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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
Manhunt; Grandma Prom Date; Search for Body Underway; Outrageous Dance Party; Hunt for Suspect; Dramatic Video; CNN Heroes; War Machine Case
Aired March 30, 2017 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST (voice-over): Terror in the bedroom, a woman hiding behind that door as home invaders try to find her, the ruthless
moment they ripped the jewelry right off her neck. Get a good look at two men so brazen, she`s likely not their last victim.
A teenage boy accused of assaulting a young girl.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She had woken up in the middle of the night, and he had his hands down her pants.
BANFIELD: The suspect says he`s got a perfect excuse, "sexsomnia."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did quickly look it up.
BANFIELD: Is that really a thing, and could it actually clear him?
A murder plot right out of a mob movie, a husband accused of killing his wife, tying her to a cement block and dumping her in a lake. So why can`t
police find the body?
Blind-sided, a heartless hit and run caught on tape. He can run, but he can`t hide from the cameras.
This YouTube video looks like a raging Halloween party, but that`s no party, it`s an actual OR, and those are actual nurses with a real, live
patient. Highly doubt they`re dancing now.
Caught on tape, a purse snatcher`s violent attack on an innocent victim, but a second angle could put the crook behind bars.
And he just wanted to fulfill his grandmother`s dream. She`d never been to prom. Now this high school senior is being told, Leave granny at home,
prom dress and all. Are they serious?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: Hello. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.
I`m going to take a wild guess and I`m going to say you`re watching me on TV right now, nestled in your nice warm home, feeling pretty safe, pretty
comfortable because that`s how most of us feel when we get home. We feel safe. But in Everett, Washington, tonight, I am not so sure that`s the
case because there are two men on the loose in that town who do not care one iota if your home is your castle.
And if you need proof of that, we`ve got exhibit A. Jane Doe -- we`re going to call her that -- she hears a knock at her door and it is nobody
that she knows. She runs up to her bedroom and she locks the door. Then she goes into her bathroom and she locks that door, too. So now she`s
behind three locked doors, her front door, her bedroom door, her bathroom door.
And if you think that mattered, that those locked doors in her safe home might actually protect her, you would be wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) Where`s it at? Who`s that? (INAUDIBLE) We ain`t going to hurt you. She`s in the shower. Watch out!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh! Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, leave me alone! Oh! Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me your phone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Leave me alone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you call the police?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. Oh, oh, oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did she?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where`s it at?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look for it!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: And then it was done. Those men who kicked down all three of those doors, ripped the jewelry right off of Jane Doe`s neck -- they
assaulted her, too. But thanks to her security video, we`ve got this. Police have a nice, clean look at both of these brazen, fearless criminals.
Here`s the first one, dark blue or black hoodie and a light blue or aqua jacket on top. Clear as day, you can see his face. Second guy -- he
covered up a little bit better. He`s wearing all black. He`s even wearing gloves, probably knew what he was up to. He also has a scarf or ski mask
over part of his face.
[20:05:00]Shari Ireton is the director of communications for Snohomish County sheriff`s office. She joins me live from Everett, Washington.
Shari, I am so taken by the utter fearlessness of these criminals, who knew there was someone behind that locked door, and it did not matter. Three
times, three doors they kicked in. These are dangerous men!
SHARI IRETON, SNOHOMISH COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE, (via telephone): Yes, and I think that`s the way a lot of us are feeling up here in the Northwest
when we see this video is that -- you used the word "brazen," absolutely accurately describes their actions. Terrifying.
BANFIELD: Tell me -- I know that the woman doesn`t want to be identified. I can understand that. How is she? Was she hurt? Is she OK tonight?
IRETON: Her injuries were fairly minor, nothing severe. But obviously, as you can hear and as you can imagine, if you were the one in that home,
terrified. We have not released her name. We`ve not even provided the block number where she resides to protect her identity so she has some time
to recover from this terrible attack.
BANFIELD: And I`m sure she`ll physically recover, but how she will ever feel safe again after seeing what we`re seeing -- thank God she had this
webcam, she had this videocam so that we can get a picture of these two. But how confident do you think you`re find these two because given how
brazen they are, I`m thinking this isn`t their first victim. I`m thinking this isn`t their last victim, either.
