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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
Missing South Carolina Woman Found after Two Months; Desperate Search for 10-Year-Old Kayla Gomez-Orozco, Who Vanished 48 Hours Ago from East Texas Church. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired November 03, 2016 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST: Chained like a dog and missing since August. Police in South Carolina discover a horrifying prison. A woman enslaved
with a chain around her neck. She was banging to get out of a storage container. The sex offender has been arrested, and police say there could
be several bodies buried nearby.
Police say a jealous mom smothered her 17-month-old baby boy, texting pictures and videos of the murderous scene to the father of that boy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
XX: At one point, she lifted the child`s lifeless body.
XX: They say she tried to kill her little girl the same way, all because she thought their bad was cheating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: And the face of child abuse, posted on Facebook. A mom goes public with these disturbing pictures of her little boy after suffering a
terrible beating. She wants to save other parents from living through that horror.
Hello, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. Welcome to PRIMETIME JUSTICE.
We are following this breaking news out of South Carolina. A woman who has been missing for more than two months has just been found. And when you
hear the details, they are nothing short of jaw-dropping.
It was just hours ago that sheriff`s deputies found this woman, 30-year-old Kala Brown. She had been last seen in August. Today, as deputies were
searching a property about 50 miles from where she vanished after they received a tip about a possible sex crime, they began to hear loud banging
coming from a metal storage container on the property. So of course, they opened it. And what they saw was horrifying. In the words of the sheriff,
there was Kala, chained like a dog. The chain wrapped around her neck. She told them that she had been this there for two months, and the sheriff
thinks this could just be the beginning of a nightmare unfolding in his jurisdiction, with up to four bodies possibly buried on the land where Kala
was found.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF CHUCK WRIGHT, SPARTANBURG CO. SC: A missing person from Anderson City, who was in a container chained up like a dog, we found her alive.
This is tragic, you know, that this person was being treated like that. It`s just only by god`s Grace that she`s alive, if you want to know the
absolute truth. We`re trying to make sure that, you know, we don`t have a serial killer on our hands. This very possibly could be what we have. So
we`ll know once we find some evidence that we`re looking for, or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So that sheriff says that Charlie Carver, who visited with Kala, her boyfriend, still missing tonight. They haven`t found him. We just got
word moments ago, that Charlie`s vehicle has been found on the same property, that rural vehicle where Kala Brown was discovered in that
container chained. Earlier today, they arrested this man. He`s the owner of the property. His name is Todd Kohlhepp. He`s a registered sex
offender and charges in this case are still being worked out
There are a lot of pieces in this puzzle to put together before we really know the scope of what`s going on. And the man to help us do that is
Sheriff Chuck Wright. You just saw him. He was there when Kala Brown was rescued. He`s live now from the scene in Woodruff, South Carolina.
Sheriff, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Can you shed any light new tonight on this investigation, and how Kala is doing?
WRIGHT: Well, as far as I know, Ms. Kala is doing fine. Obviously, she was shaken. We had prayer with her before she left to get in an plans to a
local hospital. This is stuff you see in the movies, no question about it.
You know, I`m very proud of the way the investigators conducted themselves and took this gentleman into custody. I can`t say enough about how great
the investigators are, and how good god has been to us for letting us find this lady alive. That`s the truth of the matter. God really blessed us
and messed Ms. Kala to let our deputy hear her knocking on the side of that container she was locked in like a dog.
BANFIELD: Sheriff, take me to that moment when you opened it. What were the conditions like? What did you see?
WRIGHT: Well, I wasn`t here. My investigators told me they were standing outside the container, and they were discussing how the search warrant was
going to go. And one of our new officers, a young lady, heard what she thought was banging, knocking, whatever. And the guy says, No, I think
you`re just hearing something because this is a wooded area, and it`s really not that quiet. So they all got to listening. They went over to
the container, knocked on the container again.
She really started screaming at that point, Help me, get me out of here. And they called me on the phone. I told them, I said, You do whatever is
necessary to get that young lady to safety. We all got here, and that`s when it all started.
BANFIELD: So take me from there. You were able to open it. Was it locked, did you have to cut locks? What was the condition she was in when
you found her?
