when he gets out, he is going to slice her throat.
MADONNA: It`s kind of nerve wracking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now he`s reportedly targeting big stars like Halle Berry.
MADONNA: Trying to really heal from that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police are warning the public.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And you are watching video of Madonna`s "Crazy for You" from YouTube. I`m Jean Casarez, in for Nancy Grace tonight.
Robert Dewey Hoskins, imprisoned for up to 10 years, may have served eight of those 10 years, in stalking, assaulting, threatening to kill Madonna. He escaped from a mental hospital in Norwalk, California.
I want to go to Kelli Zink, host of Celebtv.com, joining us from Chicago. Not only has he had designs on Madonna, but now it appears as though Halle Berry is another one of his alleged intended victims.
KELLI ZINK, CELEBTV.COM: Absolutely. And at first, we thought that Halle Berry was requesting to move to France because of her child custody battle with her ex, Gabriel Aubrey. And we are -- you know, nobody knew that that was just drama. But actually, she`s requesting to move because he`s also been stalking her with similar threats, like, I`m going to slice your throat.
So no word if she`ll now not want to move to France because he`s in custody or if she doesn`t trust this mental hospital that he`s going back to, if it`s the same one that let him walk out the door in the first place.
CASAREZ: All right, to Sue Moss, family law attorney and advocate, joining us out of New York. What we can see here is this man has the same modus operandi. He has threatened to slit the throat of Madonna and now Halle Berry and he`s going to walk the streets at the end of August?
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: I`m sorry. Could you repeat that question?
CASAREZ: This man has threatened to slit the throats -- this man has the same modus operandi with Madonna and also with Halle Berry. He threatened to slit both of their throats. And now he`s going to be on the streets at the end of August?
MOSS: If this guy is walking, he will be stalking. It`s not a coincidence that this guy`s favorite song is "Crazy For You." But this is very, very serious because this is a crime that is just about going to happen. We know he has violent tendencies. We know that when he doesn`t take his medications, he`s psychotic. And we know that he still has the intent to hurt these two very prominent women.
If the society does not take action, hold in contempt for leaving that hospital and also seeing that he is a threat to these two women, he will get out and he will do some real harm.
CASAREZ: This is very serious. You`re exactly right. Everyone, Robert Dewey Hoskins escaped from a mental hospital. This the man, you may remember, stalked Madonna all over Los Angeles.
Want to go to the caller. Sherry in Indiana. Hi, Sherry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.
CASAREZ: Thank you for calling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I was just wondering, how did he escape?
CASAREZ: Well, that`s a good question. I think someone intends the normal aspects of their act. I think he just walked out the front door.
I want to go to clinical psychologist joining us tonight out of Washington, D.C., Ramani Durvasula. I want to talk about this man`s psyche. This is not only not a well man, this is a man that has an intent, an intent to leave that facility and lead a life outside its doors.
RAMANI DURVASULA, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes. I mean, he -- he doesn`t -- nobody wants to be locked down. And whether he`s psychotic or not, he obviously wants to leave. Now, whether he wants to act on those threats, whether he wants to keep making those, this is a man who`s psychotic. He needs to be treated for that symptomatology. And many people who are being treated with psychotic medications -- they don`t like it, and so they don`t want to be locked down. They don`t want their medications. And so he left.
CASAREZ: So how will he ever be treated, though, if he lives in his own home? Who`s to say he`s going to take his medication? He may not want to take his medication.
DURVASULA: You`re raising an excellent point. For a psychiatric patient to take their medication, particularly a person with psychosis, it`s tricky and it`s hard to get them to adhere. So you raise an excellent point. And unless you force him by committing him, there`s no guarantee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wrote a note for Madonna on a religious tract entitled "Defiled."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Madonna`s stalker escaped from an LA mental hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Professing strange love for Madonna.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s going to continue to do this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wrote a note for Madonna...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Professing his strange love.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me mine and I`ll be yours.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hoskins once threatened to knife the singer if she didn`t marry him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`d rate him as the number one predator.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And that is Madonna`s "Borderline" from YouTube. I`m Jean Casarez, in for Nancy Grace. You might remember Madonna`s testimony and what she said outside of court when this man, Robert Dewey Hoskins, was being prosecuted. She didn`t want to go to court because she said she would have to sit 15 feet from him, and that is what he wanted.
Well, he escaped from a Norwalk mental health facility, walking as a free man. I want to go to Sergeant Mitzi Fierro from the Los Angeles Police Department, joining us tonight. Does he have connections at all to the southern California or even Long Beach area? Because that`s where you went first.
