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Jane Velez-Mitchell

Woman Promises Sex to Murder Boyfriend

Aired April 04, 2014 - 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, dramatic developments in a jaw- dropping murder-for-hire plot featuring a gorgeous young mother of two. Tonight, she`s locked up behind bars, charged with trying to hire a hitman to murder her well-respected lawyer boyfriend.

Cops say 33-year-old Jessica Strom offered an ex-lover and former classmate $1,000, and, quote, "lots of sex" if he would carry out this killing plan. Cops say she`s been planning this cold-blooded murder for two years. Jessica`s boyfriend, the man she allegedly tried to murder, will join us to talk about this in just a moment.

Good evening. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell, coming to you tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jessica Strom`s plan to have her boyfriend killed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can do it for $1,000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jessica Strom tapped a former criminal justice classmate to kill a man with whom she was having a bad relationship. Officers say Strom promised her friend $1,000 and some sex. Strom even described the layout of her target`s office and home neighborhood. Strom wanted her friend to use a gun in the killing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Cops say they were tipped off to the murder-for-hire plot by the very guy Jessica allegedly asked to carry out the hit. So cops wired him up, and they had the informant hitman meet with Jessica at a cafe and pretend to go along with the plan.

In the secretly-recorded meeting, Jessica draws, literally, a map of her boyfriend`s office on a napkin, and tells the hitman to make an appointment to meet with the boyfriend under a false name, and then, quote, "blow his brains out" and walk out.

Jessica`s attorney insists she wasn`t serious. But detectives say when the hitman told Jessica she would be the first person cops would grill if her boyfriend were killed, she gave a very twisted response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She said, "You can do it for $1,000." At that time she dropped her face and, you know, made a face and pretended to cry. And then suddenly stopped and smiled and giggled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. Is this woman, who is, you know, a beautiful woman and sort of looks like some movie star -- we`ll get to that in a second -- is she really an actress who knows how to lie? Why didn`t she just break up with this man?

We`ve got a fantastic Lion`s Den debate panel at the ready tonight. But first, straight out to our exclusive guest, Jessica Strom`s then- boyfriend, the man she allegedly tried to kill, John Schellpfeffer.

John, thanks for joining us, John. First of all, I`ve got to ask you, what was your reaction when you first were told your girlfriend allegedly tried to have you murdered, shot in the head?

JOHN SCHELLPFEFFER, FORMER BOYFRIEND OF JESSICA STROM (via phone): Well, it was after 2 a.m. in the morning, and a call from law enforcement came in, and the first response was, is Jessica in some kind of trouble? She has a history of aberrant behaviors that leads to arrest situations, contacts with law enforcement and such. And I thought I was being called to perhaps post bond, as she`s had that happen in the past, with whatever lies and other violent crimes she`s performed on me with batteries, and punches to the face, and criminal damage to property, and breaking windows with hammers, coming over with hammers and such.

So I thought that`s -- I was kind of dumbfounded when they said, "No, this isn`t pertaining to her release. She will not be released. This pertains to victim rights notification."

And I said, "Well, OK, but why are you calling me? I`m the attorney/fiance of this woman with three children." She has two children from a prior marriage, and then one from an aberrant relationship of about two weeks` relation. During our six and a half years, she would take side trips, and this child was a result of one of those break-ups along the way.

But honestly, Jane, I wanted to thank you for allowing me to have a voice today. And also...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me ask you -- that was excellent. And I know you`re an attorney. But what was your reaction?

SCHELLPFEFFER: Dumbfounded. When they said, "You were the target of a homicide plot," I just -- I know she`s threatened repeatedly over time, most recently a couple of weeks before this, as we would break up as a result of her aberrant behaviors, whether those were criminal or cheating or stealing or such, then we -- my response to those types of behaviors was separation. I would try to pull away, and eventually, we would get back together. We would reunify.

And I had heard from her two weeks before this that she was going to cut my tongue out so I couldn`t sweet talk any other women.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: My gosh.

SCHELLPFEFFER: Or use my tongue for pleasure with other women. And she had said, "This is it. I`m going to find someone to kill you."

And I brushed it off as this is something that, by her own admission to law enforcement at the time of her arrest and the search warrant execution, that she had said, "Who turned me in? Did John Schellpfeffer call you?"

