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Jane Velez-Mitchell
New Video Emerges of Butcher of Montreal; Secrets Revealed in Husband`s 911 Call?; New Search for Mickey; Adventure to Slim; Salute to the Troops
Aired June 07, 2012 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Well, here`s what we`re talking about tonight. It`s a story that`s fascinating people all around the world. And our show has just obtained some extraordinary new video. Here`s a little of what we`re going to show you next.
This is Luka Magnotta auditioning for a part on a reality show five years before he was accused of unspeakable crimes. And next, my primetime exclusive interview with the director who shot this audition as you and I try to get inside the mind of an alleged madman, next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Tonight, breaking news: our show has just obtained the bizarre audition tapes of the man dubbed the Butcher of Montreal. In my exclusive interview coming up, the director who auditioned alleged decapitation killer Luka Magnotta for a modeling reality show talks about his time with the man accused of unspeakable crimes, and he shows us Luka`s audition. Judge for yourself.
And we`ll play you the newly-released 911 calls reporting the disappearance of mother of three Vilet Torrez. Did the mystery caller make a shocking confession, blurting out that, quote, "definitely did it" before abruptly changing his story? I`ll talk to Vilet`s sister tonight.
Plus racecar superstar Foster Graham joins the desperate search for missing Louisiana college student Mickey Shunick. Canine rescue teams scour the streets as cops send out alerts for this beautiful 22-year-old. Graham talks to me alongside Mickey`s family. Plus, what I found when I went to New Orleans this weekend to investigate.
And, in our adventure to slim, a family of four dumps all processed food, and guess what? They`re loving it. They`re talking to us about how we can eat real.
LUKA MAGNOTTA, SUSPECTED KILLER: Hi, my name is Luka. Magnotta is my last name.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Killing and dismembering a man in Canada.
MAGNOTTA: Practice makes perfect, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first package containing what appeared to be a human hand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a really traumatic or difficult situation for absolutely everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Human remains were discovered in separate packages mailed to two local area schools this afternoon.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The victim`s head is still missing tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re still missing the head. The head is still missing.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The porn star fugitive has now been captured.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Having indecently abused the corpse of the man he killed, his former boyfriend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve now learned that the suspect videotaped the dismemberment of his victim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a real human being getting decapitated in front of a video, in front of a camera.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe that he was showing off his work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A torso found stuffed in a suitcase behind an apartment in Montreal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve recovered the same body parts that we were looking for, which is the right hand and the right foot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another package containing what appeared to be a human foot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know he was really strange, and he freaked me out for sure.
MAGNOTTA: A lot of people tell me I`m really devastatingly good looking, so...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Unbelievable.
Good evening. Jane Velez-Mitchell. Breaking news: we have just obtained an extraordinary video. It is really a stunning look into the mind and the motives of the so-called Butcher of Montreal.
We`ve obtained bizarre new video of porn star Luka Magnotta -- you see him right there -- the man accused of decapitating his former lover and videotaping the gruesome murder.
Now, cops say, and this is very disturbing. This is what they say happened. He stabbed the man with a pick. He dismembered him. He had sex with the corpse. He ate the flesh of his human victim. And then he mailed the severed body parts to government officials and children`s schools.
Even hardened cops are shocked, and they`re asking how does somebody get that demented? You`re looking at the individual accused of all that. How does that happen?
Well, this new video shows Magnotta well before the horrific crime, auditioning for "Cover Guy," a Canadian reality TV show some compare to "Top Model," where the winner gets a contract as an underwear model. Study this accused killer as he vies for the part.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGNOTTA: Practice makes perfect, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... hair color?
MAGNOTTA: No. Actually, I just got it highlighted and changed things up a bit.
I have no problem gaining weight. I can gain weight if I need to gain weight.
I can gain muscle. Everybody can do it. You know, I can gain muscle. I can work out. I`m very determined. In every goal that I put my mind to, I surpass.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Very determined. Any goal he puts his mind to it, he does, but he didn`t get the part.
