Return to Transcripts main page
Jane Velez-Mitchell
Mom Kills Daughter: Murder or Mistake?; Al Gore Goes Vegan; George Zimmerman Stockpiling Weapons?
Aired November 27, 2013 - 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: Tonight, three generations of a family shattered forever with a single bullet. A 26-year-old woman shot dead on her mother`s doorstep. Police say the shooter was her own mom.
What made that mom come to her front door armed with a bat and a loaded gun will stun you. Was it murder or was it a deadly mistake?
Good evening. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell. Thank you so much for joining me.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Evidence tape and blood drops on the door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s like something out of a movie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shot to get death by her own mother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shocked and was disbelief.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Died on her mother`s doorstep.
TARA KEMP, VICTIM`S AUNT: It was not intentional. It was truly an accident (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Armed with a baseball bat and a pistol.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She went to the door with a gun, ready to fire at her lover.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When she answered the door, the gun went off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of things (ph) went wrong. It made me sick to my stomach.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holding her 4-month-old baby when she was shot and killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was heart-wrenching.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Here`s my rant. It`s happened again, a sickening trend tonight. Mistaken identity executions. I`ll say it again: mistaken identity executions. How is that possible? Sounds like an oxymoron, right?
Well, the bottom line is somebody ends up dying because of mistaken identity. And this is case in point, in this latest case. A young mother was shot dead as he held her 4-month-old baby girl in her arms.
Adele Bing, the suspect, says she thought it was her boyfriend banging on her door Monday following a nasty fight. She told cops the boyfriend had threatened to kill her earlier that day. So Adele Bing grabbed a bat and a gun. She went to the front door. She told police when he opened the door, the gun accidentally went off. Her own precious adult daughter was shot right through the chest with her granddaughter in her arms.
When Adele Bing realized the bullet from her own gun hit her own daughter, she dropped to the ground and cradled her, begging her, "Please don`t die."
Shocked relatives say there is no doubt the shooting was a horrific accident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEMP: She didn`t intend for her daughter to be on the other side of that door. It was an accident. Knowing them personally, knowing the love that she has for her children, grandchildren, everybody else, it was not intentional. It was truly an accident.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No mother should ever have to go through that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Straight out to the Lion`s Den. Accidental execution? Joe Gomez, reporter, KRAD in Dallas, do you buy it? This woman is charged with murder two. So was she just trying to innocently protect herself or is she horribly reckless or is she a cold-blooded killer. What do you know?
JOE GOMEZ, REPORTER, KRAD, DALLAS: Well, Jane, this is a tragic story and it had to happen just days before Thanksgiving.
And what we understand is that 53-year-old Adele Bing had some kind of altercation with her boyfriend. She allegedly hit him in the head with a pistol. He said he was going to come back and kill her. So she armed herself with a baseball bat and a gun in the other hand.
Heard some loud pounding on her door, Jane. When he went to open the door, Adele says her gun accidentally went off, and she shoots her 25-year- old daughter, who was cradling her own 4-month-old baby in the arms.
Now we understand Adele then went before her daughter, after realizing this apparent tragic mistake, holding her as she breathes her last breaths.
And once more, Jane, when police arrived, Adele even made a shocking confession, saying that she couldn`t believe that she`d killed her own daughter. How could she look her grandkids in the face, knowing that she killed their mother. She told police, quote, "Y`all can just lock me away for good."
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. So Ashleigh Merchant, criminal defense attorney, is that a confession to second-degree murder with which she`s charged, or is that a confession to an accident and she`s going to turn around and plead not guilty?
ASHLEIGH MERCHANT, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It`s going to be a hard case. I think they have a case for manslaughter here, because she intended to kill her boyfriend. She was there, and she actually said that she intended to shoot her boyfriend, who she thought was coming back. So it was an accident in the sense that she didn`t mean to shoot her daughter, but she did mean to shoot her boyfriend. So how much of an accident is what remains to be seen.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: There have been other cases recently where people have shot others dead in a moment of confusion. Right now a big case in Michigan.
A Michigan man facing second-degree murder charges for shooting 19- year-old Renisha McBride in the face. She died. Now, she had wandered onto his front porch a few hours after a car accident. The autopsy found alcohol and marijuana in her system, reportedly.
The shooter told police, "Hey, I shot in self-defense. I was afraid she was trying to break in."
But it appears that Renisha was not a threat to anybody inside that man`s house.