WRIGHT: She was in a cage. I mean, she was really locked up in a cage. And she had a chain around her neck. You know, we found some tools on the
property here because we didn`t want to waste any more time for this lady to be inside of that. So they actually used some tools that they found on
the property and opened that up and freed her. And then we just locked everything down. Got her to safety, and we started our search. And she
told us, there may be four victims buried on this property. Now, I don`t know if that`s true yet. We`re not going to leave this property until
we`re 100 percent sure that we`ve done everything possible.
BANFIELD: Sheriff, when you say she told you there may be four other victims, did she know of four other people in that container with her that
disappeared, why did she say that?
WRIGHT: She didn`t give us any reason why she said that, and I don`t think, and I haven`t heard of anybody else being this that container with
her except the suspect. So at this point, you know, we`re just trying to make sure that our cadaver dogs, our helicopters and all the volunteers,
this community is incredible here. We`ve had volunteers all day long bringing water, food, praying, words of encouragement. Just all that
stuff, because we have a great community. So we`re still in kind of the small stages of this investigation. And we-- that`s about all I know to
tell you at this point. We haven`t found anything yet. We have some leads that we`re looking down.
BANFIELD: I am still trying to get sort of a handle on the conditions that Kala-- if she was in a container for two months, surely she would have
died. Did she have food, bed, electricity, did she have facilities? What was inside that container?
WRIGHT: Well, she did tell us that the gentleman would come back twice a day and feed her, and she gave us some other information that I`m not going
to share. But he-- the guy did give her food and water. That`s the only reason that obviously she`s alive. There`s some other things that she told
us that we`re trying to work on and run down. So the conditions, I wouldn`t put my dog in it. You know, I wouldn`t chain my dog up like that
and leave it in a container that has no lights. You know, she spent a lot of her time in the darkness. And that is horrifying just that part.
BANFIELD: So she was in the park almost for two months, completely, there was no light in that container at all for her?
WRIGHT: There were no windows, and I didn`t see any lights in there, and I didn`t see any air conditioning, you know. But I`m telling you, it`s just
a miracle by god we found her alive and we thank god for it.
BANFIELD: South Carolina in August in a container. She is so lucky to be alive. I mean, that is just remarkable, just the temperatures alone inside
that container, and do you believe she was in there from the moment she disappeared the entire two months?
WRIGHT: Well, she told us she had been in that container for at least two months. So you know, I`m telling you, this is-- I mean, this is what you
read in a book somewhere, somebody dream thing stuff up. This actually happened right here in our little community, and we`re very, very thankful
obviously that she`s alive and tremendously horrible.
BANFIELD: Was she wearing the same clothes in which she disappeared? Did she have other clothes? Was she clothed at all? We are talking about a
man who has been arrested and is a registered sex offender.
WRIGHT: Yeah, she was-- she was clothed when we saw her, and I don`t know if she had the same clothes on since she was missing, I`m not sure about
that.
BANFIELD: Her boyfriend, Charlie Carver, his vehicle was found on the same property. Do you have any leads on where Mr. Carver is?
WRIGHT: We don`t yet. We have some suspicions and we have a cadaver dog out here. We have some things that we`re doing to check those areas just
to double-check. But we don`t have any leads on him to report at this time. But we did find the vehicle. The vehicle was not burnt. Somebody
asked me that earlier. No, it was not burnt. There was a good attempt to conceal it, though. It wasn`t just pulled over on the side of the road.
We`re hoping for the best.
BANFIELD: I`m going to follow that up with two questions. Was it concealed in the brush? And also what are those suspicions? You say you
have suspicions. Why do you have suspicions other than finding his vehicle the way you did?
WRIGHT: Well, I mean, the cadaver dogs, they`re there to see if they can smell the remains and we don`t know if it`s-- like she said, she told us
there were four people. We don`t know if it`s Mr. Carver, somebody else, or the dog is hitting on something else. We`ll confirm that when we get
some equipment in here and find that. And the vehicle was-- it was obviously concealed in a ravine and under some brush. It was a good
attempt to try to hide the car.
BANFIELD: Sir, did you tell me the cadaver dogs hit on something?
WRIGHT: Well, they alerted on something, but we don`t know what that something is just yet. We`ll have to wait until we get some more equipment
in here to find out what-- exactly what it was.
BANFIELD: The suspect who is in custody right now, 45 years old. Is he cooperating?
WRIGHT: No, he said as soon as we opened the container, he said he wanted his attorney. We have to honor that and that`s what we`re going to do.