This video is adding to the theory that Magnotta is a self-obsessed and fame-crazed individual who would do anything -- anything -- to be famous.
He`s not only accused of posting the video of this brutal murder online. Cops believe he also posted video of himself on YouTube while he was on the run from an international man hunt. Here he is talking to his, quote unquote, "fans" while Madonna blares in the background.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGNOTTA: What`s up? And hi to all my fans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And there may be more videos out there.
Magnotta has created an international uproar. He was captured on Monday in Berlin at an Internet -- Internet cafe, where he was reading news stories about himself.
Cops say he committed this crime in Montreal, but he`s known to have spent time in New York, Hollywood. How does this chilling audition tape give us new insight into the mind of an alleged madman and the dark side of human nature.
Straight out to my primetime exclusive guest, the director of "Cover Guy," who auditioned Magnotta and spent time with him up close and personal, Larry Peloso.
Larry, thank you for joining us tonight. When you heard this man was a suspect in one of the most horrific crimes in recent century, a murder that -- and I hate to say it, but these are the facts of the case -- involved necrophilia and cannibalism, what was your reaction?
LARRY PELOSO, DIRECTOR, "COVER GUY": I was a little overwhelmed at first. I really didn`t believe it. I got a call to confirm that he was semifinalist on "Cover Guy."
And I remembered that he looked somewhat familiar when I first saw the reports, but I thought, no way. He was not one of our semifinalists. And that evening, I went to my records. I pulled out all the questionnaires from the 2007 auditions. And he was not one of the questionnaires we kept, so that meant he wasn`t a semifinalist.
Then I went through all the model release forms, and when I turned the page and saw his signature on the page, I had this chill that just ran right up my spine when I realized who it was, and that he had auditioned for us.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: A chill up your spine. And sir, if I can ask you, look right into the camera there as you speak to us, because we are so fascinated into -- in what you have to say.
Now, we`re going to play a little bit more of this extraordinary audition as we see the narcissist in Luka Magnotta come out. Watch it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGNOTTA: A lot of people tell me I`m really devastatingly good looking, so -- everyone has their own personal opinion, but you know, I think I have what it takes, you know, to do it. I definitely do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. You`re looking at the same man that cops believe mailed body parts to various government officials and to children`s schools in order to gain infamy. Human body parts.
Larry, from the time you spent with Luka Magnotta, did you get the impression that he was so desperate for fame that he would go to any lengths to get his name out there?
PELOSO: No, I did not. I have to say I`m -- I`m extremely shocked that this same person who came in to audition for us five years ago could be the same person who would be involved in a -- in a murder.
He came across as an ordinary guy. Most of the guys that came out for the show were like body builders, tanned. He was like an ordinary guy. He was pale and thin. So it did surprise me that he would consider himself suitable for "Cover Guy."
Obviously, he was trading on his looks. He told us that he`d been compared to Ryan Phillippe. He told us that he could bulk up. He obviously was looking for his opportunity in the limelight. We were looking for guys that had the look, had the body, had what it takes.
Yes, he had an -- you know, an attractive look, but he certainly didn`t have the body, didn`t have what it -- would be necessary to be -- to be a model, an underwear model. And that`s what our judges decided and why they did not send him forward into the semifinals.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, we are learning now that the victim`s family, Lin Jun`s family has arrived from China in Canada to recover the body, even though this victim`s head has not been recovered. This is believed to be by police a former lover of Magnotta`s who, again, was decapitated, dismembered, and horrific crimes perpetrated on this individual.
Now, this is what shocks me, but maybe I shouldn`t be shocked, Pat Brown, criminal profiler.
Magnotta`s lawyer says that Magnotta is in fear for his life in a Berlin jail, because the media is making him out to be a, quote, "really, really bad person."
Pat, if half the things, if a quarter of the things that have been said about this man are true -- torturing kittens, committing this horrific murder, allegedly -- you`re dealing with a sociopath, a psychopath. But what that tells me is that his vision of himself is so out of touch with reality he`s living in a parallel universe of his own that exists in his mind.