Now, we have the highest rate of gun ownership in the world, about 300 million nonmilitary firearms in the United States, and there`s just about 300-plus million people in this country. Guns are here to say.
So Dr. Judy Ho, how do we get a handle on mistaken identity executions? The last case I cited was at night. You know, people at night are more fearful, quite often.
DR. JUDY HO, CLINICAL AND FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: Absolutely, Jane. People are on gourd. People are fearful, and maybe these accidents can happen.
But there are some missing pieces to this case. Because she came to the door. She heard the loud pounding, did she ask who was there? If she knew that her boyfriend was coming back to kill her, why would she even open the door? I would lock everything up and call 911.
So something is not quite right here in terms of why she decided to take the matters into her own hands, having two weapons, trying to juggle that. So we really need to get a handle on training people how to actually best defend themselves instead of just giving them these weapons and let them do whatever they will with it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, is there such a thing as a stand-your-ground mentality? Shoot first, ask questions later? With so many millions of people armed, I think it`s a very valid question.
(SFX: ELEPHANT TRUMPETING)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, here is the elephant in the room. You cannot take back a gunshot. You cannot say, "Oops, never mind, my bad." There are no do-overs.
And Dorothy Lucey, social commentator, you`ve covered so many stories over the years. Perception is often not reality. There`s a first rule of journalism: never assume because our assumptions when we go into a story are often wrong. And so those are the same mistakes that average people make when they make assumptions about why somebody is knocking on their door in the middle of the night.
I mean, have we become a society, Dorothy, where we basically make snap decisions and act on them with a gun...
DOROTHY LUCEY, SOCIAL COMMENTATOR: And with a gun.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
LUCEY: Answering the door locked and loaded, I agree with why answer the door? And then the gun and the baseball bat? That seems odd to me.
But Jane, I know from when you and I were news reporters, we covered so many holiday tragedies. Whether it`s the Christmas tree that burned down the home at Christmas. But this is just -- I mean, just be thankful this doesn`t happen ever, ever, ever again. I heard you say this is turning into a trend. And that makes me sick to my stomach. I won`t be able to eat Thanksgiving dinner. Why do you go to the door locked and loaded? Say "Who is it?"
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Or lock yourself in the bedroom, call 911.
LUCEY: That`s an idea.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Barricade yourself in there and then have police come and solve the question, the mystery of who`s standing outside the door. I understand if you`ve had a big fight with your boyfriend and he was actually -- he claims he was injured, that he was hit...
LUCEY: With a gun.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look at this beautiful young woman who`s dead. Look at her. She is dead. That baby you`re looking at right there, her face is blurred, that 4-month-old child, I believe, if 4 months -- will have to live with this forever.
And Dr. Judy Ho, what is going to happen to that poor child growing up with the mother dead and learning as she gets older that she was in her mother`s arms when she was shot dead? Her mom was shot dead by her own grandmother?
HO: How does a young child make sense of this when your models are these adults in your life. And now she doesn`t have her mother. And who took away her mother? Her grandmother.
This child is going to have a lot of problems growing up, knowing who she is, feeling that she is safe and cared for. And I`m really, really worried about this child, Jane. Because if she doesn`t get help quickly to try to process this, she could end up with a lot of really, really difficult problems.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: How do you get help quickly, Dr. Judy Ho, when you`re 4 months old? I mean, let`s be real here. She`s -- a 4-month-old can`t sit on a psychiatrist`s couch and go, "Doctor, I`m feeling depressed." They can`t talk.
HO: Well, right. This is a little too early. But you know, there is such a thing as early intervention, Jane. And maybe when she`s 2 or 3 years old, they should explore this.
There are really great evidence-based child therapy techniques for the younger children to deal with trauma. And they really need to open that door for her. She can -- she can decide if he wants to continue walking through that as an adult or as a teenager, but they need to take that first step.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You can decide if there`s a trend, viewers at home, because I`ve got another controversial case where perception was not reality. A 24-year-old unarmed man looking for help after he crashes his car gunned down police. He had knocked on a stranger`s door seeking help, and the confused homeowner called 911, believing mistakenly that this guy was trying to break in. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are you at?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s a guy breaking in my front door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s a guy breaking in your front door?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s trying to kick it down.
He`s in the front yard yelling. Oh my God, please.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So Joe Gomez, reporter, KRLD, you`ve covered so many of these stories, as well. Cops arriving on the scene thought they were dealing with a suspect when they were actually dealing with a man who was a car accident victim. This man, wearing the Florida sports shirt, goes up to the cops, like, "Oh, you`re here to help me. I just had a bad car accident," and he is shot dead. Of course there was no excuse to shoot him dead.