IRETON: Well, and that`s obviously our big concern. We don`t want them doing this again. Snohomish County -- safe and great place to live. Home
invasion robbery is very unusual here. So we want to catch these guys and we really are appreciative of folks getting their photos out on TV stations
and on TV screens across the country because our goal is to get these guys into custody as quickly as possible.
BANFIELD: So this is a fairly nice community, as we`ve come to understand, and what`s very rare, as we`ve also come to learn, is that home invasions
like this are not the norm. They are rare. Am I correct in saying that this is only the third one in five years?
IRETON: I`d say there`s just been a handful. I can only think of three in the time I`ve been working at the sheriff`s office in particular. But
you`re right. Generally, when burglars come in, the last thing they want to do is confront a home owner. They want to get in and out as quickly as
possible.
BANFIELD: Shari, they wanted to find her. They knew she was in there. They said, Excuse me, ma`am, and then they blew down that bathroom door and
they ripped the necklace right off.
But there is something else that`s odd the we noticed on this tape, and I`m hoping, Shari, you can help us get us through this. They said over and
over again, Where is it at? Where is it at? Look for it. Has your police department been able to figure out what they meant by "it"?
IRETON: Yes, we haven`t. Detectives have looked at that video, obviously, dozens and dozens of times. And the victim did not know the suspects, so
what the suspects were referring to is still unknown. And hopefully, we`ll get them in custody soon and we can ask them ourselves.
BANFIELD: OK, I want our viewers to hear that moment again now that I`ve drawn your attention to when those suspects started asking for "it." Where
is it? Look for it. Here`s that moment of tape where they actually uttered those words. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me, ma`am. Where`s at it? Where`s it at? We ain`t going to hurt you. She`s in the shower. Watch out!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh! Oh! Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where`s it at?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So Shari, that just had us asking so many questions. You`ve said that that woman did not know these very brazen criminals. But did she
live with anyone else in the house who may have known what "it" is, what they were specifically after? They seemed to really know what they wanted.
IRETON: Again, detectives have poured over this video, talked to the victim in this case, and no, it`s not clear what they`re referring to.
BANFIELD: Is there someone else who lives in that home?
IRETON: I believe there is another family member who lives in that home, but again, we have nothing to connect anybody in that home with those
suspects or have any idea what specifically it was they were looking for. The only items reported stolen were her phone, which she had in her hand
when they assaulted her, and the two necklaces around her neck.
BANFIELD: And there they are moving that purse out of the way of the door right there, right at the doorway. They`re walking right by that purse,
which looks like a purse. It could be a bag, but they sure didn`t go through it, and they sure didn`t take it with them.
It`s -- Shari, you got to understand, from my point of view -- and I know so little about this other than what I`m seeing -- it is very odd that they
would go to this much trouble, that they would take this much of a risk, that they would be this violent just for a couple pieces of jewelry and a
cell phone.
[20:10:12]IRETON: Well, again, it is a big puzzle, and the only people who know what they were doing and what they had in their mind were those
suspects.
BANFIELD: I want to bring in Randy Sutton. He`s a retired police lieutenant. He`s live with me now from Las Vegas. Randy, I know there`s
some weather out there, so hopefully, you can hear me and we won`t have any dropout.
Did you get a chance to look this through? Was there anything that stood out that was really odd? Are you getting the same spidey weirdness about
this break-in that I am?
RANDY SUTTON, RETIRED POLICE LIEUTENANT: Oh, yes, absolutely. In fact, most home invasions aren`t just random. Most home invasions are targeted.
And when they do that, they`re looking for something specific. Very often, they have some knowledge about something particular that`s in the house.
Now, one of the things that I also noticed from this was even while they were getting ready to make their escape, they -- one of them went to a
chest of drawers and emptied that out, looking for something in there, as well. So they were looking for something. It appears like they were
looking for something very specific.
And -- but -- let me also point this out, that very often, these guys aren`t rocket scientists, either. They sometimes get the wrong place where
they`re acting on the wrong information. So this could have been a mistaken identity.
BANFIELD: I think that`s a really good point because as Shari had mentioned, she didn`t know who they were. She seemed so terrorized. But
one thing I want to ask you, Randy, with all your years as a police lieutenant and being in the force, it takes a certain kind of guy to break
down a door like that, knowing full well how many homeowners now have guns.