We`re going to let him speak to his attorney. I don`t understand how a guy that`s a registered sex offender can even be awarded a realtor`s license.
I mean, come on. There has to be some common sense somewhere for laws to say that-- because I have no idea how many people he`s lured in and
assaulted, if any. He may not have done anything else like that. But the possibilities are endless. I`m personally going to work with the
legislatures to try to make sure if you`re a registered sex offender, you can`t be a realtor.
BANFIELD: We do know-- there is some grandfathering of the licensing, sheriff. And there may be an issue whether he got his realtor license
before the law. But the emergency right now, do you believe that Kala and Charlie knew this man in some way? Was it a real estate connection? Did
she-- there`s a report about her possibly working for him. I don`t want that to be disseminated without some verification. But what, if any, was
the connection between this man and these two missing people, Kala now found, Charlie still missing?
WRIGHT: First of all, I don`t care if he was grand fathered on this realtor thing or not. We need to make sure that our people are being
protected. And I don`t know what the relationship was. I do know that there was a prior relationship, but at this point, I don`t know the extent
of it. I don`t know if they were just buddies. I don`t know. So it would all be speculation. Let`s wait until the speculation reveals what we need
to know. Ms. Kala will tell us. She`s very cooperative and we`re praying for her. This is very traumatic, very traumatic for the Carver family and
everybody involved. So let`s pray for them, as well.
BANFIELD: Without question. I cannot imagine what the Carvers are going through right now. As I see the scene playing out on our screen with the
heavy equipment, the vehicles, the dogs, the search, the horrifying search you`re dealing with right now. Can you confirm or deny the other report
that we heard about weapons being found on this property and that todd was on this property, even though it`s not a residential property, he was on
that property when you were there?
WRIGHT: Yes, there was several weapons found. We have ATF coming in to help us with that and the South Carolina law enforcement division to help
us with evidence ccollection. And yes, he was on scene when we served the search warrant this morning. That`s all I can tell you about him. But
yeah, he was on the property, and there are lots of weapons and ammo.
BANFIELD: Lots of weapons and ammo. Sheriff, what took you to that rural property with no residensidence on it to search and find her banging on the
side of that container. What got you there?
WRIGHT: I`m sorry, I can`t understand you that time.
BANFIELD: What got the authorities to that property to luckily find her? What took you there in the first place?
WRIGHT: Well, we worked a joint investigation with the city of anderson, and we did some just good, old-fashioned police work that led us to the
property that we`re at now. We`re not know where near close to being done searching this property and some other properties that we know he`s been
involved in. But I can only tell you, it`s just really good police work. Basic, common, good old-fashioned police work that got us to the point
where we are today.
BANFIELD: Sheriff, thank god for you and for your colleagues and the work that you did.
WRIGHT: Absolutely.
BANFIELD: And thank you very much for helping us to sort through some of the puzzle pieces tonight. The best of luck to you as you continue this
very, very difficult job you`re undergoing right now. Thank you so much.
So you heard that sheriff. When you find a woman chained inside a big metal container on a man`s property, you know that that investigation is
just getting started. one smart choice leads to the next. The new 2017 ford fusion is here. It`s the beauty of a well-made choice.
Simply stunning news we`re covering tonight where a 30-year-old woman, kala Brown, missing for over two months, has been found. And she`s alive. This
just happened within the last few hours. The shocker, she was chained inside a metal storage container on a man`s rural property with no homes on
it. About 50 miles from where she was last seen. And that chain was around her neck. She disappeared in August, along with her boyfriend.
XX: We`re still looking for Charles David Carver. He was the other part of this missing person. We was not located him yet. We haven`t located
him, and this person told us that there might even be four people on this piece of property deceased. We don`t know if that`s-- you know, we just
don`t know.
BANFIELD: The discovery of kala Brown could be the smoke where there is indeed an inferno, to say the least. Joey hudson is the host of wgdk in
greenville, South Carolina. Joey, the details that the sheriff just unloaded on us about the conditions in which poor kala was discovered. No
electricity, obviously. I don`t know if she had a flashlight or if she was in blackened conditions for two months. But that`s what the sheriff seems
to think. Correct me if I`m wrong, but August 31 is when she disappeared. What are the temperatures like at the end of August and the beginning of
september?