FIERRO: Well, we do not have record of him having connections to the immediate area, especially Long Beach/Norwalk area, other than the fact that he was housed there in the hospital facility.
At this point, we`re running down any possible connections, you know, people that he knew, people from the area to see if there`s any reasonable belief that he has a reason to stay here, other than Madonna -- here meaning the Los Angeles area -- other than Madonna or Halle Berry. So in terms of immediate connections, none that we know of. But will continue to investigate to see.
CASAREZ: Sergeant, can I ask you, are you looking at all into the possibility that someone could have helped him get out of the facility, that he didn`t do it all on his own?
FIERRO: Well, that would be outside our investigative jurisdiction. But I have no doubt that the hospital and the county personnel are really reviewing procedures to see exactly what happened and why this was able to occur.
CASAREZ: And this is a man that law enforcement is calling violent and dangerous, especially highly psychotic when he doesn`t take his medication.
I want to go to Christian in South Carolina. Hi, Christian.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. My question is, where did they catch this stalker guy at?
CASAREZ: Where exactly -- Sergeant Fierro, where exactly did you catch him just minutes ago, and how did authorities find him?
FIERRO: Actually, patrol officers from Long Beach recognized him in the Long Beach area and immediately took him into custody. Fortunately, he was cooperative throughout the contact and was able to be immediately transported back to the hospital facility.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The police are scrambling to find a man who used to stalk Madonna.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meet me somewhere. Love for keeps. Robert Dewey Hoskins.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Still obsessed with Madonna.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He escaped from the mental hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be mine and I`ll be yours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prosecutors say Hoskins scrawled graffiti in his jail cell professing his strange love for Madonna.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you. Will you be my wife? For keeps.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Former body guard for the pop star called Hoskins the worst Madonna predator in history.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I rate him as the number one predator.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the defendant invaded Madonna`s Hollywood Hills` home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Also expressing these violent tendencies that when he gets out he is going to slice her throat.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session" on the TruTV network, in for Nancy Grace. You just watched Madonna "like a prayer" video from you tube. Law enforcement is saying this man has violent tendencies. We are talking about Robert Hoskins. He just walked out. He escaped from a mental hospital in Norwalk, metropolitan state hospital.
For this case goes back much, much further than that. I want to go out to David Kaplan, entertainment reporter.
This man may have escaped from a mental hospital. But he stalked Madonna for years around California. Take us back. What did he do to Madonna?
DAVID CAPLAN, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: It all started in April of 1995. There were essentially two visits to her house. Not visit in April 1995, he was caught by Madonna`s body guard scaling the wall at her home in Hollywood hills. The guard was able to sort of scare him away so he left, but not before he did made comments about wanting to slit Madonna`s throat to the body guard.
Madonna was not home at the time though. She was obviously though very shaken up when the body guard reported this to her. The next day, he didn`t attempt to go into the premises but left some other note professing sort of his love for Madonna in her mailbox. It was the second incident in May of 1995 that really sealed the deal, so to speak.
He scaled the wall at her house, the same house again in Hollywood Hills and then he went into the pool. He was lounging around. In fact, surveillance video from her home shows him walking about the blocking around the property for about 15 minutes or so.
He was caught in the pool. He interacted with the body guard again. He told the body guard, Madonna`s my wife. We`re married. He sort of resisted going away with the body guard. Then the body guard thought that he was jumping over to him to, you know, to grab his gun and in self- defense the body guard shot him.
CASAREZ: And this is a man that obviously doesn`t quit, knows what he wants and keeps going. And he wanted to leave that mental hospital that he`s confined to by court order until the end of August. He simply walked out in Norwalk, California. He was found minutes ago in Long Beach, but the questions remain, is he still a threat?
There are reports, Kim Serafin, senior editor from "In Touch Weekly" that he`s now making threats to Halle Berry.
KIM SERAFIN, SENIOR EDITOR, IN TOUCH WEEKLY: Yes, that`s true. There was some initial report yesterday that started surfacing that Halle Berry wanted to move to France. Initially people thought it had to do with the ongoing battle with her ex over the custody of their child. And then it started to surfaced that she was actually afraid for her life. That she had received death threats from the same man who had been convicted and made the same kind of death threats against Madonna.
