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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield

Fugitive Teacher; Kidnapper Denied Bail; : Miraculous Survival; Driver Neglects Duty for Sexting; Lifeless Thing that Served as Evidence to a Crime. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired April 24, 2017 - 20:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[20:00:00] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HLN HOST (voice-over): He`s accused of taking his 15-year-old student on the run for almost six weeks. Now

prosecutors say no bail for the Tennessee teacher.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m sure as it goes along, we`re going to find out more and more things that have been done to her.

BANFIELD: Is he a flight risk, a danger to the community?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s the guy.

BANFIELD: While the law deals with him, the family is dealing with her. Did Elizabeth Thomas go willingly or was she brainwashed by that married

grandfather?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to ask so many things, but then you know that`s not what she needs.

DESIREE TURNER, SHOOTING VICTIM: I am so thankful to be here today, to be alive.

BANFIELD: She was shot execution-style in the back of the head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven`t seen anything like this case in 18 years that I`ve worked for Cache County.

BANFIELD: Then robbed and left for dead in a dry river bed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two 16-year-old males were identified as significant people of interest.

BANFIELD: Police say two boys lured her there to put an end to the Snapchats.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was brave to talk to Detective Muir (ph) and to tell him what she remembered happening.

BANFIELD: But brave doesn`t even begin to describe her.

TURNER: I told my dad that I am tougher than a bullet.

BANFIELD: A school bus driver admits he mistakenly left a special needs student on a scorching hot bus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He killed my son.

BANFIELD: But it`s what the driver was doing while that student was slowly dying that is beyond the pale.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was texting at the exact moment that he was supposed to be off-boarding Paul (ph).

BANFIELD: His scorching-hot affair and the tragic death that resulted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it`s horrific that these people could sacrifice someone`s life to engage in this illicit activity.

BANFIELD: To the outside world, the debate (ph) marriage looked perfect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just don`t understand how something like that could even happen.

BANFIELD: But looks can be deceiving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

BANFIELD: The husband claims an intruder attacked and killed his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they would just like to know, you know, why.

BANFIELD: Why her Fitbit just might be the star witness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think anybody just wants justice. They just want the truth.

BANFIELD: What a catch! Animal control officers put to the test in Louisiana, a wily gator meets his match and a double set of cuffs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Hello, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.

We`re following breaking news tonight. Just a short time ago in a California federal courtroom, a judge agreed to send Tad Cummins back to

Tennessee. That`s where the 50-year-old teacher is going to face charges that he ran off with his 15-year-old student in mid-March, setting off a

nationwide search for the pair.

Cummins was wearing an orange jumpsuit and was shackled with a chain around his waist as he walked into the courtroom in Sacramento. The judge also

denied him bail, saying in essence something most people pretty much guessed, he`s a flight risk.

Prosecutors started laying out the case against him today in what is sure to be just the tip of the evidence iceberg. They say he planned and

executed a scheme to take Elizabeth Thomas across the U.S. and evade authorities. And they added it was for the sole purpose to engage in

sexual conduct with her.

But Cummins didn`t just head straight for those mountains in northern California. Prosecutors say he bought a small watercraft and wanted to

take Elizabeth to Mexico. They say he even did a test run. Because of those factors, prosecutors want him locked up in federal custody in

Tennessee right up until he goes to trial.

All of this as we are learning new information about how Cummins was captured in that remote California cabin after a 39-day nationwide search.

The cabin`s caretaker, who called the police, says that Cummins told him a whale of a story to gain his sympathy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN BARRY, CABIN CARETAKER: He was saying he was from Colorado. And he said he had a house fire and he got fired from his job. I gave him 40

bucks and put some gas in his tank.

She spoke very few words, and he would try and, like, talk for her a lot. He was clearly, like, keeping her separate. And then we ended up, like,

calling the police. And I was, like, That`s the guy. So -- and then we ended up, like, calling the police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: As for Elizabeth Thomas, she was found with Tad Cummins, and prosecutors say she was physically unharmed. But her family fears the

mental scars from this ordeal could take a very long time to heal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY THOMAS FATHER: She`s going to actually need trauma therapy. Sometimes, she`ll be happy and laughing and back to the same old girl, and

then she`ll be sometimes just in a fetal position crying. It`s a roller coaster for her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:05:12]BANFIELD: Sara Sidner was in the courtroom today for Tad Cummins`s hearing, and she joins me live from now Sacramento. Take me

there. What did he look like, Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He looked very much the same as the mug shot that you`ve seen of him, the most recent one. He was wearing an

orange jumpsuit that said "Sac County prisoner" on the back of it. He also was shackled. He had a chain around his waist, moving very slowly but

(INAUDIBLE) alert. He was paying attention to what the judge was saying. And when the prosecution spoke, he would turn his head and listen to what

the prosecution was saying, and then did say something to his attorney but really didn`t speak in court today. Very alert, and his attorney said that

he was looking forward to being sent back to Tennessee where he would fight the charges against him.