SUTTON: Yes. Yes. And you know what? I wish she had a gun, quite honestly. This showed that they were absolutely fearless when it came to
what they were doing and targeting and victimizing this woman. The terror that you could hear in this woman`s voice is blood-curdling. And when they
are going -- any time that someone enters a home like that, they are facing the possibility of an armed homeowner.
And it appeared to me like these fellows didn`t care. They kicked that door in and went in. If she had been armed, that would have been the time
to take them out, and they knew that and they -- you could tell by the way they were approaching the door. In fact, they did it almost tactically.
And if you saw, the guy behind the first guy went in the door, pushed him in the door. It`s not the kind of partner I think I`d like to have.
BANFIELD: Yes, there`s no honor among thieves. I think we can see that pretty clear from this moment.
I want to bring in Danny Cevallos, who is an attorney, defense attorney, knows a thing or two about the law in Washington. There`s a big
difference, isn`t there, between somebody who burgles a house when no one`s there and someone who does this and terrorizes a woman.
I don`t know what they had anything else in their hands, other than what appeared to be some sort of crowbar, which I`m not even clear if it was a
crowbar, but that`s got to be a big difference in just a few years or a lot of years if they get caught.
DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN/HLN LEGAL ANALYST: It matters a lot. If you just enter a home in Washington -- it`s called residential burglary -- you`re
subject to a maximum of 10 years in prison. But when you enter a home as these gentlemen did, armed with either a deadly weapon or you assault
somebody inside, then it gets bumped up to a class A felony, and the maximum imprisonment there is life.
BANFIELD: Wow.
CEVALLOS: Burglary is quietly one of the most serious crimes. We talk about murder. We talk about rape...
BANFIELD: Wait. They could go to life? They could go to life? They...
(CROSSTALK)
CEVALLOS: Now, the sentencing guidelines, if you`re just a first-time offender, call for a lot less than that. But if they have any kind of
prior history, then that`s going to push up their sentence, and an angry enough judge could give a legal sentence of life in prison.
BANFIELD: Unbelievable. Well, when the judge sees that, he or she just might be angry enough.
Hold that thought for a moment. Something else defense attorneys are always intrigued in, a novel defense, like the man charged with sexual
assault. Suspect says that he suffers from "sexsomnia." Sexsomnia. It is a recognized sleep disorder, and the defendant is hoping that he can
convince a jury that it`s for real.
And then this beer run caught the attention of a good Samaritan who tried to shut it down, but then teenagers, four of them, pull a gun on him for
two measly cases of beer! But they sure forgot to cover their faces. Going to give you a clear look at them coming up in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:16:54]BANFIELD: In Fresno, California, several young men go on I think what most people know to be a beer run, but this is actually an alleged
robbery. A robbery. It is a robbery, and it nearly turns deadly for one of the good Samaritans. I want you to take a look at two guys entering a
store, one even nodding and waving to somebody off camera. Not covering their faces, are they. They walked straight to the back of the store to
the beer section. And in moments, each of them has an 18-pack. Then you see them make off for it, running for the door.
But there`s a customer at the counter, guy in a white T-shirt and a baseball hat, and he is not about to let this happen, not on his watch.
He`s grabbing them by the shirt, trying to hold onto them. The suspects manage to go free. One them even drops a case of beer on the ground.
But then there is a scarier part. Third guy appears at the side of the parking lot, points a gun at that good Samaritan. And during the mayhem, a
fourth suspect comes and grabs the case of beer that had been dropped, runs off with it.
And here`s what`s most annoying about all of this. They got away. Nobody injured at this point, but they made off with the beer. And police need
your help if you`ve seen those faces, if you know those kids. They think there are about four of them, about 15, 16, maybe 18 years old. Not good.
One of them has a gun.
An Alabama teenager wanted to do something special for his grandmother because she never, ever got to go to a prom. So he said, Nana, how about
it? You want to come with me? She even got a dress. She was thrilled. And then came word from the school, Stay home. Keep your dress. Why?
What could possibly be the reason?