XX: Well, the conditions had to be horrific. I looked back to see what the temperature was in that area on the 31st. It was 91 degrees in that
spartanburg county area. So if it was 91 degrees, you have to imagine that the temperatures within that metal container had to be well over 100.
BANFIELD: It`s unbelievable that she was able to just survive that, the sheriff saying that this-- her abductor came back twice a day with food but
kept her chained in that container. A little more about the four peoople. I don`t know if anyone is clear at this point. But the sheriff said kala
was able to tell authorities there could be four other dead bodies. Do you know anything about that?
XX: We don`t. Law enforcement has been tight lipped on that, not giving additional details other than what kala told deputies when they found her
today. You know, one would have to assume that she had seen people there in order to report that.
BANFIELD: Or heard them, because she could hear the authorities, enough so that she began to bang on the side of the container so they could hear her.
I just want to read something that I found in a september 9th article about this missing couple. Nobody knew where they were, but Charlie`s mom,
joanne, said, you know, it`s so out of character, I`m begging you, please, if you know anything. Then she said, it`s the emptiest feeling I`ve ever
had. It`s like a constant pain in your head. Your arms feel like strings. You want to reach out, but there`s not to hold on to because you`re
reaching for your son and he`s not there. And I just heard the sheriff refer to the Carvers and how difficult it must be for them. Have you seen
them, do you know anything about them being notified of these recent developments?
XX: I know they have been notified. Here`s an interesting and somewhat bizarre thing that happened. Soon after their disappearance, around
september 6th or so there started to be some Facebook postings from what appeared to be Charlie Carver on his Facebook page. And now his friends
say that he was not often known to post on Facebook. But he changed his profile photo, and started just posting some things that they said was
uncharacteristic. At one point, someone else, are you OK? And he said yes, I am fine.
BANFIELD: So do we know anything about a link between kala, Charlie, and the person who has been arrested, suspected of kidnapping and keeping kala
in that container, todd, do we know of any sort of connection between them?
XX: The only connection that we know is kala`s mom, bobbi newsom said there was a casual acquaintance between Charlie Carver, kala Brown, and
todd kohlhepp. I`m not sure she even knows what that involved, though.
BANFIELD: Do we know if there was real estate involved, meaning todd kohlhepp has a real estate license, this is his property. Is it possible
he had them there to look at the property?
XX: Well, it`s my understanding this was his property. It`s a 100 acre site, sort of out in the countryside. And neighbors and associates say
that he would off go to this property when he would leave his office, spend an hour or so there, and then go home in moore, South Carolina, which is
just on over the road a piece there. You know, anderson, South Carolina, where kala and Charlie Carver lived, is about an hour and 15 minutes away
from the site. So it`s not really close to where he lived. So we`re unsure how he got there or what that relationship was.
BANFIELD: And just looking at the pictures, the helicopter shooting this area, you can see the helicopter taking these pictures and sending them in
to us. It`s sort of hard to make out what activity is ongoing. We do know there are cadaver dogs. We also know, I think this is new information,
that Charlie`s car, his vehicle was there, and it was not there accidently. It had been hidden, concealed in a ravine. Are you learning anything more
about that?
XX: Just that very thing, that they did find the car late this afternoon. And that was something we had been asking this afternoon, because they had
been asking for help through crime stoppers and other organizations on trying to locate this car. You know, this is an area that would be easily
to conceal these type things. It`s a very isolated property. So it would be easy to hide containers, cars. You could see why he chose this stop.
BANFIELD: What was the tip? What got the cops there? What took them to this place? There isn`t even a place there. What took them there?
XX: Well, supposedly, and what I`m being told is that there was some suspicions, and we`re not told what suspicions, of todd kohlhepp and law
enforcement that they really-- when they realized that he is a registered sex offender, they started zeroing in on him, on other possible crimes, not
necessarily this one. But he just became suspicious in general.
BANFIELD: Sheriff says it`s only by god`s Grace that kala Brown is alive tonight, and we can all agree, given the temperatures, the conditions and
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[20:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, PRIMETIME JUSTICE SHOW HOST: The discovery of a missing woman, Kala Brown, who was found chained but alive miraculously today, in a
metal storage container.
