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Jane Velez-Mitchell
Was Mom`s Murder Motive `Mouthy` Kids?; Columbus Short Releases `Scandalous` Video; V. Stiviano`s Bizarre Interview
Aired May 05, 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, breaking news. Shock inside the courtroom and across the nation as the prosecution and defense both drop explosive thunderbolts of new information during opening statements in the murder trial of mouthy mom Julie Schenecker. She, of course, the woman who executed her teenaged son and teenage daughter.
The defense claims this killer mom is not guilty, because she`s insane. But prosecutors say she`s a cold-blooded killer who even journaled about her plans to, quote, "off her two," as she called them, mouthy teenagers. What teenagers aren`t mouthy?
Good evening. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell, coming to you live. Thanks for joining me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re going to hear about a tale of two mothers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two children are dead. At the hands of their own mother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You drink any alcohol or anything last night?
JULIE SCHENECKER, DEFENDANT: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "I did all my duties. Then went to buy a gun. I was planning on a Saturday massacre."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This Florida mother is charged with two counts of first- degree premeditated murder. Cops say she turned on her two beautiful teenaged children, shooting each with a gun she`d bought five days before. Prosecutors say she shot each one twice, once in the head and then once in the mouth, because they were, quote, "too mouthy and sassy."
Just hours ago, the prosecutor told jurors this was not a decision made by somebody in the heat of passion or during a mental break. They say Julie Schenecker planned the entire crime and wrote about it in her journal. She even wrote down her confession.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Some of the things she wrote is, "I did all my duties, then went to buy a gun. I was planning on a Saturday massacre. Kayla, she gets it first. I talked to Beau on the way to practice. He saw the gun and told me to put it back in the purse. He had a healthy fright. I accidentally shot the window. The shot him one extra -- one extra shot through the side of the head. Then when we got home, a shot to his mouth, because he became so mouthy, just like Calyx."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This is nauseating. The defense then launched its own shockers, telling the jury Julie Schenecker was molested at age 6 and again as a teenager and claiming she was powerless against her bipolar disorder. Do you buy it? Is she really insane, or is she a sadistic murderous? Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.
We have a fantastic Lion`s Den debate panel ready to hash this out. So starting with former prosecutor Wendy Murphy, is she a cold-blooded killer or is she completely insane?
WENDY MURPHY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: She`s maybe a little fruity. But she executed the children intentionally with a plan and a purpose, knowing it was wrong. That is evil!
I mean, I don`t know if bullet is the new soap. So her kids are mouthy? Boom! I don`t care, frankly, if she`s got a few screws loose. She probably does. Nothing to do with whether she was guilty of an evil premeditated crime. No excuses here.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky, famous forensic scientist, who`s really examined so many of these kinds of cases. Do you agree with Wendy Murphy that she`s an evil, sadistic killer? Or crazy?
DR. LAWRENCE KOBILINSKY, FORENSIC SCIENTIST: I do not agree. This is a terrible tragedy with the loss of two young children, teenagers.
But when you think about it, this is a woman who has a long history of mental illness. She was at NIH at the hospital for her depression. She had developed a tardive dyskinesia, a shaking disease, because she had been treated with some kind of antipsychotic medication. This is a very sick woman.
And even though there is a lot of evidence that this was very premeditated, the matter of the fact is, is that the question, is she thinking clearly, is she hearing voices, is she acting according to...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I don`t think she`s hearing voices. Nobody -- with all due respect, Dr. Kobi, and I`m such a huge fan. It`s not like Andrea Yates who was "The devil was talking to me. The angels were talking to me, and I was doing the right thing by killing my kids, because they commanded me to do so." We`re not hearing that.
The prosecutor claims Schenecker didn`t leave anything to chance, nothing during her devious murder plotting. She wrote about it in her journal, her plans to off the kids. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Telling everyone, "We`re going to NYC." Parentheses. "They`ll wonder where the van is. I would like to overdose and not use the gun," because her plan was she would kill the children and kill herself. "I would like to overdose and not use the gun. I`ve seen how much destruction it causes. And I probably won`t get two shots off."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Interesting how they never get around to killing themselves, isn`t it?
She bought the gun five days earlier, came back to pick it up after the three-day waiting period. Sounds pretty rational. Jay Hebert, criminal defense attorney, she put up two post-it notes on the door, lying to explain why nobody was answering. OK? So to me, if you lie, that`s consciousness of guilt. If you have consciousness of guilt, you know you did something wrong, therefore, you`re not insane legally, because the definition is you don`t know right from wrong -- Jay.