Also, police need your help to find a violent purse snatcher who didn`t just take the purse, he really dragged that woman and scared the living
daylights out of her, and he`s still out there. Who`s next?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:21:08]BANFIELD: When you are in the business of covering crime and justice, you see and hear a lot of things. And just when you think you may
have seen it all, along comes Andrew Passwaiter. He`s 18 years old from Bloomington, Indiana. Andrew is in a lot of trouble tonight. He`s facing
sexual battery on a 15-year-old, and he`s not denying it. He is just mounting a very, very strange defense.
First to the crime. Police say a 15-year-old girl was part of a spring break sleepover of sorts when she woke up on the couch and found Andrew
beside her with his hands where they should not have been.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She had woken up in the middle of the night, and had his hands down her pants. She then left the room.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Police say Andrew has been cooperative, but that he says it`s not his fault. They say he`s blaming it on his condition, a condition he
calls sexsomnia. Remember when I said I thought we`d heard it all? Passwaiter says he`s not responsible because sexsomnia causes you to engage
in sex while you`re asleep. Now, he`s going to have to tell that one to the judge and hope that the judge is buying it.
Dr. Jennifer Berman is a sexual health expert and urologist. She`s also co-host of the program "The Doctors," and she`s live with me from Los
Angeles. Jennifer, thank you for being here. Dr. Berman, I had never heard of sexsomnia. I think it sounds crazy, but it isn`t, is it?
DR. JENNIFER BERMAN, SEXUAL HEALTH EXPERT AND UROLOGIST: No, in fact, it`s not crazy, and it is a bona fide medical condition that is a sleep disorder
referred to as a parasomnia. So in this case, you`ve probably heard of people walking in their sleep, eating in their sleep, even driving in their
sleep, and sexsomnia is a condition where individuals will engage in sexual activity, sexual behaviors, and even sexually aggressive behaviors
literally while sleeping and have absolutely no recollection of doing it.
BANFIELD: So have you ever had a patient where you`ve had to diagnose this condition?
BERMAN: I haven`t had a patient with sexsomnia. I have had lots of patients with parasomnias. It`s more common in men than women.
The issue in this case that`s, you know, a little challenging is that this individual apparently knew he had this medical condition and put himself in
a risky situation with somebody of the opposite sex, knowing that he, you know, could potentially act out.
The fact that he did and has no recollection, I -- you know, I believe that, but he put himself in that situation, which is what`s concerning to
me at least as a medical health care professional.
BANFIELD: OK. So here`s what`s concerning to me as I look at sort of the legal case that he`s mounting. He says that he was diagnosed, right? And
in your business, I know how you work. You guys write stuff down, and you guys file that stuff, and then I can`t get to it because there is HIPPA
laws. You have to be, you know, protected, your privacy, et cetera. But he says, you know, That very nice psychologist who diagnosed me died.
That`s awfully convenient, it would sound to me.
Don`t those records still exist, though, because the paper doesn`t die if the psychologist does.
BERMAN: In theory, I mean, medical records do get archived, especially in medical centers and hospitals. They get moved to other places. And when
an individual dies, I`m not sure what happens to his medical records, but there should be a record somewhere. I`m sure if an investigation was
mounted that they could probably find the records from this doctor and obtain some information.
My question is, if he was given this diagnose, when has it happened before? How has it happened before? Was he seeking treatment for it? If he was
seeing a doctor, it suggests that he was getting treatment. Did he lapse in his treatment? Has he continued to seek treatment?
You know, my -- as a health care provider, he had a due obligation to inform the person that he was sleeping with the same as if he had an STD.
To engage in sexual behavior and not inform the person that you had an STD could be considered battery. So that`s where, you know, his judgment
lapsed.
[20:25:08]Does he need to be in jail? You know, as a doctor, I say this is a young man that needs help, that has a medical condition, that made a poor
choice.
BANFIELD: You made that point about the condition and the help, the medication, the therapy. What kind of therapy and medication is there if
you have this condition, sexsomnia?
BERMAN: That`s a good question because there -- stress reduction is a really important one. These conditions are exacerbated by stress and lack
of sleep. Medications can induce it. Drugs and alcohol for sure.
This was spring break. I`m not sure what, you know, the situation was with drugs and alcohol. You know, there are medications. Medications that are
antidepressants and medications that help to relieve anxiety are effective in minimizing, if not eliminating the behavior.
