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Jane Velez-Mitchell
Why is Toddler`s Suspected Killer Out of Jail?; Tech Millionaire Accused of Assaulting Girlfriend
Aired April 25, 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, outrage and sheer disgust as an accused murderer, child murderer, strolls right out of jail.
Good evening, I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell. Thanks for joining us me tonight.
Why was this man, who allegedly crushed a beautiful little girl`s skull with his own bare hands, allowed to post bail? This case has an entire community enraged. The grisly murder of this little angel, this little innocent, and the broken system that failed to protect this 2-year- old child named Dezirae and which continues to defile her memory by letting her alleged killer walk free.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDRA EASTMAN, MOTHER OF DEZIRAE: What did you do to my baby? What did you do to my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) baby?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The death of 2-year-old Dezirae Sheldon has shocked the community.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was so full of life. She was beautiful.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That young life was tragically cut short.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stepfather Dennis Duby is charged with murdering the toddler.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On impact, she began to die.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Arrested for allegedly crushing Dezirae`s skull and killing her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Denied killing his 2-year-old stepdaughter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Angry citizens rallied outside the Department for Children and Families in Rutland.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Accusing them of being responsible for the death of the 2-year-old.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do we want?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dennis Duby posted $250,000 bail this week. He`s charged with second-degree murder in the death of his stepdaughter, Dezirae. Though he denies abusing Dezirae, Duby has told multiple contradicting stories about what happened to the toddler.
Dezirae`s mom, who`s the suspect`s estranged wife, exploded in a rage at his arraignment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
S. EASTMAN: What did you do to my baby? What did you do to my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) baby?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now the judge in this case, Judge Theresa DiMauro, knows all the hideous details of the murder, and she said in open court the suspect is a liar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE THERESA DIMAURO, PRESIDING OVER TRIAL: Mr. Duby, over a course of days, has provided multiple versions of events as to what happened, not only what happened but where it happened within the residence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So why the hell did the judge let him post bail? Straight out to the Lion`s Den. We`ve got a fantastic debate panel ready to go at it tonight. Former prosecutor Wendy Murphy, are you as outraged as I am that this alleged child killer is sauntering free?
WENDY MURPHY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: I know I can`t swear on your show without getting in big trouble, but if I could I would. Because this is a story that deserves us to use the strongest words possible.
Not only did everybody who was supposed to protect this child, who knew she was being abused in the past, absolutely fall down on the job; every government official responsible for that child`s life failed her. Then they sent her back to live with the guy who popped her head, popped her head flat and she`s dead. And the judge thinks that`s worth letting him out on bail?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Evangeline Gomez, the mother of the -- the mother of the child said he`s a flight risk, the very mother of the child said, "He told me, `If I`m accused of this, I`m taking off`." Flight risk.
EVANGELINE GOMEZ, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The mom herself has a history, and the look, judge has to weigh a lot of factors, not just that he`s a flight risk. Does he have a background of doing drugs or alcohol? Does he suffer from a mental defect of sorts? These are all things the prosecutor should have presented to the judge to make sure the prosecutor had a stellar case and to keep him behind bars until his trial.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Are you saying -- hold on, that doesn`t make any sense. Eric Guster, she seems to be saying that, unless this guy has a history, a criminal history or is mentally ill, he should be able to walk free?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jane...
ERIC GUSTER, ATTORNEY: It`s a bond, everyone is entitled to a bond in a case. And this man has no criminal history. He may be a flight risk, however, that`s why he`s on house arrest, where he can`t even go anywhere. This man is entitled to bond.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: He can work. Let me tell you this. Let me explain a few back-story items here.
Little Dezirae died from skull fractures to both sides of her head. A doctor told cops that suggests somebody held her head so tight that her skull cracked. Imagine that. Cops say Dennis Duby is that killer, so why is he roaming free?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Defendant assaulted Dezirae with such force that the dying is almost instantaneous. He admits that he is the only one who was with Dezirae and that he is the only one present when she is first on the ground, unresponsive, when her brain is swelling beyond repair.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, there`s a lot of confusion about what he can do when he`s out. Dennis Duby is, according to published reports, supposed to stay away from his estranged wife and the home they shared. Instead, he`s supposed to be staying with his parents, reportedly under 24-hour curfew.