BANFIELD: And then Sara, they also laid out part of that case where they said he had intent to leave this country, to go south to Mexico and maybe

even further than that. What did they say?

SIDNER: They did not mention all of the different charges in the case, only one, and that`s taking a minor across state lines with the intent to

have sexual contact, which is the one federal charge that is being levied against him.

Of course, he has a kidnapping charge in Tennessee, and there could be charges here in California. But it is very clear that that part of the

case was made -- it made its way into the court. It just wasn`t read aloud. He waived his right to hear it read aloud.

He knows that he will be then sent over to the middle Tennessee federal court, and that is really where the case will unfold. That should happen

in the next two to three weeks, and that is because of scheduling, trying to schedule the travel for a prisoner here to Tennessee. But he definitely

heard his rights read to him by the judge. The judge made very clear that if he wanted to, he could plead guilty or not guilty in the California

court, but that the case was going to be going to Tennessee.

He was alert. He walked in and walked out on his own accord.

BANFIELD: Listen, these prosecutors, Sara, they mean business because in the motion, they listed pretty definitively that they expected that Mexico

may only be one of the stops and that some kind of a southern country beyond Mexico would have been the ultimate place where he wanted to stop.

They also talked about that he wanted to elude capture, and they listed out very specifically, because that`s kind of what the statute requires, that

he switched license plates, that he disabled the GPS on the vehicle, that they altered their appearances, or at least he did, used back channels and

lived in communes and really sort of low-key hotels that had very lax check-in, check-out procedures.

All of that is fascinating, but in the end, they`re going to have to display a lot of evidence from the cabin, where they were ultimately

captured, because they processed it and they took a lot out things of that cabin. And you got a look inside. Take me there and tell me what you saw.

SIDNER: Very, very small, about 11 by 11 feet. It had nothing in it. It wasn`t ready to be occupied. The owner was very clear about that. He

said, We were trying to rebuild these cabins, put them in place for season, when the tourists might come. So there was no electricity, no running

water. It really was just the shell of a building.

And we also noticed paperwork on the ground that the FBI left behind, which they have to do. It`s a search warrant that was left behind, listing all

the things they took out, including bedding, KY jelly, coconut oil. There was food that was left behind. We noticed he had a little apparatus for

cooking.

And so those are some things that were left behind, but they did take out other things, trying to get evidence to make sure that they have all their

ducks in a row. And of course, the sheriff`s department also talked about the fact that (INAUDIBLE) that were found. And we learned today in court

that there were two guns (INAUDIBLE) the cabin, but inside his vehicle.

And one more thing to note here. The caretaker of that property told us that it was him who ended up helping get Tad Cummins to come out of that

cabin so that police could arrest him. He had made a deal with the sheriff`s department, saying. Hey, look, can you go and honk to try to wake

him up and get him to come out of the cabin, which is in a very secluded area. That is exactly what the caretaker did, but then his horn didn`t

work, and so he had to start yelling out the window. But that woke Tad Cummins up and eventually, he came out and he was arrested and the young

girl, 15, was taken to safety, as well -- Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: And a smart way to do it, you know, Sara, when you have someone who is presumed arm and ultimately there were firearms found. You got to

be so careful because who knows what state they`d be in after 39 days. Sara, stand by, if you will, please.

I`m joined now by Elizabeth`s father, Anthony Thomas, and Elizabeth`s sister, Kat Bozeman. They`re live with me from Colombia, Tennessee.

First, to the both of you, we`re just so thrilled that this is the interview that we`re doing with you, that you`ve got your girl back. So

our congratulations and our thoughts are with you at this very tough time for you.

At the same time, there is a very serious case that`s going to go forward, of which you`re going to be part of. But most importantly, how is

Elizabeth?

[20:10:07]THOMAS: Well, she`s -- you can tell she`s a little bit apprehensive being around a lot of people right now. She`s a little bit

jittery. She`s starting to relax a little bit. But she was pretty high- strung and where she was usually just bouncing off the walls and the life of the party, she seemed to like things a little bit quiet and didn`t like

so many people converging on her at one time.