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Along with his lawyer. I mean, if you can`t call this man a really, really bad man, who can you call a bad man?
But he is. You know, what you`re saying. He`s very narcissistic. He`s got very grandiose thinking, but he`s not that different from other serial killer types.
I mean, what I saw in that video was horrifying, but that`s what serial killers do. What was different about him is that he`s an attention whore first, before he was a serial killer, which is what he would have been if he`d kept going. Or maybe he has killed others. We don`t know about it.
He`s such an attention whore. He just wants everybody to see him, see him, see him. And he`s always been in front of the camera, so he just married the two things together.
So he`s just a psychopath to the nth degree who`s found a medium to work with, which is the Internet.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, when I`m looking at him, what strikes me, Joe Warmington -- and you`re a reporter with Sun News Network out of Toronto who also interviewed this man -- is how deceptive his appearance is. He seems so -- almost petite, very boyish, very unthreatening physically. Did that throw you off, too, Joe?
JOE WARMINGTON, REPORTER, SUN NEWS NETWORK: Yes, it did, and you know, he had this almost a chameleon-type thing, because he was trying to look like Paul Bernardo here with the Ken and Barbie thing.
And then, you know, obviously, he was known and was convicted of trying to look like a woman and had the credit cards and the profilers like Pat that said that, you know, he would travel as a woman. So he could be anything at any time.
Interesting how he dealt with that in Larry`s video, when he said, "I can put on weight if you need to. I can do what I have to," and he can surpass his goals. I think that was really, really telling.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGNOTTA: Practice makes perfect, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... hair color?
MAGNOTTA: No. Actually, I just got it highlighted and changed things up a bit.
I have no problem gaining weight. I can gain weight if I need to gain weight.
I can gain muscle. Everybody can do it. You know, I can gain muscle. I can work out. I`m very determined. In every goal that I put my mind to, I surpass.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Every goal he`s ever had he`s surpassed. This is video we have just obtained showing the alleged Butcher of Montreal, accused of the most horrific crime imaginable, five years before that man was killed. Do we see anything that foreshadowed what was allegedly to come? Could this murder and dismemberment have been a drastic attempt for Magnotta to get his own TV show? He failed at this audition.
You remember this other story. It didn`t involve murder, but the entire world watched when they thought a little boy was trapped inside this balloon, only to find out that it was a ploy by his dad, who wanted to get his own reality show.
Back to Larry Peloso, primetime exclusive, director of "Cover Guy." You auditioned this now alleged killer of the worst order. Did you get a sense that he would do anything to get this? In other words, did he seem desperate to you?
PELOSO: He certainly gave me the impression that yes, he could do what it takes, and he wanted to be the next "Cover Guy." The judges asked him, well, to be an underwear model, you`ve got to have the right body, and you don`t have it.
And he said, "Well, I can bulk up," as you just watched there. Again, he was determined.
But what was lurking behind those eyes, I don`t know. To be five years later, an international murderer is beyond anything I could ever imagine from seeing that guy before us five years ago.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And perhaps the lesson is that it`s not like in the movies, that if somebody is a horrific killer -- and he is just accused; he hasn`t gone to trial yet -- there`s no way to tell.
But there was foreshadowing. We still don`t know if there are other victims out there, but this guy has a lot in common with Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, and Andrew Cunanan, say cops.
You know, Dahmer was a cannibal. Ted Bundy was a necrophiliac. And all three serial killers had a long history of killing animals, as did Magnotta.
Magnotta allegedly tortured kittens and put many of these videos on the Internet. He reportedly e-mailed one of those videos to "The Sun" and the BBC and allegedly warned, "Once you kill and taste blood, it`s impossible to stop," and then predicted, "I will be back. And this time the victims won`t be animals."
Chris DeRose, president of Last Chance for Animals, an organization that has hunted this guy for years, cops refused to move in, despite your pleas, and take the animal cruelty cases seriously. Do you think that this is a mistake that cost a man his life?