BANFIELD: So curiously, wonder if he has done any of that, if he`s taken any of the advice.
Hold your thoughts for a moment, Dr. Berman. I want to bring in Danny Cevallos. I got a doctor and I got a lawyer, which is perfect for this
case.
It ain`t the first time someone has said, Judge, it was sexsomnia. Sorry.
CEVALLOS: Not at all. This eerie (ph), sexsomnia, has been around since the early 2000s, but we`ve seen it in the courts not only in Canada, we`ve
seen it in New Jersey. We have seen it in Georgia, even. And it`s been used successfully.
BANFIELD: Successfully.
CEVALLOS: Yes. Now, it involves...
BANFIELD: Seriously.
CEVALLOS: It involves hiring some top notch experts, and there aren`t that many in this area. But if you can demonstrate to a jury that this person
was under one of those sleep disorders and was not responsible for -- or not conscious, then it can be a valid defense.
BANFIELD: For every expert who will go into a courtroom and say, Judge, I know this sexsomnia, and it`s real, there is another medical expert who
will come in and say hogwash.
CEVALLOS: A number -- well, a number of things on that point. There might be an expert to say that was hogwash. The prosecution will always try to
challenge sexsomnia as a science itself and say this isn`t even valid enough to be accepted as a theory in this court. So there are many ways to
attack this potential defense.
BANFIELD: And I have a feeling that any prosecutor in this case is going to love the witness that came forward to say, You know, I saw this, and he
was awake the whole time. So from the lawyer and the doctor, five seconds. If he was awake, is this whole thing gonzo?
CEVALLOS: If they can prove he was awake and aware of what he was doing, very bad for this defendant.
BERMAN: Not clear...
BANFIELD: Dr. Berman, do many people sleep with their eyes open?
BERMAN: Yes!
BANFIELD: How do you answer that?
BERMAN: 100 percent, he could have his eyes open...
BANFIELD: Really?
BERMAN: ... and be engaging in conversation, if not even driving a car. They appear to be awake, but absolutely 100 percent -- they`ve done brain
scans of these individuals. They are not awake.
BANFIELD: Wow. OK. You`ve both just blown my mind. I`ll just tell you that, A, that you can do this and be completely apparently awake, and that
B, it`s worked many times. Dr. Berman, thank you. It`s nice to see you, and love your show.
BERMAN: Thank you.
BANFIELD: Thanks for coming on, Danny. Great advice, as always. Stay put. I have more for you. Want to take you to the scene at the courthouse
in High Point (ph), North Carolina this week, a really unusual form of punishment by a judge there, basically public humiliation.
The guy that you`re about to see is Josh Hill (ph). And according to CNN affiliate WGHP, Josh pled guilty to assault on a female last week, and a
judge decided that the best punishment for him was this, this sign, "This is the face of domestic abuse." That`s the sign, and he was reportedly
sentenced to carry it for seven days, 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM. He says he probably would have rather spent time in jail instead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I`d have rather just spent the jail time because it`s just now is people think I`m some kind of abuser, and I`m not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Our affiliate reports that Josh Hill says he did not do this crime, but that he pleaded guilty so that he could move on.
In California -- or actually, we`ve got some new details I want to bring you tonight in that deadly bus crash in Texas hill country. Investigators
are trying to determine what caused the accident that killed 13 people there, including the bus driver.
We`ve learned that just before the accident, there were at least three 911 calls that were made to report erratic driving. Officers were on the
lookout for the vehicle that was being reported. They could not spot the vehicle before the wreck. But the vehicle that was being reported as
driving erratically was the pickup truck, not the van in which those victims were killed.
All the victims were members of the same church congregation. They were on their way back home after a retreat. The driver of the truck that hit the
bus is a 20-year-old man who is hospitalized and listed in serious condition, but he is not among the dead.
In California, Anaheim police need your help. They want to catch someone who is mean, nasty, and criminal. Surveillance video shows them clear as
day violently snatching a purse away from the victim. He doesn`t care how injured she gets in the process. Police say that she is lucky, she did not
need medical attention, but she was very shaken up. They also say this is the kind of crime that we call crime of opportunity. I want to show you
why. We got another angle on this.
