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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield

Texas Woman Attacked While Sleeping/Husband Pimps Out Pregnant Wife to Pay Bills; Deadly Shootout with Police; Man Makes Way Into Romantic Rival`s Home Dressed as Meter REader. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired October 26, 2016 - 20:00   ET

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


[20:00:00] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HLN HOST: A terrifying home invasion caught on tape. But the attacker makes a getaway, and you will not believe what

was playing on the victim`s television as this crime went down!

A woman falls asleep watching a crime drama about home invasion, when the real-life horror begins, the violent attack caught on video. And tonight,

the intruder is on the run.

Two months pregnant and brutally murdered and dumped. But the plot thickens when her husband admits to pimping her out to pay the bills.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN ADAMS, WIFE MURDERED AFTER SOLICITING SEX ON LINE: I want you to know that I love you!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Was it a john who took her life? And will the husband be punished as part of the crime?

We let them into our homes every day, meter readers in uniform. But this man was in costume and is now accused of shooting to death his romantic

rival. How he conned his way into the house, all caught on tape.

Hi, everybody. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. Welcome to PRIMETIME JUSTICE.

We`ve got breaking news in that manhunt for Michael Vance in Oklahoma. We are learning some new information tonight about Vance`s shootout on Sunday

with two police officers who were hit. Witnesses say more than 1,000 bullets were exchanged between Vance and those officers. Remember this.

Vance was toting an AK-47. Still could be, in fact.

It is surprising, to say the least, that more people were not hurt with so many rounds being fired. And in addition to those two officers, police say

Vance also shot at two other people. He`s also accused of killing and attempting to dismember his aunt and uncle in nearby Luther, Oklahoma. His

family is now saying that he may have been planning this reign of hell for weeks because he asked them to help him get a gun.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Members of the family actually was unknowingly helping him out. (INAUDIBLE) all these guns and all that stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you feel like you`re on -- you`re one of his targets or do you think that your family is safe?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I -- honestly, since he`s still out there, I don`t believe anybody is safe in the state of Oklahoma.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And that uncle apparently hit the nail right on the head. They could have been helping him without even knowing it. Or did they know it?

Remember what Vance himself said during one of those crazed live rants on Facebook Live that he did while he was on the crime spree. Remember?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL VANCE, MURDER SUSPECT: Sis, I love you and thank you for believing me. I love you for supporting me and believing in me, and I know you

didn`t know nothing about this or knew that this was coming. (INAUDIBLE) Oh, my goodness! Thanks for trying to help. I appreciate that. I know we

didn`t get the best (ph), but it`ll be all right. I love you, sis. I`m not answering the phone. It`s too late now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Right now, I want to bring in Scott Mitchell, who`s the host of "Mitchell Talks" in Oklahoma City. Scott Mitchell, I just heard him say, I

know we didn`t get the vest (ph), but that`s all right. So knowingly or unknowingly, was that family involved?

SCOTT MITCHELL, HOST, "MITCHELL TALKS" (via telephone): Well, there`s some speculation that they were unknowingly helping. And you know, when you see

this uncle`s interview, where he`s -- the nice way to say, very excited, talking about thousands of rounds. It doesn`t seem like it`s -- he was all

that surprised, huh.

BANFIELD: It doesn`t sound like he was surprised. And quite frankly, when we get the official word that it`s more than a thousand rounds fired and

that he`s got an AK, it is amazing that no one else was hurt. How is it that no one else was hurt?

MITCHELL: There`s just no telling. And I just got to tell you, Ashleigh, I`m real skeptical about a thousand rounds. (INAUDIBLE) a 50-round clip,

you`d have to have a hundred of those things, a couple hundred. So I think this is just an excited man. But the fact is, the manhunt is still under

way, and everybody`s (INAUDIBLE) right now.

BANFIELD: It`s just unbelievable. Again, that man is what -- you know, be on the lookout and don`t get close, Michael Vance still on the run, two

homicides, two murders and several more incidents of shooting. He`s extremely dangerous. The tipline is there for you.

Scott Mitchell, thank you for that. We`re going to continue watch this. That man is considered armed and dangerous.

I want to take you to Texas now, not far from Oklahoma, a woman falling asleep watching television. We all do that. But the show that she was

watching was called "A Stranger in My Home." I am not kidding, "A Stranger in My Home," because TV and reality became a terrifying blur when she

realized there was a strange man actually who had broken into her home.