CHRIS DEROSE, LAST CHANCE FOR ANIMALS: Very good chance, Jane. If this guy -- if people had taken us seriously, and this was brought to me by the Barbi twins to look at videotape of the footage of the kittens that were being suffocated to death. If this was taken seriously, and I told them yes, it`s real. And they went back to law enforcement and told them, "This is real. Do something about it."
This is typical attitude. I`d always hear, "Boys will be boys. Oh, it`s just a cat. It`s just a dog." Well, it`s no longer that. This case is really bringing it to the forefront that there is a relationship between the torture and killing of animals and the torturing and killing of human beings. And I think that people really need to get a hold of this.
Another thing I`d like to say, Jane. In most states in this country, it`s a misdemeanor, it`s barely a slap on the wrist, to torture and kill an animal. And if you move from one state to the other, that record doesn`t follow you.
So it needs to become a felony in every state in this country so that you move from California to Omaha, Nebraska, it`s going to follow you. It doesn`t -- it doesn`t just stay there. We need to have some type of tracking system to see where these kind of people are going.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGNOTTA: I have a very deep voice. A lot of people tell me that, actually.
How do I get my voice so deep? Practice makes perfect. Right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That is video we`ve obtained of the alleged Butcher of Montreal, five years because -- before he was accused of a horrific crime.
Now, some are saying that the Web site owner that hosted the alleged Luka Magnotta murder video, entitled "One Lunatic, One Ice Pick," should be charged with a crime for posting that video. This is a cautionary tale about the dark side of social media.
Magnotta manipulated the Internet in his way, perversely questing for fame. He created more than 70 Facebook pages. He created different identities. He viciously, allegedly tortured cats to death, uploaded it on the Internet.
And Jayne Weintraub, criminal defense attorney, should the Web site that posted the -- you might call it even a snuff video, where he allegedly decapitates and does all sorts of horrible things to this victim, in a video that one of my producers watched and he ran away after ten seconds because he was nauseous, should that Web site owner be charged with a crime?
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I don`t know if he should be charged with a crime, because I don`t know if there`s a statute on the books that would prohibit that kind of posting.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, do you think there should be a statute on the books?
WEINTRAUB: Absolutely. Absolutely I do, because I wouldn`t want one of my kids looking at that by accident, even. That`s -- you know, there`s just no redeeming social value for anything like that to be posted.
And you know, Jane, when we talk about these people that are insane, I mean, there`s no template for somebody who is insane, because the whole feed is on the horror and on the surprise factor. That`s why you can`t predict these people`s behavior. It`s really beyond.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that`s the thing. Larry Peloso, back to you, our primetime exclusive. You spent time with this guy. You were the director. There was no hit, as far as I can tell from you, right?
PELOSO: Yes. And he wanted his attention and guess what? He`s getting it now, more than he ever dreamed of. But not for the right reasons, unfortunately. And just 10 minutes ago, I saw there`s an audition parody, a parody of his audition already up on YouTube. It`s just crazy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She would never leave those children. Those children were her life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I definitely did it. So...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, it was -- she didn`t show up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are actively still looking for Vilet. Everybody is still a suspect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Both of her purses are there at the house, but there`s no billfold inside. There`s no -- or personal wallet with her information. You know, it`s not in the house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cid Torrez remains a person of interest in this investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead he refuses to say anything, to talk to anybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The father does have custody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that to me is just appalling. There should be a sort of safety system in the law, whereas if you`re still considered a person of interest in the homicide investigation of your wife, you should not have access to your kids.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no evidence. I pray to God that she`s alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, a just-released 911 call could shed new light on the case of missing mom Vilet Torrez.
A mystery man called 911 to report her missing. Was that mystery man her ex-husband? What he told the dispatcher can only be described as bizarre.
