Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Pedro and Onil Castro Speak Out; O.J. Simpson to Reappear in Court; California Homes Sink into Hilltop; Boston Recovering, Healing

Aired May 13, 2013 - 09:30   ET

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


MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But that wasn't going to get them any free pass in me which is why I asked the next question that started off the second half of the interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: Did you, in any way, know, help, assist your brother in the horrible things he's accused of doing?

ONIL CASTRO, ARIEL CASTRO'S BROTHER: Absolutely not. No idea that this horrific crime was going on.

SAVIDGE: Pedro?

PEDRO CASTRO, ARIEL CASTRO'S BROTHER: No.

SAVIDGE: You know there are people who will say you had to know. How is it possible for so long in that home your brother you couldn't know?

P. CASTRO: For those people out there, I'll tell you something, I had nothing to do with this and I don't know how my brother got away with it for so many years because that would never cross my mind.

SAVIDGE: He fooled you.

P. CASTRO: He fooled me. Because I used to go there more than he did to work on cars, clean the yard, you know, help him out and stuff. But they ever go beyond the kitchen.

SAVIDGE: Onil, there was nothing --

O. CASTRO: Absolutely nothing that I can see that was unusual in the backyard. I can't say in the house because I haven't been in the house in years.

SAVIDGE: Do you worry now that people will always suspect that you actually did have a role?

O. CASTRO: Absolutely.

P. CASTRO: Yes.

O. CASTRO: And the people out there that know me, they know that Onil Castro is not that person, has nothing to do with that. P. CASTRO: Same. I couldn't never think of doing anything like that. If I knew that my brother was doing this, I would not be -- I would not -- in a minute I would call the cops. Because that ain't right. But, yes, it's (ph) going to hunt me down because people going to think Pedro got something to do with this. And Pedro don't have nothing to do with this. If I knew, I would have reported brother or no brother.

SAVIDGE: What is your brother to you now?

O. CASTRO: Monster, hateful, I hope he rots in that jail. I don't even want them to take his life like that. I want him to suffer in that jail to the last extent. I don't care if they even feed him, for what he has done to my life and my family's.

P. CASTRO: I feel the same way.

SAVIDGE: To the both of you now he no longer exists.

O. CASTRO: Yes.

SAVIDGE: He's gone.

P. CASTRO: He's goner.

SAVIDGE: Almost as if he were dead.

P. CASTRO: Monster's a goner.

O. CASTRO: I'm glad that he left the door unlocked or whatever he did. Whether he did it on purpose. Maybe he wanted to get caught. Maybe time was up. Maybe he was inside too much, or he wanted to caught. But if he did it that way, he shouldn't have went to mama's house and picked me up and put me in a car if he knew that was going to happen.

SAVIDGE: If you could talk to Gina, Michele, Amanda, and in a way you are, I guess, what would you say?

P. CASTRO: I would tell her that I'm sorry that you had to go through this. I was thinking about these girls being missing and I'm just grateful that they're home and out of that horrible house and I just tell them that I'm sorry for what Ariel done. Because, see, I -- not much -- it's Felix, I know him for long time. And when I find out that Ariel had Gina, I just broke, I just broke down. Because it's shocking. Ariel, we know this guy for a long time. Felix.

SAVIDGE: This is Gina's father.

P. CASTRO: Yes, Felix DeJesus. And you got his daughter and you go around like nothing, you even went to the vigils, you had posters, you give his mama a hug and you got his daughter captive? And do what you was -- what people are saying, police or whatever?

SAVIDGE: Who does that?

P. CASTRO: Yes. Who does that. O. CASTRO: Monsters.

O. CASTRO: People that have no heart. They feel no heart, no feelings, dead.

SAVIDGE: Onil, the same thing?

O. CASTRO: Same thing. I just want also the families who want justice to the fullest extent, and I don't want ever to see anything like that happen to anybody in this world. I know that it's happening and we have no control over it, but if I can do something about it, I will. I would never let anything like that happen, go on to my worst enemy. This has torn my heart apart. This has killed me. I'm a walking corpse right now. And there is God up there that knows, God is up there that knows that me and Pedro are innocent on this. We didn't have the slightest idea this was going on.