The law enforcement had asked her, "Why -- why do you think we`re here?"

And she said, "I don`t know. Did John Schellpfeffer call you?" And I did not.

So I guess the long-winded lawyer, like this will just be a second- guess answer, I was dumbfounded. I was in a state of disbelief. I think I even asked the officer, "Am I being punked?" or words to that effect. It was surreal. It was chill -- chilling.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Your statements are unbelievable, that she had previously threatened to cut your tongue out so that you couldn`t pleasure other women or flirt with other women? I mean, this is scary stuff.

Now, the ex-friend/informant who Jessica hoped would be the hitman asked her, "Why not just walk away from this relationship and break up with John?"

Jessica allegedly said, quote, "It wouldn`t give me any satisfaction." Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She suggested that he go to his office, his home office, under the guise of setting up an appointment, and walking in and shooting him. She said, "You could do it for $1,000."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So it would appear she was seeking revenge. Revenge for what? You sound like a really nice guy, John Schellpfeffer, our exclusive guest, the former fiance of this guy [SIC]. I mean, why -- why would she not be the type of person to just walk away if it wasn`t working out with you? Why would she want to cheat on you and then plan to kill you?

SCHELLPFEFFER: Well, there again, it goes back to the big question with her is, why would she do this? And I believe, in my thoughts, this was a case of a woman scorned. Angered by, in her own words to me, being used for over six years, and then told by me that the relationship is finally coming to an end, after all of these break-ups and reunification that stem from her aberrant behavior.

I, at a certain point, after Christmas, having heard that she had been unfaithful yet again, this time with a woman, I decided, even though there wasn`t an immediate cheat on the horizon the day or so before, I broke it off with her.

In fact, we were out the night before and had a very nice evening out. In a moment of clarity, I just simply said, "I can`t do this anymore. This is a roller coaster that the hills and valleys and the steepness of the ride is getting too rough."

But she became more physically violent. She became more verbally assaultive.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, my gosh.

SCHELLPFEFFER: And the change was just becoming more and more rapid.

After six years, through our discussions, I said, "I`m sorry, honey, but I think" -- ironically, the same thing that was told to her on video by this classmate, 24-year-old man that she had apparently, by both of their admissions, had sexual intercourse a couple of years ago, while we were still together, she had contacted him as a person she could trust and thought that he would be appropriate...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow.

SCHELLPFEFFER: ... because he was meticulous. But I have e-mails from six months ago that were submitted to law enforcement, and my entire phone texts confirmed that I broke off the relationships -- this relationship with her two days before she decided to pick up the phone and call this fellow. And she lied to law enforcement, saying that we were still in a relationship. We were not. She lied to law enforcement and said this man contacted her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: John, I want you to ask you to stand by for one second, because what you`re saying is so extraordinary. And thank you for your candor.

Tiffanie Davis-Henry, you`re a psychotherapist. I`m diagnosing this woman as a sex addict, and a drama addict, and possibly something else. But you`re the expert.

TIFFANIE DAVIS-HENRY, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Well, Jane, I am the expert, but you`re pretty close. You know, I whipped out, as he was talking, whipped out my handy dandy DSM. And I`m looking at a few things in there, and I`ve got to tell you, it looks like the entire cluster "B" of personality disorders. We`re talking histrionics, very dramatic behaviors, that co-dependent nature: I hate you, don`t leave me, even though the relationship isn`t going well. And he breaks it off. She still wants to be together and is like, "Either you`re with me, or you`re with nobody else."

There`s also that quick to anger, that irrational anger, the impulsivity. All of that makes a perfect storm for someone to do something like this.

And I say, you know what, sir? God bless you. I`m so happy that you have finally gotten rid of this woman and gotten out of this relationship. It`s been a long time coming.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right.

DAVIS-HENRY: Thank God.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, we`re just getting started on this case. First of all, if she`s convicted, she could go to prison. She`s 33. She could do 60 years. That`s a life sentence. Does she deserve that?

She claims, "Oh, I wasn`t serious." We`re going to ask John about that, and our expert panel.

Coming up, a brand-new twist in the mysterious death of a teen found rolled up in a gym mat. Police have simply failed to pursue an obvious potential suspect in his death. Why?