So, very scary. Because you`re also dealing with a high profile actress someone like Halle Berry. So, it will be interesting to find out how this affects her move? What she has to say about it? If she feels any more secure or she doesn`t feel secure not because he was obviously able to walk out of the mental health facility.
CASAREZ: To C.W. Jensen, retired Portland police captain joining us tonight from Cave Creek, Arizona. This is a man with a laundry list of charges, some acquittals, some dismissals and some convictions. He was charged with attempted murder at one point. There is a serious issue potentially for the entire public when this man walks out of a state mental hospital.
As an investigator, what do you believe should be the next point with law enforcement in all of this?
C.W. JENSEN, PORTLAND POLICE CAPTAIN: Well, there are different levels of mental institutions and different floors and different things like that. This guy obviously had gotten the confidence of the people who are working there and believe me this doesn`t happen just in Los Angeles. This happens all over the country. We just don`t hear about it because it doesn`t involve Madonna and Halle Berry. So, they are going to need to take a look at this guy and get him into a more secure facility where he can`t just walk out on his own power.
CASAREZ: All right. We are taking your calls. Dean in Maryland. Hi, Dean.
DEAN, CALLER, MARYLAND: Hey, how is it going?
CASAREZ: Fine.
DEAN: Hey. I`m just wondering. It`s funny when, you know -- if you`re charged with drugs you get a hundred years. And when you do things to people attempted murder and stalking and being a threat to someone`s well-being, you get to walk out of the facility. I`m just blown away at the way that justice system works.
CASAREZ: You know, it`s really scary. I want to go back to C.W. Jensen joining us from Cave Creek, Arizona, retired Portland police captain.
You know, when you think about a stalker, you think about threats, threats that may or may not happen but stalking has is very serious. And there is a laundry list of stalkers that have not only harmed celebrities but people just living normal lives.
JENSEN: Absolutely. We get call like that all the time and get investigations. The problem is stalking in and of itself, letters, phone calls, facebook, all that stuff is very terrifying for victims. But what we are afraid of, of course, is that the stalker goes from this kind of benign interference -- e-mails, notes, calls. And it becomes physical abuse. And that what`s the scary thing we should be worried about.
CASAREZ: That`s exactly right. To Kelly Zink who is the host of "celebTV.com" joining us from Chicago. Madonna is just about to start on a world tour. She is a life -- life is in her hands at this point. She had a tremendous performance at the super bowl. Has there been any response that this man, a man that haunted her, she said, in her dreams escaped from a mental hospital.
KELLY ZINK, HOST, CELEBTV.COM: No. She did an interview this morning with Ryan Seacrest. She addressed M.I.A.. She addressed her daughter`s crush on Tom Brady but she didn`t mention this at all. So clearly, she`s keeping this low as profile as she can, a, not to give this guy the satisfaction of knowing he exists and b, to keep herself safe.
CASAREZ: David Kaplan, entertainment reporter out in New York. Did he go out of state to stalk Madonna or stay solely within in California?
CAPLAN: He stayed in California for stalking Madonna. But that doesn`t mean he doesn`t have a track record outside of the state. He has a criminal history in other states including Oregon. But he really sort of kept it close for when he was after Madonna.
CASAREZ: To clinical psychologists out of Washington, D.C. Ramani Durvasula. Just talk to us about the concern not only for celebrities but for the public in general. And psychologically, is this man going to want even more so now that he`s been taken into custody to get out to harm others?
RAMANI DURVASULA, PH.D, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: His focus clearly appears to be on, you know, right now on Madonna and his sort of erotomanic (ph) delusions he has around her as what we call them around Madonna. However, he does have a history of dangerous behavior. And when somebody has that kind of history we do want to monitor them. Add to that, the fact that he does have a history of psychotic symptoms and we want to monitor that. He`s not being well treated right now. So it is a concern. It absolutely is a public concern.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He served a ten-year prison sentence for stalking her in the `90s.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would not want to see him come out. He`ll continue to do this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Madonna testified that he gave her nightmares.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police are scrambling to find a man --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 54-year-old Robert Dewey Hoskins who used to stalk Madonna.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Invaded Madonna`s Hollywood Hills` home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hoskins threatened to knife the singer if she didn`t marry him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hoskins scrawled graffiti in his cell professing strange love for Madonna.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He escaped from the mental hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s highly psychotic and can be very violent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somehow managed to walked out of Norwalk`s metropolitan state hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A former body guard for the pop star called Hoskins the worst Madonna predator in history.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CASAREZ: And that is Madonna`s "like a virgin" video from you tube. Joining us tonight, a man, a man a very dangerous man escaped from a mental hospital. The same man you may member that was convicted of threatening to kill Madonna.
