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Jane Velez-Mitchell

Was Murdered UNC Student Targeted?; Dina Lohan`s Odd Behavior on Dr. Phil Show

Aired September 14, 2012 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, folks. Thank you very much for joining us. "JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL" starts right now.

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Tonight, a college town on edge as police try to track down a cold-blooded killer. Who murdered beautiful 19-year- old Faith Hedgepeth in her apartment? Police aren`t saying how she died, but they believe Faith was targeted. Her brother is my very special guest tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Tonight, a stunning mystery. Cops find a beautiful 19-year-old coed dead in her college campus apartment in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Who did this? And why? Her devastated brother joins me tonight.

And the royal family`s furious, fit to be tied after a topless scandal involving Prince William`s wife, Kate Middleton. Why Prince Harry has company. And why the paparazzi may have royally messed up.

Then, can you say awkward? Wild and crazy antics on "Dr. Phil" from Lindsay Lohan`s mom that you have to see to believe.

And tonight, shocking and kooky videos of the day, straight ahead.

A college student mysteriously murdered at the University of North Carolina.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 19-year-old UNC student was found dead in her Chapel Hill apartment Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of us, we were supposed to be together. You know? Now she`s not here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nineteen-year-old Faith Hedgepeth spent most of her time at UNC behind those doors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police have not said how she died but say this is a homicide and it isn`t random.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can`t see anybody hurting Faith on purpose, anybody that actually knew her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don`t believe there was forced entry here. And they know a lot that they`re not releasing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To take somebody so special -- excuse me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, a college murder mystery devastates a family and sends police scrambling to find a killer.

Good evening. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell.

Nineteen-year-old Faith Hedgepeth was found dead a week ago inside her apartment, which is just about three miles from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.

Faith`s brother joins me in just a moment.

Police have not revealed how the scholarship student died. But cops say it was not a random act. Investigators say her friends discovered her. And there were no signs of forced entry in her apartment. Did Faith know her killer?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can`t see anybody hurting Faith on purpose, anybody that actually knew her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ll be honest with you. Whoever did this was (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Police have insisted the community is not in danger. How can they be so sure? What more do they know about this crime that they`re not revealing?

Straight out to Heather Moore, reporter for News 14 Carolina. Heather, you are there. What is the very latest on the investigation?

HEATHER MOORE, REPORTER, NEWS 14 CAROLINA: Well, Jane, I talked to Chapel Hill police just this afternoon. And they are still not releasing any new information. So that means we are still back to the same information that we knew just in the hours and days after she was found dead.

All we know is that they are investigating this as a homicide. They say it was not a random act. We do not have any suspect information. In fact, the police haven`t even told us how she died. They say they are waiting for the medical examiner`s report before they start -- start discussing that information.

So there`s still a lot that Chapel Hill police just won`t tell us. We are still trying to figure that out. And it`s all these unknown questions that make it so difficult for this community to start to heal. There have been a lot of vigils, a lot of funeral, the visitation. In fact, there was another vigil held for her just tonight. And that was at her high school, Warren high -- Warren County High School just up near the Virginia border.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.

MOORE: One of the recurring themes is that it`s just so hard for them to start to heal when they still don`t know what happened to Faith, who did it and of course that big question, why.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, her family is a long way from even thinking about healing. They are thinking about justice. And they are -- their hearts are broken. We`re going to talk to this beautiful young lady`s brother right now.

Faith`s hometown is less than an hour`s drive from campus. She also worked as a server at Red Robin restaurant near UNC. So we`re asking tonight, could her killer be somebody she knew from home? Or somebody she met or waited on at the restaurant?

Police obviously also have to look at neighbors and anyone her roommates were hanging out with.

So I want to go now to my very special exclusive guest, Chad Hedgepeth.

Chad, my deepest condolences. Our hearts go out to you. We want to help you solve this tragic mystery and get justice for your family and for your beautiful sister.