But first, more on this twisted murder-for-hire plot. Could this really beautiful woman convince the court, "Oh, I was just kidding"?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jessica Strom tapped a former criminal justice classmate to kill a man with whom she was having a bad relationship. Officers say Strom promised her friend $1,000 and some sex in exchange for the deed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Officials say they listened in on Strom at a Lawbach (ph) cafe as she outlined her plan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She said, you can do it for $1,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. A murder-for-hire plot, this beautiful woman accused of trying to hire a friend to kill her boyfriend, a respected lawyer in the community.

Defense says, well, there`s a whole other side to this story. The so- called hitman turned informant is actually her ex-lover. To that, I say so what?

Jessica`s pleaded not guilty. Her claims it was all just talk. She wasn`t serious and insists she was giggling throughout the entire conversation with the informant, who was secretly taping the meeting.

So let`s debate it with our fantastic Lion`s Den debate panel. Come on. Adam Thompson, criminal defense attorney, she`s facing a potential 60 years in prison. At 33, that`s a life sentence. No money exchanged hands. What do you think?

ADAM THOMPSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Listen, you know, usually the kiss of death is when you have things on a tape-recorded conversation that involves law enforcement or cooperators. So right off the bat, the person she tried to rope in as the hitman working with the police is almost like the death blow.

But I will say this: After listening to the alleged victim you just had on. The fact that she`s saying, "Don`t take me seriously. I was kidding"; the fact that he himself even said to the police, "Am I being punked?" And this has been going on for six years. We`re together; we break up; we`re together; we break up. She threatens me; we`re back together. This is an ongoing thing. That gives a lot of credence that this is a big talker, and maybe you don`t listen to and take seriously what she says.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Natalie Jackson.

JOE GOMEZ, REPORTER: I don`t know if I believe that, Jane.

NATALIE JACKSON, ATTORNEY: I think this is a classic domestic- violence situation. And this is something that the people who are viewing this, they really need to take this seriously.

When you have someone, and you have erratic behavior, when it`s over, it has to be over. You cannot keep letting them come back into your life. You should get a restraining order, and it should be done.

This is a case where I believe her defense will be that he is the person that is provoking her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh. Oh, I love you, Natalie, but come on. Joe Gomez, help me out here.

JACKSON: No, I`m not defending her, Jane.

GOMEZ: If the police -- if the police are right on this, and she did what they said she did, she was out for one thing and one thing only, Jane, and that was blood.

This guy could have been murdered, you know, years ago, it sounds like. This woman`s volatile behavior, she wanted to cut off his tongue? I`ve covered hundreds of stories like this, where this ends in one way, and that`s with somebody in the grave.

The fact that this murder-for-hire guy suddenly turned to the cops, and you know, they busted her at last? It doesn`t happen that way. It doesn`t end that way. Somebody`s asleep, and the next thing you know, they`re dead.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Quickly.

GOMEZ: This guy is very lucky.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Lisa Lockwood, famed investigator.

LISA LOCKWOOD, INVESTIGATOR: It sure is great to have John among the living, because I`m going to tell you right now, murder-for-hire plots end up being executed. So I`m thankful for that.

And also the informant, having an informant go through who was originally trusted and say, "You know what? I`m going to make sure that this guy doesn`t get killed." That guy is an incredible hero. So I believe his credibility is there. Otherwise, the police would not be working with him.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tracy, Virginia, what have you got to say? Tracy?

CALLER: Well, I agree that -- I think this lady is mental, period. And I think that she needs to be locked up more than 60 years. I can`t believe she would be willing to harm someone as bad as she wanted to. This is really sad.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. She has -- she has children, too.

John Schellpfeffer, our exclusive guest, the intended victim of this alleged plot, do you want to see her go away for 60 years? Do you think that she could even be a danger to her own kids?

SCHELLPFEFFER: Well, I want to first address the situation today, or on the eve of her arrest, as being very different from the prior six years of on-again, off-again.

As a person trained in domestic abuse, a prior prosecutor, district attorney of five years and defense attorney of my own right for the last 15 years, I`m no stranger to the wheel of violence and domestic abuse. And I can tell you, I`ve prosecuted it, I`ve defended it, and now I have lived it.