SAVIDGE: Why are you talking to me?

P. CASTRO: I wanted the world to know that I did nothing such. I am innocent. Like I said, if I'd have known anything, I would not keep my mouth shut. I would have done something. Because I can't believe Ariel was committing such a hateful crime for this long amount of time. Acting like if nothing happened in this, you know, no worries, I wanted the world to know that Onil and me, Pedro, had nothing to do with this. It was a shock to me to learn that my brother Ariel was doing this.

SAVIDGE: Onil, I can see that this is stressing you. I can see that this is something you're physically enduring.

O. CASTRO: It hurts. It hurts a lot. Like I said earlier, I woke up out of the nightmare last night, I want to wake up out of this one and I just can't. I didn't want to see today.

SAVIDGE: I want to thank you both for talking to us, for sharing with us, and opening up to us.

P. CASTRO: Thank you. And I hope the world listen to us and --

O. CASTRO: We want our lives back. We want back to normal. I want to -- I want this to erase out of my mind like it never happened. I don't want to know this. I don't want this to be true. Like I said earlier, I want to wake up out of this nightmare.

P. CASTRO: I want to say that I don't want to be hunted down like a dog for a crime that I did not commit. I don't want to be locked up in my house because somebody out there is going to do harm to me. I want to be free like I was. Now I feel trapped for what somebody else did. And it's a family member. That shouldn't -- they should not take it out on the family. Threats of burning up the houses. Killing Pedro. That's not right. You already got your monster. Please give us our freedom. I want the world to know this.

SAVIDGE: Thank you. Thank you both.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: Carol, let me be absolutely clear that these brothers are not asking for sympathy from anyone. And they're also not angry at authorities for taking them under arrest. They understand what was happening at the time, when it was happening. All they simply want to do, and for the rest of their family, is to go home and that's something they have not been able to do ever since they were set free.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I know they're living in hiding now along with their mother. I just wonder, they say Ariel Castro is dead to them, they have no interest in having anything to do with him. I guess if it were me, I'd want to ask him why.

SAVIDGE: Yes, I think -- I don't know. The anger right now that they feel towards their brother, what it's done to their family is first in their minds. The why maybe I suppose could come later. But the way that they seem to have shut him out, cut him off and simply said he is no longer a part of this family, I don't know if they really care about the why part. I think that they are so horrified, so humiliated as a family, and so shocked by that which they didn't know and will be haunted always about, the why is just something left unsaid for the moment.

COSTELLO: And maybe it doesn't really matter because there is no good explanation, right? Martin Savidge, thank you so much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: O.J. Simpson is fighting for his freedom once again today. The 65-year-old former football great, due in a Las Vegas courtroom this afternoon as he seeks a new trial related to an armed robbery conviction five years ago. CNN's Paul Vercammen has a look at what brought Simpson to this point.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These are the last images of O.J. Simpson in public being led out of a Las Vegas courtroom to prison in late 2008. Simpson was convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery for leading armed men into a hotel room to try to settle a dispute over sports memorabilia he wanted back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were just robbed at gunpoint by O.J. Simpson.

VERCAMMEN: : Simpson was secretly recorded during the confrontation which became part of the 2008 trial testimony.

VOICE OF O.J. SIMPSON, CONVICTED FOR ARMED ROBBERY: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) You think you can steal my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and sell it? Don't let nobody out of here.

VERCAMMEN: Simpson's new lawyers will argue their client was so horribly represented in that kidnapping trial he deserves a new trial and freedom. PATRICIA PALMS, SIMPSON LEAD DEFENSE ATTORNEY: We firmly believe he did not get a fair trial. I think that's going to bear out during the hearing. We want the judge to take a fresh look at this, what should have been presented before, what wasn't presented, what was said, what wasn't said.

VERCAMMEN: Simpson is expected to take the witness stand, something he never did in the Las Vegas kidnapping trial or his sensational televised trial in 1995 where he was acquitted of murdering his ex- wife Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Other witnesses expected this week are now-retired prosecutors in the Las Vegas case and Yale Galanter, he was Simpson's lead attorney in the kidnap trial and former ally.