[20:05:00]And before she knows it, he`s smothering her with one hand and strangling her with the other, and all of this is caught on her home

surveillance camera. It is remarkable video, to say the least.

Michael Board is with WOAI News. It`s radio. And he`s going to tell us right now what happened on this video. So I`m going to get you to do play

by play, Michael, if you can, as we show the viewers the video. Tell me what actually happened from the moment that man showed up.

MICHAEL BOARD, WOAI (via telephone): Ashleigh, from the minute you see this guy, you know right away he`s a pro. He`s done this before, just the

way he acts, the way you see him lurking outside of that home. You see him sitting on a bench outside, thinking about a way, trying to look like he`s

not out of place there.

What struck me about this video, and you`ll see this as he lurks around and tries to find a way in to this home, he actually pulls the sleeves of his

jacket down over his fingers so as he starts touch a windowframe, he doesn`t make any fingerprints on there. That`s a telltale sign that you

know this guy is a pro. He`s broken into homes before.

Then you see him -- you see him get inside of this home. You see the glow from the television there. The suspect walks around the apartment. You

see him walking over towards the victim. He walks towards the door. You can see him bolting up the door, trapping this woman inside of her own home

as she`s barely waking up from her sleep. You see him, you know, do something with his hands. I`m trying to watch his hands as he...

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: ... like detectives have said that he`s actually pleasuring himself. That`s what they are saying he`s doing as he`s contemplating the

rape of this woman and telling her to take her pants off.

BOARD: You know, and according to this victim, as he`s doing this, he is telling this woman to take off her clothes. How creepy is that? You see

him talk to this victim. There seems to be some sort of a conversation, though you can`t tell what they`re talking about.

Then there`s a struggle. You can`t tell how hard the struggle is, but then finally, you see him walking away from this woman, unbolting the door and

running out of there. The victim says she was screaming. That`s what finally got this man to run away.

BANFIELD: And just off camera at this point, she is diving for the open window that came in, and he`s grabbing at her and pulling her back. And

it`s ultimately the screaming, her screaming that scared him enough to run for that front door and leave.

What is unbelievable is that his face is caught full-on as he`s trying to lurk and then get inside of this home. It is just remarkable. And the

television in the background, you can`t write this stuff, playing "A Stranger in My Home," an investigation Discovery television program, "A

Stranger in My Home."

This is him. Look at these pictures full-on! We can see him in his athletic top. We can see with his ballcap. You can see his plain face as

plain as day with his goatee. I mean, it`s pretty obvious what this fellow looks like.

Detective Kerry Adcock is the lead detective on this case from the Ft. Worth Police Department. He joins me live, as well. Detective, needless

to say that viewers need to take a good long look at that guy`s face and help find him because if he is that brazen to just break into a woman`s

window and do this kind of thing, he has got to be remarkably dangerous.

How is the manhunt going to find him? How is it going?

DET. KERRY ADCOCK, FT. WORTH PD SEX CRIMES UNIT: Well -- can you hear me?

BANFIELD: Yes, I can.

ADCOCK: Yes. OK. Yes, it`s very busy. We`ve gotten several tips. And at this time, of course, we`re -- we`ve submitted evidence, you know, to be

tested, and we`re trying to follow up on a lot of the tips that are coming in, you know, after the people have seen the video. So it`s -- it`s very

hectic right now.

BANFIELD: Whenever I hear we`ve got some evidence that needs to be tested, I think you`ve got actual DNA. Do you have something good on this guy?

Has he left something behind on these scenes, or is there more than one of these scenes?

ADCOCK: Well, obviously, we don`t know. You know, whenever we go out there, the crime scene unit -- they process the residence and -- you know,

because he grabbed her, we process -- you know, try to get some DNA off of her. Again, it`s not something that happens overnight. So you know, we

submit the stuff to the crime lab, and hopefully, we`ll get something back.

BANFIELD: So Detective Adcock, this description that we have -- it`s one thing to see the video, but this is more information. Hispanic male about

25 to 35. He`s about 5-4. He is short. But he weighs about 200 to 210. So he is short and he is round. That might help for people who are

thinking, I might recognize this guy. The goatee, we see it. He had the shorts, the tennis shoes, the white athletic pullover. But he also spoke

in broken English.

I think that`s helpful for anybody watching to see if they can maybe, you know, put two and two together. Apparently, no visible tattoos, but look

at him. He`s partially covered up, as well.