BANFIELD: And of course, you know, Anthony and Kat, there`s no manual for this kind of a thing, and you didn`t invite yourselves into this club that

you`re now in, having to process what Elizabeth has gone through, where she`s going to go from here. There are other people who have gone through

experiences like this, Elizabeth Smart for one, Hanna Anderson (ph) for another, and maybe one day, you`ll be able to seek their, you know,

guidance or their assistance.

But in the meantime, have you been able to talk with her quietly outside of all the noise, the bustle, the limelight, the media, everything else that

surrounds this early stage?

KAT BOZEMAN, SISTER: We keep everything very light. All the conversations are light. We don`t discuss the case or anything revolving that because we

want to help her to calm down. So she`s not aware of the media.

BANFIELD: Well, thank God for that because this entire country was riveted. I mean, 39 days this was a nationwide search. It was on

television every night. And by the way, thank God for that because, ultimately, it was someone who had seen something and it sounded

suspicious.

I can see you smiling, Anthony, because thank God for him. He`s your guardian angel at this point. Have you had a chance to meet him yet, the

gentleman who just thought something wasn`t right and called the authorities?

THOMAS: No. I haven`t met him, no. As far as I know, he`s still in California. You know, I`d like to meet him, like to thank him personally

for making that call.

BANFIELD: I can imagine. I can imagine.

THOMAS: Yes.

BANFIELD: Where is -- is Elizabeth with you? Is she back in her bed at home, in her familiar surroundings, or is she somewhere else getting a

different kind of assistance at this time?

THOMAS: Well, right now, she`s somewhere where she can relax and be looked after by family and close friends and just take a break from everybody.

She needs to very slowly ease back. She`s going to be going through counseling, and so we can`t just, you know, throw her right back in there

and tell her to go clean her room and all this kind of thing. She`s got to -- she needs to really take some time to relax and approach us at her own

speed.

BANFIELD: I understand. And I`m approaching this interview at a different speed, as well. There are very tender topics here, obviously, for a father

and a sister to have to process. And I hope I don`t breach any lines. But at the same time, as a journalist, I do have to ask because the nation

watched this -- has she told you anything about those days, those 39 days, her day-to-day life, things that she went through, things that she saw,

things that she did, what she was thinking, what she was feeling?

BOZEMAN: No. We`re not -- we`re not talking to her about that, and it`s not being talked about. Again, we`re trying to keep everything light so

she can heal. We`re not discussing that.

BANFIELD: Is that something that you have been guided? Have counselors given you sort of a -- you know, a timeline of what you should be saying

and what you shouldn`t be saying with her?

BOZEMAN: Yes.

THOMAS: Yes.

BOZEMAN: There is that, and common sense. We want her to heal. We don`t want to stress her out continuously by, you know, peppering her with

questions.

THOMAS: This is going to take -- she`s been through something that`s hard to relate to. You know, you don`t -- you don`t find this happening very

often, so it`s like you said, there is no manual for this and we`re going to have to let her emerge at her own speed and offer her counseling and

just tend to her needs, whatever she wants, whatever she needs.

BANFIELD: One of the reports that we had seen is that Elizabeth seemed to have lost weight and that -- you know, perhaps that food had been hard to

come by while she was on the road. Do you know anything about that?

BOZEMAN: She has lost weight. It`s very noticeable.

THOMAS: Yes, it`s very noticeable.

BANFIELD: And what did she say about coming home and being able to have a -- you know, a hot meal?

BOZEMAN: She loves food. This child loves food.

THOMAS: Yes.

BOZEMAN: And she loves coffee.

THOMAS: She takes right after her dad.

BANFIELD: Was she -- did she say anything about that being difficult? I mean, they were apparently -- Tad Cummins was reportedly down to just the

last few dollars, and there were some reports that she`d been eating wildflowers. Is that true?

[20:15:02]THOMAS: That was mentioned. But again, I don`t press her for those sorts of details. All I can do is make sure she`s well fed right

now, gets pretty much anything she wants to eat, and you know...

BOZEMAN: She loves coffee, so she`s so happy to have coffee again. She`s happy to eat real food And this child loves food.

BANFIELD: I love that you`re smiling, Kat. It`s -- you`re like a typical sister, you know, looking out for her little one.

Was she able to just have access to basic, you know, hygiene? Could she have showers? Did she have -- you know, was she able to sleep? Was she --

you know, was she able to just get the basics, you know, for the last 39 days?

BOZEMAN: Showers were probably harder to come from, so she definitely has hygiene now. She has showers. She has clean clothes. She`s getting that

now.

BANFIELD: But not while she was traveling?

