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Jesse Matthew Faces Judge; A Higher Open for Stocks; PA Authorities Hold Presser on Capture of Eric Frein

Aired October 31, 2014 - 09:30   ET

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

MEL ROBBINS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: According to the police report, he also threatened to kill her, which is where the attempted murder charges come.

Now, he's facing a maximum of life in prison for these charges. And so prosecutors have brought this case first, because they have a witness, they have a much stronger case, and if and when they convict him, which it is my hope and based on what we've seen in terms of the facts of this case, they likely will, they will then have a guy who is a convicted sex offender.

Now you take a convicted sex offender and you bring that person to the Hannah Graham and the Morgan Harrington cases and any other cases that may or may not, you know, kind of result from continuing investigations. So it's very -- it changes the landscape dramatically for the prosecution in Hannah Graham and Morgan's case because now they've got a --

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: So it's not just this happy-go-lucky hospital worker.

ROBBINS: No. No.

COSTELLO: Now he's a convicted -- right.

ROBBINS: No. And you also can't put a guy like that on the stand because if he didn't have a criminal, you know, conviction --

COSTELLO: Conviction, uh-huh.

ROBBINS: And he took the stand, he could basically play that this was a, you know, he took her home but nothing happened, and he's never seen her again and if there's no DNA evidence linking him to the actual scene where they found the body, then he's got a viable defense.

COSTELLO: Oh.

ROBBINS: But another interesting angle here is the fact that they're going to ask for an insanity plea here, and what --

COSTELLO: It seems that way at the moment, doesn't it (ph).

ROBBINS: Well, he wants him evaluated. And there's two things for everybody to understand. There's two different types of evaluation. There's one that is whether or not he's competent to stand trial, which is, what is his mental state right now. Does he understand what's happening? That's not what they've asked for. They've asked for him to be evaluated for the insanity defense, which basically means, in Virginia, they use the McNaughton rule, which is that he suffers from some sort of illness that makes it impossible for him to control his impulses. He doesn't understand right from wrong. And what was interesting is that the judge said, no, no, no, we're not going to do that right now. We're going to speed this along. We're not going to have any of the shenanigans in terms of lawyers trying to slow this down. And that's what you saw coming out of that courtroom today.

COSTELLO: Ah, interesting. The survivor in the 2005 case, Brian, Brian Todd, what do we know about her? Where is she?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They referred to her, Carol, as R.G. (ph) in court. And after the session was over today, the prosecutor, Ray Morrogh, the Fairfax County commonwealth attorney, came out and spoke to reporters. He told us that the victim is not in this country. She will come back to testify. He said that she is relieved at the way things have gone recently in this case, the arrest of Jesse Matthew, the charges now being filed against him, but that she is not now in this country.

This was a brutal attack back in 2005. It happened not far from where we're standing here. We retraced the steps just a few days ago. She was grabbed from behind on Germantown Road in Fairfax City and dragged more than 100 yards to a grassy area behind kind of a townhouse complex and brutally assaulted. It was very traumatic for her. But they do have significant DNA evidence in this case. They have a live victim ready to testify. She has exhibited a lot of courage and now is going to be coming from outside the United States to testify in this case.

COSTELLO: Good for her. Brian Todd, Mel Robbins, thank you both. I appreciate it.

Next hour we'll talk to a criminal profiler about Jesse Matthew and this case.

More new video in to CNN right now. You're looking at Eric Frein, the suspected cop killer, leaving the courthouse in Pennsylvania. He appeared for an initial appearance. Not much happened in court today. He'll be in court again very soon. But as you can see, state troopers leading him back to the jailhouse where he'll be held. When he walked into the courthouse, quite a crowd had gathered around him. They were shouting out "coward, coward," and then he went into the courthouse.

We'll keep you posted on all of that in the NEWSROOM. I'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Opening bell just ran on Wall Street just about, oh, seven minutes ago. And as you can see, well, things are going very well on Wall Street today. Let's talk with Christine Romans to find out why this is happening. CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Well, this is

record territory for the Dow Jones Industrial average. You remember the beginning of this month when everyone was freaking out about the stock market falling. And, look, I mean it's slowly, steadily recovered. And here's a few reasons.

You had earnings. Companies are reporting that they're making money and they're making a lot of money and that's helping their stocks. You've got a U.S. economy that's growing at a 3.5 percent rate. We learned that yesterday. That's good considering everything that's happening in the world. Three and a half percent, that strong. And the Fed is getting out of the stimulus business.

But guess what? It's all going kind of without a hitch. And at the same time, in Japan overnight, we found out that the Bank of Japan, it's doing a big stimulus. So that really helps Japanese and Asian stocks and then that spilled into the European stock market and that's here at the opening bell here, too. So really a lot of different things coming together that means investors say the recipe here is to buy shares.