Let me start with this. Chad, was there a boyfriend, an ex, anyone, a friend, somebody she may have complained about or talked about? Anyone who may have wanted to harm your beautiful sister?

CHAD HEDGEPETH, BROTHER (via phone): I can`t think of a single soul who would want to do this horrific act. I want to personally thank you for doing this for her. She definitely didn`t deserve what happened to her. But she -- there`s no doubt that she deserves justice.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: She absolutely does. And this is -- this woman was a biology major. She was a Gates Millennium scholar. Only 1,000 chosen around the country every year. This is a woman who spent so much time studying. This was not a party girl. And yet in her own home -- I have got to go to Jon Lieberman, HLN contributor, investigative journalist. What have you learned?

JON LIEBERMAN, HLN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, here`s the thing, Jane. You know, this family will get justice. We understand that police do have their eyes on either one person or multiple people.

And what they`re doing right now is they can`t release too much information because they really don`t want to compromise the investigation. There are certain things that only the killer knows. For example, how this gorgeous teen was killed. What weapon was used? Different things like that.

So right now there`s a big difference between police knowing who did it and them being able to prove it and having enough to charge them with murder.

So my understanding is right now they`re gathering evidence, they are executing search warrants, all in the hopes of having an arrest soon and bringing justice to this family. But don`t read them not releasing information as no progress in this investigation. They`re just being extremely cautious here.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I want to go back to Chad. I understand you had the very, very sad and depressing task today of cleaning out your deceased sister`s apartment where she was found dead. Were police already in there? Have they done the Luminol and the DNA and the dusting for fingerprints? And was there anything that you saw that gave us any inkling as to how she died? What -- how was she killed?

HEDGEPETH: We still don`t know, unfortunately. The police -- you guys know as much as we know. And that`s part of what`s so frustrating about all of this. Is that, you know, us as a family, as a community, as her friends and everyone who knew Faith and everyone who loved her, because everyone who knew her did love her, they`re just all so heartbroken. And it just -- it hurts so bad to not know anything.

But at the same time, you know, we -- we understand the need to keep that information intact. Any information that they do have, so that, as the gentleman just said, the investigation isn`t compromised. We want -- we want this killer caught.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We all want this killer caught. This beautiful girl and some of the pictures you can see she is movie star beautiful, model beautiful. And sometimes that makes women vulnerable, unfortunately, in our culture. If you`re beautiful you can become a target of some obsessed sicko.

This same college community was rocked by the murder of the class president, Eve Carson, four years ago. The body of the 21-year-old scholarship student was found dumped along a Chapel Hill street. Two young men kidnapped her at gunpoint and drove her to several ATMs to withdraw money from her account. They shot Eve five times.

Her killers are both serving life sentences for her murder. It`s believed they picked Eve at random as they trolled for robbery victims. But in this case investigators say Faith`s murder was not random, that she likely knew her killer.

So Tanya Acker, attorney, who`s covered so many of these cases, that really narrows the scope of the investigation. Somebody she knew through her Twitter, her Facebook, her college studies, her roommates, the list can`t be that long.

TANYA ACKER, ATTORNEY: And the fact that the police aren`t releasing any information, not even about how she died, Jane, really does, I think, tell us something. I mean, you`ve got to imagine that when they start questioning suspects -- maybe they have already, who knows what they`re up to -- that they are going to be able perhaps to corner this person with information that this guy or person won`t be able to say, "Oh, I heard it on the news or I read it somewhere. I read it."

They`re really keeping the details of this tragedy very, very close to the vest. And as they move forward, that really may play to the advantage of the law enforcement who are investigating this.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is this a national crisis of coeds being targeted on campus? That on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every parent out here can somehow feel the hurt that her mother and father are going through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just think it`s so sad. And I just try to encourage everyone to keep the Hedgepeth family in our prayers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What happened to Faith Hedgepeth? A Gates Millennium scholar, biology major, a studier, not a partier, found dead, believed to have been murdered inside her off-campus apartment.