Detective Adcock, he broke in through the window. He tried the door, covered his hand. But is there something more to the MO of this guy and

what he`s doing?

ADCOCK: No. I mean, these type of crimes are obviously -- they`re not uncommon, but they`re very rare. Fortunately, we don`t get a lot of these,

but when we do, because of the situation and the way that he lurked, the way that he, you know, watched her in the window...

[20:10:08]BANFIELD: Sure.

ADCOCK: ... and the way he went in and walked around, it makes us concerned because anybody that`s brazen enough to do that, it makes us

wonder.

BANFIELD: He seemed really comfortable. Real quickly, the victim says that he put one hand over her nose and her mouth and used the other hand to

actually strangle her. She must have been apoplectic when you first came upon her.

ADCOCK: I`m sorry. What?

BANFIELD: She must have been devastated. I mean, the fact that he tried to smother and strangle her at the same time, and then went on to do this,

demanding that he -- that she take her pants off as he was actually fondling herself in that video -- how is she doing?

ADCOCK: Right. She`s doing pretty well. She was pretty upset that morning when I talked to her, but she seems like a tough young lady, and

she`s -- she wants to try to find this guy.

BANFIELD: Boy, as do we. I mean, I look at this video, Detective, and it`s just appalling and it`s just -- it`s so frightening to see him

behaving in this way (INAUDIBLE)

ADCOCK: Yes, it`s scary.

BANFIELD: Tipline is up there, 817-469-TIPS. Take a close look at that face.

We`re also tracking some other big breaking justice stories here on PRIMETIME JUSTICE. I want to take you to Georgia for a moment. Lead

detective in the hot car death trial grilled for a third day by the defense attorney for Justin Ross Harris.

That officer says that he misspoke when he initially testified that Harris, the dad, watched an on-line video twice about how hot it gets inside a car.

But the detective admitted to not knowing if Harris actually watched the video.

Prosecutors say that Harris intentionally left his beautiful son, Cooper, in a hot SUV to die. That trial continues.

And in Arizona, the attorney for Sheriff Joe Arpaio says that they will vigorously defend his criminal contempt of court charge. Department of

Justice says that Sheriff Arpaio ignored what they told him, an order to stop pulling over drivers who are suspected of being in the country

illegally. Sheriff Arpaio`s trial is scheduled for December the 6th.

And right now in Texas, that breaking news, the search for a dangerous home invasion suspect continues. Police say this case could be linked to yet

another attack, another attempted rape not too far away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:16:16]BANFIELD: A Texas woman watching a show called "A Stranger in My Home" wakes up to a stranger attacking her in her own home. No joke. And

the surveillance cameras prove it. They caught him on tape. Take a look. Now Ft. Worth police are investigating whether a similar incident the next

day is the same guy.

Joining me again, Detective Kerry Adcock from the Ft. Worth Police Department. Detective Adcock, a woman named Taylor (ph) reports a man of

similar but not exact description grabbed her in her garage from behind, yanked her. She was able to get away. Are you all thinking this is the

same guy?

ADCOCK: You know, at this point, we`re not positive because the description is a little bit different and because the description of the

suspect is very vague. He`s obviously taller. So at this point, until we can determine that is it, we don`t know.

BANFIELD: But taller is relative, right? I mean, someone to me while I`m sleeping...

ADCOCK: Right.

BANFIELD: ... might seem a certain -- I might be off by an inch or two, and I think these two, the one that Taylor -- we`re only using her first

name -- describes as 5-foot-8, and this guy was, what, 5-foot -- what, what was it, 5 or 6 or -- no, short, 5-4, so a 4-inch difference. Is that such

a big difference in the -- you know, in the fog of fear?

ADCOCK: Yes. You know, height is relative to -- depending on how tall she is. You know, she may -- someone may look like they`re six foot tall when

they`re only 5-foot-8. So yes. and we -- we obviously want to look at it and make sure that it is or isn`t the same person. So...

BANFIELD: Sure.

ADCOCK: ... it does give us a chance to look at it.

BANFIELD: I`d be concerned if I were in Ft. Worth nonetheless, even if they are different people.

Detective, help me with something. As we look at this video -- and I`m going to ask our control room to play it again, the video from inside the

home -- it just seems odd. Like, her behavior seems odd. We can`t hear anything. But I feel like there`s some blanks that need to be filled in in

terms of how she reacts to him. They`re wandering around. She`s wandering. But it seems unclear to me exactly what`s happening.