And as having lived it, I saw the frequency of the abuse toward me increase in number. I saw it increase in terms of duration. I saw it increase in terms of the number of times in a given week there was the verbal abuse, physical abuse.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: John, why did you stay? And this is what they ask women all the time. But women are not the only victims of domestic abuse. Why did you stick it out?

SCHELLPFEFFER: Well, we had what I perceived to be a very rare psychological, intellectual and emotional and physical connection. And I stayed in the relationship, because in today`s society, family definition has gone from the traditional husband and wife married to long-term relations between a man and a woman, whether there`s a wedding ring on the finger or not. And the...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, she`s also pretty. She`s also pretty. Does that factor in?

SCHELLPFEFFER: Well -- and I`d like to think that I`m no slouch when it comes to looks.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You`re a very handsome guy. Of course you are. But certain women have seductive powers that men can find impossible to resist, to matter what their intelligence. And you`re obviously a highly intelligent, highly successful man.

You know, there`s no accounting. The heart wants what it wants, as they say. And so we`re certainly not judging you, sir. You`re the victim here. And we appreciate you speaking out.

We`re going to have more on the other side. Wow, John Schellpfeffer`s account, so fascinating he`s alive to talk about it. That`s the great news.

More on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Strom denied that she was serious about the murder, and that she had intended to call it off the following morning. She told police she hadn`t called it off yet, because she was too busy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Initially he informed Strom he did not have access to a gun. Strom told him he could get one off the streets of Milwaukee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s the detective talking about this woman, Jessica Strom, 33 years old, and she allegedly tried to hire a hitman to have her boyfriend, who was a very well-known and respected attorney who we have on tonight talking to us exclusively, tried to have him killed.

Now, get this. The friend she contacted, who eventually worked with the police to turn her in, was a licensed pilot. And she allegedly suggested that, after gunning down the boyfriend, they stash his dead body on the plane, and then dump the body somewhere remote. You know, it all sounds pretty insane to me.

She said, quote, "I`ll just wrap him up, and I`ll put him on my lap and I`ll hold him until we can find somewhere in the remote desert to drop him."

I`ve got to ask, starting with Natalie Jackson, criminal defense attorney, could she plead insanity? Because she sounds pretty crazy to me.

JACKSON: I think she could. But I don`t think that it will go anywhere, because it all depends on her state of mind when all of this happened.

I think that her defense will be that she is the person that was battered and abused, and that she had no way to get out of it. I don`t think that it will fly given the information that we`ve heard so far.

But the key to this is that, when you`re in a relationship like this, it doesn`t get any better. You have to get out. And you have to file restraining orders and notify police.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Joe Gomez, you`re a guy; you know how it is. When she -- I was looking. I was saying, "What actress does she look like?" She looks like Michelle Pfeiffer. I mean, she could be...

GOMEZ; You`re right. She does.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And I think personally, she`s a subset of a sex addict. She`s like a sex addict plus a seduction addict. Because a lot of women get a tremendous amount of power from their ability to seduce. And it sounds like that was her M.O.

GOMEZ: And was she a seductress? Can`t she plead insanity? She said some crazy things, certainly, Jane, and "I`m going to cut out your tongue." I personally have never heard that one before.

But you`re right: there is a lot of power in attraction. And people can stay in relationships that are very bad for them because they feel lonely or otherwise; there`s all kinds of reasons.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, I`ve got to jump in.

GOMEZ: She`s going to have a hard time trying -- she`s going to have a hard time trying to get out -- get out of this one, trying to lie her way out of this one.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: John.

GOMEZ: Yes, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to give John Schellpfeffer, her former fiance, the last word, for being a good sport and talking about this also, to us exclusively.

SCHELLPFEFFER: Well, point blank, in response to this, her claiming to be the victim, she`s consistently in contact with law enforcement, and she consistently role reversals. She`ll put on the perspective of a victim and blame whoever is near her, whether it be her ex-husband, or now me.

And she point blank told law enforcement in her interview that "he has never physically abused me. And he just did bad things to me and bad things to other people." There`s never any fleshing that out. And that is her constant M.O. That is her constant...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, John, again, I`m so happy she`s alive. She reminds me of Jodi Arias, and that`s not to convict here. She deserves her day in court. But it`s that borderline personality disorder. You worship somebody; then you demonize them. You can`t have them; let`s kill them.