Simpson's new lawyers will argue that Galanter had a conflict of interest in part because of his business dealings with the football star.

Simpson has been housed at the Love Lock Correctional Center in northern Nevada. His lawyers call him a model inmate.

PALMS: It's common in the prisons there to be different factions that don't get along with each other. And because of his status as celebrity and his personality, he sometimes mediates between different groups when they're having conflicts.

VERCAMMEN: Simpson is now hoping his new legal team will spring him from prison for good.

Paul Vercammen, CNN, Las Vegas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: All right. Let's talk about O.J. and his chances for a new trial. Here to help, Wendy Murphy a former prosecutor and Paul Callan who successfully represented the estate of Nicole Brown Simpson in a civil suit. He's also a CNN legal analyst. Welcome to you both.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Nice being with you.

WENDY MURPHY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. So -- so Paul, I have to ask you since you won a civil case against Simpson, does it seem unreal that he'll be back in a courtroom?

CALLAN: This guy is like a migraine headache, he just keeps recurring. And you know he was unjustly acquitted in my opinion in the criminal trial. He was absolutely guilty of murdering his wife and slaughtering Ron Goldman. We proved it in the civil trial. And the jury awarded a $35 million verdict. And you know he was then brought to justice finally in Nevada and ironically sentenced to 33 years in prison as a result of this robbery.

So of course now he's going after his own attorney Yale Galanter to say Galanter is responsible. Somebody else is always responsible for O.J. Simpson's misconduct.

COSTELLO: Well Wendy lawyers are calling this a Hail Mary motion which says to me along with what Paul just said that O.J. doesn't have a chance in Hades.

MURPHY: Yes I mean generally speaking any new trial motion filed this late, remember, he's already had his straight appeals, if you will, rejected by all the courts that he could have gone to including the Supreme Court. So when you file a new trial motion after you've already lost all your appeals, it almost never succeeds.

What's interesting about the motion, though, is he's saying that Yale Galanter -- well, among the issues he's arguing, Yale Galanter his attorney in the Vegas case didn't tell him that he was offered a plea bargain in the case.

I'm very interested to know what Yale is going to say because O.J. is not only saying my lawyer was horrible as a lawyer but that he didn't tell me that I could have pled out to a misdemeanor and gotten only years behind bars. If Yale says he's right, I was ineffective in representing him and I didn't tell him about that --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: What lawyer is going to do that on the stand?

MURPHY: -- this could actually work.

COSTELLO: What -- what lawyer would say that on the stand Paul.

CALLAN: It's not going to happen. And you know it's got a fascinating back story here because Galanter hired two local Las Vegas attorneys who really were the lead counsel in trying the case. And O.J. is now saying that Galanter was sort of orchestrating the defense behind the scenes and Galanter had a financial interest in O.J. not taking the witness stand and O.J. not taking a plea in the case and he sort of told the local the attorneys what to do.

Now, the local attorneys are suing Galanter and Galanter is suing the local attorneys in a defamation action that's pending in Florida. So you have this massive fight among the lawyers about what really went on during the Nevada trial. So I think that's why this judge in Nevada has said you know what we're going to have a hearing on this and O.J. is actually going to testify at the hearing. At least that's what we're told so far. And I would assume Galanter and the other attorneys will testify, as well.

COSTELLO: It will be interesting and it will happen this afternoon. Paul Callan and Wendy Murphy, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

CALLAN: Always nice being with you Carol.

MURPHY: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about something good and fun. It's kind of like geeky cool from the International Space Station commander. He's a rock star. Chris Hadfield comes home today. Look what he did in space.

(MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Fifty-two minutes past the hour. Time to check our "Top Stories".

A mystery in the community of Lake Port, California is causing homes to sink, literally sinking into a hilltop, eight homes now abandoned with ten more in the danger zone. Even worst for the homeowners their insurance does not cover this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE KROPA, LAKESIDE HEIGHTS RESIDENT: To be honest with you, it's very difficult. I know my -- me and my wife, Janice, our health is going down a little bit. Actually, our relationship is going a little on the edge sometimes because we don't know what to do.

