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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
"Dance Moms" Star Sentenced; Kangaroo Attacks Girl; Rowdy Pool Party; Penn State Hazing Death; Shocking Discovery
Aired May 09, 2017 - 20:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST (voice-over): Haunting discovery, a 16-year-old girl found hanging from a tree.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was discussion about her killing herself.
BANFIELD: Her suicide filmed and on a phone by her body.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She passed out at some point during their conversation as he was recording.
BANFIELD: Now the boy who took the video is charged with a crime.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He kind of had a fascination with death, had an interest in watching someone die.
BANFIELD: It may be immoral, but is it murder?
Plus, is the runaway hit"13 Reasons Why" creating a culture of suicide.
A receptionist grilled by police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you purchased them, you are involved in this.
BANFIELD: Charged with poisoning the boss while sleeping with the son.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) smart girl (INAUDIBLE)
BANFIELD: The evidence on her phone, her statement to police. Who will jurors believe, the cops or Kaitlyn?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This didn`t have to happen.
BANFIELD: A calm voice calls 911 as his fraternity brother nears death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Enormous amounts of alcohol.
BANFIELD: But the call came almost 12 hours after Tim Piazza stumbled drunk down two flights of stairs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some of them described that he looked dead.
BANFIELD: Left alone and unconscious on a beer-soaked floor. Prosecutors say it`s manslaughter.
Uber under fire again, a driver in jail charged with rape. But he`s not your usual suspect, a foster parent and a caregiver for abused kids. Hear
the passenger`s harrowing story.
Love her or hate her, she ran a mean dance class.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My reputation is on the line!
BANFIELD: But "Dance Mom" Abby Lee Miller couldn`t tap dance her way out of jail.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you fail, it`s going to be a direct reflection on me!
BANFIELD: Now the reality star is about to learn a brand-new routine, this one behind bars.
And caught on video, a 9-year-old savaged by a kangaroo at a safari park.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m just glad that he got me instead of my baby sister.
BANFIELD: The sign says, "Be careful." But what about kids who can`t yet read?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t want it to happen to somebody else`s kid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: Hello, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.
One of the most popular shows out right now is on Netflix, "13 Reasons Why," and it touches on a subject that`s extremely tough to talk about,
teen suicide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Settle in because I`m about to tell you the story of my life, more specifically, why my life ended. And if you`re listening to
this tape, you`re one of the reasons why.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Though widely popular and a hit with TV critics, some parents` (ph) mental health experts are worried that the show is making suicide,
teen suicide, all the rage.
Across the country, school districts are warning parents that students might now see suicide as the very answer they`re searching for, a way to
get heard or a great way to blame somebody else for their problems.
Kids aren`t always seeing the show`s positive messages woven throughout some very mature themes. And to say there`s a growing fascination among
teens with this show is an understatement. But is there a growing fascination among teens with suicide and death? That is where we want to
begin tonight because a story came across our radar that has us thinking.
In Utah, hunters made a gruesome discovery early Saturday morning near a campground and called 911.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. SPENCER CANNON, UTAH COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE: It was about 7:15 or so Saturday morning when our deputies were dispatched to a report of a girl`s
body hanging from a tree.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: It was a 16-year-old girl hanging from that tree, and the sheriff`s deputies say next to her body was her cell phone and a note,
urging who ever found the body to watch the video on the phone. And here is how the investigators described it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CANNON: But there was discussion about her killing herself. She passed out at some point during their conversation as he was recording. And as
she passed out, her weight went down and she hung from the rope and died.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: They didn`t have to look very far for the person who actually shot the video. The deputies say while they were actually on the scene, an
18-year-old named Tyerell Przybcien approached them and told them he not only knew the girl but that he watched her die.
[20:05:02]The investigators claim that Przybcien admitted picking the girl up the night before. He also admitted he was with her when she purchased
the rope and the can of compressed air that she used to pass out to make that hanging easier.
In a rare move, authorities in Utah have decided to charge him not with accessory, but with actual murder. They say he didn`t stop that 16-year-
old girl from taking her own life.
Aaron Rosen is the news director for KKAT AM 860. He joins me from Salt Lake City. Aaron, it is a very unusual charge, murder. Why do they think
that he`s responsible for her murder?