You can see the black four-door Chevy pulling up in the parking lot. That suspect is the passenger who gets out of the car, goes to the side of the
building basically laying in wait for the victim, ambushing her as she crosses that driveway. Then he flees to the back of the parking lot because
of course he has got a waiting car back there and a get away driver.
So the police are asking if you know anything about that car, if you know anything about this guy, if you know anything about the loot they got, for
the love of God before any of us is next, please give them a call. Let`s get this guy off the street. Poor woman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Spring is in the air and so is high school prom season. There is an Alabama senior, adorable, who is looking forward to taking a very
special date to his prom.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: It was his grandmother. Because Bryce Maine decided to ask his grandma, Catherine, to the prom because she had never been to a prom before
and she had always dreamed of it and she even bought the dress. This is his proposition. Grandma, prom? He calls her nanny, actually.
Bryce says on Facebook that nanny even bought that beautiful dress, ready to go, and then came word from the school, that they are going to stick by
their handbook rule that says prom dates must be under 20, 20 years old.
That`s the safety measure. Apparently that`s something about booze. They don`t want 21-year-olds bringing booze to the prom and they are going to
apply that to grandma, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So there is some good news here, though. In response to all the social media cries for justice, school officials plan to help the local
senior center hold its first annual banquet and dance in May and apparently they are going to call that senior prom. Bryce is still not allowed to
bring his nanny to the high school prom.
Case of a missing woman now, a murder investigation. No surprise I suppose.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: The evidence that turned police`s attention to the husband and why they still have not been able to recover this woman even though he says
he knows what happened to her. He knows where she is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: There is something very fishy about a lake in Northern California tonight. And if what police have been told is true, it might not be a good
idea to swim there any time soon, because at any moment a body just might float to the surface. And given the time that that body has been under the
water, it is not something that anyone should see let alone families or kids who may be out on that lake. Let me take you to Shasta County.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: That`s where police have been trying to find Bridget Jacobs for almost two weeks now. At first they thought that she just run off with her
purse and her cell phone and her little Pomeranian dog, Abijah. That`s what her husband Philip told them. After they got a 911 call from his phone and
they heard a woman screaming.
Strangely when they got to the house, no one was there. Little more investigation plus the phone call from Bridget`s dad who had not seen her
in five days, and they went right back to ask more questions of the husband, Philip. Philip told them well, she just up and left after an
argument. Said he made the 911 call, nothing more to the story.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Not satisfied. They searched the home and (inaudible), Bridget`s cell phone in a safe. They say there was other mysterious evidence that she
had been the victim of foul play, too. They aren`t telling us yet what it is.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: But they have it. And then just days ago while detectives were interviewing Philip`s mother, they say Philip changed his story. Said
Bridget fell down the stairs that night, maybe broke her neck, and she died.
Then they say he admitted that he put her in this boat, drove that car out Whiskeytown Lake, tied a cement block to her, and dumped her overboard.
Well, they arrested Philip Jacobs right away and put a million dollar bond on him, charged him with murder. Here is the problem, they have been
dredging that lake for days, there is no sign of Bridget.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Steve Gibson is the news director for KQMS Radio. He joins me from Redding, California. Steve, this is a weird, weird story. How much
time and effort they got to put in to try to find Bridget in that lake or they think that is a lie too?
(START VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE GIBSON, NEWS DIRECTOR FOR KQMS RADIO: There is no guarantee that they will find Bridget`s body even if it is in Whiskeytown Lake. It`s fairly
deep at the middle of the channel and even with the cinder block attached to the body as he said he had done, according to detectives, it still could
have drifted from the area where he said that he had dumped the body. So there is no guarantee they will find the body.
[20:40:00] But they don`t need to find the body to bring murder charges against him.
BANFIELD: They don`t need the body to bring charges and we`re gonna talk about whether they need a body for a jury in a moment. But first, the lake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I was just looking at those pictures and it is bucolic and beautiful.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: And it is the exact place I would want to have my summer vacation and take my kids to swim. But are people there freaked out about this?
GIBSON: All large lakes have bodies in them. I hate to break it to you. But even a beautiful lake like Whiskeytown Lake, people disappear, and are not
seen for a long time. There are drowning victims in lakes.