BOZEMAN: Again, we`re really unaware of what happened while she was gone, but they were living in a cabin that didn`t have running water, so...

THOMAS: Yes.

BOZEMAN: She`s got showers now, and that`s what`s important.

THOMAS: Yes, she`s always been very clean about herself.

BOZEMAN: She loves having her hair done, her nails done. She`s very much having makeup on and being put together.

BANFIELD: Was her appearance altered from the last time you saw her?

THOMAS: Yes. She -- you know, she didn`t look like herself at all. She looked like she was very worn out, very thin. She -- and very jittery.

That really wasn`t her. She`s somebody who`s actually more sure of herself and usually all smiles, and she`s been sort of the life of the party, you

know?

BANFIELD: And Anthony, what about her physical appearance? Did she still have her long blond hair? Was it cut or had she died it? Was there any

change in her physical appearance when you saw her?

THOMAS: Again, she had done -- she had always liked to do different things with her hair. And you know, of course, he probably had her change her

appearance, this sort of thing. Now, a lot of these things, a lot of these details she would really not want me to talk about. So you know, I don`t

go into too much detail about appearance and so forth.

BANFIELD: But it did appear to you, because one of the charges that the feds have now leveled on Tad Cummins is that he altered his appearance. So

I could only imagine that he possibly had her do the same thing. But I mean, when you saw her for the first time, did she not look like the -- you

know, the 15-year-old who left you 39 days ago?

THOMAS: Yes, her appearance has changed, but a lot of it is, too, the just very expression on her face. You can see that -- that...

BOZEMAN: She`s very withdrawn. She is the only extrovert in an introvert family, and she`s very withdrawn.

BANFIELD: And Kat, was her hair cut or colored or different?

BOZEMAN: Again, we`re not -- that`s just something we`re not going into at this time.

BANFIELD: Understand. I do have this question for you. Tad Cummins`s sister, Daphne Quinn, gave an interview. And it came as a surprise to a

lot of people what she said about her brother having spoken with him while he`s in custody over the weekend. And I wanted to get your reaction to

something she said.

Let me play this for our audience so they can hear what she said and I`ll ask you on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAPHNE QUINN, CUMMINS`S SISTER: I asked him why? Why would he do this? And the answer he gave me is that she wanted to run away and she wanted to

leave, and he didn`t want her to go alone. And so he went with her, so that he could know that she was safe.

He`s repentant-sounding, and I think he would like to get his family back, but I think it just hasn`t hit him yet that that`s not going to happen.

He`s just going to have to learn a new normal. He`s got a very long, tedious road ahead of him in a place that he`s never been ,and he`s just

going to have to deal with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So Anthony and Kat, that was Daphne Quinn. She said that on national television, on NBC`s "Today" show, effectively saying that

Elizabeth wanted to run away, that he didn`t want to go alone so he was helping her, effectively, and that he`d like his family back. How do the

two of you feel about that?

THOMAS: Well, I mean, one, if that`s -- if that`s what he calls guidance, I think that he`s a very poor excuse for a teacher, an authority figure, a

father. And in fact, he`s a poor excuse for a human being.

[20:20:00]BOZEMAN: We`ve got to remember that his family`s been through a traumatic experience and his family is dealing it differently. And we just

need to be mindful that his family is experiencing other stuff, as well.

BANFIELD: It`s extremely magnanimous of you to think of his family at this time, given what you and your family have gone through. And I commend you

for that.

Have you had a chance to speak with his now estranged wife, Jill, since Elizabeth was found?

BOZEMAN: No.

THOMAS: No. No.

BANFIELD: Do you have a desire to?

THOMAS: I feel like she`s -- well, I mean, she`s gone through an awful lot. None of these things that have happened in the past 40 days could

have possibly been anything that she wanted. She suffered a great deal. She`s been shocked all of a sudden to find out this -- what she`s found out

about her husband. I think, you know, I mean, I wish her well. We pray for her. She`s lost an awful lot.

BANFIELD: One of the...

BOZEMAN: We need to be mindful that...

BANFIELD: Go ahead. Go ahead, Kat.

BOZEMAN: ... that he has family -- we need to be mindful that he has grandchildren and children, and we just need to be positive and treat them

all with respect as far as media goes, as well.

BANFIELD: Again, it`s extraordinarily admirable of you. I mean, I can`t imagine the anger you`re going through at the same time, and then to think

of his family and his children and grandchildren.

His lawyer, Benjamin Galloway (ph), has said that his client was not a flight risk and isn`t dangerous and that the allegations against him do not

include threats or coercion and that this was not an abduction or a kidnapping.