GOMEZ: This is very strange, Jane. Just perhaps the whole culture, we`re changing as a society. We saw what happened with the George Zimmerman and the Trayvon Martin case. Is everybody now is just taking the law into their own hands.
Are we just afraid that, you know, somebody is really in need of help and not trying to put one over on us? I mean, what`s changed us so much now that our immediate reaction is to pull out a gun and shoot somebody that`s pounding on our door or screaming outside when they could really be in dire need of our assistance, Jane?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s an absolute trend, in my opinion. And Exhibit A, the ultimate exhibit, George Zimmerman. You brought him up. Up next we`ve got some breaking news about George Zimmerman.
You will not believe how many guns, how much ammo George Zimmerman allegedly had when he was arrested just last week. It`s a shocker.
And speaking of a totally different surprise...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Former vice president, Al Gore, making news today. Any idea how he`s making news?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Former vice president, Al Gore, making news. Do you have any idea why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you want to know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Fine.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Watch. It`s coming up next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Here`s a riddle. What do good-girl singer Carrie Underwood...
(MUSIC)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And Anne Hathaway, Mike Tyson, Natalie Portman, Russell Simmons, Betty White, Russell Brand, Leah Michelle and Ellen have in common? Here`s a hint from "People" magazine.
ELLEN DEGENERES, TALK SHOW HOST: It doesn`t make it harder at all. It makes it easier on the turkeys, too. They get to live.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, they`re all vegan. Hey, little Rico. I see you`re dressed for the storm we`re having.
Tonight, "Animal Investigations" unit reports a growing list of celebs who are not eating animals, and one reason is extreme weather. And guess who just joined that list? Former vice president, Al Gore. Yes, Gore`s gone vegan.
Al Gore, considered perhaps the biggest crusader against global warming ever since his movie, "An Inconvenient Truth."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Temperature increases are taking place all over the world, and that`s causing stronger storms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But then Al Gore himself had to face a really, really inconvenient truth. He was often criticized for talking about climate change over bacon and eggs without addressing the fact that meat production is one of the biggest contributors to global warming.
So as a vegan myself, I was thrilled to hear Al Gore is going vegan, hopefully inspiring others to switch to fabulous vegetables and fruits.
People, here`s the deal. Climate change is real. We see these massive storms devastating every part of the world, from the American Midwest to the Philippines. Fact, icecaps are melting. The seas are warming and rising. And that`s creating more extreme weather.
And meat production is one of the biggest causes. We really need to look at what we eat and how that impacts the world for the sake of our survival; for the sake of our survival and the survival of our kids and grandkids.
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates now funding businesses that are developing alternatives to meat, mayo and eggs. Former president, Bill Clinton, has adopted a plant-based diet, because his old bad diet left him overweight and in poor health.
Straight out to vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, Paul Shapiro.
Paul, spell it out for Americans. What is the connection between meat consumption and climate change?
PAUL SHAPIRO, VICE PRESIDENT, HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES: Jane, we should be applauding Al Gore for his decision to adopt a vegan diet. The former vice president knows, perhaps as well as anybody, that global climate change is serious, it`s real, and if we want to be serious about combating it, we need to start eating fewer animals and eating more plants, more fruits and vegetables, more vegan food.
Jane, did you know that, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, that if every American were to skip just one meal of chicken per week, just one meal of chicken per week, and substitute it with a vegan meal, it would be the CO2 savings equivalent of taking half a million cars off of U.S. roads.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
SHAPIRO: So for anybody who wants to protect the planet, we need to be looking not just at what type of light bulbs we`re using, not just at what type of cars we`re driving, but whether or not we`re eating meat and how much meat we`re eating.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Or none at all, in your case. And I know in your case, you`re 20 years a vegan. Congrats.
More...
SHAPIRO: Thank you.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: More and more animal farms today, in fact virtually all of them, 90 percent of them -- 99 percent, whatever -- look nothing like the picture we have in our minds of that happy farm on green rolling hills.
The Human Society of the United States provided us of this aerial video of a massive pig farm. As we look at this, what are all of those silver buildings and what are those giant square pools of brown that we see and how is that connected to global warming?
SHAPIRO: Jane, this is a massive pig factory. This is where 99 percent of the pork produced in our country comes from, these concentrated animal feeding concentrations that have massive sea -- a massive sea of manure behind them. When you look at those massive pools there, those are just filled with manure.