JAY HEBERT, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There is no doubt about it. I think this will be a clear case of premeditation. When we start looking at the state`s case, they`re building it brick by brick, piece by piece. Jay pruner and his team, they know what they`re doing.
Although she had a medical history, just because you have bipolar, that doesn`t mean you`re legally insane. I don`t think the jury is going to buy it. Even though there are five witnesses.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dr. Tiff. Dr. Tiff, come on. Anybody -- anybody in the world -- who does something evil is a little crazy.
DR. TIFFANIE DAVIS-HENRY, RELATIONSHIP EXPERT: I think -- I think that she definitely has a long history of mental illness, and that bodes to her advantage. However, the prosecution is correct. They do know that she premeditated this. It`s in her diary. She went and picked that gun up five days before, and that`s what`s going to hurt her case, quite frankly. Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
ANNA YUM, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I agree with you, Dr. Tiffanie, on the sense that that family. I agree with you on the sense that could hurt her case, especially if the jurors are convinced this is a matter of premeditation. But this is not a "hail Mary" type of defense here. Usually when you see NGI cases and people are saying, "Oh, it`s mental illness," and there`s no history of mental illness here.
This lady is clearly mentally ill. She has a long history of documentation to show it.
DAVIS-HENRY: And being mentally ill and having a long history of being mentally ill means nothing. Having a long history of mental illness means absolutely nothing. There are plenty of people with a lot of depression, by polar.
YUM: And being mentally ill, having a long history of being mentally ill means nothing. Having a long history of mental illness means absolutely nothing.
(CROSSTALK)
MURPHY: All the wise men, come on.
YUM: There are plenty of desperate...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: One at a time.
MURPHY: The...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Finish.
MURPHY: This is a very desperate defense, because I`m the prosecutor. I`m going to say to the jury, "A million people have bipolar disorder, much worse than her. And they don`t kill ants, much less their own children with multiple bullets. `Boom, oh, I didn`t get him in the -- now I`ll get him in the mouth.` That is not what people with bipolar do."
This is so rude to people with serious mental illness. She was pissed off. She didn`t like her life. She wanted out. She should have killed herself, too. That might have been actually proof that she was ill. But because she didn`t, she`s on trial, and the jury is going to know it`s selfish and evil when you save only your own ass.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dr. Tiff, you respond.
YUM: I`m not saying that she -- Jane, I`m not saying she has -- that it`s just her mental bipolar disorder that caused her to do this. So we don`t know. What if she had a history of homicidal or suicidal thoughts or ideations throughout her mental history, documentation? I mean, we don`t know that at this point in time.
DAVIS-HENRY: Actually, we do know that. Actually, we do know that.
We do know that. Actually, we do know that. She did have a history of homicidal and suicidal ideations. And throughout her journal, that`s what she -- that`s what she narrated, that these are the things that she was thinking.
My question to her therapist and psychiatrist is did they have access to that journal? Is a therapeutic technique that a lot of therapists will do, is give someone a journal and say, "Write your thoughts down. Bring it in, let me read it. Let`s talk about what you`ve written." If they have seen those things, that was enough to actually get her committed to a hospital and to actually have her admitted.
MURPHY: She passed the -- she passed the mental-health test for a gun! She passed the test.
DAVIS-HENRY: And I have no idea what test that is.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I mean, sometimes you wonder if anybody can pass that test, because the large percentage of Americans who have guns -- who are have gotten them legally.
Let`s go to the phone lines. Jody, Montana. What do you have to say about this? Jody, Montana.
CALLER: Hi. I was going to say being a survivor of that, that doesn`t mean you grow up to be a person who wants to kill their children. You grow up to protect your children. You go the exact opposite. So that wouldn`t even fit as being an excuse.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: When you say a survivor of that, there are so many issues in this trial. Are you talking about her claims that were just dropped today that she, the defendant, was molested as a child, or are you talking about her being bipolar?
CALLER: Molested as a child.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me get into that, Jody, Montana, because that`s a big issue. The defense dropped this thunderbolt today, saying the killer mom had been sexually abused as a 6-year-old child. Listen to this from (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re going to hear how at 6 years old, she was molested. You`re going to hear about how that person was prosecuted and how Ms. Schenecker at 6 years old testified in a trial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The defense says there was a trial, and this little girl testified about the molestation. So it doesn`t seem like they`re pulling this out of thin air.