Do you have anything you`d like to say to Tad Cummins`s lawyer about that statement?

BOZEMAN: I have nothing to say at this time about that.

THOMAS: And you know, maybe he needs to review the age at which a child can make decisions like that, especially with the grooming that took place

and the way he misled her and lied to her, deceived her. Maybe he needs to take a step back and do a reality check.

BANFIELD: I do have a final question for the both of you, as you are embarking on sort of a new part of this difficult journey, and that`s the

charges that lay ahead and the part that you`ll play in them. The federal charges are so specific. They have levied one charge against Tad Cummins

about crossing state lines. And I`ll just read what they say, "for the purpose in engaging in criminal sexual conduct, effectively stealing a

juvenile child for the purpose of sexual gratification."

Are you OK going ahead, knowing the details you`re going to learn, knowing that you`re going to have to take part in any kind of prosecution, knowing

that Elizabeth is going to have to be a witness, as Elizabeth Smart was in the prosecution of her abductors? Are you guys OK with that? Do you think

you`re going to be strong enough to manage through this?

BOZEMAN: Right now, we`re taking this day by day. It`s a day by day thing. It`s not something we can jump into right away and know how we`re

even going to handle this. We`ve got to -- it -- we`re processing this as it comes, and we`re going to handle it the best way can day by day as

everything progresses forward.

BANFIELD: What do you think, Anthony?

THOMAS: Well, yes, it`s exactly that. I mean, we`ve gone through -- probably the worst experience of my life so far was having her gone, not

knowing where she was or how she was. That`s far and above the worst experience of my life.

There`s a lot still to go through, and learning a lot of these things is going to be painful. But at least we`ve got her back, and that`s the

important thing, and we can start moving ahead.

BANFIELD: Well, God bless the both of you, and I am just so happy that you are in the circumstance that you`re in now instead of what it could have

been, which could have been such a different story. And I do appreciate you coming on to talk with us, and please give our best to Elizabeth. I

hope she at one point will know that the whole country was looking for her and that there was really an outpouring of love and that they are thrilled

she is back home safe. Thanks to both of you.

THOMAS: Thank you very much.

BOZEMAN: Thank you.

BANFIELD: Kat Bozeman and Anthony Thomas joining me live. What an unbelievable story that they have gone through and that they will continue,

as I said, to go through, as well. We`re going to follow that, as well, and make sure that we give you the details, and as well, that extradition

that`s coming soon for Tad Cummins.

In the meantime, a remarkable recovery for a Utah teenager who was shot in the head and left for dead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER: I am so thankful to be here today, to be alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you have seen, she is a fighter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Boy, is she ever. That`s Desiree Turner, and she is now going home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:29:04]BANFIELD: A 14-year-old girl found shot in the head, lying in a dried-up canal in Utah, and remarkably still alive, is now speaking

publicly for the first time. Investigators say it wasn`t a stranger who attacked Desiree Turner. They say it was two of her teenage friends.

The court documents show the 16-year-old boys lured her to the canal after school and then shot her once in the back of the head at close range.

Prosecutors say they did it because one of them grew tired of her Snapchat messages. Investigators also say they stole $55 from her purse, threw her

backpack in the trash, and destroyed her cell phone and iPod. Those teenagers are now both charged with attempted murder.

And now after two months in the hospital, part of it in a medically-induced coma, Desiree is on her way home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER: I have been working really hard and still have a lot of work to do. I told my dad that I am tougher than a bullet.

[20:30:00] It is still with me today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Though, she is thankful to be going home, Desiree is going to carry with her a very real reminder of what happened to her because the

doctors were unable to remove the bullet that remains lodged in her skull.

And McKenzie Romero, with the reporter for that Deseret News, and she was at the hospital for Deserae`s news conference -- or Deserae`s news

conference, she joins me live from Salt Lake City. McKenzie, what does it seem like Deserae was like? We get that small clip and that very sweet

face, but how did she seem?

MCKENZIE ROMERO, REPORTER, DESERET NEWS: She was happy. She smiled the whole time and if she wasn`t talking, answering questions or reading from

the statement that she and her family prepared, she was holding her mother`s hand and just stay and looked at each other and smiled. It was a

tender moment, it`s like the rest of us weren`t even there.

BANFIELD: And you know, it`s not lost on any of us as we look at the video of her walking in that she has happy on the front of her shirt, and I

believe it was you who actually posed the question about that shirt. I want to play that moment. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: Do you think that`s special to wear home today?

TURNER: Yes, I did.

ROMERO: Can you tell me why?