And 17,352 is the level on the Dow Jones Industrial average. Very close right now to the highest it's ever been intraday high. We'll see if it can hold on into the closing bell, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Christine Romans, thank you so much.

I have to bring our viewers out to Pennsylvania now. Pike County, to be specific. The prosecutor in the Eric Frein case is now addressing the public. Of course, Eric Frein was charged with murder in the first-degree for killing a state trooper in Pennsylvania. Let's listen.

RAYMOND TONKIN, PIKE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Municipal police officers and law enforcement from many jurisdictions from our nation outside of Pennsylvania that have worked without rest to successfully apprehend Eric Frein. They are to be commended for their professionalism, persistence and the resources that they brought to capture Eric Frein.

Today's preliminary arrangement is the first step in the criminal justice system in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Based on the facts and evidence, we have charged Mr. Frein with murder in the first- degree, homicide of a law enforcement officer, attempted murder in the first degree, attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer, assault of a law enforcement officer, possession of weapons of mass destruction, discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, possession of an instrument of crime, and reckless endangerment.

I would like to remind everyone that while Eric Frein is now in custody, the investigation is still ongoing. The Pennsylvania State Police, the FBI, and the ATF will condition the investigation so we can build the best case in order to achieve justice on behalf of Corporal Bryon Dixon, Trooper Alex Douglass and the Pennsylvania State Police family. We have now started to find the answers that the community desired in this case. The families in this matter of Corporal Bryon Dickson and Trooper Alex

Douglass and the Pennsylvania State Police have suffered an unimaginable loss of unspeakable proportions. They will never be the same, but today we find some comfort as a community that we are taking these next steps towards justice. To my left, a man who needs no introduction, Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens. To my right, that's my First Assistant District Attorney Bruce Castor. Other members of Pennsylvania State Police and my staff.

I will take questions now, and also Lieutenant Colonel Bivens will be available for any questions.

REPORTER: Could I ask, what -- what was the -- what was the real break in this case? Was there a sighting? Was there a clue? What really led you to him?

TONKIN: I will let Lieutenant Colonel Bivens address that.

LT. COL. GEORGE BIVENS, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: This was not a result of a tip or a sighting. This was the result of the ongoing pressure put on Frein by law enforcement. And so we had continued the grid searches, the woodland searches, the house-to-house, cabin to cabin searches. And as a result of that, one of the teams, in this case U.S. marshals, located him as part of a routine sweep through the woods that they were conducting.

REPORTER: Why did (INAUDIBLE) -- why did he do it? Do you have any idea?

BIVENS: We're not prepared to discuss motives today. That will be part of the ongoing investigation.

REPORTER: Has he said anything yet? Has he said anything yet?

REPORTER: Has he spoken since his arrest?

BIVENS: He has spoken since his arrest, but, again, that's part of the ongoing investigation and we won't be commenting specifically on any statements that he has made.

QUESTION: When he was arrested, (INAUDIBLE) the marshals tell him anything? Was there any REPORTER sent to him once he was arrested? Anything at all?

BIVENS: No, there was no message. He was transported and then interviewed by members of the Pennsylvania State Police.

REPORTER: What's today like for you? Even though he's been arrested, one of your own is no longer with you. Emotionally, what does this feel like?

BIVENS: Well, you know, it's difficult for everyone in the state police and particularly for the Dickson family, but I think that there's also a sense of relief that this has ended, relief that there won't be anyone else injured in the course of this manhunt. And that was always a big concern. This individual has shown himself to be very dangerous, both with the rifles that he carried, the handguns, and the explosives that he had built. So there was always a lot of concern for the safety of law enforcement. But I'm very proud of the work that the men and women of the state police and also all of our fellow law enforcement agencies did in apprehending Frein.

REPORTER: What did you find --

REPORTER: Have you spoken to the Frein (ph) family?

REPORTER: Can you tell us what you found when you conducted that search warrant?

BIVENS: The searches are ongoing as we speak.

REPORTER: How long was he at the airport?

REPORTER: Did you -- has the Frein family said anything after being captured? Have you spoken to the Frein family?

BIVENS: We've been in contact with the family, but I'm not prepared to discuss anything that may have been said there.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) is there any idea why he had the arms on him at the time of his arrest?

BIVENS: No.

I'm sorry, I --

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) any idea why he didn't have the arms physically on his person at the time --

BIVENS: No, I -- I wouldn't want to speculate.

REPORTER: Have you gained any insight as to how he was surviving out there?

BIVENS: We gained some insight. I think without going into a lot of specific detail, I would characterize it much as we had said all along, that he was able to get into cabins, into other -- or other unoccupied structure, find food. In other cases, he had things hidden. But he was able to get shelter and get in out of the weather much as we had suspected was occurring.