I want to go to Joey Jackson, defense lawyer joining us from New York.
Joey, we don`t know. This is just breaking. So, we don`t know if anybody helped this man, if anybody helped lure him out, if someone from the inside helped him out. What charges could somebody else face if they helped this man escape from the mental hospital.
JOEY JACKSON, DEFENSE LAWYER: Sure, Jean. Well, first of all you point to conspiracy. I mean, that`s the first thing a prosecutors love to use because it`s so wide-ranging. And of course, you know, we are thinking and maybe speculating that`s in fact being the case. But that means that you`re in engagement cahoots with another person for an act that`s unlawful. So, that`s the first instance.
The second thing you are looking at is you are endangering people. When you take someone who needs medication and who has some type of, you know, mental instability and put them in an environment where they can harm themselves and harm others, you know, you`re talking about exposing other people to risk. And that`s you know, it`s recklessly endangering the community at large.
So, there is a laundry list I believe, Jean, of charges that will be looked at not only as to him but of course as you raise importantly as to whether or not other people may have joined him in the effort to leave. But something has to be done. As you talked about before, Jean, to be able to walk out, no. Should never happen at all.
CASAREZ: And you know, I will tell you why I bring this it up to Karla Bell, defense attorney joining us tonight out of Los Angeles.
You know, Carla. I was born and raised in Long Beach, California. So, I know that Norwalk, California, and Long Beach, California, not really walking distance. You drive in a car. It`s not that far away from each other, but it`s not a place that you walk to. You arrive in Long Beach, that`s where he was taken into custody.
KARLA BELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right. My understanding he was actually found in Norwalk, close to the facility. But Long Beach and Norwalk are not close together. However they are in close proximity. Family communities, where the community may be concerned that this man is roaming about.
CASAREZ: All right, everybody. As we heard tonight from Sergeant Mitzi Fierro, the Los Angeles police department spokesperson, with us at the beginning of the hour. This man, Robert Dewey Hoskins, was apprehended by the Long Beach police department in Long Beach.
So, he therefore got from Norwalk to Long Beach. I wouldn`t think he`d have money on him.
To C.W. Jensen, retired Portland police captain. When you`re in a mental hospital, as law enforcement I`m sure you have been to the facilities. Do they allow patients to have money on them, enough for transportation?
JENSEN: It just depends on what level. I mean, sometimes they take these people -- not this guy specifically, I`m sure. They take them on field trips, let them buy things. So depending on what your level of danger is. I mean, you have some access even outside of the mental facility.
Now, a guy like this who has truly a violent path should have never gotten through basic safeguards to keep him in.
CASAREZ: You know, I want to go to clinical psychologist in Washington, D.C. Ramani Durvasula. Talk to us about a mental hospital such as the metropolitan state hospital in Norwalk. What`s it like? Are patients in rooms with their beds? Do they have money? Do they walk in and out freely? Are they taken on field trips? What`s life like for them and how do they get better?
DURVASULA: Jean, as Joe Jackson said there are going to be different levels of lockdown. Now, many of them are in locked units meaning that you can`t get in and out without a key or a code. And then they may have separate rooms within there.
But within the hospital, patients can earn privileges to walk around the grounds. They may have a nominal amount of money to purchase things in a store. So, it really depends on the acuity of the care, how severe their symptoms are in terms of how they are managed. So, the level of motion around the hospital has to do with how severe their symptoms are and how much of a danger they are to themselves and to others as well how severe the symptoms are.
So, it really depends. The fact that he could walk out though given the level of symptoms, that he`s not very well managed and his history of dangerous behavior, it foes gives me pause about the decisions and choices that were made at metropolitan state hospital.
CASAREZ: And this is a man that was charged previously with attempted murder and convicted of threatening to kill Madonna.
To David Caplan, entertainment reporter. Didn`t Madonna watch him and see him out of her window of her home?
CAPLAN: Yes. You know, the interaction they actually had is in between his first visit and the second visit in April and May of 1995. She was going for a bike ride with her personal trainer and she sort of, you know, crossed paths with him. And she got really spooked out. She sensed something was off. And she went back to her house. She told her body guard. Listen, I ran into a guy who was really scruffy. He had a beard, really (inaudible) drought. And the body guard was like that was the guy that came to your house a few days or few weeks ago. And that really just, you know, I think when you come into contact like that it really shook her up a lot. Of course it shows her how shameless he was. And he had no calms about going -- he wanted Madonna. He wasn`t happy with just sort of seeing her security guard. He wanted to get up close to her.