AARON ROSEN, KKAT AM 860: Well, Ashleigh, as you know, in the legal realms (ph), in Utah, we have a statute that covers being not just as you stated,
a possible accessory, and that when you`re there and you noticed a crime occurring and you fail to report that crime, it can be charged as that
crime is actually stated in the statute, and that would be negligent homicide or homicide.
BANFIELD: So it appears that he was along for the ride while she not only when she purchased the rope but bought that air duster, compressed air that
made her pass out when she huffed it, that he took her to that very spot and that he actually helped to tie the noose? Is this all accurate?
ROSEN: Well, according to the probable cause statement which our newsroom has received, he stated that these were items of concern that he actually
brought up himself voluntarily, and of course, through the thorough investigation through the Utah County sheriff`s office. So if those are
his statements, those are very serious charges he`s looking at himself.
BANFIELD: And there are a couple of other things that he volunteered, you know, Aaron, surprising, but Sergeant Spencer Cannon actually offered this
up to the press regarding what that young man told them when they questioned him. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CANNON: He disclosed to the investigators that he kind of had a fascination with death, wanted to -- had an interest in watching someone
die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Aaron, did he also talk about a possible suicide pact between the victim and himself?
ROSEN: Well, initially, investigators on scene stated that he had mentioned that that may be a consideration or may have been a consideration
with this young lady, who went missing after work the night before. But of course, he was there and he failed to report it. He failed to get help or
contact authorities.
And so ultimately, in the state of Utah, the statute is pretty clear about assisting in criminal activity. And the fact is also, Ashleigh, that she
was a minor. As a juvenile in the state of Utah, and he being an adult can contribute to the delinquency of her being a minor, as well, and that`s
also an issue.
BANFIELD: What about the fact, Aaron, that he suggested to these interrogators that he himself was suicidal? Does that play into this at
all?
ROSEN: Well, of course. I mean, people who are struggling, as she has been reported to struggle with mental illness and suicidal ideation, of
course, teens are really having a difficult time these days, that can come up into play, of course, when it comes to negligent homicide or homicidal
cases. That`s not typically a defense, though, in this case.
BANFIELD: Hold that thought for a second, Aaron. I want to bring in Darby Fox. She`s a child and adolescent family therapist, good friend of mine,
as well. Welcome to the program.
DARBY FOX, LCSW, CHILD AND ADOLESCENT FAMILY THERAPIST: Thank you.
BANFIELD: I didn`t think I was ever going to be talking to you about this, although you and I have had conversations before about "13 Reasons Why."
I`m going to get to that in a moment.
First, to this case in particular. Is there anything that stands out about this series of events, the sequence, and then charging of this other
teenager to you?
FOX: Well, the charging does seem extreme, if you think about a suicide. But he is an 18-year-old. She was 16. He helped her purchase everything.
He set it up and he filmed. And he filmed for an extraordinary long time, 10 minutes. He watched her. He watched her fall off. She was clearly
dead. And he kept questioning. In fact, the say they see him in the tape, so he went to check.
That`s pretty disturbing. It does make us question his well-being mentally. Where is he? But that`s a very disturbing long amount of time
for him to participate.
BANFIELD: And this whole notion, Darby, that this was videotaped, that there was this message, Look at the video if you find me dead. It really
sort of hearkens to this television show. It was never mentioned in this particular case, but it hearkens to this television show, "13 Reasons Why,"
that is just all the rage with kids these days. And I know that it`s giving people like you in your profession heart palpitations.
FOX: It is because what we`re seeing is -- we aren`t seeing it was intended possibly for older, 19 through 24, for a different audience. But
with the way we can access social media and Netflix these day -- I just spoke with an 11-year-old today, a client of mine, who said it wasn`t --
she didn`t find it disturbing. The suicide was not disturbing. The rape was not disturbing. She just didn`t know what the big deal was.
So it is troubling, and they do -- they make suicide seem like a heroic response or action. And they`re blaming other people, which in this Utah
case is similar to what she did.
[20:10:12]BANFIELD: And you don`t have to go too far in your own work to have had an incident almost identical to this, notwithstanding the 11-year-
old girl who said this isn`t weird, the suicide and rape, big deal -- another client with something frighteningly close.
FOX: Two weeks ago, I had a very serious -- in fact, it`s what brought "13 Reasons Why" to my attention -- a very serious incident of a 15-year-old
girl that was writing letters. Instead of sending tapes, as we saw in "13 Reasons Why," she was doing letters to blame people and speak about her
anger. But she was getting ready to kill herself. And you just -- we can never underscore the seriousness of that.