But I want to go to Steve Summers, News AM Radio, 820 out of Tampa. This is a -- this is a thunderbolt. It`s brand-new information. We`ve never heard anything about this defendant being molested at the age of 6. And frankly, as the caller said, I`ve interviewed many, many people molested as children, and none of them struck me at all as even mildly insane. What does one have to do with the other?
STEVE SUMMERS, NEWS AM RADIO (via phone): Jane, obviously this is an attempt by both sides to throw everything that they have, including the kitchen sink, at this case in order to get the desired result from the jury.
I mean, conventional wisdom tells you that, if you`re molested at an early age, under age 18 or at a time when you`re not mentally prepared for that kind of thing, that you probably are going to grow up to be very protective of those and sympathetic toward those who have that kind of situation.
I`m not sure there`s going to be much of a connection made there with the jury. It`s a ploy, a play for sympathy. I just see it falling way short.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, we`re going to debate that, obviously, on the other side. Does that have anything to do with anything? That she was molested at age 6 and she claims again as a teenager?
Maybe it`s more about drugs, the 10 to 12 medications she was taking, including what is commonly known as hillbilly heroin, and the booze she was guzzling in the hours before she slaughtered her kids. I mean, maybe that has a little more to do with it. We`re going to debate that on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She raises the gun up, bam! Shoots her in the back of the head. Defendant then shoots her in her mouth, bam. The sassy mouth, as the defendant called it. The two children are dead. At the hands of their own mother.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tired of them mouthing off, talking back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say this was premeditated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She bought that gun.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Days prior, the .38 caliber pistol that she used...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This vicious, horrible act.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... to kill her two children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The most outrageous part of today`s opening statements: Julie Schenecker`s defense attorney seemed to blame one of the victims, saying Calyx, the teenage daughter, hurt her mother`s feelings before her mother shot the girl in the head and in the mouth. As the girl was on the computer doing homework, listen to this, from "Wild About Trial."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was deeply, deeply hurt by the deterioration that was happening with her relationship with Calyx. You`re going to hear about some of the things that Calyx would say to Ms. Schenecker, not liking that she smoked, calling her mentally unstable. Not wanting to live in the home. Telling her that she`s useless. Telling her that she`ll never amount to anything and that she`s not her mother.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Former prosecutor, Wendy Murphy, the Lion`s Den, so what? Those comments sound like a lot of things that teenagers say. To me this is blaming the victim. They called them a mouthy teenager and then this woman shot them in the mouth, as revenge. Isn`t that motive? Doesn`t this statement by the defense attorney, first of all, insult the victims and also provide a real motive?
MURPHY: Yes. And so much more.
It doesn`t really seem that this woman ever read "How to Raise Teenagers" or one page about how when they turn 12 and go through puberty, they turn into alien monster horrible people. How she doesn`t understand that is beyond me. The fact that she had mental healthcare takers in her life didn`t help her figure that out is even weirder.
But look, it doesn`t matter that she was depressed, mental health, sexually abused as a child. You still can`t kill people! No matter what. And much less your own children.
And if you look at what the data tells us about -- I work with sexual abuse victims all the time. I`ve been doing it for a long time. It`s not that they never get so depressed that they become homicidal or suicidal. That can happen to severely traumatized children when they get older.
But the common response is the only thing the jury is going to think about, because they have to think about what`s reasonable. What is reasonable? Should we forgive her or give her a discount for all of these things she was complaining about in her life? Answer, no!
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Forensic scientist, you have analyzed so many autopsies. The idea she said they were mouthy and then went out specifically to shoot them in the mouth, her own flesh and blood, isn`t that the motive for murder?
KOBILINSKY: It could very well be, and quite frankly, there`s a lot of evidence for premeditation. I think legally this is a very bad case for the defense.
On the other hand, I think clinically, this is a very sick woman. My suspicion is that she is psychotic. I think we`ll find that she`s on antipsychotic drugs.
And I think there are times when these people think clearly, and she was able to do what she did. She -- it`s heinous. It`s a heinous crime. No two ways about it. But I think medically this is a very sick woman. I think it goes way beyond depression or manic depression.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: HLN`s own Nancy Grace is...