That chain was wrapped around her neck. This did not happen by chance that they found her. It was part of a much wider investigation, and one that is
just getting underway.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
CHUCK WRIGHT, SHERIFF, SPARTANBURG COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA: It was basically just really great police work. You know, about the whereabouts and good
searching online records and stuff like that, about who owns this property, where they could be. You know, those kind of things. Just good old
fashioned police work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Good old fashioned police work took them to the sex offender registry and the owner of the property, Todd Kohlhepp, ended up being
arrested at the scene. Charges against him are pending. And yes, he is a registered sex offender stemming from a 1987 kidnapping conviction.
Kenya Johnson is a former prosecutor. She joins me now live from Atlanta. Yale Galanter is a defense attorney and O.J. Simpson`s former attorney as
well. He joins us live from Miami. Thanks to the two of you.
I`m going to get right to it. What is this man going through right now, Todd Kohlhepp, where is he? What are his conditions like? And what kind of
interrogation is he undergoing? Yale, start with you.
YALE GALANTER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, he`s obviously in jail. They`re monitoring him. Police experts are trying to interrogate him, get as much
information as possible. Right now, the one thing that police want to know is, are there any other bodies and where are they buried? They want to give
the families of these potential victims peace of mind, and they want to close that aspect of the case.
BANFIELD: Yeah.
GALANTER: You know, they`re trying to make nice to him, get him sodas, sandwiches, cigarettes, whatever he wants to try and get him to talk and
keep talking. The problem is the sheriff said that he lawyered up already, so that lawyer may have already invoked his right to be present during
counseling.
BANFIELD: Right. And that`s a great don`t, Yale. That`s a great point. But when they think there`s the possibility they could find someone else alive,
they don`t care. They go ahead and ask anyway.
Kenya, what do you think might be happening just with respect to the fact that there could be an emergency circumstance out there where they don`t
care about that right to remain silent. They care about finding somebody else before they expire.
KENYA JOHNSON, FORMER PROSECUTOR: The police are definitely going to employ whatever tactics are available to them to try to psychologically get this
person to give as much information as possible, make him feel as comfortable as possible.
But right now, prosecutors based on what we`ve already seen, we`re looking at false imprisonment, we`re looking at kidnapping, we could be looking at
attempted murder.
The defense attorneys already know that this guy is in a lot of trouble. And it would be in their best interest not to say anything. They`re going
to be seeking some sort of cooperation in exchange for information, hoping to give some sort of lesser sentence.
Once the case goes up to the prosecuting attorney, there are no deals, there are no lesser sentences on this type of heinous crime that carries in
excess of 20 years in custody.
BANFIELD: Possibly sexual assault and rape charges, if that actually bears out. And then also if they find those bodies, the cadaver dogs seem to hit
on, if there are in fact, bodies, then you`re looking at murder, which means a whole lot more. A big world of hurt for Todd Kohlhepp.
So these are the pictures we`ve been showing you. And I just want to let you know this is our affiliate WYFF. The helicopter shots can show you all
of the vehicles that have responded and some of the heavy equipment. Because they do plan to dig.
What you can`t see -- what you can`t see is the actual container. I know you`ve probably been looking. I wanted to let you know, it is not that you
can`t see it, it is actually not in the shot.
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Just a remarkable story out of South Carolina. A woman who has been missing for two months has been found. But the conditions are
absolutely terrifying. Kala Brown was found in a storage container out on a rural property.
She was chained around her neck inside that storage container, but she was alive. The man who was keeping her there was feeding her twice a day. But
effectively, she may have been living in complete blackness for the last two months with heat as high as 90 degrees outside. Who knows how hot
inside?
Joey Hudson joins me again right now. He`s the host on WGTK 94.5 in Greenville, South Carolina. Joey, do you have any additional information
breaking at this hour?
[20:40:00] JOEY HUDSON, HOST ON WGTK 94.5, SOUTH CAROLINA: Well, you know, details are still a little sketchy, because law enforcement are being very
close chested with this. You know, they`re in the middle of their investigation, and early investigation at that.
This is a 100 acre site out there. I suspect they could be out there for days, as this unfolds. One of the things, though, we`ve been talking about
the storage container, and the conditions, again, it had to be horrific for this young lady to be in the 91-degree heat, because it had to be well over
100 degrees.
And this container, it`s described to me as like a shipping container, about 30 feet long, 14 feet wide or so, and about ten feet high. And as far
as I know, there was no bed there. It was just she was in the container, chained to this container. It had to be horrific.
BANFIELD: I cannot imagine it. The other question I have for you, Joey, we`re getting affiliate pictures in from the helicopter above that`s been
scouring this rural property, and we can`t see the container.