ROMERO: Because it says happy on it and I`m happy I can go home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: She`s remarkably positive. Does she have any memory at all of what happened to her?

ROMERO: We`ve only heard about that in the courtroom and those preliminary hearings for the two boys charged in this case a couple weeks ago. In this

press conference, we were asked to keep questions kind of limited to Deserae`s excitement about going home and how she wanted to thank so many

people for caring about her.

But it was clear in what we saw in court that her memory was limited. But I think police have hopes, they seem to indicate in their testimony that more

information is going to slowly come back to her.

BANFIELD: It`s hard to believe 14 years old found, left for dead in a canal bed with a gunshot to the back of her head. There she is. She`s

delightful and beautiful and able to speak and able to walk.

You mentioned that all the support they are getting, we heard as far as The Netherlands they`ve been getting messages of support. This is how -- this

is how Deserae thanked to all of those people who have been there for her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was the most exciting thing about this support?

TURNER: I will always be grateful for the kindness that has been shown to me and my family. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: The family that she was talking about, I think that was her dad with her, right, McKenzie?

ROMERO: It was. That was her father and mother who appeared with her.

BANFIELD: So her dad spoke, briefly, as well. And again, I mean, as a parent, I don`t know how they can be so joyous other than that they have

their daughter, clearly, but he talked about humanity, the best and the worst. I`ll let him phrase it. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT TURNER, DESERAE TURNER`S FATHER: God can use even the worst actions of humankind to set free the very best of humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: McKenzie, must be an astoundingly positive family and clearly they have produced a positive young lady. But there is a lot still ahead

with these two trials for the 16-year-old boys.

ROMERO: That`s right. The next piece in this puzzle is what they call a recent are going to argue to keep their cases in the juvenile system while

prosecutors are pushing for the cases to be moved to district court where the boys would face the charges as adults.

BANFIELD: Well, good point. Caroline Polisi and Eric Guster are here with me, two attorneys that know a thing or two about what happens when you end

up in adult court.

Two 16-year-old boys one of them extremely public about his empathy that he is sorry for what happened, also saying I wasn`t the trigger man. But look,

in Utah the state has said even if those kids are erased to adult for and if they are found guilty, there is no life without parole there. What

possibly could happen to them in an attempted murder? She`s alive.

ERIC GUSTER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There certainly thing that can happen to them. They could get long prison sentences, for example, and this is a case

where they made the prosecution may not need one to turn-on the other because they have the star witness. She is there.

BANFIELD: Good point.

GUSTER: And she can tell exactly who it was, exactly what happened. So they don`t need someone to say it was this was guy who did it, not me.

BANFIELD: So Caroline, just 10 seconds on that. She has no memory of that incident.

CAROLINE POLISI, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: She does not, but boy, talk about a survivor, Ashleigh. I mean, this young lady has a presence that we can

really feel even all the way here and I think it`s going to be incredibly damaging in any courtroom if she takes the stand regardless of whether or

not she remembers all the details of that case.

BANFIELD: I`m riveted of that case. I`m riveted just at this picture. And it`s just a white screen behind her and look at her.

GUSTER: And often times, memories come back.

BANFIELD: This is true. Good point there. We`re going to follow that case, as well. There is also outrage in California that we`re going to talk

about. A disabled special needs teenager left on a bus after his driver was more interested in setting up a mid-day sexual rendezvous than making sure

that that student got off the bus at school.

[20:35:03] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: For most parents, putting a child on the school bus in the morning is not an act they take lightly. Those kids lives` are in the hands

of a driver who often a virtual stranger. And if your child has special needs, you can up that anxiety level much, much higher.

I want to introduce you to 19-year-old Paul Lee. His mom says that he had a severe form of autism, could not speak, would barely move and needed to be

directed just to get to the door and get off of the school bus. So when Paul didn`t come home at the end of the day, naturally his mother called

the school.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD WHITE, POLICE OFFICER, WHITTIER POLICE DEPARTMENT: At 4:00 p.m. when he did not arrive at his house, his mother called the school. At that time

the school contacted the transportation and asked regarding the students saying they were missing, missing the student.

[20:40:05] That`s when the bus driver walked to the bus yard behind me and when he -- that`s where he discovered the student.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: What that driver found was horrific. Paul was lying in the isle of that roasting hot school bus and he was dead. The temperatures soared to

nearly 100 degrees that day in Whittier, California, leaving the disabled student to die slowly in that vehicle.

The driver admitted to failing to check that all the students were off the bus when he arrived at school in the morning, and now Armando Ramirez is

serving two years in jail after pleading guilty to one count of dependent abuse.