I know you got a chance to interview him. Can you fill in those -- those blanks about the oddities?

ADCOCK: When he`s inside the house, of course, first thing he does, you can see that he walks around. We have no idea if she`s asleep. Then of

course, he goes off the camera and he attacks her. Then he tells her that he`s there for sex because she tells him, I`ll give you money, I`ll give

you whatever you want, just -- you know, just -- just -- you know, Don`t hurt me. And that`s when he told you, I`m not here for your money, I`m

here for sex.

And then, of course, he grabs her again and starts trying to suffocate her again. And then that`s when he gets up and goes to the front door. And

what it looked like is, actually, he unlocked it because her door was locked because he wasn`t able to get in originally. So he unlocked it, and

then that`s when he told her, of course, to take her pants off.

BANFIELD: So that`s what the conversation appears to be, the negotiation, I`ll give you money, just leave me alone. Hold that thought for a moment.

Joining me now, prosecutor Wendy Patrick is currently assigned San Diego sex crimes and human trafficking division. And defense attorney Robert

Schalk is with me here live.

Wendy, if they find this guy, is the charge -- look, I know it`s break and enter and I know it`s assault. If he put his hand over her mouth and nose

and tried to strangle her, it could even be attempted murder. But is this is an attempted rape? Exactly at what point would an attempted rape be an

appropriate charge?

WENDY PATRICK, PROSECUTOR: Well, Ashleigh, what you look at is, as you mentioned, obviously, it`s a burglary, an intent to -- entry with an intent

to commit a felony.

What kind of sexual assault crime did this man intend? Now, all we have is circumstantial evidence. Whether it`s penetration or rape or some other

degree of sexual assault, that`ll be something that when this gets to a prosecutor`s office, they`ll have to look at in light of all the

surrounding circumstances.

[20:20:00]You know, it`s interesting, Ashleigh, that you bring up burglary, because were it not for the circumstantial evidence we have thus far,

remember, it could be -- there are burglaries with intent to commit some kind of a theft or other felony.

What we have in this case -- and boy, we live in video, which really helps the prosecuting agencies in cases like this...

(CROSSTALK)

PATRICK: What does somebody do when they get inside? In a case like this, he wasn`t interested in her money, interested in her body instead.

BANFIELD: Yes, Robert Schalk, how do you defend this guy? He`s on video. You can see him plain as day. I mean, you have the evidence that`s there.

ROBERT SCHALK, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right. This is a prosecutor`s goal right here is the video that you just showed.

BANFIELD: Right.

SCHALK: But as she said, there`s the question of what was the intent to do inside. As the detective just told us when you wee questioning him

earlier, the fact that he says, I`m here for sex, that`s a problem for the defense. But obviously, the question becomes when does the attempted rape

begin? Was there no physical action that he took? He was fully clothed the entire time. He never pins her down. it looks as if he`s kind of

walking around the room.

Again, these are mitigating factors that you`re going to have to take to either the jury or the judge to either work on a plea bargain, of if you`re

forced to try to the case...

BANFIELD: Man...

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: That guy looks way too comfortable. I`m telling you that is a dangerous guy. And this is if we catch him, if we catch him. So folks in

Ft. Worth, get a good look at that face. If you think he looks the least bit familiar, the tip line is there, 817-469-TIPS.

When a pregnant woman teams up with her husband to sell her own body for money -- again, teams up with her husband -- the outcome is deadly.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:25:40]BANFIELD: A pregnant woman and her husband needed money to pay the bills. Who doesn`t, right? But they decided to do the unthinkable,

sell her body on Craigslist. The husband even drove his wife to meet with her johns.

And it goes from horrible to deadly because 25-year-old Jamie (ph) Adams disappeared after going to meet one of those men to have sex. Weeks later,

this was the scene. Jamie Adams`s stabbed and mutilated body was found. She had been stabbed 29 times and dumped.

At first, of course, as is always the case, her husband was the prime suspect. But then we now find out he`s testifying against the man who is

actually accused in the brutal murder.

Scott Mitchell, host of "Mitchell Talks," joins me again live from Oklahoma City. What is the back story on this case, Scott?

MITCHELL: (INAUDIBLE) captivating story. People were on edge. This was back in December of 2011, Ashleigh. A young lady disappears. Her husband

makes a tearful plea at a presser, and most of the media cover (INAUDIBLE) he wants to get his wife back. Please come home. And then later, what he

didn`t tell authorities and didn`t tell the press at the time was the sordid tale which ultimately led to her death.