I don`t know if it was concealed, if it was right out in the open, if they removed it. I do see the responding vehicles and I do see the heavy
equipment. The cadaver dogs have been there. The investigators say that they`re only just getting started. Where is the container?
HUDSON: Well, if you see the site, there is a fence out at the road frontage, so, you know, someone is not just going to necessarily wander
back onto the site. But once you`re on the site, it has a winding gravel driveway, and when you get just past where you see all of the law
enforcement official vehicles and all, just inside of the woods, the container is sitting inside there.
So it was concealed to a degree. You probably could not see it that well from the air. But once you`re on the property, it`s not hard to find.
BANFIELD: And then the other question is, this is a rural area. I see a lot of law enforcement there. But they don`t typically have huge assets for
this kind of thing. This is the sort of forensic investigation that needs to be perfect, it needs to be so pristine, from the vehicle that is
concealed down in the ravine from the missing man, from the missing boyfriend, to the conditions inside that particular storage container,
whose DNA is in there, who was the person who kept coming in and bringing the food.
That`s gonna be critical. Do they have the kind of assets that they need to get the right kind of evidence for a successful prosecution?
HUDSON: As Sheriff Wright mentioned to you earlier, Ashleigh, this is a joint effort. You have the City of Anderson. You have the Spartanburg
County. You have Greenville involved. And I`m sure that our state law enforcement division will be called in as well.
So this is one of those times when law enforcement, they don`t really get involved in territories and territorial, because they want to get it right.
And so we certainly have the resources needed in the upstate of South Carolina to make this investigation complete, thorough, so that we`re able
to convict this person.
BANFIELD: Well, if it is in fact him, it is so remarkable that they found her and that he was actually there at the time. I think that speaks volumes
to be evidence to have against him and whatever charges coming down are not gonna be pretty for that man right there, Todd Kohlhepp, 45 years old.
Registered sex offender and in a world of hurt tonight.
Thank God, Kala is alive. We`re continuing to follow it to find out where Charlie is. Charlie Carver, her boyfriend, who went missing with her and is
still missing tonight.
In Texas, we`re also following breaking news. A desperate search for 10- year-old Kayla Gomez-Orozco. Kayla vanished 48 hours ago from East Texas church during a prayer service of all things. She`s only 90 pounds she`s
only four feet tall. The FBI says she is in grave danger.
We brought this to you. It was an urgent story last night, 24 hours old. We`re 48 hours now. As more time passes, this situation gets more dire. The
FBI and police from Dallas have joined the officers locally for the search. They`re looking for this little girl.
There is a $13,000 reward now for any information leading to Kayla`s whereabouts. We do pray that she`s safe tonight. You can help. If you have
any information on Kayla Gomez-Orozco, the tip line is there on your screen, 972-559-5711.
Should an alleged child abuse victim become an online poster boy so that others may not suffer the same fate? We`re going to find out about it.
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: It is so shocking it`s hard to comprehend. Christian Clark, the mother of a 17-month-old boy and a 2-year-old girl, near Pittsburgh, is
tonight charged with killing her own son, smothering him with an air mattress.
And police say it was an act of tragic and violent revenge on the boy`s father. The young mother suspected him of cheating with another woman,
police say. They also say she sent dozens of terrifying text messages to him over several hours.
In those texts, Clark told her boyfriend, the children`s father, that the children are not safe and that she was going to kill them. Police say that
is exactly what she did, murdering her son, and trying to murder her little girl as well. But that little girl survived.
Some of the texts read like something out of a movie. I`m going to quote. "I`m going to kill them, watch. Your kids aren`t safe here. I don`t want
them here." The dad says, all right, I`m not coming there, leave them alone. The mom says, I`m killing them.
[20:50:00] The dad says, I`m just not going to reply no more. If you want to go to jail, you know what to do. The mother replies, your son is dead.
You get blank. He said, I`m not going to replay no more. He says, no, I`m not. But the truth is, that boy was dead. And not only were text messages
sent, the video messages were as well. Video.
The police say there`s video of her picking up her limp and lifeless son and showing it on video and sending the text as she drops the son back on
the air mattress. We`re going to watch that story. It`s just astounding and sure is a sign of the times.