YUM: I think this is a battle of the experts.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, well, it`s always a battle of experts.
YUM: I think this is a battle of the experts. Honestly, Jane, if you think about it, it`s not just about -- like you said before, not just whether she was bipolar or not. It`s a combination of substance abuse, drug abuse, that combined with the bipolar and whether she was on medications. And I think that`s really what it`s going to come down to at the end of the day, as to whether the jury buys her argument or doesn`t.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, I mean, you can be bipolar. Doesn`t mean you don`t know right from wrong. You could be a lot of medications. You`re drugged out. Maybe you`re in a blackout.
But this wasn`t a blackout. She made a plan. She went and bought a gun. She came back to pick it up. She journaled about this and talked about how mouthy her kids were.
HLN`s own Nancy Grace in Florida today for day one of the trial. And she`s going to tell us right now what it was like inside that courtroom -- Nancy.
NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: I`m here outside the Tampa courthouse, the Schenecker courthouse. They`ve been in court all day long, and I`m just stunned by her husband, Colonel Parker Schenecker. He`s sitting there. He hasn`t been crying in court, but he`s just holding back the tears. I can see this vein in his head and jaw clenching when he hears the testimony, and he`s been holding his hand up occasionally. And I see him wearing a blue wristband with the children`s names on it and a heart. Sitting with him, the grandmother, and just breaking down crying.
Julie Schenecker looks nothing like the vibrant young mom that we saw without all those thousands of dollars of upkeep he was spending on her. Her hair is mousy brown now, pulled back in a bun like a school librarian. I got a peek at her glasses. They`re these thick magnifying glasses.
She refuses to look up at any of the witnesses or back at her husband, the father of the children. She just sits there acting like she`s taking notes.
And I would like to point out that she`s not shaking. Remember when she was first brought out of the murder house, she was shaking? Well now that she`s off all those prescription drugs and the booze that she was drinking, goodbye shaking. So I just don`t know how far a mental defect defense is going to go with this jury when she seems well within her faculties.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hmmm. And she`s all dressed up for the occasion. And I`m talking about the defendant. Thank you so much, Nancy.
Everybody stay tuned. Nancy, just a couple minutes, is going to have very, very in-depth coverage from court at the top of the hour.
Now, she made reference to the ex-husband, the military officer who was married to this woman when she executed their kids, his kids, as well. He was serving our country overseas. Listen to that man now, today from court.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLONEL PARKER SCHENECKER, FATHER: It`s been a long, long road to get to today. I want to thank you very much for your continued support for the next couple weeks. The focus really is on hearing Calyx and Beau`s voices.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That man has been through hell. But I want to ask also, given her severe mental illness, and he is going to testify. We`ll talk about that. Is there anything that the U.S. military could have done to allow him to return from Afghanistan so that he could have been there to watch the kids? As opposed to them being left with, if you believe the defense, a completely insane woman.
Stay right there. We`ll talk about it on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Passed out on her patio, covered in blood, when officers say they found her in late January of 2011.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From what I recall, she responded something to the effect of, "I wish a scratch was the source of this blood."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was more blood upstairs and in the family, van where officers say they found 16-year-old Calyx and 13-year-old Beau shot to death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Physically, you seem like you`re more alert now. Are you starting to feel more alert now?
SCHENECKER: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. All right.
SCHENECKER: But I don`t know what medicine. Klonopin helps with anxiety.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Klonopin for anxiety? You take a lot of medications, right?
SCHENECKER: Ten or 12.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ten or 12 meds? But you had been taking your medication, though, right? I mean, there was nothing you weren`t taking, right?
SCHENECKER: No. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you`ve been taking your medications?
SCHENECKER: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: She was actually abusing her medication, because she was drinking heavily in the hours leading up to her killing her kids, even though was taking a slew of medication, including what some call hillbilly heroin.
The defense read some excerpts, meanwhile, from Schenecker`s journal today during opening statements. She wrote to her husband, Parker. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Beau has become sassy since you left, copying Calyx`s attitude. It kills me now that he`s turned on me. He has to come along with us. Parker, I`m so -- I`m so -- I`m sorry, so sorry. I don`t know what to say. But I sensed divorce was inevitable. But I can`t live alone."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And that`s actually the prosecutor saying that.
Now here`s my theory. And Dr. Tiff, psychotherapist, I`d like you all to weigh in on it. But I`ll start with you.