Vilet Torrez was reported missing two months ago after she went on a date with her new boyfriend. This is the last time anybody saw this mom, on the surveillance video, as she tries to get through the security gate where she lived. While parked at this gate, Vilet`s brother said that Vilet called her estranged husband, not once, but twice. Why would she call him?
This video was recorded on Saturday, March 31. Two days later, her husband said he reported her missing by calling 911. Listen to what was said on the 911 tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TORREZ: I don`t know. Saturday she wasn`t here, all right? And Friday, as a matter of fact -- yes, Saturday morning and Friday night she didn`t come to sleep, and then I don`t know about Saturday. And now Sunday, I definitely did it. So...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did what?
TORREZ: I mean, it was 1 o`clock, and she didn`t show up either.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, so she`s been missing since Friday?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. The individual who is making that call to 911 says, "I definitely did it"? What on earth does that mean?
Police told us today that Cid Torrez, the estranged husband, who works with a company that sells dry ice, is no longer cooperating with their investigation and they consider him a person of interest.
However, he maintains his innocence. And he and/or his attorney are invited on our show any time.
Vilet`s family says Vilet`s estranged husband made death threats and told her that her kids were going to grow up orphans, something the attorney for Cid Torrez denies.
Here is Cid Torrez himself talking about his missing wife.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you have anything to do with her disappearance?
TORREZ: Nothing at all. I`m counting the hours and...
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST: Vilet`s family says Vilet`s estranged husband made death threats and told her that her kids were going to grow up orphans, something the attorney for Cid Torrez denies.
Here is Cid Torrez himself talking about his missing wife.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you have anything to do with her disappearance?
CID TORREZ, ESTRANGED HUSBAND OF VILET TORREZ: Nothing at all. I`m counting the hours, and I`m counting the minutes, and I`m hoping. I`m hoping she comes back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This beautiful mom has three young children between the ages of 4 and 12 and now her husband has custody of those kids. Could police have released this 911 call to put pressure on the husband?
Vilet`s sister, Nayiva Blanco, you join me tonight, thank you. My heart goes out to you. I know what hell it is to not have any knowledge of what happened to your precious sister. First of all, what was your reaction to this 911 and what was said? Can you recognize the voice on the tape on the 911 call?
NAYIVA BLANCO, SISTER OF VILET TORREZ: Yes, I clearly recognize it`s Cid Torrez calling 911.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Victor, meaning the estranged husband of your sister.
BLANCO: Yes, that`s her ex-husband.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Cid? Cid.
BLANCO: Cid Torrez.
BLANCO: When you hear it, you`re saying -- I don`t know, I`ve never met the man -- you`re saying it sounds like him?
BLANCO: It is him. I know it. I`d recognize his voice anywhere. I`ve spoken to him many times. I`ve known this man for 20 years. I`ve spoken to him on the phone, in person. I know it`s him.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s listen to the portion of the 911 call again where we hear a man who you hear the family of the woman say it`s her estranged husband and we don`t have any independent confirmation of that, but this individual blurts out the words "I definitely did it."
Listen carefully.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TORREZ: I don`t know. Saturday she wasn`t here, all right. And -- Friday, as a matter of fact -- yes, Saturday morning, on Friday night she didn`t come to sleep and then I don`t know about Saturday. And now Sunday, I definitely did it. So --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did what?
TORREZ: I mean it was 1:00 and she didn`t show up either.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok. So she`s been missing since Friday?
TORREZ: I guess. I guess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Now, we reached out to the estranged husband and again, they`re invited. He or his attorney are invited on the show any time but we did get a statement and let me read it to you.
"Cid Torrez has made prior statements to the police and the media that he had nothing do with Vilet`s disappearance. He has nothing further to add to those statements."
And that is from his attorney.
Now, under Florida law, police cannot release the identity of the caller but the husband has told media outlets that he reported her missing by calling 911.