BANFIELD: So what -- you know, I look at it and I thought, sounds so much
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Like the Laci Peterson story and Laci Peterson surfaced. So there is still a chance if this is the true story that Bridget Jacobs may
surface. What about this story prior to all of this? Because her co- workers, I think she worked at a rental car place, said she always seemed happy and never talked about marital discord.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
GIBSON: They were in the course of divorce proceedings and they apparently have filed -- they filed orders against each other in relation to the
marriage troubles.
BANFIELD: Well, that`s never a good thing especially when you`re finding out that she`s gone. And that there was a boat and a cinder block used near
a lake. I want to bring in Danny Cevallos.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: You know, Steve just said they don`t have a body and it doesn`t mean they can`t charge them. What about convict him? If you go into a
courtroom and you can`t present the body and you can`t say where the body is and you can`t say what the cause of death is, does that give juries
reasonable doubt? Are they hesitant?
DANNY CEVALLOS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I handled a bodyless murder case and they are very frustrating because in some way you
could say as a defendant without a body, they don`t have a lot of evidence. But on the other hand, when the prosecution doesn`t have a body, they can
come up with all kinds of theories that the defense doesn`t have any evidence to rebut.
Bodyless murder cases are exceedingly rare in the United States, but the law permits a conviction even without a body. A corpus delecti as it is
called in Latin. But, it is possible and it can be done. And defense attorneys like I, and obviously I`m jaded, I have a bias in this area, but
we would argue that it`s almost more -- it`s easier for the prosecution to come up with theories when there is no body with evidence, that pesky
evidence.
BANFIELD: And autopsy.
CEVALLOS: . that a defense attorney can use.
BANFIELD: Sure, sure. There is that other pesky little detail that the puppy dog, Abijah, is also missing and apparently, Mr. Jacobs refuses to
say what happened to the puppy dog. We`re gonna continue to watch this to see if there is a development in that case. My thanks to Steve Gibson from
KQMS Radio. A pop-up dance party.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: In a place it shouldn`t be. Here. Nurses. And that`s a body. That`s a live person. That`s a real operating room with a real patient on
the table. And now, those nurses` careers could be on life support.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: The search is on for a driver involved in what can only be described as a brutal hit and run crash in Chicago. But it was caught on
surveillance video and maybe you can help.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Police say Sierra Barns (ph) running an errand crossing the street when this happened. Dark-colored Hyundai Sonata turned left and
slammed right into her. The impact so great Sierra (ph) flies up on to the hood and then off again. And the driver doesn`t think twice, just speeds
off, leaving her in the middle of the street. Witnesses came to her aid. Luckily, she was able to talk to them and actually get up after this kind
of a violent assault.
I want you to see this car do this again in case you might recognize this. Launches her right onto the hood. She falls to the ground. Thankfully, she
was not seriously hurt. A lot of broken nails and a very swollen leg, probably some bad bruises, and she`ll be shaken up for a long time. But
police need to find that driver because whoever it is, they sure don`t care about Sierra (ph) or whomever else might be next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Randy Sutton is a retired police lieutenant. He joins me live from Las Vegas. Randy, Sierra (ph) is lucky that she`s alive. She`s okay.
But it made me wonder if that is a high enough priority, the fact that there is not a body, a death, for them to put all the resources needed to
find someone like that and get them off the street.
RANDY SUTTON, RETIRED POLICE LIEUTENANT: The reality is that no, it`s not. They will put forth resources because it is a hit and run. It is a felony
because there was injury. But the extent of her injuries will be germane when it comes down to prioritizing the investigation. Remember, what you
just saw probably happened 60 times in Chicago that same week.
Hit and run accidents are very, very common even with injuries and one of the factors involved in this is very often these drivers are either
unlicensed. They are driving a stolen car, they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
[20:50:00] And they are facing even more of a sentence if they get -- if they do stop than if they don`t. So that hit and run is -- there are
dedicated units in all major police departments that handle hit and run investigations.
BANFIELD: Yeah.
SUTTON: But you`re right, there will be -- this will be prioritized based on the injury.