This is one of the reasons why animal agriculture, raising and killing animals for food, has time and again been pointed out not just to be a major contributor to climate change but also air pollution, soil pollution, water degradation and more. These are some of the reasons why cultural icons like Ellen and Oprah and Bill Clinton and now Al Gore are extolling the benefits of eating more plants and eating fewer animals.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, this is not necessarily in that facility. Not suggesting that whatsoever. That was an area -- I don`t even know what state it`s in. But this is what`s inside the factory farms in general. These are pig gestation crates, where the pigs are kept in crates the size of their bodies, never able to turn around. They cannot turn around in those crates.
President Obama today conducted the annual pardon of the turkey, the turkey, maybe a couple at the White House. It`s a tradition that keeps, yes, a couple of turkeys off the table each year.
But what about the millions and millions and millions and millions of turkeys who are subjected to, according to critics, institutionalized cruelty in factory farms? You know, I`m so happy little Popcorn got pardoned, but what about 9 billion other farm animals, Paul?
SHAPIRO: The pardoning of these turkeys is a particularly interesting phenomenon, because pardoning implies that these animals have committed some crime. Of course, these animals have committed no crime.
The real crime is the institutionalized violence and cruelty that the turkey industry inflicts on tens of millions of these birds every single year.
Like you, Jane, I`m glad that these two turkeys will be escaping the knife, but we need to consider the fact that they don`t need a pardon. What we need is a better attitude. A live and let live attitude. An attitude that where our relationship with other animals is no longer just based on violence and domination but rather is based upon compassion and respect.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And it would help us get healthier. Look at Bill Clinton. He`s so much healthier, now that he`s adopted a plant-based diet.
And by the way, we can solve world hunger like that, if all of the water and grain that goes into producing animals could feed the rest of the humans on the planet.
Thank you, Paul Shapiro, vice president of the Humane Society of the United States.
Up next, George Zimmerman. We all know him. He`s in a heap of trouble right now. You`d think he`d be trying to keep a low profile. Not a chance. You will not believe how many guns cops say they found when they arrested him last week. You don`t believe the amount of ammo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s going on?
SAMANTHA SCHEIBE, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN`S EX-GIRLFRIEND (via phone): He`s in my house breaking all my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) because I asked him to leave. He has his freaking gun, breaking all of my stuff right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Depressed and suicidal is how George Zimmerman`s girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe, allegedly described the 30-year-old to CNN affiliate WKMG.
MARK O`MARA, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR ZIMMERMAN: Yes, I`m worried for him, no question.
GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, ARRESTED ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CHARGES (via phone): I never pulled a firearm.
SCHEIBE: He put his gun in my freaking face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that this is just a manifestation of that PTSD.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has been under a microscope since his acquittal in the Trayvon Martin case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: In the Lion`s Den tonight. Stunning new court documents show former Neighborhood Watchman George Zimmerman had a stockpile of guns and ammo when we was arrested last week.
He had five guns, to be exact, according to cops. Five guns.
A search warrant shows he had three handguns, a .12 shotgun and an AR- 15 assault-style rifle with him in the home he once shared with his now ex- girlfriend Samantha Scheibe. These aren`t the exact guns, but they give you an idea of what we`re talking about here.
The documents also show Zimmerman had 100 rounds of ammunition. One hundred rounds. All these weapons found after Zimmerman was accused by his now ex-girlfriend of pointing a gun at her and breaking her stuff with a gun during a heated argument. Here`s what she told 911.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What`s going on?
SCHEIBE: He`s in my house breaking my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) stuff because I asked him to leave. He has his freaking gun, breaking all of my stuff right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Zimmerman pleaded not guilty to domestic violence charges and told 911 a completely different story. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN (via phone): She got mad that, I guess, I told her that I would be willing to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
ZIMMERMAN: I guess she thought I was going to argue with her. But she`s pregnant. I`m not going to put her through that kind of stress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This is the fourth time Zimmerman has gotten himself into trouble with the law since he was acquitted on murder and manslaughter charges after he shot unarmed teen Trayvon Martin to death.
He`s out on bail. He`s back in hiding now. And he is not allowed to have any weapons.
But back out to the Lion`s Den. We bring in Eboni Williams, attorney and radio personality. A prosecutor claims he`s suicidal, already killed one person, allegedly attacked his ex-father-in-law, ex-girlfriend says he`s gotten violent with her. He`s got nothing to live for, she says?