Before the marriage, before the kids, this woman had an exciting, adventurous career. She was a military linguist, stationed in Germany. She met and married Colonel Parker. After a few years, she left the Army. She became a stay-at-home soccer mom, but her husband was still enjoying his career, deployed overseas, serving our country. I think she was unhappy, resentful, and she was ignored, and what better way to get back at the husband than take the life of his children? Your thoughts.
DAVIS-HENRY: Well, definitely is a way, a route to revenge. But I think that this is a woman who had a severe, persistent mental illness for a long time. It had got very acute, very severe over a period of time. And we don`t know, Jane -- we know that she was on a lot of medication. She was prescribed a lot. But we don`t know how compliant she was with the medication, meaning we don`t if she took them as prescribed.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, she didn`t, Dr. Tiff, because she was drinking.
DAVIS-HENRY: And she should not have been drinking on those meds.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Beer and wine, while you`re taking lithium, OxyContin, hydrocodone, antidepressants, anti-anxiety pills, and frankly, Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky, that can make any crazy. But it doesn`t really mean you`re crazy. It means you`re a drug addict and an alcoholic.
KOBILINSKY: I would agree. I would agree. But I guess I`d like to know if she was on antipsychotics. I want to know, what was the extent of her illness. And, you know, because without having that, just the fact that she`s depressed, manic depression, that`s not an excuse. That`s not going to win the day for her.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Exactly. And I really feel the prosecution should mention her combining all these drugs and the booze, which you`re not supposed to do. And that can make anybody really, really twisted. Every time I see evil, I usually see drugs and alcohol right nearby.
Up next, a "Scandal" star`s downward spiral takes a very -- and I mean very, very, very -- bizarre turn. Wait until you see the scary video he recorded of his wife.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: February of this year, two arrests for domestic abuse. March, a felony battery for a bar fight. Three weeks ago, according to his wife, she threatened to kill him and their 2-year-old daughter.
Who cares what good -- how good of an actor he is? This is a dangerous man. I don`t care about his career.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know he plays Harrison Wright. Well, he`s not going to be returning to the show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wasn`t as innocent as you think.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grabbed a knife from the kitchen, choked her, and held the knife to her neck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, shocking new exclusive video recorded and released by ex-"Scandal" star Columbus Short that TMZ says shows his estranged wife in a violent rage, spitting on another woman, the very day after she had Columbus thrown in the slammer for allegedly assaulting her.
The A-list actor was kicked off the hit TV drama "Scandal". Now he faces serious jail time for multiple charges, including allegedly attacking his wife and threatening to kill her while holding a knife to her neck.
But tonight, Columbus Short is fighting back with this newly released video saying he`s not the violent one; she is! TMZ says the vicious beatdown happened the day after Columbus was arrested for domestic violence in February. Columbus bailed out of jail and asked his friend, aspiring singer, Tilly Key, to come over to his house and pick him up. TMZ says that`s when his estranged wife slapped him later with a restraining order, went ballistic. Watch this from TMZ.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TANEE MCCALL, ESTRANGED WIFE OF COLUMBUS SHORT: Stupid (expletive deleted). Low-rent (expletive deleted).
TILLY KEY, FRIEND OF COLUMBUS SHORT: Oh, my God.
MCCALL: (expletive deleted) Get the (expletive deleted) out of my house.
COLUMBUS SHORT, ACTOR: You good? You OK?
MCCALL: I`ll (expletive deleted) you up.
SHORT: You OK?
MCCALL: Remember that, (expletive deleted)! I can take your life.
COLUMBUS: The same door. Just so we`re clear, you just saved your own life. (expletive deleted) You OK? You OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: In case you didn`t catch that, his estranged wife says, "I just saved your life," and then Columbus Short goes back, "You just saved your own life." What the heck does that mean? By the way, we reached out to all three individuals involved, got no comment.
Straight out to TMZ News Matters Mike Walters, Mike, just fill us in on what he wants the -- the point he is trying to make with this tape and what does that mean, you just saved your own life?
MIKE WALTERS, TMZ: Well, Jane, I think you have to start with a little context of the video, and that is, we`re told it was filmed early in the morning at the home that Columbus and his wife share. Obviously, they been through something the day before, and it was separating time for both of them.