But when a reporter went to talk to him, the man who answered the door said that he was at work. So much for the 24-hour curfew.
Wendy Walsh, psychologist, get this: this guy reportedly either was or is the town`s part-time animal control officer and a deputy fire warden. Could his connections to local government have gotten him a sweet deal?
WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, you never know, Jane. I mean, you never know who knows who in law enforcement and in the courts to be able to give them that kind of deal.
But clearly, this is a guy who has an anger management problem. Anybody who can squeeze the life out of a tiny, adorable, innocent little child who was probably crying and screaming for help. This is why toddlers scream. This is why their scream goes right up our spine, so that we will give them the help and the care that they need, not squeeze the life out of them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: There`s another side to this case. There are very serious allegations against the mother of the child, who essentially was convicted for allowing the child`s leg to break and then purportedly allowing more than a week to pass before going to get help. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE BROWN, FAMILY FRIEND: I just opened the door, and I looked at Dezirae; and her whole face was bruised. And I looked at Sandy, and I said what happened? And she said, "Dennis dropped her into the Pack `n Play."
And I said, "That`s not from a Pack `n Play fall. Her whole face is bruised."
LISA EASTMAN, AUNT OF MURDERED TODDLER: I said he`s going to kill her. She`s going to die. I knew in my heart that this was going to happen. But nobody listened.
BROWN: She covered for him this whole time. She`s just as guilty as he is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And we have on the phone now, one of those women, Linda Eastman, Dezirae`s -- the little girl who is now deceased -- her aunt. And you heard her say that she predicted that this child would die. But she was talking about the child`s mother. So where does the mother factor into this, Lisa?
We`ve got a dead child. You predicted it, tearfully, and it happened. But it`s the stepfather who`s charged in the child`s death, not the mother.
L. EASTMAN (via phone): Well, last year I was -- I was completely, totally convinced that Dennis had threatened Dezirae`s life. But -- so I was afraid for my niece then. And I didn`t really know Dennis all that well. I was only around him that once, and he told me that he was a police officer.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, he lied; he`s not a police officer. He lied to you. So he`s a liar. What we hear is he`s a part-time animal control officer and a part-time -- or was -- involved with the fire department as a deputy warden and also a volunteer firefighter and apparently has been suspended from the volunteer part. But that`s not a cop. He told you he was a cop?
L. EASTMAN: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow.
L. EASTMAN: And he even told my sister Sandy that he was a cop. He told all my family that he was a cop. And he even pretended, like he`d be on phone calls with my sister at the time, and that he was spending time with her. And he would actually pretend that he was going on a call and, like, retaining the suspects.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Lisa, look, she was married to him for eight years, plus. How long can you pull off that...
L. EASTMAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Huh?
L. EASTMAN: It was eight months.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, eight months they were married? OK.
L. EASTMAN: They got married in May of last year.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. How many -- how many years did they date?
L. EASTMAN: They were seeing each other since July of 2012. Dezirae was 5 months old.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The point still stands, it`s enough time to figure out whether or not your boyfriend is a cop or not. I mean, you can be in willful denial when people are spewing lies at you and you accept them.
Why did she -- the mother wasn`t at home. Your sister was not at home when little Dezirae died. She was out shopping. This guy -- if you all had such concerns about him, why did she leave the child alone with him?
L. EASTMAN: I -- I wish I could answer that. I don`t know. She thought she could trust him.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you think the child should have ever been returned to Sandra Eastman, who I believe is your sister? Do you think the child should have ever been returned to her after the broken leg incident?
L. EASTMAN: No. That baby should never have been with her, ever. And even Sandy knows that. Even she has been aware before that, if Dezirae wasn`t returned to her, she would be here right now.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you know, this goes beyond that. This is your sister, right, Sandra?
L. EASTMAN: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sandra has a history of questionable behavior. At 24, she had sex with a 15-year-old boy, became pregnant. And we found her on the Vermont sex offender registry. So this is another major strike against this mother. And it really has me asking, Wendy Murphy, voice of reason on this panel today, why was this child ever given back to her?
MURPHY: Look, you know what my answer is going to be, Jane. We`ve discussed this so many times. Kids don`t matter in this country, especially in states like Vermont. They don`t vote; they don`t have any money. When their lives are at risk, people don`t care enough.