BANFIELD: And when you say the husband made a tearful plea, we actually have that, Justin Adams going on television and saying exactly what was on

his mind as his wife was missing. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN ADAMS, WIFE MURDERED AFTER SOLICITING SEX ON LINE: If by some miracle you`re watching this, I want you to know that I love you and I

can`t wait to see you again!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I mean, that is really upsetting, Scott, to see that. It`s just remarkable, in fact, as well, that ultimately, the police came up with

someone else.

Surprisingly enough, joining me live right now is the man in that tape, Justin Adams, Jamie Adams`s husband. He`s joined also with his attorney,

Irvin Bock (ph).

I think, Justin, the question I have for you is what on earth were you thinking by going on Craigslist together and deciding to sell your wife,

effectively?

ADAMS: Unfortunately, we wasn`t thinking. It was something we just kind of fell into by accident. It wasn`t anything that we planned. It was

definitely something that I regret more than anything now. But we really fell into it more than anything.

Finding work back then was really tough. And we were both panicking about the bills, about the kids. And she come up with the idea one day, and it

just kind of snowballed from there.

BANFIELD: So when you say she came up with the idea -- I`m looking at one of the posts, and it says, "I am willing to let -- I`m letting any willing

man come and have his way with my wife, with a little compensation for us to help with our holiday funding we need. So if this sounds hot and fun to

you, then just e-mail me. We have a hotel for the night and can host for anyone."

This doesn`t sound like it was her idea. This sounds like it`s yours.

ADAMS: She was pretty creative in how she worded things. And I`m not trying to place the blame anywhere because I still hold a lot of fault in

what happened. But she was pretty creative at how she enticed her customers, I guess you would say.

BANFIELD: Can I -- I mean, why -- why did you not go with her on the night that she had three tricks lined up, and ultimately, one of those tricks is

accused of killing her? Why were you not with her, watching out for her?

ADAMS: The night that she left, we had all three kids, and we couldn`t get a baby-sitter. My grandmother was busy. My mom was busy. And so I told

her that I would stay behind with the kids and take care of them while she went out, and to keep me updated as much as possible so that I knew what

was going on.

And at the time that when she left, I only knew of one. And I don`t know if she knew of the others, as well. But I knew of one before she left.

And so that`s all that I had knowledge of when she left.

[20:30:03] BANFIELD: But ultimately, did you not just think this was way too much of a risk to let her out with three strangers that she had

organized sex on Craigslist for? I mean, babysitter or not, shouldn`t you have just called it off?

ADAMS: You`re right, I should have. And I think because it -- it worked so many times before, that we both got complacent and comfortable. And

actually the night that she left, we actually talked about her stopping, that that would be the last night that -- it was damaging our relationship.

And it wasn`t helping her insecurities by being used. And we both.

BANFIELD: Let me -- let me just read a little bit of your -- your testimony, if I can, Justin. You said to the court, we had no other choice.

It was something we fell into to pay bills. Neither of us really enjoyed what she was doing. It was demeaning towards her. The money was great, but

it wasn`t worth what it was doing to us.

And then you sort of coupled that with -- with one of your Craigslist posts, it seems like two different people talking. This Craigslist post

said, I will drive you around while my wife blanks you off in the back seat of our minivan. All you pay is the fee to be driven. The blank job is free.

Let us know if you are interested.

Can you understand how I am not seeing that coming from the same person, someone who is upset, someone who is desperate? This almost sounds like if

you would have been enjoying it if you were in the front seat.

ADAMS: I do understand. I understand why a lot of people question a lot of things. Like I said, Jaymie was creative how she did things, but I do

understand why a lot of people question quite a bit of what I had to say now because she`s not here to defend herself.

BANFIELD: All right. Hold that thought for a second, Justin, because I`m going to dig a little deeper. I want to take a closer look. A very, very

close look at one of Jaymie`s former clients, because that`s the guy, once they found him, that they charged with her murder.

[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Breaking news tonight for a national manhunt for a person named Michael Vance. We are now in day four of the search for this man. He`s

accused of shooting six people on Sunday, killing two of them, those two his family members. His other family members say they believe that no one

is safe until this man is tracked down.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you feel like you`re on -- you`re one of his targets or do you think that your family safe?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I honestly, since he`s still out there, I don`t believe anybody is safe in the State of Oklahoma.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Michael Vance allegedly killed and mutilated his aunt and uncle, as well as shooting two police officers and two other civilians as well.