So what had distracted Ramirez so much so that he left someone on the bus? According to a lawsuit filed by Paul Lee`s family, it was sex. Armando

Ramirez was sexting a co-worker who was another driver to arrange a rendezvous when instead, he should have been unloading Paul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EUN HA LEE, PAUL LEE`S MOTHER: My boy is a very, very precious boy. He`s non-verbal so he couldn`t speak out even one word. We are nothing, Paul is

dead in that bus in the hot weather, they kill my son. Technically they kill my son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Thomas Perumean is a reporter for KTAR News 92.3. He joins me now live. Tom, I think if people are listening to this story, they might be

surprised to hear the sentence is two years. That young man died in one of the most painful ways, slowly in a hot bus. Why only two years?

TOM PERUMEAN, REPORTER, KTAR NEWS: Basically, it comes down to taking the plea and closing out the case. Certainly criminal negligent homicide,

negligent homicide, other factors played into this but in the opinion of the district attorney, he nearly had a slam dunk and Mr. Ramirez was

clearly motivated to take whatever offer he was going to get that would spare him much longer jail time.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: I mean, is it...

PERUMEAN: He could -- he could have been doing upwards of nine years.

BANFIELD: And the motivation not only from the jail time but also the salaciousness of the -- and I hate to say it, the sexting, that the records

that were released on what that bus driver and his co-worker were doing while that child was dying. I mean, it is really appalling.

PERUMEAN: Absolutely. I mean, these are two people who are charged with the safety of kids and for one of them, it was clear that heading to his

midday hookup instead of, you know, making sure that his bus was secured properly and that everybody was off, you know, took the place of his

responsibility. Certainly, you know, could be argued a negligible act.

BANFIELD: Brian Panish is the attorney for the Lee family, and he joins me live from Los Angeles, as well. Brian, I`ve read through some of these text

messages that you unearthed in this civil case that you`re now filing for Paul Lee`s family. And I can`t even read them on television. They are so

filthy.

But I`ll give you just the, you know, the PG-13 version. And there is a reason to this, at 8.51 a.m., Ramirez` lover says "so where are you at?"

"I`m walking to my car." And Ramirez says "pull into the garage." This is after the young man has -- was supposed to have been dropped off at school.

At 12.59, about four hours later, while that young man is still in that bus, the lover says "I just can`t get enough of you." To which Ramirez

replies "it`s a good thing, you drive me crazy lover. LOL." And three and a half hours later, so now at full seven and half hours while Paul Lee is in

the 100-degree bus. The lover says at 4.20 p.m. "I`m so hot."

I mean, the -- that statement is not lost on a lot of us. That child died in a 100-degree bus. The lawsuit that you`re launching against the school

district and the bus company, do you think you`re going to prevail given that there was this plea deal that was made by the driver?

BRIAN PANISH, LEE FAMILY ATTORNEY: Yes, Ashleigh. Actually the trial is coming up on May 15th, and much more of the evidence will be released but

it was not an accident. This driver had prior incidents where he didn`t drop children off when they were supposed to be, special needs children

that require special attention.

He also had other girlfriends at the same time despite being married and in fact, it looks like he was going to hook up with another woman after his

afternoon shift.

So he clearly put sex over the safety of these children and it`s no accident that a person sitting three rows from him nearly 300-pounds, he

didn`t see him because he didn`t look and he was in a hurry to get with this woman and this affair.

[20:45:01] BANFIELD: Eric.

PANISH: And it`s very tragic that Paul Lee laid face down on a bus tried to escape with all the windows up, all the doors shut in 100 degrees

outside much hotter inside the bus.

BANFIELD: Yes, no, I understand that. Eric Guster, you were listening to that comment and this young man was found face down in a pool of vomit. I

mean, the scene was appalling and terrifying and was found by that driver.

GUSTER: That`s -- everything in this case is horrible. And the worst part about it for the bus company, he did this before. Whenever you have a civil

lawsuit against someone for negligent hiring and negligent supervision, if you can prove show that someone was negligent before and they still kept

employing this person with special needs children, children who have to be helped off the bus, this isn`t just children who can able themselves, able

by, able bodied mentally. They need to help them off the bus and he didn`t.

BANFIELD: Yes. They are the most vulnerable without question. Well, he`s honestly going to prison for two years and we`ll see what happens with that

-- with that case.

Brian Panish, thank you so much. If you have a FitBit, you know that it`s great for keeping you up to speed on your steps and your heart rate but did

you know it can also help to solve a murder? Connecticut police say they think it can. And now a murdered wife`s FitBit data is perhaps the key

evidence in the state`s case against her husband. We`ll tell you why.