I`m so glad that John Schellpfeffer is alive, and I hope you go on to a stellar career, sir.

Next, police say the teen whose body was discovered rolled up in a gym mat died accidentally. But his parents are convinced he was murdered and there`s been a cover-up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was no foul play. He had no bruises, no nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you believe that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really feel he was murdered.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who do we want?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kendrick!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kendrick!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kendrick!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was the cause of Mr. Johnson`s death?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe indeed that he was murdered.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The official cause of death was positional asphyxia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was Mr. Johnson`s death the result of a crime?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only question we want to know is why they`re covering up whoever killed their son.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t believe this was an accident. I think this young man met with foul play.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, emotional protests as brand-new questions surface in the Kendrick Johnson mystery. The now infamous gym mat death of the 17-year-old shocked the community, people demanding answers, asking what`s taking so long for justice.

Kendrick Johnson found dead at his Georgia high school rolled up in a gym mat. We`ve got to warn you -- these photos are graphic, but essential to the case. Take a look at it. Photos of Kendrick`s body found just over a year ago rolled up inside his school`s gym mat. Ok?

You could see, and we`re going to show you again, there`s blood and there`s his shoe, but we`ll show you throughout the course of the next few minutes -- there he is. How did he get there?

Sheriff`s officers originally concluded Kendrick crawled into that small opening looking for his shoe, got stuck and suffocated and died. His parents called that absolutely ridiculous insisting he was murdered and they accuse cops of a cover up.

Now a CNN investigation has caused this case to explode on the national stage with the victim`s family calling the medical examiner`s conclusion of positional asphyxia absurd. They said they`re not going to keep quiet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Don`t give up the fight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we want?

CROWD: Justice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we want?

CROWD: Justice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we need?

CROWD: Justice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when do we want it?

CROWD: Now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s a protest demonstration today, demanding answers. A grand jury has convened to examine evidence in this gruesome case. An anonymous e-mail claims somebody has confessed to killing Kendrick. But now we`re learning something new -- that authorities might have skipped interviewing an obvious potential suspect.

Straight out to CNN`s Victor Blackwell, who has done such excellent work on this case, you`ve got new information alleging local authorities failed to interview a crucial person? Tell us.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, Jane, after the Loudon County investigators determined that the e-mails, anonymous tip that someone confessed to killing Kendrick Johnson was not credible we received the interim reports telling us who they interviewed. They interviewed the person who sent these e-mails; the person who allegedly told this person who sent the e-mail about the student, the alleged confessor.

However, according to these documents, they did not interview the person who was accused of confessing to Kendrick Johnson`s death, nor according to these documents, did they even try to get in contact with that person. So one would wonder why not if you are truly investigating a confession or an alleged confession, why not try to interview the person who was accused of confessing?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. Well, that is a bombshell, really. I mean it doesn`t make any sense at all.

I`ve got to go to Natalie Jackson, noted criminal defense attorney who has handled many cases of this nature. Ok. Somebody sent an anonymous e- mail saying, hey, I hear that somebody confessed. They go and do all sorts of work and interviewed everybody except the one person that this e-mailer says confessed.

NATALIE JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: And I think that`s been the most perplexing thing about this case, Jane, is that the answers that the parents have been given are not complete answers. And I think it`s very fair for the parents to get complete answers.

Here you have -- you had a person who did the medical examination say that he died by asphyxiation, the parents had the body exhumed and they had an independent medical examiner that said there was foul play. So now you hear that there was e-mails and there was a possible confessor, and there had been no interview.

I think the parents are absolutely right to demand answers, and to demand complete answers when their 17-year-old son is dead.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: At first, Kendrick`s death was ruled an accident. It wasn`t until Kendrick`s family and CNN, particularly the reporter anchor we have here, Victor Blackwell, started investigating, that the feds then decided to step in, and then the U.S. attorney jumped on the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First, what was the cause of Mr. Johnson`s death? Second, was Mr. Johnson`s death the result of a crime? Third, if Mr. Johnson`s death was the result of a crime, who committed that crime?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. So here`s my question. Let`s bring in our "Lion`s Den" debate panel. Adam Thompson, criminal defense attorney, was the sheriff`s department too quick to jump to the conclusion of accidental death? And could there be conflicts like a connection between somebody at law enforcement and this school, or some other reason why they accepted a theory that he went in to get his shoe and then suffocated, that everybody else seems to be rolling their eyes in disbelief over?