EBONI WILLIAMS, ATTORNEY/RADIO PERSONALITY: I believe in a Second Amendment right have guns. But we have to be smart about it, Jane. This is a man who has shown over and over again he is overly aggressive. I mean, this is certainly the frustration that a lot of us felt...
MERCHANT: There is nothing prohibiting him from having a gun.
WILLIAMS: ... in his acquittal for the murder of Trayvon Martin.
No, it`s not about prohibiting him from having a gun constitutionally. I understand that. But we have to lock at the facts in this thing. When you see someone who time and time again shows a likelihood of physical aggression, we have to protect society here. There`s a greater concern than just an individual`s right for gun possession. We have a societal safety issue here, as well.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ashleigh Merchant, criminal defense attorney, out of Atlanta.
MERCHANT: You know, Jane, there is nothing that prohibits George Zimmerman from having a gun. Most -- most Americans are armed. If you go and you search most Americans` houses, finding weapons and ammunition for those weapons will not be surprising.
And, this is also one of the most hated men in America. Perhaps beyond America. The fact that he wants to arm himself so that he can defend himself is not surprising at all.
With all due respect, there`s a reason why he can`t have a gun, because the judge said it as a condition of bail.
WILLIAMS: Exactly.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This prosecutor on this most recent case says ex- girlfriend Samantha Scheibe fears for her life and claims this incident last week wasn`t the first time that she was attacked by George Zimmerman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The victim had indicated that there was a prior domestic violence incident that occurred a week and a half ago that involved a choking that she did not report to the police. She feared for her safety on the day of this incident. She had indicated that they had been discussing breaking up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Zimmerman`s public defender, at the time of the arraignment said Zimmerman didn`t appear to be a danger to himself or anyone else, insisting he`s not a loose cannon. But yet, he`s stockpiling five guns and 100 rounds of ammo?
Listen, Dr. Judy Ho, first of all, the judge said he cannot have any access to a weapon as a condition of getting out on bail. He`s out on bail right now. Do you think that he`s potentially dangerous, though, given that, you know, how it is in America, you want to get ahold of a gun job, you can get ahold of it.
HO: Yes, it`s really not that hard even if he doesn`t own a gun, Jane, for him to find a gun. Right?
But he`s extremely dangerous and you know why? Because he can`t even control his behaviors at this point. Either he can`t control them and that`s how dangerous he is, or he actually is in full control and is that much of a narcissist that he thinks he`s going to get away with these things over and over and over again.
When are we going to learn this is a dangerous man? He needs to be put away for something else if it`s not for Trayvon Martin.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Zimmerman was let out on $9,000 bail. The conditions of that bail are that he cannot go to two Florida addresses, one of them is his ex-girlfriend`s. He can`t have contact with ex-girlfriend Samantha Scheibe, cannot have any weapons. OK? He cannot have any ammo. He has to wear a monitoring device, and he can`t leave Florida. He can`t leave Florida.
Now that the search warrant is public and we hear that he had five guns in the home he shared with his now ex-girlfriend, I`ve got to wonder, I didn`t hear that, Eboni, when we were listening to the judge grant him bail. Should he have granted him bail if we had access to that information?
WILLIAMS: Well, here`s the thing. The bail is determined by two things, flight risk and also again the greater concern of societal safety.
So what we see here, Jane, in the judge`s bail ruling is that there is a concern for safety. There`s a reason why a judge would infringe on a constitutional right to bear arms in this country. And this judge is saying, "I am so not confident in your ability to refrain from violently attacking society that you can`t have guns or ammunition."
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I understand that he`s saying that, but given that -- and I`m not suggesting that he is going to get a gun, but hypothetically, people who want to get guns we know can get them through unorthodox means. Ashleigh Merchant, did the judge take a risk to the public by letting him out on bail, given his history?
MERCHANT: Not because he had weapons. Because him having weapons at that point in time was entirely legal. So if bail is going to be denied based on the fact that someone has weapons, we`re going to have very full jails across this country. So that`s not the concern that the judge would have.
It`s reasonable that the judge said you can`t have weapons now that you`re on bail. I`ve processed thousands of bail applications. And that`s a standard condition. So that`s not specific to this offense or this offender, the fact that he can`t have weapons while he`s now out on bail.