And, look, this is a murder case. OK, the reason he should be behind bars is because, assuming he`s convicted, he will never walk free again. That`s what you`re supposed to do when an adult kills a defenseless child. The fact that he`s out now is the legal system in Vermont declaring that child`s life worth nothing.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: There are protests going on over this, and Evangeline Gomez, I don`t understand how you can defend allowing him to leave when his own estranged wife said, "Hey, he`s going to take off. He told me he`s going to take off or kill himself if he`s let out, if he`s accused of this."
GOMEZ: It`s the judge`s decision. And the judge has to weigh various factors.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m not asking about the judge`s decision. I`m asking about what you think. I`m asking you what you think is the right thing.
GOMEZ: The right thing would have been for him to not be able to post any type of bail. This is an egregious crime. This is the death of a child, and as Wendy said, a defenseless child.
But you don`t know what the motivation may be here. Maybe they`re waiting for him to have more conversations with people to get more evidence. And they may be looking at the mother, as well. There are different motivations that go on in these types of cases. So we just shouldn`t criticize just yet.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well...
MURPHY: You don`t give him a discount because he might have killed her with the mother. You don`t give somebody a discount for that. You actually maybe go after both of them, but you don`t let him out to develop evidence that you don`t need. He was the only one in the room with the kid when she died. That is not a bad case; that`s a strong case.
GOMEZ: It could be a bad case. You don`t know exactly what is going on through the prosecutor`s mind, and actually, you should blame the prosecutor, if anyone in this case, if he`s walking free on bond.
MURPHY: The judge. The judge. The judge.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Here`s the thing. Eric Guster, we have more people locked up in this country than any other country in the world, the size of small European -- eastern European nations. What are jails for, if not to hold somebody who`s accused of crushing a little girl`s skull?
GUSTER: But you have to remember, this is $250,000 that he had to post, either property or bond, in order to ensure that he will show up for court. That is what a bond is for. And that is a -- it`s a decently high bond.
However, this sounds like a possible manslaughter case, not a murder case. He may -- he may have been trying to quiet the child, or did something that he should not have done. It could easily be a manslaughter case.
MURPHY: What?
GUSTER: Absolutely it can be. Are we going to discuss? Or are we going to yell? This is a possible manslaughter case.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wendy Walsh, psychologist. We need a psychologist.
WALSH: Jane, I`ve got to say something here. This guy who pretended to be a cop is clearly a wannabe tough guy who rules by intimidation, who takes advantage and murders a helpless, tiny little child. This guy is a murderer.
But I`ve got to say something to single mothers. What was this woman doing dating with a 5-month-old baby? She needs to be home nursing. This is not the time to drag your children through your romantic life and your bad choices of partners.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. We`re going to stay on top of this.
Lisa, I thank you for speaking out and saying difficult things, because it`s your family, but I applaud your courage; because you were seeking justice for your deceased niece, Dezirae, and so are we.
Up next, a multimillionaire -- and I`m talking many multimillions -- caught on surveillance video allegedly beating and kicking his girlfriend 117 times in a 30-minute attack. He was once made one of America`s most eligible bachelors. This is a case of what critics are calling power and privilege at its worst.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Allow us to introduce you to Gurbaksh Chohal, one of the stars of the new reality series, "The Secret Millionaire," in which a group of super-wealthy men and women go undercover in America`s poorest neighborhoods to make the impossible dreams of the needy come true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, escalating outrage as a tech mogul who was reportedly worth $200 million, walks free, despite allegedly hitting and kicking his girlfriend and threatening to kill her.
Cops say this 31-year-old tycoon, who was once named America`s most eligible bachelor, kicked and hit his then-girlfriend a whopping 117 times in just half an hour. And it`s all caught on surveillance camera inside his ritzy $7 million San Francisco penthouse, seen here.
Thirty-one-year-old Gurbaksh Chohal was charged with 45 felonies, based on the security footage cops pulled from his own bedroom. Those 45 counts included assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly tried to smother his girlfriend with a pillow. His then-girlfriend told cops she feared for her life after he allegedly threatened to kill her.
But in the end, all -- all -- the felony charges simply vanished. He pled guilty to just two misdemeanors, domestic violence and battery, getting no jail time. Prosecutors are outrageous. The entrepreneur was sentenced to just 25 hours of community service, three years a probation and a year-long training course on domestic violence.