Straight out to the phone lines. Lynn, Arkansas, your question or thought, Lynn.

CALLER: Hi, Jane. Nice to talk to you again. Do the police know if any of her friends have taken a sudden vacation or maybe volunteering too much information, trying to interject themselves into the investigation to find out where they`re at?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Levi Page, crime blogger with "the Levi Page Show," what`s frustrating about this is even the family hasn`t been told how she died.

LEVI PAGE, CRIME BLOGGER: Yes, you`re absolutely right. We`re waiting the results of the autopsy in this investigation. And basically what law enforcement`s doing is they`re not releasing information, keeping it close to the vest and keeping their possible persons of interest in the dark sweating them, making them nervous. What do the police know?

And I think that that`s the tactic that they`re using in this investigation, Jane.

And I`d like to ask Faith`s brother, when she was at home in her -- in the apartment, did she keep it locked? Or did she keep it unlocked for friends coming in and out?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Well, I will say this, he`s had a very rough day. So he`s hung up. He actually had to clean out his dead sister`s apartment today. Can you imagine the horror of that?

And she did have roommates. I can tell you that. I know that. And friends discovered her. Do we know if it was the roommates who discovered her? No.

But I got to tell you, Jon Lieberman, earlier this month we told our viewers about a chilling attack at the University of Indiana. A woman there, she was off campus walking home alone from a bar when a man forced her to the ground and tried to sexually assault her. Thank God -- here`s a composite sketch, but thankfully, the woman pulled out some pepper spray and sprayed him in the eyes and ran off.

Is there a false sense of security for women around campus? But again, that doesn`t even make sense in the sense that this woman was inside her apartment. She wasn`t walking around at night.

LIEBERMAN: Right. Well, I think there`s two separate issues, I think. No. 1, yes, there is a false sense of security both on college campuses and on the periphery of the campuses. Because don`t forget: most college campuses obviously border a city or a town that`s a microcosm of the rest of the country.

So I do think there is a false sense of security. When you`re near a college campus, sometimes people feel safer.

However, in this case, as you mentioned, with no forced entry, this is a completely different sort of case. And, again, this is one where police right now are trying to put together a timeline of this teen`s last moments. And as the caller alluded to, right now they`re talking to her inner circle of friends, ex-boyfriends, one of which I believe lives in the same complex. And they`re talking to everybody connected to her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh. All right. And they have no suspects at all at this time. But they don`t think it was a random attack. Thank you, fantastic panel.

On the other side, we`re talking, well, among other things, the latest royal scandal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: If you thought Lindsay Lohan went off the rails, watch Lindsay`s mother Dina in an interview with Dr. Phil from CBS.

DR. PHIL MCGRAW, TALK SHOW HOST: Let`s talk about...

DINA LOHAN, LINDSAY`S MOTHER: Are we to camera now? We`re rolling? I`m sorry.

MCGRAW: You have come on here and been phony, flitting around and going like that.

D. LOHAN: Oh, stop. I`m not flitting around. I`m being scrutinized by you people.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Her ex-husband, Michael Lohan, says Dina`s drunk. Dina says she`s stone-cold sober. So why the bizarre behavior?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight Lindsay Lohan`s mom, Dina, goes on the offensive after an explosive sit-down interview with Dr. Phil. The interview was done months ago; it`s just coming out now. Dina Lohan, well, she acts a bit bizarre, according to most people. Let`s watch a clip from CBS, and you decide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

D. LOHAN: You`re, like, in your little tie and your little shoes. Like...

MCGRAW: I`m in my little tie and my little shoes? What the hell does that mean?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ooh! Dina says she`s sober, and the interview was taken out of context. Her ex, Michael Lohan, claims to TMZ that his wife was wasted. Who knows? How do you explain her behavior?

Straight out to Celeb Buzz editor-in-chief, Dylan Howard. Dylan, what`s the impact of this interview?