But he brought this woman home, who allegedly he had been seeing, to the house where his wife is, while she was asleep. So that`s the context of the video. So you can understand why his wife is upset. But I think it`s pretty clear to anyone that knows the background of this story, as soon as it gets physical and it`s violent, Columbus Short is the one filming this video. He picks up the camera and says, "You know what? My wife is in a rage. I`m going to get this on camera," because assumably he`s going to go, OK, guys, I have had some issues with my wife. Isn`t she really violent? Here`s exhibit A. Look at how violent she is. Look at her rage. It`s not just me. This is what really happens while we`re home.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And I guess this is then in happier times. And then this woman, the one on top, is his estranged wife. The one on the bottom, you`re saying, is Columbus Short`s new girlfriend? Just want to clarify that one, Mike.
MIKE WALTERS: Yeah, from what I understand, this is a woman who was picking him up, and the wife is upset, because he brought home another woman. And she felt disrespected. That`s why she says in the video, "Get out of my house." Because she doesn`t think it`s appropriate for him to bring this person home while they`re still living together and going through the separation.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, my gosh. This is -- this is more drama than "Scandal", which is one of my favorite shows.
MIKE WALTERS: I love "Scandal", too, by the way.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m totally hooked on it.
MIKE WALTERS: This should be on the show. He needs Mrs. Pope to handle this right now.
VALEZ-MITCHELL: Yeah, he needs somebody to fix it, so he can say it`s handled. Great talking to you as always, Mike Walters.
You know, Columbus, I guess, is claiming he`s just friends with this aspiring singer, the one who`s getting beaten up and allegedly spit on. She is Tilly Key, and here`s one of Tilly`s music videos from Youtube.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEY: Oh, my God.
MCCALL: (expletive deleted)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, my God. It`s Tilly Key. The singer says she suffered multiple injuries, including a concussion, cervical sprain, bruises, blah, blah, blah. Now we`re hearing from -- at least TMZ says, well, maybe they had some kind of relationship that goes beyond friendship. Here`s my question. Why the heck is Columbus Short videotaping this instead of helping out the woman who is getting smacked down?
ZERLINA MAXWELL, POLICYMIC.COM: That was my exact question, as well when I saw this video. And -- and really, the behavior of sort of proving that she really is the violent one or manipulating public opinion is really abusive behavior 101. Many domestic violence experts will tell you that men who are in abusive relationships will try to manipulate everyone else to paint themselves as the victim. "I`m really the one suffering here. I`m really the one who has to deal with this irrational woman. Just look at the tape I`m showing you."
And so, I think that we really need to focus on -- he was -- the allegations against him for threatening to kill her and then kill himself are very, very serious. There was a knife involved. That was at her throat. He threatened to stab her in the leg. So I think that while this video is troubling for sure, because no one should hit anyone, we have to remember back to the beginning of this and see why this started in the first place. And that was a knife to the throat. So that was really --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that happened after this, OK? This happened back in February. I believe, correct me if I am wrong, the knife to the throat happened in April. So they have been -- their relationship has been going down, and his career has been suffering, I believe, as a result.
He`s off the show "Scandal". And I don`t think -- oh, yes, I definitely think those two are connected. Now this crazy violent video, again, shot in February, the day after Columbus was arrested for allegedly beating up his wife. You can see the wife, who is now the estranged wife, on top of the other, dropping f-bombs, and spitting on the other woman. And TMZ (ph) says that Columbus Short`s estranged wife lost it when this friend, so- called, arrived at their marital home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCALL: Get the (expletive deleted) out of my house! Stupid (expletive deleted).
KEY: Ouch.
MCCALL: Low grade (expletive deleted). Low grade (expletive deleted)!
KEY: Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
MCCALL: (expletive deleted) ! Get the (expletive deleted) out of my house.
SHORT: You OK? You OK?
MCCALL: I will (expletive deleted) you up.
SHORT: You OK?
MCCALL: Remember that, (expletive deleted)! I could take your life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Just last month, his estranged wife was granted a restraining order against the "Scandal" actor after she claimed, and this happened after this incident, that Columbus threatened to kill her with a wife. So out to the lions` den, the one and only Kendra G.
Does this help Columbus by showing his wife has a temper? Or does it make him seem even crazier that he would videotape this and give to TMZ to publish?
KENDRA G, RADIO HOST/TV PERSONALITY: Of course it makes him look crazy. I have lost all my love for Columbus Short. First and foremost, you do not go to another woman`s home. That was where she was wrong right there. I don`t condone violence, but anything can happen if you come to my house and walk in like you (inaudible). Now, maybe she deserved to get beat up like that.