[20:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: So big problems tonight for a man in Connecticut who said a mystery intruder broke into his home and killed his wife sort of like the

fugitive. Police say, though, there is something that could be a key piece of evidence that proves that Richard Debate was in fact the intruder that

murdered his wife.

It`s a FitBit. The authorities just saying he did it so that he could be with his pregnant mistress. Initially, Mr. Debate claimed that a man who

sounded like action star `Vin Diesel` broke into his home, tied him up and then shot and killed his wife as she arrived home from the gym.

But officers say that story kind of started to unravel after they discovered that Mr. Debate was having an affair with a woman who had become

pregnant. And now three pieces of newly released information from the police affidavit could help the prosecutors put Mr. Debate away.

The officer say he told them that his wife had been killed about 9.20 in the morning. Surveillance video shows Connie Debate left the gym two

minutes prior to that. In addition to that, Connie`s FitBit was idle as she drove nine minutes to her home.

That`s not all. According to investigators Connie posted two videos to Facebook, both after Mr. Debate claims that she was already dead.

Caroline Polisi and Eric Guster join me and these two know a thing or two about the bum, bum, bum moment in the case. The minute I heard the FitBit

had the data I thought, he`s a goner. And then I realized does a FitBit really make a good witness?

POLISI: It could potentially. I mean, but the fact is that this guy can`t keep his story straight, right? When you take this FitBit evidence and you

combine it with the security footage from Connie Debate leaving the gym that day, you see that what he told police investigators after the fact,

simply couldn`t be true. So this has cover-up written all over it.

BANFIELD: So I was kind of fascinated to look at the steps and the times. Mr. Debate apparently said that Mrs. Debate was killed at 9.20 in the

morning but the FitBit apparently recorded a whole bunch of motion, her moving between 9.20 and 10.10 and in fact, between 9.18 and 10.10 she

traveled a distance of over 1200 feet.

POLISI: Right.

BANFIELD: And apparently the zone in which she would have arrived home and been shot as Mr. Debate suggested right away was only 125 steps.

GUSTER: But the FitBit is going to harm him but the time stamps, that`s going to be a little bit easier for the defense.

BANFIELD: Why?

GUSTER: This is why. Sometimes it`s hard to tell what time it is. If someone breaks into her house, you say whether 9.20 or 9.40, I just know

someone broke into my house. So that`s going to be his defense as far as what they`re going to put forward. Yes he may be made a mistake on time but

do you know what time you ate breakfast this morning? You`re not sure.

BANFIELD: I`m usually good about hours certainly if something big happens.

(CROSSTALK)

GUSTER: But someone within 20 or 30 minutes it`s easy for the defense to poke a hole in that that the prosecution puts their case in defense against

it.

BANFIELD: I have one minute but I got to get Dave Altimari here. He`s with us from Hartford, Connecticut. He`s an investigator with the Hartford

Cuorant. Dave, the case sounds kind of remarkably simply as he adds the FitBit into it. But does is there anybody suggesting that look, the FitBit

might seem great but what if the FitBit wasn`t actually on her wrist.

DAVE ALTIMARI, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, HARTFORD COURANT: It was on her wrist when she found. The EMTs took it off of her wrist, they took a

picture of it. That the state police did...

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: No question about it, right? No question about it?

ALTIMARI: No question about it. Yes, no question about it.

BANFIELD: So is anyone in Hartford saying I can fight that case like that. You know, digital footprints are only as good as the electronics as the

people handling them as the registration of them, et cetera. Can you debunk it?

ALTIMARI: They will need more than that to debunk it. There is physical evidence that they have questions about. There is DNA on the handle of the

pistol that they don`t know whose it is. The gun powder, residue test that he took right after in the hospital registered no gun powder on his hands.

[20:55:04] So there is physical evidence that they will definitely will go and use and he has hired a...

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Well, I was going to say there is a half million dollar life insurance policy that was cashed in, I think within five days of her death.

I have to leave it there. I know we had little trouble getting your Skype up. But thanks, Dave. I appreciate it. We`ll jump in with you again when we

cover the case again. Thank you.

ALTIMARI: Thanks.

BANFIELD: And we`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Tan thanks so much for watching, everybody. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. My thanks for Caroline Polisi and Eric Guster for helping us

tonight I appreciate it. See you again soon on HLN.

Meantime, we`ll see you tomorrow night at 8 o`clock with the PRIMETIME JUSTICE.

[21:00:00] CNN special report "AARON HERNANDEZ: DOWNWARD SPIRAL" begins right now.

END