DYLAN HOWARD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, CELEB BUZZ: Well, it`s significant. She looks like she`s out of control. She looks like she doesn`t know what`s going on. Even her faculties aren`t there.

Hunched over a couch. Leaning towards the interviewer. Sure, it may have been taken out of context by virtue that it is a promo for the full episode that is airing on Monday, but what we see is frightening, and it does nothing to help the reputation of a family that has been under siege here in Hollywood for many years.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dr. Phil calls Dina Lohan a fraud and that she`s just changing the subject to avoid tough questions. Here`s more from CBS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCGRAW: What you`re doing is you`re stalling. You`re dodging. You`re deflecting.

D. LOHAN: Protecting, Dr. Phil. Protecting.

MCGRAW: Let`s not talk about me. Let`s talk about are those cameras on or not? Let`s talk about your shoes. Let`s talk about how good of an interviewer you are. Let`s talk about all of those things. Because I don`t want to talk about the things you want to talk about.

D. LOHAN: I want to be you, so I want to interview other people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you`ve got to wonder, given her daughter`s problems, why she would act that way. Do you have an explanation, Dylan?

HOWARD: I don`t. And indeed her relationship with Lindsay has been in sharp focus for many years.

You`ll remember that Lindsay Lohan was a teen sensation and moved out to Los Angeles to create her Hollywood career. Moved away from the family home on Long Island.

Now, many have accused Lindsay of being enabled by Dina. That Dina once partied with her. Now, that`s not gossip or hearsay. There are photos of those two at very young age going out together.

Now, Lindsay Lohan would have to be embarrassed by her mother`s actions here. The question being, why is she even doing the interview in the first place? Dina Lohan is not a celebrity. She`s an A-list celebrity who was catapulted into fame because of the notoriety of her daughter.

Now, her daughter doesn`t want her to do interviews. So why is she even sitting down with Dr. Phil? It beggars belief, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: To that point, Dylan, Lindsay`s in Atlanta right now, filming a movie than none other than Charlie Sheen. What a combo. "Scary Movie 5," indeed. Maybe her life is back on track. She seems to be in a better place than she was when we saw this. You all remember this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDSAY LOHAN, ACTRESS: I know that I was ordered to go once a week. And it wasn`t, you know, I wasn`t missing classes just -- I would never do anything like that. I was working. Mostly in Morocco. On the trip I was working with children. It wasn`t vacation. It wasn`t some sort of a joke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, I got to ask. It sort of gives me more sympathy for Lindsay, given that this is how her mom is behaving. And then her dad has his own set of problems. He`s served time in prison for a DUI wreck. He`s been arrested for domestic violence more than once. The girlfriend who called cops on him, Kate Major, is now pregnant with his child.

Is this family a mess? Do they need to go into some kind of family therapy?

HOWARD: You know, the joke is that it`s more dysfunctional than the Manson Family. Now, of course that`s not the case.

But in this particular scenario you have Lindsay Lohan trying to resurrect her career against all the odds. Sure, she`s done nothing to help herself. She has been the cause of many of her own problems.

But on one hand, you have a mother who`s submitting to interviews in a state that is no state to be doing interviews. And then you have a father, Michael Lohan, who is estranged from her and has his own share of issues. So you`ve got to feel for Lindsay Lohan. But ultimately, though, she`s accountable for her actions.

I can tell you one thing, though, Jane, she does not want her parents doing interviews. It was the root cause of her estrangement from father Michael. So there`s no reason why Dina should be sitting down with Dr. Phil for something that was ultimately going to end up to be a catastrophic disaster.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Parents, do not live through your children. It always turns out badly.

Dr. Phil came down hard on Dina over her daughter, Lindsay`s legal troubles. Here`s this from CBS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCGRAW: We have seen Lindsay dragged into court: `05 car crash, `06 struggles with drugs.

D. LOHAN: If she was living in New York, five of them would be obsolete.

MCGRAW: You`re missing the point.