One eyewitness says that he believes as many as a thousand rounds were fired in just a shootout with the police. Michael Vance is considered to be

extremely dangerous and armed with an AK.

Just a short time ago, the FBI expanded the dragnet for him right across this country, across the entire United States. Take a close look at the

details. He was last seen driving a 2007 silver Mitsubishi Eclipse with a blue roof and the Oklahoma license plate 943LQQ. There`s a tip line too.

If you have any information or if you`ve seen that man, please call 405- 246-9205, but do not get close to him. The authorities say he is so dangerous, you need to stay a long way away.

I want to stay in the State of Oklahoma, because that`s where the story of a pregnant wife who was found brutally murdered after selling her body on

Craigslist, that story expands because she had the help of her own husband to do so.

He originally was charged with her murder, but DNA evidence pointed investigators elsewhere. The investigators were taken right to another man

who is now on trial for this crime.

Scott Mitchell is the host of "Mitchell Talks," joins me live again. So good ole DNA yet again coming to the rescue although not so fast because

this man is currently on trial, he`s not convicted yet. But the man is Joseph Cyr. Can you tell me a little bit about him and how they found him?

MITCHELL: Well, they found him after Mr. Adams had been originally charged. They found him, as you said, good ole DNA. This guy has got a background

that`s unbelievable. Prosecutors charged this guys. He likes to intertwine rough sex and violence.

And the motive, they believe, may be that Ms. Adams put up a fight because he wasn`t using shall we say protection. It`s a sordid, sordid story out of

the prosecution. That`s why they`re trying to put this guy where he can hurt nobody else ever again.

BANFIELD: Unbelievable. We should note that the authorities and the prosecutors say that the decomposition of Jaymie Adams was so advanced that

they weren`t even sure whether they had a man or a woman corpse. But they did get something out of that. That investigation of back crime scene

yielded DNA evidence apparently from inside the corpse, inside. And they are saying that DNA is linked directly to Joseph Cyr.

I want to bring in Justin Adams` attorney, Irven Box. I think the luckiest thing for your client, for Justin, was that they found that DNA, they have

a direct link, cell phone connections between his now deceased wife and that defendant. But ultimately, what`s critical here, Irven Box, is that

your client was originally charged with murder. That`s now down to manslaughter that he pled, correct?

[20:40:00] IRVEN BOX, JUSTIN ADAMS` ATTORNEY: That`s correct. He pled to a probationary period. He spent about 6-1/2 months in jail on murder in the

first degree. That case started to unravel early on.

Ashleigh, I remember the first minutes I watched that plea that you showed on television of him pleaing for his wife. I turned to someone and I said,

this guy is guilty as hell.

I mean, I`m a former police officer in Oklahoma City, a prosecutor. I just said, this guy is not telling the truth. But a few days later, he came in

to hire me, and I talked to him about an hour. And when I walked out, I walked up to my secretary and said, you know what? I don`t think this guy

is guilty.

I -- I really believed at that time his story. I`m pretty critical of any story I hear from a client and usually don`t side that. But I thought,

after talking to him an hour, they`ve got the wrong person.

BANFIELD: Well, ultimately they figured that, too. Because Joseph Cyr, one of the intended John that night, I think prosecutors think he was a John

that night considering they found his DNA inside the corpse of the victim in this case, is sitting there at defense table on first-degree murder.

Robert Schalk, how do you defend this? I mean, you got the telephone connections between Jaymie`s whose dead making the connections with him

that night, his DNA inside the corpse. Otherwise, never known her, said he never met her, said he never had sex with her. Sounds like open and shut.

SCHALK: Yeah, you have to make sure the prosecution satisfies their burden. Sometimes, to defense attorney, the best defense is to look at the jury and

say the DA has been unable to satisfy their time lines. They`re going to attack the husband.

They`re going to cross examine him hard. He was originally charged. Got a sweet heart deal, ten years probation with a little bit of jail time. And

now, he`s pointing the finger at the guy sitting at the table. So, there`s is a lot to work with here for sure.

BANFIELD: A lot to work with, but ultimately that DNA is an ugly fact. As you like to say in your business, a bad fact.

SCHALK: Right.