Is this a case of power and privilege?
This guy has been all over TV. Oprah interviewed him back in 2012, calling him one of the youngest, wealthiest entrepreneurs on earth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, FOUNDER, O NETWORK: So what was your dream?
GOBAKSH CHOHAL, TECH MILLIONAIRE: My dream is I wanted to go ahead and control my own destiny and not be at, you -- at the whim of someone trying to put me down because of my appearance or who I was. So for me, it was I wanted to be successful and run my own company so I didn`t have to report to anybody. I didn`t have to live up to the stereotypes.
I made a ton of mistakes. So I don`t have any regrets, because I think that, you know, regrets are when you make mistakes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`ve reached out to Chohal`s attorney and crisis management team; have not heard back. He`s invited on our show any time.
The multimillionaire tweeted, quote, "I maintain my innocence regarding these exaggerated allegations."
Straight out to the Lion`s Den. Eric Guster, attorney out of Atlanta, how in the world do you go to 45 felonies and end up with only two misdemeanors? Is this a case of power and privilege?
GUSTER: It possibly could be a case of power and privilege. The one -- one crucial bit of information is that the lady, the alleged -- the victim in this case, she wasn`t cooperating with police. And the tape was actually illegally obtained, so that was stricken from the evidence.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I do not necessarily believe the tape was illegally obtained. Let`s go and outline the facts.
A key piece of evidence is this surveillance video. OK? Police took it from inside Chohal`s bedroom, which is where this alleged 30-minute abuse and attack, kicking and whatever, took place.
But tonight we`re learning the judge threw out the bedroom surveillance footage, because the judge felt like it was seized illegally by responding cops. Now, this guy is a tech genius, and cops indicated that they feared he was going to hit erase and destroy all the evidence before they could obtain a search warrant. So they went in and grabbed it.
Now, the district attorney`s office says, quote, "We disagree with the judge`s suppression of the video. The judge`s ruling substantially weakened the evidence we have for the prosecution."
So Wendy Murphy, the cops are saying, "If we didn`t grab it at that moment, we don`t think it would even exist," because he would have -- they believe he would have destroyed it. Isn`t that an exception?
MURPHY: Of course, I`ve taught constitutional criminal procedure at a law school. It is a very well-settled exception. It`s called the exigency exception. If you have a good-faith basis for believing evidence will be destroyed, you don`t have to get a warrant. That`s been the law for a billion years in this country.
The judge did get it wrong, but I`m blaming the prosecutor tonight. You know why? That`s fake outrage. If they really thought the judge got it wrong, they would have appealed.
This is about power and influence. And it is about the effect of that power and influence and a tremendous amount of wealth. On not only the court but also the prosecutor and, frankly, on this guy`s, you know, reputation, because he still gets to walk around saying, "All I did was commit a misdemeanor," even though it`s on tape! I`d like to see Oprah come out and have the guts to criticize this guy. That tape is the truth.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, I mean, and do you think, Evangeline Gomez, if it had been some poor person, represented by a public defender, instead of one of the most prominent attorneys that they can find anywhere on the West Coast, that the judge would have ruled that, "Oh no, we can`t use this footage."
GOMEZ: Make no mistake: The judge would have admitted the tape under the exigent circumstances exception. That`s exactly what would have happened.
We can`t pretend that this didn`t happen. And that`s what the judge wants people to believe. "I didn`t admit it into evidence, so therefore, she wasn`t kicked. Therefore she wasn`t almost suffocated. Therefore, you know, she didn`t receive threats to her life." And those are not the facts here.
This victim should have testified. What is wrong with women these days? Men treat you this way and you don`t testify against them?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, could there be a reason? Wendy Walsh, psychologist, I mean, yes, she mysteriously stops cooperating. Now, let`s say domestic violence victims often do that for reasons that have nothing to do with money. But hypothetically, who knows what happened?
WALSH: Jane, as you probably know, I am impassioned about prevention of dating violence and domestic violence, and I know a lot about this issue.
One of the organizations I encourage all women out there to support is LoveIsRespect.org. There`s quizzes on there that help you identify your relationship as healthy or not.
But let me say this: The main reason that domestic violence victims do not talk and do not come to court is public shame and because they still love the guy.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Or -- or...?