WILLIAMS: I would disagree with that a little bit, Ashleigh, only because of the violent nature or at least the accusation. That is why the gun issue was addressed. I mean if this was just drugs or something or something that was non-violent at all, I don`t know that I tend to see guns even being addressed in a bail order.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well listen, his ex-wife Shellie Zimmerman talked to Katie Couric after this most recent arrest and Shellie called him a ticking time bomb.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHELLIEW ZIMMERMAN, EX-WIFE OF GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: I certainly hope that there are no casualties, I hope that there`s no violence. But he does seem like a ticking time bomb. I know I`m certainly afraid.
I just hope that he can get maybe the help that he needs to deal with his situation and that no one else will be hurt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Psychologist Dr. Judy, do you think that he is a ticking time bomb and that he might present a danger to himself and/or others?
DR. JUDY HO, PSYCHOLOGIST: I believe he does, Jane. And you know what? I`m not sure who actually evaluated him to determine that he wasn`t a threat to the public and a threat to himself. Who did that? I mean who was the one who went through that with him. I`m not really sure.
But if you look at his track history, it certainly shows evidence of somebody who is a ticking time bomb. I don`t want us to wait for him to murder somebody else or to hurt somebody else in a huge way before we do something about it. So I`m not sure --
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, remember, he was found not guilty of murder. We have to respect the jury`s decision. He killed someone, that`s not in dispute but they said he did not commit murder.
HO: Right. I know.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Up next, this next story straight out of a Lifetime movie. Unfortunately it`s too real. It`s revolting. Look at this, a man accused of raping young girls tries to pin the blame on his twin brother. It`s extraordinary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No two of us have the same exact set of DNA with one exception and that is identical twins.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s just a lot of situations that you couldn`t dream up and this is kind of one of those.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Get ready to catch the wave to health with Upwave. Now this -- right? Potatoes, butter, milk -- we`ve got a healthy alternative for you.
And Upwave star, Keri Glassman, you`re a nutritionist. You`re going to tell us how to make this delicious dish.
KERI GLASSMAN, HLN UPWAVE HOST: The base of this dish is parsnips. People who are eating potatoes or maybe some people eat broccoli or carrots but we`re eating those vegetables over and over again. So if you like the mashed potatoes and you want to change it up and you want something different, parsnips like this -- peel the parsnips right here -- have Vitamin C, they have fiber, they are a root vegetable like potatoes. Chop them up like this --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow.
GLASSMAN: We have a whole bowl chopped right here and then what I do is I just boil them in water with this rosemary and garlic here.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: How sweet -- rosemary and garlic. Look.
GLASSMAN: And both so heart-healthy -- I love using herbs and spices in everything. It`s loaded with nutrition, loaded with fiber, anti- oxidants and really no calories.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. You are no right. Americans think of vegetables as corn, carrots, potatoes, broccoli, period. There are thousands of other options and parsnips are one of them.
GLASSMAN: After they have been boiled in the water for 20 minutes, here they are already boiled. All I do is add some olive oil and then some almond milk right here so we`re not adding the butter and the cream or the milk that you would normally add when you`re making mash potatoes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Can I mash?
GLASSMAN: You go for it and mash.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. I want to mash.
GLASSMAN: I know you like your vegetables because you`re healthy.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I love -- listen they`re fun. I enjoy them. There we go. That`s it. Hey it`s kind of fun to mash these. It`s good exercise.
GLASSMAN: I was just going to say it`s kind of good for you biceps to mash -- mash away.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And it`s fun to cook in this fashion. Not just throwing something in the micro, take it out of a box. Get involved.
GLASSMAN: This was only a couple of steps. All we did was peel, chop, boil, mash.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Peel, chop, boil, mash.
GLASSMAN: Check out this gravy here. This is a healthier gravy and I swear -- you`re going to try it now, Jane. It`s made with tamari, nutritional yeast, vegetable stock, sage, garlic. It`s delicious and loaded with nutritional power.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I love it. Gravy on. Now we`re going the taste it. Let`s get ready. I`m excited. Parsnips.
GLASSMAN: Parsnips, nutritional yeast.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I love this.
GLASSMAN: Would you serve that at a holiday dinner?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I totally would serve it. In fact, I will serve it at a holiday dinner. It`s delicious and it`s different.
GLASSMAN: This is something that`s delicious, it`s new and it`s super healthy.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s delicious, it`s nutritious, get it on for the holidays. And check out Upwave starting December 1st here on HLN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh my gosh. This is your crazy video of the day. Do not do this because you could get hit by a train, people. Miley Cyrus`s twerking taken to the extreme -- these two women appear to be doing the popular twerking move on the tracks of a New York subway system. The comments section of YouTube blew up because you may not know this, the third rail is often electrified. You could die by touching it.