ADAM THOMPSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Anyone that believes this kid died accidentally is insane. This kid was murdered. This is a homicide. This is a massive cover-up. I really feel for this family. They need questions answered. This kid didn`t just on his own get rolled up in a gym mat and be found that way. He was put there by somebody obviously.

And when they did their own autopsy review, they found he had blunt trauma, which was done by somebody else. I mean, it`s obvious what happened in this case. And it`s just a shame that we`re at this point and nothing has been done.

Now, are the people involved connected in some way to law enforcement? I think there`s going to be more information that unfolds, because it`s very easy, particularly with this new e-mail that just came out, saying who the person might be, to investigate this matter and really get the facts we need to get the right people arrested.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Lisa Lockwood, you`re a famed investigator, author of "Undercover Angel". Blunt force trauma, that`s what the independent autopsy showed, even though the official autopsy said accidental. Those are two different things.

We also heard that blood was found on one of the walls of the gym. The sheriff`s office says, well it`s not Kendrick`s. Well, whose blood is it? If you`re having a confrontation with somebody maybe it`s somebody else`s blood whose connected to the case. There seems to be so much that we`re not getting here.

LISA LOCKWOOD, INVESTIGATOR: Everything surrounding this case is incredibly suspect. To have them dismiss it right away as asphyxiation. He`s rolled up in a gym mat chasing a shoe? Why was he there at that moment?

We have video footage of him entering that gym. We need to get that footage and find out why he was there. What was the reason? Was he scheduled to meet somebody? Fishing for a shoe? Why was that shoe in there initially? This whole thing is an atrocity and I absolutely believe he was murdered, and thankful that the family decided to do their own investigation and get new results from the pathologist.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, here`s another mystery. Kendrick`s high school had tons of surveillance cameras. They have cameras watching the gym, the hallways, the cafeteria. Take a look at how many cameras they have. Look at that. Ok.

But even though they`ve released a lot of footage, some containing Kendrick, and we see video of him walking here and there in crucial moments. The really crucial video that would solve the case, we haven`t seen that.

So I want to go back to Victor Blackwell, who has done such extraordinary work on this case. We`ve got Kendrick in the gym, in the minutes leading up to his death, why don`t we have the smoking gun surveillance tape of his actual last moments that would reveal what the heck happened?

BLACKWELL: You know, of the about 38 cameras that are in and around this gym, Jane. The only camera that shows the corner where these mats are, that camera was the only blurred angle. Now, we took it to a forensic video analyst who was certified to do this work. He said that it was not intentionally blurred.

However, not only was that angle blurred, but it was tilted, the camera was tilted in just a way so that you could not see the tops of the mat. You could see the bottoms of the mat. But anyone on top of them could have slipped in or been on top of those, you could not see that.

Also, we know these are motion activated. We can see from an angle outside of the gym several students walking into the gym, but no corresponding video for the same time on the other side of that door the hour before Kendrick Johnson walks in. It`s just a few seconds and then no more. The next time we see the footage is the next day being wheeled out on a gurney in a body bag.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Natalie Jackson, criminal defense attorney, you represented Trayvon Martin`s family in the Zimmerman case. A grand jury has convened. But that was a few weeks ago that we heard about that.

I mean, how long does it take? It`s not an investigation of a nature of, you know, the Kennedy assassination. I mean, this is basic stuff. Why are we not hearing anything in terms of a grand jury? It just seems like this case is dragging on.

JACKSON: Well, Jane, I was on Trayvon with Benjamin Crump. Benjamin Crump is also the attorney for Kendrick Johnson`s family. Benjamin is like a dog with a bone. He is not going to let this go. The grand jury is a secret jury, so we don`t know what`s going on. But I will tell you that I think that Attorney Crump -- he`s going to get answers, and he won`t leave without answers.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well Tiffanie Davis Henry, psychotherapist, you, just briefly, get a sense of this case from a psycho analytical perspective. Is something being hidden? Is there a secret here?