D. LOHAN: Can I go home now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look. I don`t think any of these people are malicious. I`ve talked to Michael Lohan. I just think that they have gotten the fame bug. And it`s almost like anything for attention.

If your daughter is struggling, and she doesn`t want you to do interviews, then maybe you should look at yourself in the mirror and say, "Does my behavior basically trickle down to her behavior?"

All right. Now, here`s the kooky video of the day. The dance craze sweep. Stopped today at "The Today Show" in New York. Check out this version of "Gangam Style." I think I said that right. From NBC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A second royal scandal, a French magazine published photos of what appears to be Kate Middleton topless.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Grotesque.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The duchess topless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The palace says the shots appear to be genuine and are a, quote, "grotesque invasion of privacy."

QUEST: Fury. What started out as sadness that rapidly turned into fury, Kate, who is with her husband on a private holiday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The duchess of Cambridge is very upset.

QUEST: And the photographer thugs, they will stop at nothing to get them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The magazine says it`s just doing its job.

QUEST: No reputable news organization has touched these pictures with a ten-foot pole. This is the red line.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The royal family furious, fit to be tied after a French magazine published photos of what appears to be Kate Middleton topless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grotesque.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Duchess topless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The palace says the shots appear to be genuine and are a quote, "grotesque invasion of privacy".

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fury. What started out as sadness that rapidly turned into fury, Kate, who was with her husband on a private holiday --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Duchess of Cambridge is very upset.

QUEST: Those photographer thugs -- they will stop at nothing to get them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The magazine says it`s just doing its job.

QUEST: No reputable news organization has touched these pictures with a ten-foot pole. This is the red line.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The royal family furious, fit to be tied after a French magazine publishes pictures of a topless Kate Middleton. The photos were taken while the couple was staying at a private chateau in southern France last week.

A spokesman says Prince William and Kate were hugely saddened to learn that their privacy was invaded in such a grotesque and totally unjustifiable manner. They even went so far as to say, quote, "The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales and all the more upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so."

The French magazine claimed it was tipped off about the couple`s royal visit, sent a photographer and the couple was visible on the terrace from the road. They say there are even more revealing photos but the magazine is holding off publishing them. They are probably wishing they thought twice about publishing any photos because now this is breaking news. In a very rare move, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have decided to sue the magazine.

Straight out to Chloe Millar, senior photo editor RadarOnline; the royal family says this is reminiscent of Princess Diana -- obviously a horrific tragedy. Do you think it`s the worse paparazzi invasion of privacy since that terrible time 15 years ago?

CHLOE MILLAR, SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR RADARONLINE: It`s certainly an incident that the royal family will want to avoid. We`ve had Harry in the --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Too late for that. It already happened.

MILLAR: You`re right. It did. It did. And it`s outrageous. And this couple absolutely deserved their privacy. They were on vacation as a newlywed couple -- a very, very well-earned vacation. And there`s just no excuse for the photographer taking these pictures.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, the royal family is dealing with this just three weeks after Prince Harry was snapped partying buck-naked in his Las Vegas hotel room with strangers. Listen to what a royal biographer said about that and then we`ll compare and contrast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have to behave themselves. And at the moment I don`t think Harry is being particularly well-behaved. So we won`t publish the pictures in this country now. But I think the next set of pictures will be published. And with Harry you can be damn sure there will be a next set of pictures.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But this is nothing like the incident with Harry. Harry was partying. He had girls up. There was a lapse in security.

This was Kate with her husband expecting privacy, assuming that they were private at a private chateau, husband and wife; and actually you see her very affectionate toward her husband rubbing his back, maybe putting lotion on his back. I actually thought it showed that their marriage is really full of intimacy and it is a love story.

Dylan Howard, editor-in-chief of Celebuzz, do you think there`s anything redeeming in this in that, boy, the backlash shows just how much the public loves Kate?

DYLAN HOWARD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, CELEBUZZ: Let`s put this into perspective, Jane. She is guilty of one thing -- stupidity. She should not have taken her top off even if it was a private venue. There is nothing regal about that decision.