Twerking can be fun but you can get run over by a train. People, please be sensible.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A U.S. soldier is suspected of sexual assault in three states. He says it`s his twin who is really to blame.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No two of us have the same exact set of DNA with one exception, and that is identical twins.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s just a lot of situations that you couldn`t dream up and this is kind of one of those.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Charged with trying to lure 11 adolescent girls into his vehicle, sexually assaulting three of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You might read about it in a novel or see it on a TV show.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight in our war on women, a defense straight out of a horror movie. A man accused of sexually assaulting three young girls and trying to lure eight more girls says "Hey, I didn`t do it, it was my twin. I`ve got this terrible twin." When DNA tied the suspect, Aaron Lucas, who happens to be a decorated army veteran and married father of two children to the abduction and rape of -- are you sitting down -- an eight- year-old girl in Colorado, this sicko pointed the finger at his identical twin brother, an innocent guy whose life was practically ruined by that accusation.
Now while the innocent twin insisted, "Hey, I wasn`t in Colorado when any of these attacks occurred, authorities finally figured it out because the sexual assaults began when the evil twin was stationed in Colorado and they abruptly ended once the evil twin was shipped off to Afghanistan.
So once police connected this up and those revelations came to light, the evil twin changed his tune. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today Aaron Lucas pled guilty to eight felonies including four counts of sexual assault on a child, three counts of enticement and one count of kidnapping.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This sick predator will now serve 20 years to life for his hideous crimes against children -- his victims all little girls between six and nine years of age.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Out to the "lion`s Den". Joe Gomez, reporter, KRLV in Dallas, this is a sick dangerous predator who not only targeted innocent little girls but tries to throw his innocent twin brother under the bus.
JOE GOMEZ, REPORTER, KRLV DALLAS: That`s what gets me, Jane. This is something right out of a screenplay. I mean why would he want to throw his twin brother under the bus like this? This is certainly a Hail Mary if I`ve ever heard of one. The fact that his brother had a DNA that was identical to his own, to then slander his brother in such a way to tarnish his image.
Look, he`s never going to live out this thing. I mean his brother is forever going to be associated with his twin who now has pled guilty to raping all these young girls. It`s absolutely atrocious and the fact that he`s a decorated army officer just makes it all the worse -- Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, it`s so frightening. And of course, you can`t tell them apart because they`re identical twins. So the curse of one -- the sins of one is visited unfortunately on the other. But let`s stress, the innocent twin didn`t do anything wrong.
These two men identical twins, that mean as Joe just mentioned, they have virtually the same genes, same DNA. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Identical twins share the same DNA but they do not have the same fingerprints.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So this is what I don`t get. Social commentary Dorothy Lucey, my dear friend, they have the same DNA. They grew up I believe in the same environment. One turns into a sick evil pedophile, the other a decent guy. I`ve never understood how even siblings -- just regular old siblings -- turn out so different. But identical twins, you hear all these stories about twins living apart and they`re using the same toothbrush and toothpaste. But these two couldn`t be more different.
DOROTHY LUCEY, SOCIAL COMMENTATOR: You know Jane, I`m actually here with my sister today because she is visiting. And this whole thing reminds of when you`re kids and you say "She did it." "No, no, mommy, she did it." I think about my sister and I -- we grew up in the same exact household, the same exact family but I think we have very different takes on our family.
So I think kids from the same family can often almost feel as if they grew up in a different family. But this guy, for the love of God, he`s in his military uniform and he`s going after a four-year-old child. I can`t think of anything more disgusting except saying it wasn`t me, it was my brother.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely Dr. Judy Ho we`re going to give you the final word on this because you`re a psychologist and we desperately need one.
HO: Well, Jane, this is a person who is using his power and his authority to lure children in. So that`s what`s really depressing but it happens all the time.
And to Dorothy`s point, people who grow up in the same families, they have different reactions to their family and the environment reacts differently to them. The parents treat them differently, their teachers, their peers -- they do end up having different experiences. And 50 percent of things like this are outside of genetics. It`s really about your environment and how you deal with it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And very quickly Ashleigh Merchant, criminal defense attorney, can the innocent twin sue the evil twin? Is it worth it?
MERCHANT: He could, but where`s the money. I mean this guy is probably going to spend the rest of his life in prison. And quite frankly the brother probably feels bad for his wife and his children who are left behind in the aftermath and are innocent victims here as well.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Imagine them finding out my decorated veteran husband and the father of my children is a sick pedophile --
MERCHANT: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- sexually assaulting little girls. It`s unbelievable. Thank you fantastic panel.