TIFFANIE DAVIS HENRY, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Oh, for sure. There`s been a lot of cover-up. And I think the parents -- the families, the community around this should not let this go. They need to let every young man across this country know that their lives matter, no matter what color they are. And this case will show that if they keep at it and keep really being vigilant about finding answers for Kendrick and his family.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, the road`s getting narrower. Somebody`s hiding something, seems to be the general agreement. What is it and when will we find out? We`re going to stay on top of it.

Up next, Chris Brown flies cross-country, but not in the G-6 -- oh no, he`s in trouble. We`re going to tell you this extraordinary development next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris, what happened?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you Chris.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The infamous rapper has danced around the justice system.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The court issues a no-bail warrant in this matter.

His non-compliance and the inability to follow the program --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this power and privilege?

CHRIS BROWN, SINGER: I love you all. Thank you for your support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Superstar Chris Brown on tour tonight, but it`s not a concert tour. We know what that looks like.

(MUSIC)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Instead, the superstar on his way to Washington, D.C., to face the music on a misdemeanor assault charge after an extradition hearing in L.A. Chris was taken by federal marshals to travel to Washington.

Instead of jetting off on a private plane or even reclining in first class which he asked for, he will be taking con-air, the U.S. Justice Department`s prisoner airplane -- a trip that would normally take just five hours flying or even 38 hours driving will just take two weeks on con-air. Con-air takes the local route stopping to pick up and drop off inmates all across the country. What a hit to this star`s ego.

But maybe Chris should have thought about that before he hit his superstar ex-girlfriend, Rihanna.

(MUSIC)

It all started five years ago when Chris beat up Rihanna, leaving her face really badly beaten. There`s the infamous photo from TMZ. He pled guilty. He got probation. Probation he`s still on. But like most celebrities, he couldn`t stay out of trouble. Last fall arrested again for allegedly punching a guy in the face in Washington, D.C. -- a probation violation. But he got no jail time. Hot shot attorney Mark Geragos rescued him and got him into rehab for anger management.

Then he got kicked out for throwing a rock at his mom`s window after a family therapy session. He didn`t get jail then either. He got another rehab trip. Well, he finished his 90-day stint there, but a judge ordered him to stay put until his trial for the Washington, D.C. assault charge.

But then Chris got thrown out because he was breaking the rules, allegedly rubbing elbows with a female patient. The judge finally locked him up.

All right. Three chances for this guy.

Adam Thompson, criminal defense attorney, is this whole slow trip across the country a public shaming or is he just being treated like any other inmate?

THOMPSON: Hey, listen, I`ve been doing criminal defense for 25 years with numerous clients that have been extradited across the country. He`s going via plane. I had clients going via van, where they drive state to state picking up people and it takes week to get him from point 1 to point 2. So nothing unusual there.

But I will say this, when a guy is as wealthy as he is and he can afford to pay, why put it on the dime of the public and the taxpayer? Let him take it out of his pocket. Pay -- as long as there are no security issues with the Department of Corrections, let him pay the bill to go back and forth. It gets him to the location sooner and it gets the case moving sooner.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look, look -- I love your theories but my Natalie Jackson, is this a public shaming or is he just another inmate, an inmate who happens to be worth $24 million?

JACKSON: I think they`re treating him like an inmate, like they should. I understand Adam`s point. But he will be made to pay for the government`s transportation. And I think that he should be treated just like any other inmate. And that he should be known on that airline and not given any special treatment. That`s what our system is about -- it`s about equality.

DAVIS-HENRY: I agree.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: After Chris beat up Rihanna, he took to YouTube saying, "I`m so sorry."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Ever since the incident, I wanted to publicly express my deepest regret and accept full responsibility. Although I would do something --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tiffanie Davis-Henry, psychotherapist, why did he insist when he got all these breaks on breaking the rules again?

DAVIS-HENRY: You know what, Jane, some people don`t realize how good they have it when they have it. He`s been given chance after chance after chance. And I think what we have to remember as parents, as loved ones, even as attorneys, sometimes we can`t save people from themselves, and they have to suffer the natural consequences of their behavior.

JACKSON: I agree.