But it is morally reprehensible for any publication to show that photo. And they should be damned -- they should be sued. And the right course of action has been taken.

But when you watch the interview with the editor-in-chief of that magazine defend their decision, there is one thing I agree with. That it is hypocritical for media organizations, particularly in this country, where you would not be able to get away with that action, it is hypocritical to report this story to call it outrageous but then to replicate and publish that cover. And many outlets in this country are doing it today.

You`re not. We`re not -- those that are, are guilty of being hypocritical.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, there`s a lot of hypocrisy. You might even say that there`s gender hypocrisy in all of this. The difference in the outrage when Harry is caught naked, it`s boys will be boys, but then, oh, the shock of seeing her topless. If you`ve looked at the magazine, frankly, I`ve been in France, you go to the beaches, women are topless walking around. It`s a different culture. They`re there with their kids and families and there`s nothing shocking about it. And I think that`s one of the reasons why Kate may have taken her top of because in Rome do as the Romans do. She was in France where it`s not such a big deal to take your top off, Chloe, if you`re a woman relaxing in a beach-typesetting.

MILLAR: Absolutely. I mean, in Europe it`s very common for topless beaches and for women to want to take their tops off. But also she was in a private and on private property. She was surrounded by 600 acres plus, you know. If she can`t feel secure there, where can she feel secure? And if she wants to with her new husband enjoy some quiet time and that means taking her top off to catch some sun, then so be it. She shouldn`t have to worry.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me say this, if she`s on that much acreage, than the claim that this was shot with a telephoto lens from public property is lame. Because I`ve been on the stakeouts where you`re trying to see somebody and a telephoto only goes so far.

I want to bring in Randy Kessler, celebrity divorce lawyer -- they`re suing. Is there a case here?

RANDY KESSLER, CELEBRITY DIVORCE LAWYER: Well, you know there are a lot of facts we don`t know yet. I mean the real question is foreseeability. Could she foresee that somebody might do this? The average person would say, no way, not in a million years would I foresee that somebody would be hiding in the bushes.

But she is so famous, such a world public figure that foreseeability - - the standard moves a little bit for her. They`re going to have a hard time prosecuting or pursuing a case against this photographer for doing something if she thought about for two seconds she knows if somebody had a chance to take a picture of her naked, they were going to take it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look, French law provides for draconian sanctions to protect against this kind of behavior according to some including orders to take the magazines off shelves and the imposition of serious fines.

One French magazine was fined a huge sum of money just lack week after it published a photo of the partner of French president. So let me go back to Dylan on this. Given that the laws are different in France -- could this be a successful suit?

HOWARD: I think inevitably it probably will be a successful suit. But whether or not they`re guilty in the court of law remains to be seen. But undoubtedly they are guilty in the court of public opinion at this point.

And just to put this into perspective, if that couple was here on the beaches of Malibu and a paparazzi was hiding in the bushes and they took a photo in California, the United States of America through the bushes into private property, it could not be published. It would be against the law. It`s not just a French issue. It would be against the law here.

And it`s about time. This is high time that we need to take stock of the industry when things like this happen.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Thank you, fantastic panel.

And I want to show you my little prince. And he is a special guest to the story we`re doing in a couple of minutes.

So stay right there. We`ll explain.

Now, our "Shocking Video of the Week" -- a crash and grab at an Apple store in California. The 22-year-old BMW driver in jail caused $600,000 in damage. Oh, they were grabbing everything. Maybe they were looking for the new iPhone 5. Do your research, dummies -- it doesn`t come out until next week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Our viewers chose Scribbles as their favorite "Viral Vid of the Week" from Farm Sanctuary -- a wonderful organization that rescues farm animals that are abandoned and misused in the factory farm process. Scribbles now happy, happy, happy, happy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALLE BERRY, ACTRESS: And that is because of your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) videos. You choose to do something (inaudible). I`m doing something honorable. I`m not harassing people. Get a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) a life. You get a life (EXPLETIVE DELETED). You get a life. Get an honorable life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop. She`s mad you`re invading her privacy. That`s why she`s mad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And that`s the actress, Halle Berry caught by ABC in a confrontation with a paparazzo. Recently Halle Berry told the judge she wants to move her daughter and herself to France because the paparazzi in the United States of America she says is putting them in extreme danger.