So I`ve got to ask Pat Brown, criminal profiler, you heard the 911 call this "I did it" comment, is that an innocuous comment? What do you make of it?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: The whole call is fascinating. He can`t keep his story straight. He`s not starting in the beginning and going to the end with a simple explanation of what`s true. He`s all over the place, trying to explain why she`s not there. And he does give a confession which I think is even more interesting that he is then asked "What do you mean?" And he just doesn`t answer that. So if he has something that he could tell them or what he meant besides "I killed her" he would have said what that was.
So this is an extraordinarily suspicious type, extremely deceptive. Yes, they`re going to be looking at him 100 percent from this tape.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Jayne Weintraub, you`re a criminal defense attorney and I know you always speak up for people who are under the microscope. What is an explanation is there for that. I mean when people are making 911 calls -- if he is making that call and we haven`t been able to verify that -- would that be somewhere somebody is shaky and they don`t -- they`re confused and agitated?
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I think -- and they`re under a great deal of stress. He might have been confused. He might have been so overwhelmed or overwrought if he thought he was actually making this call.
I mean Jane, he didn`t have to call 911 at all and if he`s the killer, why would he call 911? So I think there`s an innocent explanation. I think that he`s overwrought and overwhelmed and under the stress.
I don`t think he was focused on the question when he was giving that answer, "I did it". I think that it could have just meant "I did it. I looked for her. I did it on Sunday she wasn`t there." I don`t think it meant "I did it. I killed her." I mean that would be absurd. Why would he call 911?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The 911 dispatcher asked the caller -- well, that some suspect is Vilet`s husband, we don`t know for sure -- if he knew what Vilet was wearing when she disappeared. Here`s his answer. Listen carefully.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know what she was last seen wearing?
TORREZ: I`m sorry?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know the last type of clothing she had on. What was she wearing the last time you seen her?
TORREZ: No, that`s the thing. On Friday supposedly she was going to work, but I don`t know what happened from there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok, Nayiva, you`re the sister of the missing woman. What was their relationship at the time of your sister`s disappearance?
BLANCO: They were separated. They had been separated for three months, and as I understood he was not living in the house anymore and he had gone to the house on Friday to pick up the children.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now I understand according to phone records they reportedly indicate that Vilet called her estranged husband when she couldn`t get in. She had been on a date with another man. Is that true? Tell us about that.
BLANCO: I don`t know if she had been on a date with another man. I know she went out to dinner with a co-worker. I know that she told her daughter that she was going out eat. She called her daughter around 10:00 and she told her, "I`m going to eat, ok?" And she said, "All right." And that`s the last thing I heard.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Are you upset that the estranged husband has the children?
BLANCO: Of course, I`m upset. He`s still a person of interest and all these things are coming out about him, and it makes him even more suspicious. And if he feels these walls closing in, I don`t know what he`s capable of doing to the kids.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Racing star, next, but first, your "Viral Video of the Day".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIRAL VIDEO OF THE DAY)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two fishermen found Mickey`s bike under the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police released photos of three vehicles they say were in the area. Now they want to talk to those drivers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just want her back. We want her safe. We want our friend.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She left here at this house around 2:00 in the morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was Mickey`s family who confirmed the bike as hers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the first time in days the Shunick family and investigators have something to go on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want our daughter back and that would make everything better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, as a new canine search team joins the hunt for beautiful, missing Mickey Shunick, a famous race car driver is doing everything he can to bring Mickey home; this beautiful, petite, college co- ed last seen riding her bike home from a friend`s house on May 18th.
Here is the last known video of Mickey just moments before she vanished -- see her there on the bike. Her bike later found under a bridge in the opposite direction of her house. Cops still on the hunt for this white truck that was seen in the very same area at the same time Mickey was biking home.
Investigators say somebody might have abducted her and then hopped on the I-10 freeway, a road stretching from coast to coast.