WALSH: And she thought these two were getting back together. Or she was paid off.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m not saying she was. I`m just saying...
WALSH: She could lose a whole social circle, too. It`s not just losing him; it`s losing the entire social circle. It`s being disenfranchised from the high life.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Unbelievable. Well, he does have a fabulous penthouse in San Francisco, but that`s where the attack allegedly happened, an attack caught on tape.
We`re just getting started. Phone calls lining up. More on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHOHAL: I`ve probably lied about who I am. And I`m fortunate to have -- I`m actually a millionaire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHOHAL: I`m not sad that this is my last day. This entire experience is like a new beginning for me. The way I look at life, the way I look at people has changed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And that was from FOX`s "Secret Millionaire."
This guy, 31-year-old Gurbaksh Chohal, is -- $200 million is his net worth. "Extra" -- listen to this -- one of the sexiest, most eligible bachelors in America, but now he`s in hot water. Although not too hot. Because, even though he was originally accused of 45 felonies in connection with striking, allegedly, his girlfriend 117 times in a half an hour, it all got reduced down to two little misdemeanors; and he got no jail time, just some community service and, oh, he has to take some domestic violence courses. Unbelievable. Power and privilege, Exhibit A.
Christine, Massachusetts. What do you have to say? Christine, Massachusetts.
CALLER: I am completely, like, horrified over this. Because I believe that once you have made that decision for the first time to put your hands on somebody and then to basically get slapped on the wrist -- is it because of money? I have no idea. What he needs to do is be put in jail for a long time, because I really don`t think taking away his money or having him go out in the community is any safer for anybody else. He can go out and do that to anybody else.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. He`s tweeting up a storm: "I maintain my innocence. Rather than continuing a political witch hunt, I got cornered to accept a misdemeanor plea deal with a $500 fine to resolve the matter and move on with my life." So he`s absolutely not accepting any responsibility or admitting any guilt in this matter.
In fact, Wendy Walsh, he continues to post inspirational posts and continues to do motivational speaking. And he posts things like "15 Things Leaders Never Do." Or "If you`re looking for a role model, don`t look outside, just look inside." Should he perhaps look in the mirror?
WALSH: He even tweets a lot about love and relationships, how it is relationships that are really the valuable thing to him and how love is the only thing that matters.
But remember, sometimes we doth protest too much. Inside him is an uncontrollable rage. Perhaps he`s a little bit of a control freak. Perhaps he feels less than in some way, and that`s why he enrages when he can`t control everybody and everything around him.
You know, I actually like Chris Brown a little better than this guy. At least Chris Brown apologizes and publicly has dealt with this in a bigger way.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The tech mogul that we`re talking about here, this guy, Gurbaksh Chohal, he dropped out of high school at 16 to start his first online advertising company, Click Agent. At 18 he sold that company for 40 bucks.
2007 he struck gold again with an Internet business, sold it to Yahoo! for $300 million.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHOHAL: I went through a phase where I think it probably took me a few months to realize, "Oh, my God, I`m a millionaire," right? And I was 18. And the first things I did is, you know, I made a mental note that my parents loved Lexus, so I bought them cars, paid for the mortgage. And then it was me time and played around.
WINFREY: You took care of your parents first?
CHOHAL: Yes, yes. And then it was all about what did I want when I was a kid? So I bought myself a car, a Lamborghini, et cetera, et cetera. At the end of the day, I have a very strict family. And they never get tired of telling me when -- you know, if I`m getting out of hand, what I need to do to get back in check.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And get this, Wendy Murphy: he started his third Internet business called Radium 1. "San Francisco Chronicle" says since there`s no felony conviction he can stay on the board of this company, and they`re reportedly planning to go public very soon. What about the corporate responsibility?
MURPHY: You know, if a company is dumb enough to have a guy like that on their board, good luck. Now we all know the name of that company and we can choose not to, you know, give them any of our cash. If this guy is going to start a Web site perhaps it should be, you know, how to beat the crap out of your girlfriend and get away with it dot-com.
This is the kind of guy girls hate, hate, and I think guys like this beat the hell out of women either because they`re too short or too short, if you know what I mean --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. But let me say this --
MURPHY: In the department that matters. I want somebody to
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: These were allegations. And here`s the thing, he wasn`t convicted of any of those felonies, so we have to make that absolutely clear, he only pled guilty to two misdemeanors, ok?