BANFIELD: You know, listen, it`s hitting home for you. It`s hitting home for me. I got this from my child`s school. I`m going to read part of a
statement that went out to all the parents, and it said, regarding this program, "The concern is that rather than presenting a nuanced exploration
of the complex reasons people kill themselves, experts say `13 Reasons Why` presents a rather simplistic blame game, dangerously reinforcing the
incorrect idea that suicide is the only way you can truly be heard or that it can used as a tool to make those who have hurt you suffer."
Does that pretty much hit the nail on the head for what you`re seeing in practice?
FOX: That`s very well written and that`s exactly what it is. I mean, suicide is always tragic. It is never an answer for -- it`s not heroic.
It`s not anything that we should make light of in that way. It`s not a solution to any challenge or adversity ever.
BANFIELD: To be super-clear here, I have not seen the program yet. I fully intend to watch it. But I am told by those who`ve seen it that it
does explore the detritus (ph) that is left behind, the, you know, insufferable nature of what this does to the families. It`s not as though
those themes aren`t also right there alongside what kids might misinterpret as, you know, their only answer.
FOX: It does explore that, but there are a lot of other things going on at the same time. And so you have to understand that if we`re watching that
and we are in the 11 to possibly 18-year-old range, we`re picking up on the most sensationalized piece of it. We aren`t looking at, How did that
affect my mom or is that going to last for my dad. That`s just not logical. What any young adolescent is going to pick up on is what`s the
most sensational piece, and that`s where it`s dangerous.
BANFIELD: And as we all know, kids are selfish by nature. They haven`t really branched out into the empathy for others.
I want to bring in Danny Cevallos and Eric Guster into the conversation, as well, because clearly, guys, this is a conversation where he`s going to
need to defend himself. And I think, given the rarity of this, given the nature of what these charges are, it might not be that hard to defend
himself. Am I wrong?
DANNY CEVALLOS, HLN/CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You`re on to something. I mean, thinking like a defense attorney, this case -- you always make the argument
that suicide is an intervening act, something that`s done totally independently.
But we have seen cases where the defendant`s involvement was so dramatic that it could be said that he was assisting the suicide. And it can be
factors like buying a noose, driving them to the location. But merely filming a suicide without more would not be enough for criminal liability.
Instead, you look at the other things the defendant may or may not have done to assist, encourage, facilitate or otherwise help.
BANFIELD: What do you see in this, Eric? I mean, there could be so many things that plays -- you know, play into this. This young man offered up
to the police that he himself was suicidal. Does that help in terms of his defense? Does he do insanity route? I mean, at this point, does it factor
in for him?
ERIC GUSTER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The defense has to use an insanity defense. You have someone who claimed to be suicidal, told the police that he had
participated in this, filmed a suicide, which is not normal most of us. If you are going to sit there and watch someone die, that`s not something that
you would expect that we want to do. But like Danny said, he helped facilitate it. He drove her to the place to buy a rope. He actually tied
the noose, according to his statement, which is aiding and abetting someone in the harm of themselves. That is a problem.
BANFIELD: Aiding and abetting is different than murder!
GUSTER: But that -- that can be murder. That can be murder. If I give you the gun and you go and pull the trigger, I am committing murder by my
participation in it.
BANFIELD: Let me ask you, Darby -- a producer brought up a really good point. When we were kids, we read "Romeo and Juliet," and that is a double
suicide among teens in love. And who among us wasn`t a teen in love? How is this different? How is this show different than "Romeo and Juliet"?
FOX: It is different in that the novels you read through (ph) them and usually, you read "Romeo and Juliet" in an English class, or literature,
and someone was kind of going through it with you and you were analyzing the different pieces of the character.
[20:15:05]What is dangerous about this is it is going to an audience, anybody who can turn on Netflix. And so they`re taking in this information
and they`re not processing it. And many of the people are way too young to have the experience to neurologically process. There`s rape, there`s
drugs, there`s underage drinking, there`s voyeurism. All kinds of things are in this which you might go through in English class, which is very
different than visually seeing it and having a live experience.
BANFIELD: And I want to be really clear. Like, we reached out to Netflix to get their response to this because it isn`t like they haven`t heard this
debate. They didn`t respond to us. They didn`t respond to CNN in its effort to reach out for comment about this, as well. But clearly, I think
that they -- this is on the radar. They just in the last couple of days have been renewed for another season.