So, celebrity divorce lawyer, Randy Kessler, given what happened to Kate Middleton in France, is that going to undermine Halle Berry`s argument.

KESSLER: Well, it doesn`t help her argument. But really the judge is not going to let Halle Berry leave just because of the paparazzi. Halle Berry is going to have to prove that this is the best move for her child for a whole bunch of other reasons -- the education system, the relationship with her father. So there`s a lot more to it than just the paparazzi.

No, it doesn`t help her. But is this going to ruin her chances of her moving to France? I don`t think so.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The magazine is publishing these pictures of Kate Middleton topless is "Closer" in France not to be confused with "Closer" magazine in the UK. Editor-in-chief of the magazine promoted release of the revealing photos on her Twitter page saying "Kate Middleton as you have never seen her and as you will never see her again."

In an interview with CNN affiliate BFMTV, she defended her decision. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "CLOSER" MAGAZINE, FRANCE (through translator): No, there was no debate amongst us at the magazine. We need to de-dramatize these images because there are disproportionate reactions around these photos. It`s just a young couple in love that are taking a break in the South of France.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Chloe Millar, she is basically spinning this and saying it`s a couple in love. It`s sensuous it`s not a violation. Can she really make that argument stick, briefly?

MILLAR: I`m not sure. Kate has always made herself very available to the public. She`s always smiling and she`s always giving the photographers what they need. If this is a young couple in love, then give them their privacy. They deserve it. And there definitely has been a line that`s been crossed.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. And I`ll tell you who I love, this little guy. We`re going to talk about the New York Rangers rescuing shelter animals on the other side of the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And our "Pet of the Day". Oscar. He`s getting a little dirty there rocking and rolling. And Daisy is gorgeous in a cap and bandanna. Bob says "I like to sit in the sink and leave me alone. That`s my decision." Stan, oh.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over 9,000 (ph) dogs and cats are euthanized daily. So instead of sitting around with your eyes wide open saying "Oh, my gosh, what`s going on." We want to try to help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I couldn`t have said it better myself, right Rico? Hundreds of people came out over the weekend to show their support for little guys like this, pet adoption and animal shelters in the first ever John Tortorella New York City Dog Walk.

If that name rings a bell, it should. He`s the head coach of the New York Rangers hockey team, a sports guy and an animal lover. You had us at hello.

You see this event, dogs, people, players, out in the park having a great time to help animals, sponsored by Coach Tortorella, his foundation Best Friends Animal Society, and the New York Rangers. Proceeds from the day went to a local New York animal shelter and civil organizations. Coach Tortorella is a long-time animal advocate with three rescue dogs of his own to prove it.

Coach, we`re so glad to have you here. Who`s that? This is little Rico. He came from the streets of Puerto Rico, and he`s a shelter rescue. He`s my mom`s dog. Who do you have there?

JOHN TORTORELLA, HEAD COACH, NEW YORK RANGERS: This is Benny. Benny came up from North Carolina. He is being fostered right now and doing really well -- really well.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What a beauty. How did you get involved, John? You`re a tough guy, a coach of some really tough guys. Yet you have such a warm heart. How did you get involved in dog rescue?

TORTORELLA: Well, my wife and I have been animal lovers for I don`t know how long, but she brought me into the Westchester Humane Society, and I spent one hour there to see what was going on. This was two miles from our house, and I just couldn`t believe what was happening there.