ALBERTA DIAZ, LAKESIDE HEIGHTS RESIDENT: Like a lot of the homeowners up here, we've got our life invested up here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you imagine something happening in the middle of the night and having to grab that bag and run?

DIAZ: No and that's why I don't let my grandkids spend the night anymore because I don't want to put them to it.

KROPA: This is not a rich community. We're not going to rebuild right away, you know our community. And hopefully -- and hopefully we can find somebody to help us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh, there have been several theories about what's causing these slides. The latest one recently discovered water line breaks may have released millions of gallons of water into the hillside.

President Obama welcomes British Prime Minister David Cameron to the White House for talks this morning. The leaders are expected to focus on the Syrian civil war and the global economy. CNN plans live coverage of their joint news conference. That begins around 11:15 a.m. Eastern.

Just four weeks ago, that deadly terror attack rocked the City of Boston and as one of the bombing suspects recovers in a prison hospital and the body of his brother is now buried in an unmarked grave in Virginia, life for many Bostonians is finally edging back to normal.

CNN national correspondent Deb Feyerick has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARROD CLOWERY, BOSTON BOMBING VICTIM: I am so blessed to be here. One month. If you've seen my legs a month ago --

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jarrod Clowery was near the finish line when the second bomb detonated. Like Boston, he is recovering.

CLOWERY: Physically, my right leg hurts all the time. I'm blessed to have my legs and my arms and my life. Three of my friends lost their legs. They have huge a long road.

FEYERICK: Four weeks ago, brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev allegedly launched their deadly strike as people cheered on runners. Investigators are still piecing together the motive and details about how the attack was executed. Tamerlan, whose body remained in limbo for days and days was finally laid to rest last week in Virginia.

Dzhokhar remains in a prison medical facility charged with using a weapon of mass destruction. Two colleagues are if jail charged with destructing justice, after trying to destroy firework canisters believed to contain explosives. Another friend is charged of lying to investigators.

Russian officials had asked the FBI in 2011 to investigate Tamerlan. But the source says the Russians never released texts Tamerlan expressing a desire to join extremist groups. The FBI did not alert Boston police.

In Congress last week, Boston's police commissioner was asked if more information would have led police to keep an eye on Tamerlan Tsarnaev?

ED DAVIS, BOSTON POLICE: That's certainly hard to say. We would certainly look at the information. We would certainly talk to the individual.

FEYERICK: Along Boston's Boylston Street, business has returned to normal. But the memorial not far from the finish line, it reminds people of the three who died and the hundreds wound just four weeks ago. What matters most for Jarrod Clowery is honoring the courageous people who saved him and friends.

JARROD CLOWERY, BOSTON BOMBING VICTIM: What I seen was the worst of humanity, the worst cowardice act and then it was immediately followed by the best humans can do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Deb Feyerick joins me live now from Boston. So four weeks later, are we any closer to knowing why these two men allegedly did this?

FEYERICK: well, we are certainly closer to getting a lot more information. And the reason for that is investigators are aggressively putting together every single detail of this case. This street along Boyleston, all the evidence they collected.

We're expected to get some of that in an indictment which by law has to be filed a week from today at the latest. The investigators, as you know, Carol have been keeping the details [close to the vest as far as some of the gaps that we all want to know that have been missing, but we expect a lot more information, certainly, in a week -- Carole.

COSTELLO: All right. Deborah Feyerick reporting live from Boston this morning. We want to end this hour of NEWSROOM with something a little lighter -- something to make you smile. After nearly five months in space, three members of the International Space Station will head back down to earth, but not before Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. You got to look at this is like geeky cool. It's Bowie. Look at it.

(MUSIC)

COSTELLO: I want to keep listening, I can't. That's Hadfield's cover, of course of David Bowie's "Space Oddity." That will gain popularity for his video. On the Internet space station, he has done it again. Go to YouTube and check it out.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)