REPORTER: Well, you can't tell us specifically what he said. Can you tell us if he expressed any kind of remorse?

BIVENS: No, we're not going to characterize or comment on anything he said.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) and how that went down?

BIVENS: My understanding, he was outside the hangar and did not go back into the hangar at all. A team was sweeping through the area, surprised him as he was outside of the hangar, gave him commands to surrender. He complied with those commands and was taken into custody.

REPORTER: Do you think he was assisted by anyone over the last few weeks (ph)?

BIVENS: We have no reason to believe he was assisted by anyone at this point.

REPORTER: What happened to his face? It looks like there was there a struggle.

BIVENS: There was no struggle with law enforcement. He has talked to us about some things that occurred to him while he made his way through the woods and so forth over that 40-plus day period, but that was an injury that occurred to him at some point in his flight.

REPORTER: Have there been sightings of him (INAUDIBLE)?

BIVENS: We're still working through all of that; that's all part of the ongoing investigation, to determine, you know, where exactly he had been and we'll determine at some point here which of those sightings were in fact legitimate, but it's going to take us some time.

REPORTER: Any idea how (INAUDIBLE)?

BIVENS: Again, that's part of the ongoing investigation.

REPORTER: Any idea how long he was staying in that hangar and what other locations he had been in?

BIVENS: That will be part of this investigation. There's a lot of evidence that we're in the process of collecting right now and it will take us some time to analyze all of that, compare it to statements that he has given us, and allow us to really kind of map out his entire time out in the woods or in those cabins.

REPORTER: Has he indicated there are more explosives in the woods?

BIVENS: I'm sorry?

REPORTER: Has he indicated there are more explosives in the woods that he had left behind?

BIVENS: He has not.

REPORTER: Do we have an idea (ph) of how he's been planning -- was planning the ambush?

BIVENS: That's still part of the investigation. We've said previously that he planned it for years based on other interviews we had done and information we found, so we know it was an extended period of time. And, you know, as far as refining that belief, that's all part of the ongoing investigation.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE). Any indication he had (INAUDIBLE)? BIVENS: Again, that will be all part of the investigation. We've seized a significant amount of evidence already, and there are ongoing searches. So we may have a better idea of that in the coming days.

REPORTER: Again, as to why he did it, do you have a good idea of why he did it? And you're not just saying. Or do you still have no idea?

BIVENS: I've characterized his actions in the past as pure evil and I would stand by that.

REPORTER: Did you ever worry that he had left the area?

BIVENS: I'm sorry?

REPORTER: Theories that he may have just left the area, just crossed the border into New York City, or were you confident he was still in the Poconos?

BIVENS: We remained confident that he was in this area. Again, everything pointed that he was here, and that's why we focused the vast majority of our efforts in this area.

REPORTER: Is he talking to you about what happened? Is he cooperating with the investigation?

BIVENS: I'm sorry, just one minute. As far as the costs, we're calculating those. In the past, I've said we were in the ballpark of $10 million and I think that's probably a fairly reasonable estimate. In the not too distant future, I expect we'll have specific costs available for you, but I think that gives you a rough idea.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE). Where in relation to where he was camped?

BIVENS: Again, that's all part of the search that is ongoing right now. There were -- I can tell you that we know there are weapons in the hangar and those will be all -- those will be collected and processed as part of the ongoing search warrant down there.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE).

BIVENS: We'll have to determine that.

REPORTER: Is he cooperating and talking to you?

BIVENS: He has spoken with law enforcement, but I'm not going to go any further than that.

REPORTER: Does the hangar seem to be the most significant place that he stayed, perhaps for a long period of time?

BIVENS: That will all be a part of the ongoing investigation. Really not prepared to say that that's the case. We know that he moved around; hopefully we'll be able to determine how long he stayed in what locations as this unfolds.

REPORTER: And because he's so high-profile, will he be in the general population in prison or will he be isolated?

TONKIN: That will be up to the warden of the Pike County Correctional Facility.

REPORTER: Lieutenant Colonel, (INAUDIBLE)search? What's the general morale and feelings of your men and women after nearly seven weeks of just exhausting searching.

BIVENS: Their morale remain high. I will tell you that we brought in numerous waves of people from across the state, troopers that were anxious to come here, and there was never a shortage of volunteers offering to come up. And while they were here, they gave us a very good effort. I'm proud of the work that they've done. And, again, I commend the other agencies as well, but I will tell you I'm proud of the way our people stepped up and never lost faith and got this done.

TONKIN: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

REPORTER: Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel Bivens.