So that`s I think, Evangeline Gomez, the problem with the courts. The court`s justice is supposed to be blind and it isn`t.
EVANGELINE GOMEZ, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, and this is a perfect example of it. Again, I cannot stress enough how important it is for women to walk away from men like this. The world is full of men.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s not about --
GOMEZ: If you want a new boyfriend, get a new one. You don`t need to stay with someone like this who treats you like a dog. Suffocating somebody or attempting to and telling them you`re going to kill them is too much.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me say and I say this to our panel, this isn`t just about the woman backing out. This is about our criminal justice system. Eric Guster, I`ll give you the last word, failing to live up to his responsibilities, to enact blind justice.
(CROSSTALK)
ERIC GUSTER: When you don`t have -- but when you have no evidence, you don`t have the tape anymore, because it was illegally seized and you don`t have a victim, they didn`t have a case to prosecute against this is guy. When you don`t have either of those things, there is nothing that you can show the court to find him guilty. So they had to do something.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I assure you that if this was a poor person off the street and that video was in his home doing something untoward, they would find a way to use that video. That`s my personal opinion. I have no proof of it, but I do feel that our criminal justice system is absolutely a two- tiered system -- one for the rich and the famous, and the other for everyone else.
Reality star Dean McDermott admits to cheating on wife Tori Spelling. And that alleged affair turned into reality ratings gold. But bombshell that`s just coming out -- does that other women even exist or is this all just a big ratings ploy?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TORI SPELLING, REALITY STAR: I just got a text from Dean. Who (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is that? I`m having a really hard time even looking at (EXPLETIVE DELETED). The message wasn`t for you and I said ok I panicked when I saw it, sorry, babe, my heart sunk when I saw your text, I thought whatever I say, she`s not going to believe me.
I`m on high alert.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: 1.2 million people tuned in to watch the premier of the docu-series, "True Tori".
SPELLING: Every story you could create has been told except the real story. I want to tell everyone the real story.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: She thinks that their sex life was great and he thought it was horrible.
DEAN MCDERMOTT, REALITY STAR: We would have sex once every two weeks. It wasn`t fantastic
SPELLING: I could never give him enough sex. Like, he`s never going to be happy with just me.
MCDERMOTT: I`m insatiable. My worst nightmare --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, is it "True Tori" or should it be called "Trick Tori"? Shocking new allegations surfacing that celebrity couple Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott, 1.2 million people tuned in to watch their new Lifetime reality series this week, which is all about Tori and Dean trying to move past his lying and cheating ways. But now some reports say this show and the whole cheating scandal might be a big scam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPELLING: Like I can never give him enough sex, like he`s never going to be happy with just me.
MCDERMOTT: I`m insatiable. Sex was an escape just like drugs.
SPELLING: I don`t understand like why her?
MCDERMOTT: I wasn`t attracted to her. It was like -- it was just like a warm body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Unbelievable new information has some questioning whether the infidelity, the therapy and the tears are flat-out fake. I`m talking made up for ratings and you know what, cold hard cash. One big credibility problem is that nobody can find Dean`s purported mistress. After all she told one magazine, she seemed to fall off the face of the earth. That magazine allegedly has a long-standing relationship with the couple. We reached out to Lifetime, they say the reports of a phony affair are phony themselves.
But let`s throw this out to our "Lion`s Den". Tami Roman, did Dean really cheat or is this just a big story line created for ratings?
TAMI ROMAN, REALITY STAR: Well, you know what, Jane reality TV hasn`t been real since I did it back on "The Real World" in 1993.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
ROMAN: It has evolved into this money making, you know, machine of sensationalism. Now in truth, you know, when you take a person of prestige and an elite lifestyle and you toss some financial woes at them, they`ll do anything in conjunction with jumping off a bridge because they can`t deal with not having money. You know, so she -- I should give her a shout-out and commend her for coming up with an idea that would keep her here and get her paid at the same time.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: If indeed she`s making up that her husband`s cheating on her, Tanika Ray, that`s fair game. I mean aren`t there some things that should still be sacred? Didn`t they take a marriage vow to --
(CROSSTALK)
TANIKA RAY, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: Oh, you`re so cute, Jane. Yes, that`s so old-fashioned. Everything is game in the world of television, that`s just how it goes. Look, not only do we slow down on the highway to watch the car crash, we want to see how the auto shop puts it back together. That`s what television`s all about right now.