BANFIELD: Thanks so much, Robert Schalk. I appreciate it. Justin Adams and Irven Box, thank you as well for your time tonight. We do appreciate it. I

got a couple of stories here I need to unload here. A jealous love triangle and a disguise allegedly becomes a recipe for murder. You`ve got to see the

video.

[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: A man is accused of making his way into a romantic rival`s home, dressed as the meter reader. Look at the video. He`s also accused of

killing that man inside and setting that man`s house ablaze. The poor victim`s body was found badly burned, of course. But guess what else? He`s

found with a single gunshot to the head.

Judy Pielach is an anchor and reporter for WGN Radio. She joins me live now. Judy, this story is crazy. You don`t often get video evidence of a

crime actually in progress. But we seem to have partial evidence of that. Walk me through what the video told us and what else the police think

happened.

JUDY PIELACH, ANCHOR AND REPORTER FOR WGN RADIO: Okay, Ashleigh. So, in September of last year, they have video of this suspect, Willie Bell, going

into a local Home Depot and buying a workman`s vests, one of those reflective vests, and also a hard hat. And then about a week later, they

have him, I believe at the video you just showed, at the victim`s home, Timothy Lawrence.

And they have him standing there in this vest, and now on the back of his vest -- and now this is, of course, the prosecutors saying this is the

defendant -- all we can see is the man standing there. On the back of the vest, it says, meter inspector. And you know, he has a bag over his

shoulder.

He is holding what could be a meter reader or a large phone. And he`s punching numbers in on the phone maybe. And he`s looking around. And he`s

pushing the doorbell, looking pretty official.

BANFIELD: And the hat says meter reader, too. I;m just noticing that now. He gets in, because the unsuspecting Timothy Lawrence in that house has no

idea who really Bell is, has has no idea that Willie Bell is his girlfriend`s ex-boyfriend. Has no idea and lets him in. Ultimately, we see

him going in. We don`t see what happened inside the house, but we see him coming out.

Apparently, there`s video of him taking the victim`s car, driving off in the victim`s car, and wearing a different shirt as well, than what he`s

seen going into the house with. What else do they see him walking out of that house and returning to that house with? Maybe that`s a bigger

question. He comes back. He comes back to that home several days later, two days later. What is he carrying?

PIELACH: Two days later, he comes back with another man. So now two men are seen on video, that same video at that home, entering the home with gas

cans. A short time later, a call is made to 911 that there is a fire at the house. And then a short time after that, before firefighters can even get

there, the house explodes.

BANFIELD: Yeah, apparently the cameras are disabled right before that fire breaks out and house explodes. Accomplished. I`m going to get to that in a

moment. But four months after the incident, it takes four months and police still don`t have this guy, and they`re releasing it to the public to ask us

for help?

PIELACH: Right. And they eventually do have the gentleman in question now, this Willie Bell interestingly. And then when the dust settled at that

crime scene, investigators went in and they did find the body of a man later identified as Timothy Lawrence. He was burned. The victim burned

beyond recognition, and as you said, with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

BANFIELD: I got to say the costume is terribly convincing. I would have thought right away that is an official from the city that a company coming

to read that meter. It`s killing to see it. Hold up for a minute because quite frankly, the video isn`t all that the prosecutors have. I might just

say they could use a truck to hold all of the evidence that they have against William Bell. I`m going to unload that truck in a minute.

[20:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: We all know that you`ve got to be careful when you open your front door, but you really don`t think often that the guy dressed as the

meter reader in a uniform is there to kill you. But that is pretty much the scenario that`s playing out in Chicago. I want you to see how the

prosecutors have laid out their case against Willie Bell.

There he is, prosecutors say, he killed Timothy Lawrence, because he was upset over a recent breakup and that Timothy Lawrence was dating his ex-

girlfriend. I want to read from the prosecutor`s proffer, they say that the defendant and the girlfriend who is now dating the victim shared Facebook

messages in which the defendant indicated a growing anger over their relationship ending.

Investigators found DNA on the victim, Timothy`s Lawrence`s car, his driver`s seat. They found the DNA on that driver`s seat. They also found

DNA from eyeglasses that were recovered from the victim`s vehicle. And yes, it was Willie Bell`s DNA, they say. The proffer also points to phone

records that place Willie Bell in the area of the victim, Timothy Lawrence`s home.

Also from the proffer, the prosecutors say Bell is on video at a local Home Depot purchasing that stuff right there. The reflective vest, the helmet,

also a meter reader. And it happened right before the killing. They also say that the victim`s credit card was used at a gas station just one day

after the killing.