So this is an opportunity for parents to talk to your kids. I mean, now we are seeing the most dire of consequences actually playing out. It`s a
teaching moment, I think we can all say.
Darby, thank you. Great to have your expertise. Danny and Eric, I`m going to ask you to stick around, if you can, please.
A receptionist on trial for killing her boss at the same time while dating that boss`s son. Here she is with the police talking freely about the
whole thing and denying almost every single allegation they threw at her during hours and hours of questioning, except a few of the allegations.
But in the end, who`s the jury going to believe? And then there`s this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kids are kids no matter what. They`re going to have parties. They`re going to have this (INAUDIBLE) just lower the music.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Lower the music, but when that woman went out to bust up a rowdy party, she was tossed in the pool. And now the cops say that the teen
involved is going to be facing charges.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:21:14]BANFIELD: If there is one person that you want to hear from in a murder trial, it`s the person who`s accused of the murder. Think about it
-- Casey Anthony, O.J. Simpson, Scott Peterson. You wait through the whole trial hoping that they`re just going to get on up there and tell their
version of the events, right, deny that they did it, explain themselves.
In upstate New York, a pretty brunette was accused of poisoning her chiropractor boss while at the same time sleeping with that boss`s handsome
son -- she seems to be in the same boat. She`s charged with murder, and she is deciding if she should or should not get on up there and take the
stand.
To be honest with you, it actually might not matter because the jurors in her trial today got the Hollywood version of what she had to say. Kaitlyn
Conley said it on TV, or at least, she said it during a videotaped interrogation by the police that was played on a TV in the courtroom. Just
before her arrest for the murder of Mary Yoder, she sat through a six-hour interrogation, and the cops were doing just about everything in their power
to get her to admit that she poisoned Dr. Yoder with a drug called colchisine, something that`s normally used to treat gout.
But what Kaitlyn gave us, she tooketh -- tooketh -- tooketh -- she tooketh away, too. And the jury got a heavy dose.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: DVDs from the dates and times those were purchased, who is not on these DVDs? That`s not Adam. Who purchases the prepaid cards?
KAITLYN CONLEY, ACCUSED OF MURDER: I don`t know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got them. If you purchased them, you`re involved in this. You purchased those credit cards, didn`t you.
CONLEY: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. You admitted to me that you just purchased the credit card, correct?
CONLEY: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The very next day (INAUDIBLE) that credit card number is e-mailed to the company.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Conley is accused of not only killing Mary Yoder but then attempting to actually frame her ex-boyfriend. Remember, Yoder`s son, that
same guy that she was sleeping with?
It is a bit complex, this web, and that`s why Joleen Ferris is with us. She`s a reporter for CNN affiliate WKTV. She`s been in court since the
beginning of the trial, and she joins me from Utica, New York.
Joleen, it was a little hard to make out some the things that were being said in that interrogation. But give me the "Reader`s Digest" version
here. Effectively, they`re saying, We know now by you admitting that you bought those gift cards, those very convenient gift cards -- those gift
cards were used to buy the poison. But is that the smoking gun here?
JOLEEN FERRIS, WKTV (via telephone): Well, Ashleigh, the only way you can describe investigators` attempts to get that motive, the why from her, is
relentless. But pretty much, that`s all they got from her is that she did buy the cards. They tried every tactic, every interview tactic in the
book. You know, All we need now is the why. We`ve got everything but the why. Let us help people understand what drove you to this. Why did you do
this?
Now, while she didn`t give them what they were looking for in that regard, there were a few times she expressed real concern about herself. She would
say things like, I`m going to go to jail forever. You know, I have people that love me, to which they responded, Well, Mary Yoder had people who
loved her, too, and they need answers, so you know, stopped just short of that why that they relentlessly sought.
BANFIELD: So I want to play this one moment where the detective, Mark Vanami (ph), was asking her again with the why, but this time, Why would
someone as clever as you be involved in something as stupid as this? Here`s how he put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:25:10]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think you`re in less trouble for (INAUDIBLE) telling us why, Kaitlyn? Do you think you`re in less trouble
for not (ph) telling us a lie? Why would a brave, smart girl risk everything?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So Joleen, the question is -- she was kind of a mess through a lot of that, sniffling, crying, and yet it would seem to me that she is
that clever, smart girl for never giving up the goods. Am I wrong?