Iyanla fixed my life upsets (ph). We`re watching WeTV -- Tina, one of the sisters is having her marriage break down, we`re watching her put it back together. We love it. We can`t get enough.
And this is just -- she`s the heir of Aaron Spelling, for crying out loud.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: There are four children involved.
RAY: And he was a storyline master.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Come on. What about the kids? What about the kids?
ROMAN: People never really cared about their children for a minute now.
RAY: Nobody cares about the kids as long as you`re making money, and to a certain degree, everybody on reality shows, I`m sorry, Tami, they barter a little bit of their soul to be relevant and make a lot of money.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I know that this is true. This is bartering a lot of your soul.
ROMAN: I would like to say in my particular situation that I have always been 100 percent real and I have (inaudible) about my presence with regard to my children.
RAY: You have, Tami. You keep it real.
ROMAN: But that is not what everybody does on reality TV. You see the same thing happening now on, you know, "Love and Hip-Hop" and all these other shows. You know, people aren`t taking their children into consideration when they make these decisions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, just like sex tapes and then (inaudible)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me say this Wendy Walsh. I really hope that they set some of this money aside for therapy for the kids because they`re going to need it when they grow up --
RAY: Absolutely.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- and they hear about all this and they`re like, wait, were mommy and daddy really cheating on each other or were mommy and daddy faithful to each other and they`re just liars? Wendy Walsh.
WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well also it`s sending a lesson to these kids that using your emotions to perform and make money is ok. When I was in private practice, Jane, here in Los Angeles so many of my clients were children of celebrities. And let me tell you It`s really hard to grow up in mommy and daddy`s shadow. But if there`s anyone left in America who doesn`t understand that reality TV is an oxymoron. It`s all staged, it`s all set up -- every scene is planned out ahead of time. There`s nothing real about reality TV, folks, you`re being deceived.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look, we`re just getting started, we have got some shocking clips from this hit show, you decide. You look at it on the other side and decide, is it real or is it memorex.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPELLING: (inaudible) He`s still my husband. I still want the look good. Don`t judge me. I just want to know what I did to make you do to this. I guess I want to know what I did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPELLING: He told me I don`t know, there`s nothing -- there`s nothing, nothing happened. He was looking at me and I noticed that his right eyebrow was shaking. I said, what would you say if I said I knew her name. He`s like, what`s her name? I said her name is Emily. He said yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Here`s a strange thing, this mistress is MIA. She apparently did one interview, spilling all the secrets of the affair, and then vanished. The magazine that interviewed this 28-year-old woman allegedly has a long-standing relationship with Tori and Dean causing some people Tami Roman, reality star of VH1`s "Basketball Wives", to wonder does she even exist? I mean that`s really, if that`s true -- if, if, if -- and Lifetime denies it, that is going on to new territory of deception.
ROMAN: I don`t really understand why you think so. I think that they came up with a story line that they wanted to sensationalize, that they wanted to pull the heart strings of the viewers and cause people to watch the show, you know. And when you look at reality TV from that standpoint that people are doing whatever it takes to be the breakout star or to get the viewers to tune in, then they have done nothing different than what`s already out there.
Now with our show in particular, I`m going to stand up for us because we are as transparent as we can be. We try to put our real stories out there. Do we want to have lunch that many times together? Do we want to talk about the same things all the time together? No.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you guys even eat? No. Tanika Ray, I want to give you the last word on this because I might be naive, I`m shocked.
RAY: Yes. That`s just the way it goes. And you know what, kudos to Tori and Dean, I have interviewed them many times and I have to say I`m sure you`ve talked about this week how he is a sex addict, he`s got issues. But to put it out there and humiliate his wife is beyond the bounds.
But here`s the deal -- they scored. So now there`s going to be other people who follow suit. We`re going to see other shows where people are putting their business all up in the street. And we`re going to watch it and we`re going to love it, unfortunately, Jane.
When is it going to change? I don`t know.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s unbelievable. Keep some of that money aside for therapy for all of them.