DAVIS-HENRY: He`s gotten off so many times. And now he can`t get out of it. So what if he was inconvenienced he has to take two weeks to get across the country? I think now he`s starting to learn, you know what? I had it pretty good. I should have stayed in rehab. I shouldn`t have done half of the things that I did.

This is what it`s going to take. This is his rock bottom, Jane, and hopefully this will turn things around for him.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hopefully it`s a wakeup call, and he can hit bottom like Robert Downey Jr. and end up on top of the world again. That`s what we`d like.

Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, America`s wild horses in peril. Little Rico, animals with feelings just like you being rounded up by the U.S. government with our tax dollars and shipped to slaughter.

Just weeks ago, 41 free-roaming horses were rounded up by U.S. government helicopters. We have just obtained of these four foals, baby horses the only ones from that group of 41 who are not shipped to slaughter -- one boy and three girls who are currently safe in Colorado although they are confused and traumatized. We`ll show you many pictures of them now -- ripped away from their mothers as the whole herd was chased and torn from open spaces.

Now here`s the herd in the wild just weeks ago. Those same horses, 37 of those 41 horses have been shipped off to a Canadian slaughterhouse. At this moment they could already be dead. The whole process from being chased by helicopters, ripped away from their mothers, shipped off in trucks -- it`s a terrifying ordeal for these horses. Look at this -- separated from their families.

48,000 wild horses have been rounded up using our tax dollars and are currently under government control. Now this woman, the Secretary of the Interiors, Sally Jewel runs the BLM, Bureau of Land Management and they claim all the horses are just fine, thank you.

Critics seriously question that thing. Follow the money that our government operates at the behest of corporate interests that want those open spaces for their own usage.

Straight out to Ginger Kathrens, the executive director of the Cloud Foundation -- Ginger, you saw these horses before they were rounded up and you desperately tried to purchase all 37 horses destined for the slaughterhouse. What were you told and what was your emotional reaction when you got the news?

GINGER KATHRENS, CLOUD FOUNDATION (via telephone): Well, I called the slaughterhouse and I spoke to a representative. And the lady told me that they were rounded up and removed for slaughter. And slaughter is where they were going when I attempted to say that we had a buyer at a much higher rate than they could get for them at slaughter.

She indicated that that is not something that they would do and they wouldn`t sell them to me.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What was your reaction?

KATHRENS: Well, I knew that the horses at that point were doomed and perhaps even already dead and so I just -- I broke down. I don`t usually but I just -- I couldn`t handle. And I just started bawling.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, what I`m looking at here are the three -- three of the four babies who were rescued. But again, they`re traumatized. They have no idea why they were ripped away from their moms. Why they were shattered from their herd. Why they were chased by helicopters and then put in trucks and shipped across the country to some loving, compassionate people including a wonderful veterinarian who rescued them.

Was this latest roundup even legal? Critics say no. The Bureau of Land Management says, "Regarding the 41 unauthorized domestic horses, the Bureau of Land Management had no authorities over these animals under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act other than their removal.

But critics say there was no public hearing. Nobody knew about this and claimed it`s a violation of that very horse and burros which states wild free-roaming horses and burros means all unbranded and unclaimed horses and burros on public land of the United States.

Ginger, these were according to you unbranded and unclaimed horses. So wouldn`t that be against the law.

KATHRENS: Well, it`s against the law if you read the Wild Horse and Burro Act and the horses were all unbranded and that`s according to the Wyoming brand inspector. So I believe that they were legal in their homes and they were removed illegally. Certainly the very least it was immoral, sneaky and sleazy.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And we`re going to tell you how you can get involved. You know these horses were sent to Canada to be slaughtered. Now animal advocates have introduced the bill to ban exporting horses across the U.S. border to countries like Canada and Mexico for slaughter. So you can help by calling your member of Congress and saying support the Safeguard American Food Export Act and you can go to a change.org and sign a petition to demand a 10-year moratorium on wild horse roundups. Go to my Facebook page for information.

You know, Ginger, you always tell me follow the money. These are -- the government is now working for corporate interest. I mean we see it all over the place. It seems like that`s the theme and it may be, you know, morally reprehensible but can we do something to stop it. We`ve got to change the laws.

These animals cannot speak for themselves. Get involved. Together we can change this and save other horses. Right Rico?

END