JOLEEN: Probably not, Ashleigh. And at one point, she sort of turned the tables and she would ask investigators, If I`m so smart, why wouldn`t I get
rid of my phone if I knew all of this was on my phone, to which they responded, Well, nobody plans to get caught. You didn`t think we would
take your phone, but now we have it.
BANFIELD: Speaking of that phone, they did take that phone. They did look at the research that she did on that phone. And Joleen, what was the
research she did on that phone?
JOLEEN: Well, between the phone and her office computer -- interesting side note, the person, the expert who analyzed 28 devices in this case is
actually a 22-year-old grad student at a local college. But lots of stuff on the cell phone and the office computer, probably not the least of which
was access to the Gmail e-mail used to order the colchisine based on hits and her user dictionary on her cell for the word colchisine. In earlier
interviews with police, she had told them she`d never heard the word, didn`t know how to spell it. They actually wrote it out for her.
BANFIELD: So when they -- so when detectives asked her about that, undoubtedly, in the six hours of grilling, did she just go mum or did she
have some reason why somebody might be typing into her phone searches and hits on colchisine and ordering it?
JOLEEN: Well, toward the end of it, she actually was silent a lot, to the point where the judge at one point made a charge about the silence. The
defense was really concerned about, you know, the silence and how it would look to the jury. But yes, this -- toward the end, she definitely sort of
just stopped, and it was mostly investigators talking.
BANFIELD: OK, so speaking of that, there`s a moment here I want to play just so you get a real feel for what -- what she was like in that
interrogation, when she is faced with it being over, like, It`s over, girlfriend, now you just need to tell us why. Watch how she reacts to the
investigator. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s over, OK? It`s over. The bottom line now is why.
CONLEY: I`ll go to jail forever!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, you will not, Katie. You won`t go to jail forever. There`s reasons for everything.
CONLEY: I won`t be able to graduate!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I want to bring in Danny Cevallos and Eric Guster again. To go to jail forever, in her words, and to weep about such things, don`t you
have to have a little bit more than a search on a phone that anybody`s fingers could have actually done?
CEVALLOS: Sure. It comes down to what kind of argument are you comfortable making to a jury. Can you argue that aliens came down and
accessed your phone? Sure. If you think a jury`s going to buy it, go ahead. I get asked that questions. Criminal defense attorneys get asked
that question all the time. Isn`t it possible that the maid came on and got on my laptop and guessed my password and (INAUDIBLE) and downloaded all
this pornography? Well, yes, that`s possible. If you feel comfortable...
BANFIELD: It`s possible, but is it reasonable?
CEVALLOS: Right.
BANFIELD: Is it reasonable?
CEVALLOS: Right.
BANFIELD: That`s the next question. Is it reasonable, given some of the other evidence, which ain`t too shabby.
GUSTER: The boyfriend. The boyfriend could have gotten the password. The boyfriend could have done the search on her phone. That is one of the most
reasonable explanations, if they`re trying to shift that to someone else because she`s trying to blame it on the boyfriend so that maybe the way
that she does.
But jut like Danny said, when you present an argument in front of a jury, you have to make sure it`s believable. If the jury does not believe you as
a lawyer, anything you say is going out the window.
BANFIELD: I believed you just there with that whole demonstration on the phone. You are good at your job, my friend!
Don`t go anywhere, you guys. In Nashville, today, Tad Cummins made an appearance, and it`s his first one in a Tennessee federal courtroom, the
alleged kidnapper leading authorities on that 39-day nationwide search after he vanished with his 15-year-old student, Elizabeth Thomas. He is
facing a number of charges, including aggravated kidnapping and sexual contact with a minor.
You see a sketch of him and only a mugshot because it`s federal court and they don`t let the cameras in there. But Cummins`s two daughters and his
sister attended that hearing, and he reportedly mouthed the words, I love you, to them. He also told the court that he didn`t have any money to hire
a lawyer, clearing the way for the court to appoint one for him and for the good taxpayers of that state and the feds to pay for it. Cummins is
scheduled back in court on Friday for his preliminary hearing. If he`s convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison for what he`s accused
of. A federal judge in Pennsylvania has sentenced "Dance Moms" star Abby Lee Miller to a year in prison all because of that bankruptcy fraud she
went through. The federal prosecutor said Ms. Miller tried to hide three- quarters of a million dollars from a bankruptcy judge. She might have gotten away with it too.