BANFIELD: So Danny Cevallos, jump back in this conversation with me if you will. What Randy just said is really fascinating. It might be worse off for
them if they stop. You would think if you stop, you deal with it. If you take off, now you`re hit and run, now you`re going to really suffer. But if
they are all those things that Randy was saying, maybe they are drunk, maybe they are wanted, maybe they are felons, maybe they are here
illegally, it`s actually better off to take a chance and go.
CEVALLOS: It`s a strange incentive, you know, because maybe the kind of people who would hit and run in the first place are people who have open
bench warrants.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
CEVALLOS: Are people who have drugs or paraphernalia in the car. So, yes. You know, that is an incident that we can`t really avoid. You still have an
obligation legally to stay at the scene of the accident when that happens. But people realize they can gamble, they can roll the dice, and if they can
get away, they might be able to get scot-free. It happens a lot more than you think.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Shocking. We`re glad that Sierra Barns (ph) is okay tonight but it would be really nice to find the person who is that awful, who shouldn`t
be walking among us. Tuesday night we showed you another real gem. Brazen shoplifter grabbing $300
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Of stolen merchandise and then going out the Home Depot door with an asset recovery employee behind him in hot pursuit. There she is in the
shadow box. The perp ended up actually ramming his car into her as he made a escape. She was stuck on the hood until she then fell off and he backs up
leaving her there like a lump.
Others run to her assistance. And I would like to gladly now introduce you to the man behind the wheel, the suspect in this case. There he is.
Arrested. Jeremy Fritts. Mr. Fritts was picked up this morning. He is facing first-degree robbery and second-degree assault charges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Chicago has the dubious distinction of being one of the most violent cities in the country and until recently, believe it or not was on
par with the highest homicide rate in nearly two decades. And that`s leaving a lot of young people especially on the south side just too scared
to even go outside. So this week`s CNN hero has gone on the front lines absolutely determined to give those kids a childhood. Her name is Jennifer
Maddox.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER MADDOX, CNN HERO: We are in the state of emergency here in the city of Chicago. The shooting, the killing. Five, 6, 7-year-olds. They are
losing people that they love and care about. I`m a law enforcement officer, but I`m also a mother and a member of this community. We can`t arrest our
way out of this. Once I saw that there was another side to policing, I thought that I could do more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: To see how Officer Maddox does more and gives children caught in the crossfire and escape, you can go to cnnheroes.com. And while you`re
there, we are going to invite you to nominate somebody you think should be one of our 2017 CNN heroes.
[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: It`s not unusual for there to be music playing in an operating room, even during surgery, believe it or not. But what happened in this
operating room.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Well, some of the staff in the O.R. not only listening to music, they decided to put on a little dance show. All of this as that patient is
laying there naked on the table waiting for the surgery. Happened in a clinic in Colombia. Five dancers now are no longer nurses. They were all
fired. There is an investigation into whose behind the camera. Who shot the video? Who thought this was hilarious? They are still trying to determine
how this all happened and if it`s happened before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Protecting the patient`s dignity while they are undergoing medical procedure is a kind of a hot button issue. You might remember one
of the doctors
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Who is in Joan Rivers` operating room the day she died was allegedly taking a selfie with the comedian while she was under anesthesia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: An update to the War Machine saga, that for mix martial arts fighter who changed his name legally to War Machine, found guilty early
last week on 29 charges relating to the brutal attack on Christy Mack, his porn star ex-girlfrind that happened back in 2014 after he found her in bed
with another man. Apparently, these are some of the injuries by the way in case you missed that trial that she suffered.
And now he`s apparently speaking out from behind bars and he`s doing it on Twitter and he`s sorry. He`s apologizing. I`ll quote, War Machine. Christy,
I am sorry for the man that I was. I am sorry for hurting you. One day, when enough time has passed and when your wounds are fully healed, I hope
that you will write me or perhaps even visit me so that I can apologize completely. And we`ll see if that positive attitude lasts when he`s
sentenced in June.
[21:00:00] He`s facing life in prison.
CEVALLOS: I`m guessing she won`t be putting money in his commissary account. And you shouldn`t either.
BANFIELD: Danny Cevallos, thanks so much.
(LAUGHTER)
CEVALLOS: Don`t do it.
BANFIELD: Thanks for watching, everybody. I will see you back here on Monday night at 8:00 for "Primetime Justice." "Forensic Files" is up next.
END