CASAREZ: And to Kim Serafin, senior editor of "in touch weekly." We are talking about Madonna`s Hollywood Hills` mansion. I think it was 25,000 square feet but yet this man was able to scale the wall two times to get into the property.
SERAFIN: Yes. That`s what really frightening. Again, as David was saying he really is very fearless. The fact that he showed up at her house not once but twice, scaled the wall. Went into her pool. It was frightening and was so threatening that her body guards had to shoot him. This is someone who clearly had something on his mind. He went for it. And I think that`s why you are seeing Halle Berry scared that you`re dealing with that same kind of person or that came exactly with the same kind of thoughts toward her.
CASAREZ: And he still has writings of what he wants to do to Madonna. And now, to tonight`s CNN heroes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT STRODE, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: So I get on my bike and ride up in the mountains. It really just brings peace. In my drug and alcohol use it was the opposite. I got into it pretty young. By the time I was 15, I was using pretty serious drugs. When I got sober and I lost my group of friends because they were still out drinking and using. I got into boxing, triathlon, climbing. I had this new group of friends. I had completely redefined myself. So I thought, how can we give this to other people?
I`m Scott Strode and I want to help people find a better life being sober.
Welcome to Friday night climbing. Good to see you all you here. Phoenix offers about 50 events a week. All the programs are free to anybody with 48 hours sober.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looking Zack.
STRODE: Who see they`re capable of whatever they put their mind to. We had a common connection. It is easy to make new friends.
We do bike rights, hiking, triathlon training, strength training. It really is just a new community of folks to hang out with. I am an example of hitting rock bottom. I had a heroin overdose. Had to jump start me with paddles. Rolled over, drilled in there.
Going out biking, going boxing, hitting the bag really fills the void. Phoenix is the best sport I can imagine having. We are having fun and proud of being sober. So come out and go climbing with us!
(END VIDEO TAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madonna`s stalker Robert Hoskins.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He escaped from a mental hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is she at unreasonable fear of her safety from others.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And that is Madonna`s videoing from you tube. I`m Jean Casarez in for Nancy Grace tonight.
We are getting word that this hospital was minimum security, allowed patients to leave freely at times because they already served their prison sentence. We also are receiving word that this man was out. He was on the loose when Madonna performed at the super bowl on Sunday.
I want to go out to Kelly Zink, host of celebTV.com out of Chicago. Another new worry is with Halle Berry. What do we know about alleged threats towards her?
ZINK: Halle Berry expressed to a judge she wants to move to France and take her child with her because the same guy had made threats to slit her throat. Same similar threats he made to Madonna. And she fears since her home is visible on things like star tours, on star maps, she wants to get the heck out of the country and make sure her and her family, are safe.
CASAREZ: To C.W. Jensen, retired Portland police chief, now that we know this man was on the loose, knowing to be violent and dangerous on Sunday when Madonna performed at the super bowl, could he have wanted to go and find her at that point? Could that have been his motive for leaving the hospital when he did?
JENSEN: Well, it certainly would have been a long trip from California to Indianapolis, and that of course you have to get into the facility, and you wouldn`t have had a ticket. It was probably a bridge too far for him. But, would he have been able to see the half time performance there, maybe they wouldn`t have let him do it in the facility. Who knows what really his motivation was.
CASAREZ: Hey Sue Moss, this man knows no reason. He goes for what he wants. A couple of state lines wouldn`t stop him.
SUE MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY, ADVOCATE: Absolutely. And the only thing society did was put him in a hospital without a borderline where he had the lock and he had the key. We have to take stalking more seriously or more problems like this will happen.
CASAREZ: Tonight, let us stop and remember marine sergeant Jeremy Murray, 27 years old from Atwater, Ohio. He was killed in Iraq. He was on his third tour of duty. He was awarded the Purple Heart, the Navy and Marine Corp achievement medal, and the gold star.
An avid outdoorsman, he loved hunting and fishing with his father and his grandfather. He leaves behind his parents, Harold and Pam, his sister Lisa, his widow Megan, and his son Ian. Jeremy Murray, an American hero.
Thank you so much to our guests and to you at home. See you Monday, 8:00 sharp.
Until then, good night everybody.
END