(APPLAUSE)

COSTELLO: All right, we're going to jump away from this. You could hear the applause at the end of that news conference. I want to bring you back to Pennsylvania and Miguel Marquez. Joey Jackson, our CNN legal analyst is with me, too.

But I want to start with you, Miguel. You were inside the courtroom when Eric Frein made his initial appearance in front of a judge. What was that like?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I have never seen anything like it. There must have been 30 law enforcement officials in this small courtroom here, from the state troopers to the sheriffs to police. Everybody. Just incredibly high security.

The other thing that we saw just a short time ago was a -- the walk of the suspect from the front doors of this courthouse. I've never seen anything like it. You saw heavily armed police come out to secure the area. And then they brought Mr. Frein out the front doors of that courthouse and around. You heard the catcalls earlier; you heard the applause as the officials spoke now. This is a man that they are worried somebody will try to kill, yet they want the world to know -- and there's this great sense of relief that they got him.

Mr. Frein walked into court today. He looked thin. He looked pale. I can tell you that the -- his forehead, he had abrasions on the left side of his forehead. The left side of the bridge of his nose was cut. and along his left cheek it looked like it was bruised and a bit swollen. His voice was strong. The judge went through the ten counts that he now faces, including murder, murder of a law enforcement officers attempted murder, attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, possession of mass destruction, among other things, and that is man who answered all the way along. Does not appear to have a lawyer yet. His next hearing, the official hearing, his preliminary hearing, will be held on November 12. Carol?

COSTELLO: Miguel, was there any family in the courtroom?

MARQUEZ: It was hard to say. It appeared -- there were several people going into the court before they allowed us to go in. It appeared that there may have been family member or people associated with either the Douglass or the Dickson family going into the courtroom. It did not appear that anybody from Mr. Frein's family was there. We have not heard from them yet.

We know through the governor and through the commissioner of the state police here that Mr. Dickson's family and Mr. Douglass's family have been informed and are completely grateful for what has happened here, but we don't have any real sense from them at the moment.

COSTELLO: All right.

MARQUEZ: A lot of press here as well. The number of local people who went into that courtroom, though, today, there must have been 30 or 40 people who lined up waiting to get in, some of them saying I just want to see the face of evil. Carol?

COSTELLO: And you can certainly understand that people were afraid in their homes, Halloween was about to be canceled but now it's been back on, because police caught the guy, who'd been run on for 48 days.

Miguel, you stay right there. I want to bring in Joey Jackson now. You heard the prosecutor, Joey; he's going -- he's going to go for the death penalty. They seem to be amassing much more evidence. What more do they need?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know what? They have a lot now, Carol, and the police are very motivated, and they were very motivated to get this done, and they did it after the seven weeks. And they're very motivated, obviously, because a law enforcement officer is dead, Carol, who had two children.

And the fact is is that what they're going to do is they're going to piece everything together. Remember, after the law enforcement officer was killed and his colleague was injured, they went and they found his SUV when there was a gentleman walking his dog and there was a treasure trove of information in that SUV also, Carol, that connected him to that that crime, including ballistic evidence. In addition to that, throughout the search, they came across a journal and that journal represented his actions, talking about "I took a shot. I had a shot at 11:00. I took it, he went down fast."

And so all of this information, in addition to the information that they've gleaned once they apprehended him, is going to be used in his prosecution.

And also remember this. Based upon the death penalty, what you need is what's called an aggravating circumstance. That aggravating circumstance is met here based upon his killing of a state official or certainly a police officer. And so based upon that, I think they're going to be very motivated to get it done. It's a long way from the process and only three people, Carol, have actually been executed in Pennsylvania since 1976, but certainly there are many more, 191 on death row. And if they have the evidence they say they have on him, he'll be another.

COSTELLO: Well, let me ask you this question. That's his new mug shot, by the way, you're seeing behind us.

So could whoever defends him say he was insane? Because obviously he was role-playing through this whole thing. He came to believe he was like a real military guy.

JACKSON: Yes, it's concerning, and I think that that's sort of going to attempt to be -- I think the defense is going to use that as -- try to use that as a way out.

And remember, the death penalty, you know, there's a lot of appeals that attach to that, assuming he's convicted. But even before that, in his defense, many defense attorneys use the whole mental illness, psychological insanity defense, but it's not very successful in many instances. and when you look at the plotting and planning, they say as many years took place to do this, it's going to be a hard lift to say that he was mentally ill but he planned everything and he carried it out with precision and in his mental illness, Carol, he evaded police for 48 days. It's a heavy lift to suggest that.

COSTELLO: Joey Jackson, Miguel Marquez, thanks to both of you. I appreciate it

We'll have much more on this case and much more in the next hour of NEWSROOM. I got to take a break, though. I'll be right back.

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