But the judge happened to be channel surfing when he saw "Dance Moms" on TV and it became clear to him that Miller was making a lot more than she
seemed to have declared. She has to pay a $40,000-fine and a $100,000- penalty for bringing foreign currency into the country without telling the authorities that she did so call declaring it.
A 9-year-old girl and her 3-year-old sister were pretty darn excited about their trip to a safari park in Alabama. They were especially eager to see
the kangaroo, but it got awful and terrible when that kangaroo reached through the fence and grabbed the older sister by her hair and attacked
her, biting her on the head. Mom happened to be shooting the whole incident on her cell phone at the time.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m just glad that he got me instead of my baby sister because it would have hurt her even worse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t want it to happen to somebody else`s kid. They may not be as fortunate as my daughter was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: That little girl`s name is Cheyenne. She was rushed to the hospital. She got 14 stitches because of that attack. Under Alabama law,
the safari park wouldn`t be held responsible for the attack, but Cheyenne`s mom says the park should replace the fences with something more protective.
They do have signs. It`s unclear how many kids can actually read some of those signs. Wow.
A Florida pool party spun out of control last weekend when a 68-year-old woman was tackled and thrown into the pool when she just tried to break the
party up.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY JAMES, THROWN INTO POOL BY TEEN AT ROWDY POOL PARTY: I didn`t even really get to walk in and this kid comes from behind, picks me up, drops
me, and drags me into the pool. It just happened. He`s the kid that has not evolved yet into what you`re supposed to be as a human being.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: That`s Nancy James. She says she went to the party after a noise complaint. She suffered bruises on her shoulder, her leg, her ankle. The
unnamed 16-year-old seen on the video dragging her into the pool ended up actually turning himself in.
Look at that. And they`re cheering. Come on, kids. That 16-year-old by the way is charged with pretty serious stuff. Battery of a person 65 years of
age or older, and I`m rather certain there will be no cheering in the courtroom when he has to face that.
More Beta Pi fraternity brothers had to make their way into a courtroom today. But this scandal is not the first time a Penn State fraternity has
been charged with extreme hazing. James Vivenzio joins us next with his account of what he says he endured at a different Penn State frat and what
he`s trying to do about it. This is HLN, news that hits home.
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: The scene inside the fraternity house at Penn State University on the night a pledge died after a night of excessive drinking seems to be
coming more clear. Today, eight more members of the Beta Theta Pi made their first appearances on charges connected to the death of Timothy
Piazza. Among those charged is the frat brother who made the 911 call, 42 minutes after it was determined that Piazza was seriously hurt.
Piazza actually spent nearly 12 hours in peril on that night in February after drinking far too much, falling downstairs twice, hitting his head
multiple times on multiple objects. He ended up dying two days later from a traumatic brain injury.
A total of 18 members of that fraternity have now been charged in connection with his death everything from furnishing alcohol to minors,
hazing, assault, and involuntary manslaughter. President Eric Barron says excessive drinking and not hazing is not a Penn State problem but a
national epidemic.
ERIC BARRON, PRESIDENT, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: I never want to do this ever again. Okay. But if you look at every reasonable measure, short of us
sitting in that house on private property, privately managed with us having to be invited in, short of that, if people are willing to hide that type of
behavior and protect that level of secrecy, I do not see how it is the university will ever know.
I think we`ve had two very powerful messages. Beta will never come back. And, two, we have some young men in very serious legal trouble. I hope
that`s a profound message to every single student not just on this campus but to every campus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Lori Falce is the deputy editor of the Central Daily Times and she joins me from State College, Pennsylvania.
[20:40:00] Lori, I know that you have sort of an idea of this appearance today. They did something unusual. There were appearances made last week
and then appearances made today, all concerning the same group of 18, but split up.
I want to get a sense of the kids. I mean, these are teenagers, many of them, arriving for something extraordinarily serious. Can you describe sort
of the scene for me, who was there for them? Who was there for any of the parties involved?
LORI FALCE, DEPUTY EDITOR OF THE CENTRAL DAILY TIMES: The young men who were involved were coming in and coming out with -- some of them with
family members, most of them with attorneys. They were -- by and large, they were -- seemed to be taking it seriously. There were a couple who may
not have quite gotten it.