And secondly, Columbus Short obviously set this whole thing up, because he`s videotaping and he`s like a referee. "Are you good? Are you good?" I would have got up and smacked him in the face right after. So it`s all Columbus Short`s fault. And I don`t blame his wife for smacking her. Don`t you come to my home. Who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Listen, Jane, I disagree with that completely. This is the theory.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Whatever!
ANNA YUM: This is why he didn`t do anything, it`s because he`s out on bail. Do you think his lawyer told him, hey, listen, lay low, make sure that you don`t get involved in any kind of acts of violence, even if you`re trying to break something up. Because his crazy wife could turn it around and say he`s the one who started beating me up when he tried to break it up. That`s the reason. (inaudible) serious issue here in California. I don`t think --
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. One at a time, ladies. Let`s go to Zerlina and then we`ll go to Kendra. Go ahead, Zerlina.
(CROSSTALK)
MAXWELL: I have a problem -- excuse me. I have a problem with painting his wife as crazy simply because we see a portion of a video where she is having a fight. Now no one should be hitting anyone. But I think the problem here is that a victim of domestic violence does not have to be a perfect person in order to receive our empathy and our sympathy.
It`s a very serious crime, and she doesn`t need to be an angel in order to get empathy. And she could actually get in a fight in a separate fight independent of the domestic violence incidents, and that is still serious. The bottom line here is he put a knife to her throat and that is very serious.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dr. Tiff, I`ve got to ask you. I think he`s confusing the show scandal with his real life. Because he says things like, it`s fixed, it`s handled. now he`s like, I just saved your life. It`s almost like he`s reciting dialogue.
DAVIS-HENRY: Yeah, I think he`s kind of getting caught up in the moment. He certainly is trying to repair whatever damage has been done to his career. But I think he`s making a mess of it. I agree with what your other guest said. I think he kind of set himself up here that he wanted to show she is the crazy one.
But I think it kind of is back firing. He had no right to bring another woman into his wife`s house. He knew that would probably set her off. That`s a trigger for her, especially if she thought he was cheating anyway.
And so, the wife in her own home handled business with someone who was not welcome in her home. And he knew that she would do that. He stood back, he watched it, he videotaped and said, look, see, she`s the one that is the violent one. It`s not me. But he was standing there and allowed these two women to do this. And I have -- a problem with that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Kendra G, I`m giving you the last word on this.
KENDRA G: Listen, I totally agree with what his wife did. Now, if you come to my house, it would be the same exact situation. I`ll let you know, I agree with everything your last guest just said. On point.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. Wow. Well, listen, I am sick, sick over this. Because I loved his character. I`m totally hooked on "Scandal". And I think he was one of the most engaging characters. I mean, certainly like him better than Huck, although I like Huck too.
All right, we`re going to have to see what happens next season without this guy.
V. Stiviano. We`re going to talk about kooky, OK? She wants you to know, Clippers` owner, Donald Sterling is not a racist, even though he says racist things to her, allegedly, reportedly, all of the time. And that and other bombshells as she talks to Barbara Wa-Wa. Stay right there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF DONALD STERLING, OWNER OF THE CLIPPERS: Don`t come to my games. Don`t bring black people and don`t come.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No room in this game for an owner like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we talk to you for a second?
V. STIVIANO, RECORDED DONALD STERLING: People call you and tell you that I have black people on my Instagram.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STERLING: You`re associating with black people.
ADAM SILVER, NBA COMMISSIONER: I am banning Mr. Sterling for life from any association with the Clippers` organization or the NBA.
STERLING: Bring him here, feed him, (EXPLETIVE) him, I don`t care.
REPORTER: Can we talk to you for a second?
STIVIANO: People call and tell you I have black people on my Instagram.
STIVIANO: I love your sandals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
STIVIANO: Where are they from?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Banana Republic.
STIVIANO:I love Banana Republic. They make nice things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The woman at the center of one of the nation`s biggest scandal says Donald Sterling isn`t a racist, although he said racist things to me many times. Does that make any sense? It`s really a bizarre, bizarre interview this woman with the visor did with Barbara Wa-Wa, Barbara Walters, I`m a huge fan, about Donald Sterling who other people say is her boyfriend. She says no, I`m his archivist. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA WALTERS, ABC HOST: Is Donald Sterling a racist?