RAY: I`ve got therapy, I`m good. Everybody else help yourself.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, could a deadly ebola outbreak in Africa put Americans at risk? Animal Defenders International first broke this story on our show claiming there`s a business operating on Mauritius, which is an island off the coast of Africa that is working on plans to supply wild monkeys to a proposed breeding facility in Hendry County, Florida.
Now in parts of Africa, Ebola, a deadly virus with no cure has already killed 147 people. The World Health Organization says the virus is now limited to two African nations, but Doctors without Borders has called this outbreak unprecedented. Critics are now asking should our government, the U.S. government be looking into whether or not there`s a potential health risk if these monkeys are imported from this region of the world?
ADI`s undercover investigation in Mauritius -- a videotape of what they call unimaginable cruelty: workers swinging screaming monkeys by the tails, monkeys tattooed while conscious, babies ripped from their mothers. This is some of the undercover video and this video that you`re seeing here is from the UK and it shows some of the types of experimentation these wild monkeys could ultimately be subjected to, they and their offspring
Because monkeys are so intelligent, the European Union doesn`t even allow importing wild monkeys for experimentation. As we reported, we cannot find a single government agency studying the risk of bringing these monkeys, these wild monkeys into Florida.
Straight out to Dr. Neal Barnard, with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine -- Dr. Barnard, is there a risk or is it something where we should say, there`s no risk, we don`t have to worry about this?
DR. NEAL BARNARD, PHYSICIANS COMMITTEE FOR RESPONSIBLE MEDICINE: Not only is there a risk, Jane, we have already seen dangerous viruses come in specifically in monkeys from overseas.
Keep in mind, these animals are quarantined but that is no guarantee at all that viruses will be identified. In a suburb of Washington D.C. -- Reston, Virginia there was first the case of an ebola virus, that was later renamed the Reston virus, then another case, and another case. All of these showing that ebola and its relatives can easily come in here.
In Madison, Wisconsin, 32 monkeys had to be killed because they were found to be carrying tuberculosis. And then another case in Michigan, there was a virus called Herpes B that killed a lab worker. Where are these coming from? They`re coming from animals imported from overseas and once you`re looking outside our borders all bets are off.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: When asked about the proposed facility by us everybody seemed to be pointing to another agency. The Hendry County commissioners claim, aside from local zoning, they`re not involved. They said talk to the Fed. Florida`s governor, Rick Scott`s office said "Well, talk to U.S. Fish and Wildlife." U.S. Fish and wildlife said "Oh, we`re not involved." The USDA says they`ll only monitor once it`s built. Quote, "We have not received a request for a facility in Florida. If a facility is built, the licensee/registrant is responsible for following the AWA regulations.
So my question to you Dr. Barnard, who`s watching and should somebody be looking at whether or not this is a wise idea?
BARNARD: I feel your frustration and it`s well merited because the truth is nobody is looking. You`re absolutely right. The people in Hendry County basically wanted to make sure that it was sort of like a construction site, that their use of water would be ok. They were treating it as if it might be an ordinary agricultural project. The USDA isn`t looking at it so far as we know. Nobody`s looking at this but the risks are real.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, what would you tell the governor of Florida?
BARNARD: Well, first of all, I think they should reopen the whole process by which this was approved. If the local citizenry realized that thousands of animals are going to be brought in, keep in mind they`re talking about housing up to 3,000 monkeys brought in from Mauritius, possibly other countries and that they are right next to or very in close proximity to a residential area. And the possibility of infection is huge. They should reopen that process, take another look, and I would encourage them not to approve this.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Listen, the government`s job is to look at issues like this. We have called repeatedly, not only can we not find out what companies and confirm what companies are behind all this, because the applicant for the water permits is reportedly a store front, we cannot reach a number, we cannot find out who the corporate officers are. That doesn`t seem to bother anybody.
Everybody is like nothing to see here. And yet, isn`t that the role of government, ten seconds, Dr. Barnard?
BARNARD: It doesn`t stop there, the animals are going to be in Florida as a holding facility. From there they will be shipped out willy- nilly to any state place in the United States. It really ought to be stopped. It ought to be stopped there.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you Dr. Neal Barnard, we`re going to stay in top of this story. Who is watching in our government? Governor Rick Scott, Hendry County commissioners -- who`s looking at this?
Nancy next.
END