BANFIELD: So when you say that, I`m looking at pictures and the faces look extremely stoic as if these young men know how serious their lot is right
now. Were there others who seemed to think this is going to be a walk in the park?
FALCE: There were a couple who just, in some of the pictures that my photographers got, just seemed to maybe, maybe not quite get their part in
it.
BANFIELD: Maybe they didn`t look so contrite, is that what you mean? As they appear, maybe contrition wasn`t the first thing on their mind?
FALCE: Yes. This is the first step in the process. The preliminary arraignments are -- these are guys who have not been to jail. They have
been released on unsecured bail. There are a lot of ways that this might seem kind of theoretical at this point.
BANFIELD: I can imagine most teenagers would think something this serious, it is more theoretical than real. Really, really happening to them. Were
there any university representatives who are at the court? Are they steering clear when they are not actually part of the arraignment?
FALCE: This is not a university thing. The university has not been named in any way in any of the.
BANFIELD: And no representative there? They`re staying out of this, right?
FALCE: At this point, yes.
BANFIELD: And what about the fraternity, Beta Theta Pi? Any reps there as well?
FALCE: I don`t believe so. But there was a little bit of conjecture on that. I`m not sure if.
BANFIELD: The president is facing charges and the fraternity as an entity is facing a manslaughter charge. Hold for a moment, Lori. I want to just
mention, last night, we had the attorney for Timothy Piazza`s family on this program. And he said they plan to cast a pretty wide net in terms of
civil litigation to make sure that everybody who is responsible for his death will be held accountable.
And I think we should probably mention, this is not the only case involving alcohol and fraternities and questionable behavior at Penn State. But this
next one involves a lawsuit. James Vivenzio is suing Penn State University and the fraternity Kappa Delta Rho, claiming that he was hazed and forced
to drink excessive amounts of alcohol.
Vivenzio says he reported the hazing twice, but it wasn`t until he called the police and a private KBR Facebook page made national news because it
showed pictures of seemingly unconscious naked women that Penn State finally investigated his claims and kicked the fraternity off the campus
for three years. James is kind enough to join me, along with his attorney, Aaron Freiwald.
They are in Philadelphia. Thank you to both of you. James, I was reading through some of the details of your hazing and I know hazing is bad and I
know it involves alcohol and excessive behavior. But yours is unconscionable. Can you describe for our viewers some of the things that
you say in your suit happened to you?
JAMES VIVENZIO, SUING PENN STATE AND FRATERNITY OVER HAZING: Absolutely. I was force-fed liquor numerous times, just about multiple
times a week, abused. I was punched in the face, burned, mentally and physically abused. When I reported to it Penn State, they did nothing.
BANFIELD: So, am I correct if I list out some of these allegations? You were forced to drink to the point of vomiting, whereby a group of you would
be forced to stand around a trash can and drink until you vomited before you could pass the bottle.
[20:45:00] That you were forced to consume cat food and urine and vomit, that you were forced to do push-ups and sit-up in your own vomit, is that
accurate?
VIVENZIO: Yeah, absolutely.
BANFIELD: How.
VIVENZIO: It was terrible.
BANFIELD: As this was happening, were you asking others? Is this normal? And were people telling you that it`s standard operating procedure at your
fraternity, other fraternities all across the country? How were they characterizing this stuff?
VIVENZIO: They were characterizing it as normal behavior in the fraternities. As I like to say, it wasn`t just my fraternity that was doing
hazing. As we can see in this case as well, hazing is across the board.
BANFIELD: So, Aaron, that brings me to you. As his attorney, I`m curious about what you are seeing playing out in the news this week and whether it
will factor into your case or whether your case will factor into that case? How do you see it?
AARON FREIWALD, ATTORNEY FOR JAMES VIVENZIO: I think they are very closely related. Of course, this is a terrible tragedy for the Piazza family, for
this young man and his family. One of the things that strikes us so powerfully about what we`re learning as this unfolds is how preventable
this really was.
James is lucky, he is a survivor of hazing in a system at Penn State, no doubt at many other universities around the country where they tell you
that there is no hazing. The university gets all the students together before all this process starts, says, there`s no hazing, we have zero
tolerance for it, it`s not going to happen. But they know it`s happening.