I want to take you to Boise, Idaho now. Police arrested a man on charges that he abused his 2-year-old son. Unfortunately, there`s nothing unique
about that headline because we know that does happen all too often. But what is different about the story tonight is what the boy`s mom has decided
to do after she got a look at her son.
And you`re getting a look at him right now, too. This is really, really hard to see. His mom, Victoria Moore, posted these pictures of her son`s
injuries on Facebook, along with just sort of a shocking narrative. She says she hopes that this does some good. She hopes that the photos that are
difficult to look at will actually make a positive difference, will help people to understand child abuse more.
I mean, look at these pictures. Victoria Moore is Elijah`s mom and she joins me now. Victoria, can you tell me your reasoning for making the
decision to put Elijah`s photographs on Facebook?
VICTORIA MOORE, POSTED PICS OF ABUSED SON ON FACEBOOK: Yeah. At first, it was just because I was angry and I just wanted people to know what he had
done. Then it turned to I want other mothers to know that this is very real and it does happen. I know child abuse is such a sore subject. A lot of
people just brush it off when it`s brought up to them because it`s a terrible thing to talk about.
But I had no warning signs that Michael was this kind of person, and my child still ended up like that. So I want people to know that if they have
any signs or just have any doubts that their significant other could do something like this, to get out.
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: You`re seeing a picture of Michael. This is who is on the screen right now. Michael Frazier has been charged in connection with these
injuries. The injuries are remarkable. Not just what you see, the bruising and contusions, internal injuries and a fractured foot. It`s hard to even
talk about that.
I want to ask you after the break, if I can, what it was like when you got the phone call? And then what it was like when you got to the hospital?
Because Elijah was so badly injured, he ended up in the hospital. So I want you to just, if you can just take me back to that moment. I`m gonna ask you
that in a moment.
But I also want to get our audience another story as well. Because we`re going to switch gears for a moment. Voting is under way right now for what
we do at this company every year. It`s the CNN Hero of the Year. Becca Stevens is one of our top ten finalists and she has made it her mission to
help women who have been sexually abused to rebuild their lives.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BECCA STEVENS, ONE OF TEN FINALISTS FOR CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: All I wanted to do is open one house, and invite five women to come in, who all had been
survivors of trafficking, addiction, prostitution, and say, come stay for two years. No cost. No authority in the house. Just come be together.
So when a woman comes in, we give her a key. This is your beautiful home. This is your place to be. That`s the mindset and the idea is that it can be
lavish and economical. You can do all this. We can house people for half of what it cost to house them in prison for a year.
It started with residential communities. It moved into social enterprises because we understood that while women were doing amazing work, they were
still dirt poor. On average for the last 20 years for the women that we served, the first sexual assault is between the ages of 7 and 11 years old.
Those stories used to undo me. They`re so horrific. And the global issues of human trafficking are so big. It doesn`t have to be the end of the
story. It`s a big part of the story. That`s not the end. It`s just a chapter in it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: After her son was allegedly abused by the boy`s father, Victoria Moore posted disturbing photos of that child`s injuries on Facebook. And
you can`t help but be affected when you see these pictures. Victoria is Elijah`s mom and she is back with me now live.
Before the break, Victoria, I asked you about your reaction, when you first got that call that something was terribly wrong, that Elijah had been hurt.
What was that reaction?
MOORE: Well, when Michael`s sister had called me, at first I thought she was playing a joke on me. And then she sent me the photo and I immediately
collapsed to the ground.
I started screaming. I had my best friend of ten years with me and she started screaming. We could not believe it. I started throwing up. I just
couldn`t believe that my little boy looked like that.
BANFIELD: When you got to the hospital, what was the reaction?
MOORE: I`m sorry?
BANFIELD: When you got to the hospital, what was the reaction?
MOORE: It broke me even more. Everyone kept telling me to prepare myself because the pictures didn`t do it justice, and they were right. As much as
I prepared myself, it was ten times worse than I thought. It was heartbreaking. Especially because he was sleeping. He looked like he was
dead. And I just couldn`t handle it.
BANFIELD: Victoria, I`m glad you talked to us. The pictures are really hard to see. I wish you the best in getting through this. Thank you.
MOORE: Thank you.
BANFIELD: I do want to thank our viewers as welt tonight. Thank you all for staying with us through all of the breaking news as well. We`ll see you
back here on Monday night. "Forensic Files" begins right now.
[21:00:00]
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