I went down to New Orleans this past weekend to investigate and talk to a retired cop. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. BOBBY GUIDRY, RETIRED NEW ORLEANS POLICE: Well, with the I-10, like I said it runs -- it runs from Jacksonville all the way out to San Diego. So if anybody picked her up and put her in that car or truck, you know, there`s no telling where she could wind up. There are hundreds of cities she could be in now, but it runs the whole length of the country so that`s what the problem is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now a race car driver, Buster Graham, is making it a I top priority to find Mickey. Watch him race on YouTube.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s driving the 59. The contact happens made in front of him. Some cars avoiding that and he`s one of them in the 59 and up and over that three-foot high guardrail on the inside of Pocono.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, that thing is more than three foot wide. That was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Buster, bravo for getting involved. This has been a heart-wrenching experience, obviously -- hellish for Mickey`s family. Why did you decide to jump in and what, specifically, are you doing?
BUSTER GRAHAM, RACE CAR DRIVER: Well, actually, I have an 18-year-old daughter and, you know, we were sitting down eating dinner one night and she knew I was going to get a lot of television coverage from my spectacular crash last year at Pocono. You know, she said, "Dad, you should put Mickey on the hood of your car, you know. It`s going to be seen by millions of people."
And it kind of went in one ear and out the other. And the more I thought about it -- I actually thought about it for about a day. And I just said, you know what; I`m going to go down to the Shunicks. See what they think about it --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I have to say, I`m going jump in here for time. One thing that is so troubling about this case is that Mickey went missing by this major freeway. I spent some time on this exact highway in New Orleans, not far from where she disappeared, riding along with a retired cop and I asked him how cops should handle a case like this?
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GUIDRY: We put out, you know, alerts and we try to send BOLOs out -- Be on the Look Out for -- and we notify everybody, all of the police departments and all the agencies that would border and all the state policemen all over the states that were anywhere around I-10 to be on the lookout for this white truck that`s a suspect.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to go out to Tom Shunick, Mickey Shunick`s father. Your daughter is missing; our hearts go out to you. I couldn`t stop thinking about it all weekend in New Orleans. It was just heart- wrenching.
Tom what are cops telling you right now about their search and what they found?
TOM SHUNICK, FATHER OF MICKEY SHUNICK: All I really know is just that. That they found the bike; if they found anything else, you know, and they`re not letting me know any of the details and I don`t want them to.
I don`t need to know that, you know. I`m not going to find her, and I might just let it slip by saying something. Other than finding the bike and a lot of the search teams out there I really don`t know too much more.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re very excited to tell you the Daytime Emmys are coming to HLN. This year`s presentation will feature tributes to beloved shows that recently finished their run. You can watch the Daytime Emmy Awards, live, Saturday, June 23rd 8:00 p.m. Eastern only here on HLN.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t want you to be miserable. I don`t want you to hate your life. I want you to enjoy your life. So we`re going to do it one step at a time.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: On tonight`s adventure to slim, we`ve got an all- American family who challenged themselves to give up the all-American diet. Their incredible journey changed their bodies and improved their lives.
Meet the Leake family. Aren`t they gorgeous?
Now, they made a pledge to stay away from all processed and refined foods for 100 days. So they`ve eaten foods from Mother Nature, not a manufacturer. No refined grains, no refined sweeteners, nothing packaged that has more than five ingredients, nothing deep fried, no fast food.
Bravo, Leake family. First of all, I kind of talked in generalities, but give me specific examples of what you chucked out of your refrigerator and what you brought into your kitchen.
LISA LEAKE, WENT 100 DAYS WITHOUT EATING PROCESSED FOOD: Well, some things that we got rid of right away was white bread -- that`s what I made my sandwiches with -- flavored yogurt, gold fish for the kids, pretzels made from white flower. All that kind of snacky 100-calorie packed type stuff. We basically chucked all of that right away when we made the change.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And what did you bring in?
L. LEAKE: What we brought in were basically whole grains, real whole wheat bread -- not the bread from the grocery store that says whole wheat and has 40 or so ingredients -- but real whole wheat bread made from only four or five ingredients, brown rice, lots of fruit and vegetables, vegetables we had never heard of or even tasted before, a lot of local foods that we can get here in town here in Charlotte, that we had never shopped for before.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jason, dad, how did your life change? Did you lose weight? Did you feel better? What happened?