Joining me again now, Prosecutor Wendy Patrick is currently assigned to the San Diego sex crimes and human trafficking division. Defense attorney

Robert Schalk is with me. And Judy Pielach from WGN Radio is still with me.

Judy, really quickly, how on earth did it take four months for the prosecutors to put out the video, still not knowing who they were looking

for when those two people shared a girlfriend? Why didn`t they talk to the girlfriend of the victim and show her the video so she could say, that`s my

ex?

[20:55:00] PIELACH: Right. That`s a good question that really didn`t come out in court, and, you know, I think it`s unclear. She may have been dating

both of the guys at the same time and maybe perhaps denying to the defendant that she was actually seeing the victim. So it`s just unclear at

this point why that didn`t happen. Maybe the police were just building their case at that point.

BANFIELD: Pretty remarkable that they ultimately arrested Willie Bell because he was driving in a stolen Cadillac. A totally different car than

the victim`s car that had been stolen. And it was just a few days prior to the arrest that the Cadillac was stolen. So let me list out quickly what

the charges are against Willie Bell. First degree murder that`s a bad one, concealment of a homicide, residential arson, home invasion, possession of

a stolen motor vehicle.

Wendy Patrick, there is this accomplice issue that no one is talking about. Some other guy or even a woman, we don`t know, just an accomplice showed up

when that fire was lit. How much does the accomplice play into anybody who is looking at charging this guy with these kinds of things?

PATRICK: Absolutely. You`re looking at an accomplice who helped cover up a crime, even though he or she wasn`t there when it was committed. And by the

way, Ashleigh, as we head into Halloween, this case is good advice that credibility can be a costume. Don`t give somebody more credit than they

deserve simply because they look depart.

We just watched the videotape. Your viewers can see this guy looked legit. So, getting back to your accomplice question, whether or not this

accomplice was actually involved as a co-conspirator, as an accessory after the fact different levels of liability which as Robert and I deal with

everyday will attach to each, one of the things that the prosecutors are going to be looking at is how much was this accomplice actually involved in

the crime?

We know motive by social media actually rules the day here as well. The victim obviously wasn`t watching the social media posts because as you

point out, they didn`t know each other. So, these are some of the questions that no doubt are going to become relevant as they continue to look for the

second suspect.

BANFIELD: I can`t believe how lucky these authorities got by catching this guy, Willie Bell, in a stolen Cadillac, like ultimately that`s how they got

him, in a stolen Cadillac, not your girlfriend said she saw you on video dressed as a meter reader at your boyfriend`s house. That is remarkable to

me.

So, Robert Schalk, as a defense attorney, I would see you salivating over the notion that there`s some other guy, some other girl, some other

accomplice on video going in at the time that house was torched and that body was torched.

SCHALK: No question, because that person is not going to be sitting at the defense table next to you. You get to blame someone whose not there

potentially. And two, you`re in the discovery stage right now. This is how defense attorneys earn their money. How can we challenge their evidence?

Why is it four months since the girlfriend has spoken what she had said? Is she gonna testify? Are they going to be able to get all this evidence in?

And like you said, we have another individual that might be able to have blame laid on him or her depending on what comes out in discovery stage. So

the defense attorney definitely has stuff to work with for sure.

BANFIELD: And why four months to release the video? Chicago, God bless you, you are plagued with crime and violence every night.

SCHALK: Makes no sense.

BANFIELD: But this is the kind of video I would think you want to get better pretty quickly if you`re looking for this guy who could go to

anybody`s house dressed as a meter reader. We don`t know at this point it`s a love triangle.

SCHALK: Not only that. Right, you want to put the public on notice that this happened. Number two, you have a girlfriend who is potentially getting

two guys as boyfriends who hasn`t shown you any anger towards this person. I don`t know. Maybe the guy was texting me on social media. Maybe.

BANFIELD: Right, exactly. Look -- just look at the video. Cautionary tale, folks. Do not for a minute open your door to somebody. Check. If you`re not

expecting the meter reader, check, call the company, just don`t let somebody in your house like that. Robert, thank you. Wendy, thank you. I

appreciate it.

Hey, everybody, thank you. I really appreciate you being here. Come back tomorrow night at 8:00. PRIMETIME JUSTICE is on live. We spotlight

injustice wherever it happens. It might just happen where you live. Stay tuned. Right now, "FORENSIC FILES" is coming up next.

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