This is crazy in a different way. He`s a member of one of rock and roll`s biggest bands. She`s known as the alleged White House party crasher and you will not belief how they plan to make history. It`s cuckoo.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Time for Pet of the Day. Send your pet pics to hlntv.com/jane.
Fiona -- darling it`s been ages. How have you been? You`ve been traveling the world, I hear. Sydney, have you gone to Sydney? No, you says "I`m sitting on this couch just looking regal. Speaking of regal beagles, Remy with your fabulous outfit setting the scene for the winter season. Gracie -- it`s been ages.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: One of the most talked-about couples in Washington. They snuck into a high profile party at the White House.
Tareq Salahi says he is betrayed by his wife who ran off allegedly with the guitarist from the 80s rock group.
MICHAELE SALAHI, REALITY TV STAR: Whatever relationship you are in it either grows stronger or it breaks apart. So you really find out when you go through any type of high profile --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: No bleeps here. Talk about high profile. Michaele Salahi -- that`s the now former D.C. housewife and accused White House gate crasher -- remember her? She is getting hitched. And she`s pulling out all the stops.
In a terrible first -- have you ever heard, let me ask you, of a pay- per-view wedding? It is a first, a terrible first. She and her hubby to be, Journey guitarist Neal Schoen are having a not so quiet ceremony in San Francisco and you can watch the whole thing for the low, low, low price of $14.95. That`s right.
The wedding deemed "Winter Wonderland" will be on pay-per-view for the world to see. The event will have performances by Journey, of course, and will be hosted by Debbie Matenopoulos, former co-host of the view and soap star Cameron Matheson -- yes this wedding is going to have co-hosts. This is freaky.
The couple plans to give a portion of the proceeds to the relief efforts in the Philippines after the typhoon that devastated that area. I don`t know how much they are sending. I would love to talk to them about that. They are invited on the show any time.
Dorothy Lucey, are they out of their minds?
LUCEY: You know, Jane, I was supposed to have dinner last week with Debbie Matenopoulos. Debbie and the psychic, our friend Char the psychic. We could have asked Char if anybody would pay to see this thing. I mean I`m a fan of bad, dumb TV -- I watch "The Bachelor". I am not high-brow, but you know what -- don`t stop believing that people will actually pay to see this thing but not me.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, it is a genius; it is a first if you want to be different.
LUCEY: And it`s for charity. It`s for charity.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I really would like to know what percentage of this will go to charity because there is a similar story and this sounds eerily familiar to you know who. You remember what I`m talking.
Kim Kardashian -- all right -- Kim Kardashian also tried her hand at a Philippine philanthropy -- say that three times. She only gave ten percent of the proceeds of her clothing sale on eBay to the Philippines disaster --
LUCEY: 10 percent --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- and people were --
LUCEY: That`s like one shoe for her. That`s like a shoe -- 10 percent.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Exactly, without even the heel. It is just the other part of the shoe. So if you look at the two proposals --
LUCEY: It`s being a bit of a heel and I like Kim.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s being a heel. I like that. Excellent. Excellent. And I think Dorothy it is time to bring in a shrink again.
Dr. Judy Ho, why would -- getting back to this thing -- why would somebody want to have their wedding on pay per view? Their wedding night I could understand. That`s a sex tape but their wedding? What`s the point aside for money?
HO: Well, you know, this is one of those cases again where these people just want any kind of attention that they can get -- right. This is now creating this buzz. They are going to go ahead with it. It starts to take the focus off of the actual relationship. I mean just like you mentioned Jane about Kim, they now have this pressure to go on with this wedding and then you know, a few days later it is over.
I don`t even know how much of this is real. Maybe it is not even reality TV. Maybe it`s almost a scripted show. And just to go off of what Dorothy said, I`m not high brow either. You know one of my favorite shows is "Top Model". I`m going to watch that but I don`t think I`m going to be tuning in for this one.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me say this. I met her, Miss Salahi, and she was actually delightful and charming. Have fun kids. What can you say? It`s the way of the world today.
Great seeing you, Dorothy. It`s crazy out there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And finally your Slice of Happiness -- thanks living style. That`s right. Instead of being roasted and carved, two fowls, Anna and Jessica are spending their holiday pampered thanks to my dear friend, animal rights activist of Dawn Watch Karen Dawn, these beautiful animals will see a new dawn.
Nancy`s next.
END