STIVIANO: No. I don`t believe it in my heart.
BARBARA WALTERS: Have you heard him say derogatory things about minorities in general, blacks in particular?
STIVIANO: Absolutely.
BARBARA WALTERS: You`ve heard him say derogatory things.
STIVIANO: Yes.
BARBARA WALTERS: Don`t they sound racist to you?
STIVIANO: I think the things he says are not what he feels.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Whatever. She`s not making a lot of sense. The NBA commissioner banned the 80-year-old billionaire from the NBA and fined him $2.5 million after TMZ leaked audio of a conversation between her and him. Donald Sterling. Listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
STERLING: You`re associating with black people. Do you have to? And I`m just saying that it`s too bad you can`t admire him privately. And during your entire (EXPLETIVE) life, your whole life admired him. Bring him here, feed him, (EXPLETIVE) him, I don`t care. You can do anything. But don`t put him on Instagram for the world to have to see to they have to call me. And don`t bring him to my games, OK?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The scandal has gotten so huge, even "Saturday Night Live" spoofed it this weekend. Watch from NBC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let`s just focus on the real victim here. It`s me. My reputation has gotten a real black eye, which we all know is the worst kind of eye.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Straight out to my fantastic panel, Zerlina Maxwell, contributor to PolicyMic.com, is this woman trying to have it both ways? She`s the one talking to him, this incredibly racially hideous conversation. She says she didn`t leak the tape. Well, she recorded it. She says, oh, maybe my friends got ahold of it. And now she is saying he`s not a racist. What is wrong with her?
MAXWELL: I don`t know. I think we probably could spend all day trying to figure out the inner workings of V. Stiviano`s mind, and to figure out whether or not the neurons are firing.
But, you know, the bottom line here is that, you know, Donald Sterling was rightly removed from his position of power to be in charge of black players. Now, that`s a great first step. But, again, I think that we`re forgetting that he and his wife -- we got into this because his wife is suing the mistress, V. Stiviano. And Donald Sterling and his wife both, you know, have a long history of discrimination. She was a part of the discriminatory housing practices.
And so I think that we all -- you know, all of this is fun and sexy time talking about racism. But I think that the bottom line here is we need to make I think that the bottom line here is we need to make sure that she doesn`t end up as the owner of the Clippers either.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And we`re going to talk about that in a second. Could they have a strategy to keep it in the family?
MAXWELL: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But let`s listen to the sound bite that went viral, that had everybody practically in America going huh? From ABC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STIVIANO: Mr. Sterling`s right hand arm man. I`m Mr. Sterling`s everything. I`m his confidant, his best friend, his silly rabbit.
BARBARA WALTERS: His what?
STIVIANO: His silly rabbit.
BARBARA WALTERS: His silly rabbit. Is that what he calls you?
STIVIANO: No, that`s what I call myself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Kendra G, his silly rabbit? Are you kidding me? These are some of the cars she got from him, by the way.
KENDRA G: Oh, my god, listen, OK. I think this girl has got to be putting it down in the bedroom because she single-handedly ruined his life but he is still in contact with her. And he also knows that she has more tapes that she could release at any given moment. So she must have magical powers in that special area. I need for her to write a book and let me know what is she doing, girlfriend? Because I don`t understand.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I don`t think she`s hitting the books, that`s for sure. She seems quite bizarre, and that`s the nicest thing I could say about her.
On the other side, do the Sterlings have a plan, a plot, to keep it all in the family? Despite global outrage? Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STIVIANO: Part of the audio which the world heard was only 15 minutes. There`s a number of other hours that the world doesn`t know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So, Wendy Murphy, former prosecutor, she seems to be hinting she has more damaging audio tape, even though she`s not the one who leaked it. Meanwhile, Donald Sterling is, according to TMZ, shopping for lawyers. And people say he`s not going to go down or sell the team without a huge legal battle.
MURPHY: Wow. You know, you think she`s got more tapes? You think this is another extortion threat? I don`t know who I hate most in this mess. She is repulsive. She`s clearly a hooker. And I don`t think --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, you can`t say that.
MURPHY: -- she deserves anybody`s respect.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Any woman who`s gotten a gift from a guy is not a hooker. I mean, she did the world a favor, if she did leak the tapes, which she claims she didn`t, because she revealed this man for who he is. "NANCY GRACE" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