JASON LEAKE, WENT 100 DAYS WITHOUT EATING PROCESSED FOOD: Well, we were actually pretty healthy before, and we weren`t setting out to lose weight, but I lost about ten pounds; Lisa lost a couple of pounds.
And we had some other health benefits as well. Sienna -- I`m sure she`s not happy I`m saying this -- suffered from constipation a little. That went away within like a week. I mean it was amazing.
We all have heightened energy levels. And that energy level was more consistent throughout the day. So we didn`t get those ups and downs, you know.
And in addition, Lisa`s good cholesterol level went up about 50 percent. We`re really surprised about that. Mine went up as well.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m so happy for you guys.
Now, let`s get to the two most important people: seven-year-old Sidney and five-year-old Sienna. And we have video of you -- there`s the refrigerator. I don`t know if this is good -- I guess this is the good refrigerator. But anyway, we have video at one of your birthday parties where mommy made you a cake and cupcakes and apparently there was nothing bad in it, it was good stuff.
Did you like it? Did it taste good? And Sidney, you can answer -- whoever wants to answer.
L. LEAKE: Girls, remember what mommy did for your birthdays?
SIDNEY LEAKE, WENT 100 DAYS WITHOUT EATING PROCESSED FOOD: Well, for my birthday, my mommy made me a tie-dye cake.
L. LEAKE: That was like two years ago.
SIDNEY LEAKE: For my sixth birthday.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I guess, I`m asking Lisa, are the kids going along with this plan or are you having to drag them?
L. LEAKE: You know what? They are doing very well, especially when we`re at home. It`s really not a big deal at all. The hard part is when we`re out in public and we`re with other friends and there`s a social aspect to eating junk food as well.
So we`re not completely restricted now that our 100-day pledge is over. We do let them indulge in birthday cake at a party but pretty much what I feed them is all 100 percent real food. And they are great eaters and have really, really started to eat a lot of -- a really large variety of food. They pretty much eat -- they eat what we eat.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you`re a beautiful family. The proof is in the pudding. You want to look like the Leake family, eat like the Leake family.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: HLN is committed to our nation`s military and their families who sacrifice so much to protect our freedom and our way of life. All month long we`re bringing you their stories of courage.
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AMANDA AIKMAN, HUSBAND SERVED IN IRAQ: You have to be a strong individual to be able to do what us military spouses do every single day during deployment. It`s just go to work. You get up at 5:30, you get the kids dressed. You somehow get breakfast into them and yourself. You get to work by 7:00. You get what you need done. You get -- somehow get the kids with their backpack and lunches. Somehow we make it through the day.
I`m left here with a husband who`s in Iraq and being mom and dad. It`s stressful, but it`s a job I wouldn`t trade for the world.
When they come back, a lot of couples have to learn how to live with each other once again. And I know we`ll probably have to do that because we`ve already come into a routine where it is just been the three of us.
CW2 SEAN AIKMAN, SERVED THREE TOURS OF DUTY IN IRAQ: My wife`s been there. She`s been my cornerstone, giving me focused. Making sure things are taken care of at home so I don`t have to worry about that as much so I can focus on my mission here.
This is my third tour to Iraq. I was here during the initial invasion with the 101st alongside our third (inaudible). I just like serving. It`s just some people are a banker and some people are soldiers. Sometimes being a soldier is a career for some people, and that`s me.
No deployment actually gets easier. Of course being away from family is always difficult. I missed our anniversary. It was a couple of months right after I left so I missed out on that. I missed out on every birthday. I missed out on the first day of school. Missed some of that functions and some of the school plays that they did. So I missed on a lot of that.
I look forward to being a husband and a father, getting back in the swing of things.
AMANDA AIKMAN: Homecoming everyone gets excited even though it`s not their husband. You know people at work are like so your husband`s coming home. Family kept coming in. They`re like "Oh my God". I mean everyone around the military community is just so tight with one another, that everyone gets excited for you.
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