James here really is a whistle blower. He brought this to the attention of the university multiple times. They ignored it. He showed evidence of text
messages and images that he collected on his phone to show them. This was all ignored. Had they paid attention, you know, we feel strongly that
perhaps this tragedy wouldn`t have occurred.
BANFIELD: I want to read this from the representatives for Kappa Delta Rho. It is a statement that they gave us. The National Fraternity of Kappa Delta
Rho is engaged in active litigation with Mr. Vivenzio. Thus, the National Fraternity will not comment on that litigation or any statements made by
Mr. Vivenzio.
However, the National Fraternity reject any conclusion or conclusions that Mr. Vivenzio`s claims are, in any way, related or similar to the
unfortunate, untimely and tragic death of Timothy Piazza.
James, can I ask you? In my business, we report time and time again about this kind of thing happening, whether it`s alcohol leading to death,
alcohol leading to rape, partying and culture leading to rape, a lot of it in the Greek system and a lot of it involving campus activity.
It makes the news all the time and yet it continues to be on the news. Do you see any end in sight, given the fact that you`re bringing it to light,
you`re saying what happened. You`re a whistle blower, as your lawyer says. The criminal case is ongoing in a separate instance. Do you see it making
any difference?
VIVENZIO: I absolutely do. But I really think there needs to be a culture change from top to bottom to really get this problem out of the
universities. I mean, the fact that there is light on the subject is really bringing hazing out of the darkness that it tends to live in. But if there
truly isn`t a change of culture and a change of the way that we`re accepting this to happen, it will never change.
FREIWALD: And more people will die.
BANFIELD: James, I appreciate -- I appreciate both of you, James Vivenzio and Aaron Freiwald. Thank you both for coming on the program. I`m sorry
it`s under these circumstances. But I do appreciate your insight and the best to you.
FREIWALD: Thank you.
VIVENZIO: Thank you.
BANFIELD: Back right after this.
[20:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: A lot of people rely on car services like Uber not only to get around but to get home when they are out on the town. According to the
police, that`s exactly what a woman in Palm Beach County, Florida was doing over the weekend. The officers say she called for an Uber after attending a
music festival. This was her driver, Gary Kitchings.
The woman claims that Kitchings flirted with her. But when she denies his multiple advances, the police say she told them that Kitchings got violent,
threatening to kill her with a gun, he said, allegedly had under his seat. The investigators say that Kitchings forced her to perform several sex acts
inside the car, acts so vial and disturbing we can`t really detail them on television.
And when the car arrived at her home, the allegation is she jumped out. The officers say Kitchings followed, forced his way inside where a sexual
assault allegedly continued. When Kitchings left, again the allegation, he threatened to kill her if she called the police. Thankfully she did anyway.
And Kitchings was arrested and charged with kidnapping, sexual battery, and burglary.
Karen Curtis is an anchor for WFTL News Radio. She joins me from West Palm Beach, Florida. Here is the weird part of this story, Karen. Gary Kitchings
passed his background check. Gary Kitchings has no previous record. No criminal history at all. Are they sure they got the right guy?
KAREN CURTIS, ANCHOR FOR WFTL NEWS RADIO: Very strange, 57 years old, no felony arrest, nothing in his background. For 17 years, he and his wife
have been taking care of foster kids. He is working for a place of hope which means that he was taking care of kids who were abused, abandoned, and
neglected.
[20:55:00] He has been put on paid leave right now, pending the outcome of these proceedings. But what happened was that the victim actually has had
problems with Uber, so she took a screen shot of the driver, and that`s how they found Gary Kitchings.
She had the car and the license plate and his photo. Her story is checking out in terms of there hasn`t been any kind of weird things -- her story has
checked out with them. So they think that they have the right person.
BANFIELD: Bizarre. And Karen, I just want to show something really quickly from 2014, where he was interviewed about his social work. Have a look at
this.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
GARY KITCHINGS, ACCUSED OF SEX ASSAULT: Knowing that we made a difference in the life of a child. I mean, I`ve had kids who had every reason to wind
up dead in a gutter somewhere who are now nurses, who are now pharmacists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Wow. That`s Gary Kitchings back in 2014. That is a total mystery. Karen Curtis, thanks for your reporting. Back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:00:00] BANFIELD: My thanks to Eric Guster and Danny Cevallos for tonight. Thank you, everyone, for watching. We will see you back here
tomorrow night. Stay tuned. "Forensic Files" begins right now.
END