Eric and a group that he brought in changed the culture. It was just an eye-opener. Remember we`re two miles down the road. We`re doing nothing to help. And when my wife and I walked in there that changed things for us. And now, again I`m just learning about it. I`m learning more and more every day and we just want to try to help.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: God bless you. Listen, the Humane Society says at least 4 million dogs and cats are killed every year in the United States in animal shelters -- all around the country. These loving, sweet animals need homes.

And that brings me to Eric Lobel, president of the Westchester Humane Society. Eric, we all know the basics. Spay and neuter your pet because one dog left out on the street or that gets out can become a thousand dogs very quickly. And also adopt, don`t shop.

How long is it going to take to get those two very simple messages to people? These dogs, the shelter dogs, are beautiful, wonderful animals. We don`t need to go buy them.

ERIC LOBEL, PRESIDENT, WESTCHESTER HUMANE SOCIETY: I couldn`t have said it better myself, Jane. And I think those are two of the most critical messages, spay and neuter as well as adopt. It`s very true.

I mean, how long is it going to take? On the one hand, it`s a message we`ve been trying to get out for years. At the same time, the numbers of animals that are being put down in shelters is decreasing so the message is working. I think we just need stay on message and keep getting it out there. And one day we`re going to see those numbers get down to a point where it will be next to none. It`s possible. We can become that kind of a country.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And also, I have so many people come up -- this is my mom`s dog but I have two other dogs. They`re like a little pack. And people say, how cute. I say, they`re in the shelter. Go save them. There`s so many more where these came from.

So, John, how do you try to convince people that, hey, shelter dogs are the way to go?

TORTORELLA: They need to go there. That`s the problem. I don`t think enough people go there. I don`t think enough people volunteer.

I mean, look at this. You just go there and get to see what these dogs are really like and see what they`re about. And I tell you, the short time -- we`ve done this now for about eight months or so. I can`t express enough to you -- we`re always looking for funding to help.

But what you`re doing for us today, having us on to explain some of the things that goes on with this Humane Society, the awareness needs to happen. You need to get out there, go to your area shelter and volunteer. And you`ll understand exactly what`s going on with the dogs and cats as far as how they`re being treated and how much help they need to find a home.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, as a matter of fact, Eric, cats have it even worse, the chance of a cat going into a shelter and coming out alive is very remote.

LOBEL: It is true. The cat population is huge, and they do seem to reproduce faster in the wild. So it is harder and certainly it`s interesting, you know, kittens go quickly. Adult cats seem to get adopted even more slowly. So certainly John is right in mentioning that you should go to shelters find your dogs. You should absolutely also be going to shelters and rescues to find your cats as well.

And back to your point, spay and neuter is critical -- critical. We have to reduce the amount of reproduction.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely. On the other side, how you can help.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Fans of the New York Rangers, check that jersey out, lining up, getting together to help shelter dogs like little Rico. And we`ve got Benny on the other side. We`re so delighted to have the coach for the New York Rangers John Tortorella here. Now, Coach, are some of your players getting involved in this movement?

TORTORELLA: Yes, they are. We talked about it during the summer as we were trying to organize this. Most of them have dogs, and again, the awareness -- they weren`t aware. And I have spent a lot of time this summer speaking to them on this, among some other things regarding hockey, too. But they just -- they just weren`t aware.

Again, like I said during the dog walk, over 9,000 dogs and cats every day. So that`s the biggest thing that we try to do with this dog walk. Sure, we want to raise some money, but we want to raise some awareness and try to get some people out to their shelters to adopt, to help, and just to be aware of what`s going on with our animals.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I just want to say I am so excited. You`re going to see me at those Rangers games now.

TORTORELLA: There you go.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m a huge fan of you and everything you`re trying to do. And, remember, even if you want a pure bred, they`re at the shelters, a good percentage. And Eric, you`ll back me up on this, a good percentage of dogs at shelters are poodles and other pure breeds. People say to me sometimes, well, I want this particular kind of dog, for whatever reason. You can get them at the shelter. Check it out. Go online, hlntv.com/Jane.

Nancy`s next.

END