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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield

Hilton Heir Goes Berserk in Court/Woman Kills Ex`s Girlfriend, Then Poses as Her. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired May 11, 2017 - 20:00   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): He is the heir to the Hilton Hotel fortune. He`s the brother of a media starlet, but Conrad Hilton`s behavior

is nothing to celebrate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

BANFIELD: A courtroom outburst shaming Paris and her family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

BANFIELD: Far from champagne wishes and caviar dreams, this Hilton is headed to an institution.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is the body of Cari Farver?

BANFIELD: "Fatal Attraction." Was a love triangle the reason for murder?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not one person on this earth has seen or heard from her since November 13th, 2012.

BANFIELD: There`s just one problem. There`s no body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There isn`t any evidence of the evil act.

BANFIELD: So if Cari Farver can`t be found, how will prosecutors argue her boyfriend`s jealous ex was the one that bumped her off?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe that the evidence will show she just thought she was smarter than everyone else.

BANFIELD: Charged for goading her boyfriend to end his life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "You said you were going to do it. I can`t get, like, why you aren`t." "I don`t get it, either. I don`t know."

BANFIELD: As he was dying, did Michelle Carter (ph) try to stop him or did she speed the process?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why didn`t she try to persuade him not to?

BANFIELD: But her lawyers say that boyfriend was planning his suicide for years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What they`re not harping on is all the time she said, Don`t do it, don`t do it, don`t do it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: `It`s my fault. I was talking to him while he killed himself. I heard him cry in pain."

BANFIELD: A mom and tiny baby violently murdered in bed, the husband charged in the crime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He may have had the mindset to commit this kind of crime.

BANFIELD: Their attack so gruesome, even the mortician freaked out, saying both victims lost their heads.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

Money can buy you lots of things -- fancy cars, sprawling homes, exotic travel, endless vacation -- but tonight, us working stiffs have yet another

money that for some crazy reason, money cannot buy you happiness and it can`t even rent you some peace of mind.

And if you need proof of that, I bring you Conrad Hilton, heir to the Hilton Hotel fortune, brother to the famous sisters, Paris and Nicky

Hilton, perennial tabloid bad boy. So far, Conrad`s millions have brought him restraining orders, car crashes and a viral video of a meltdown on an

airplane where he called everyone "F-ing peasants." Tonight, you can add to that list a disturbing courtroom appearance where Paris`s little brother

is making the rounds on the Internet et again. More on exactly what he did in there in a moment.

Paris and Nicky and Conrad are no strangers to the limelight, but Conrad`s videotaped antics over and over again this time could actually land him

behind bars for years. And even with that threat hanging over his head, the millionaire is doing everything but putting on his best behavior in

court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Texas, he is not believed (INAUDIBLE) hospital unless he is to be placed in another medical and mental health facility.

As additional conditions avail (ph), (INAUDIBLE) father he`s to be placed in a major (ph) hospital in Houston, Texas. However, if Mr. Hilton does

not remain in that hospital or otherwise violates the terms and conditions of this bail, that he will be taken back into custody immediately.

(INAUDIBLE) June 29, 2017.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, your honor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Mr. Shapiro (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir, your honor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) Otherwise, (INAUDIBLE) firearm or ammunition you must surrender to law enforcement or (INAUDIBLE) firearm in

your control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And yes, you saw that right. Behind that famous lawyer, Conrad Hilton did all that. That`s O.J.`s lawyer, Robert Shapiro. So it ain`t

like he hasn`t got phenomenal representation and the money to pay for that.

But after that performance that you`re looking at, the judge ordered Conrad Hilton to a psychiatric ward, this after he`s been cooling his heels for a

couple of days in a LA jail cell, refusing, in fact, to come out.

This latest stay there comes after he was arrested Saturday at a Hollywood Hills home. It`s the home where the mom of his ex-girlfriend lives, that

mom another actress that a lot of people know.

[20:05:04]And while police were there busting him for allegedly violating a restraining order in even being there, not to mention the fact that they

say he stole a $200,000 Bentley, Hilton was allegedly caught on video yelling homophobic slurs at the police, and at one point saying, I`m Conrad

mother-f-ing Hilton. Don`t you forget it. It is getting harder and harder to do just that.

Joining me now, the editor for -- the editor-in-chief, in fact, for Leadstories.com, Alan Duke. He joins me from Los Angeles. Alan, it is

troubling to see this kind of behavior, experience when you hear someone is off to a psychiatric ward. Why was he in court in the first place?

Because it feels like he`s been making a couple of different appearances for that one incident in the driveway.

ALAN DUKE, LEADSTORIES.COM: Well, there were several things. There were the -- there was the charge with the Bentley, taking the car without

consent. And then there was the repeated violations of the restraining order, supposed to stay away for the last couple years from his ex-

girlfriend. That`s why he was in court.

But you know, you said money can`t buy you happiness. Money cannot buy you sanity if you have a mental problem. And that`s what we`re dealing with.

BANFIELD: I mean, clearly, that is why he is released into the custody of his own father but has to go to this facility to be assessed.

I want to just read for you, if I can, some of the -- I suppose we can call them interesting words that young Mr. Hilton had for the judge right

towards the end of that hearing, not caught on tape. But when the judge tells Hilton that he hopes that he takes this very seriously, Hilton

answers, quote, "I will never, your honor. I am sorry to the court and the entire state for disrespecting the court. I do not have sex with hookers.

And I`m sorry."

And it seemed as though at that time, he was holding his hands in prayer. Is this sort of fantasy? Is there something about prostitutes? Because I

had not heard anything in any charge that had to do with any prostitutes. Why did he say that?

DUKE: No, you can`t rationalize this bizarre behavior. There`s something you need to know about Conrad Hilton, the 23-year-old. He`s not really a

millionaire. He`s not really an heir because somebody has to die before you inherit money. Who`s died? Nobody. The last big Hilton, rich Hilton,

to die was Conrad, his great-grandfather, who put 97 percent of his money into trust. His grandfather, Barron Hilton, has made it clear his fortune

is not going to that generation.

BANFIELD: Well, you know what? Someone forgot to tell young Conrad Hilton that because the way he behaves, the way he talks repeatedly, the things

that are caught on tape year after year -- I mean, I`m going to take you back to July 31st, 2014. There was an incident on an airplane -- I think

it was an international flight -- where Conrad Hilton was heard yelling at all of the passengers, "I will f-ing bury you." And then he went on to

say, "I will f-ing own anyone on this flight. They are peasants."

And you know, you heard what the allegations are, the tape that showed on TMZ that he said, you know, I`m Conrad mother-f-ing Hilton just the other

night.

Does he think he`s a millionaire? Does he honestly believe that he has this life coming to him?

DUKE: He`s got a billionaire`s name, but he doesn`t have a billionaire`s bank account. He would get maybe Hilton stock at Christmas, and there is

some money handed down perhaps from his rich sister and his parents. They`ve earned their money in real estate. They did not inherit it.

Neither did Paris. He has no way of earning money. It would drive me crazy, too.

BANFIELD: Well, here is how -- he certainly has a lot of contempt for people like me, the media, when obviously, they surround him because he

announces who he is and he expects everyone to bow to him. So when he comes out of a court proceeding like the court proceeding he actually had

to go through because of that 2014 flight incident, this is how he reacted to the press that, you know, expectedly surrounded him. Have a look at

this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Conrad, any comment?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Conrad, anything you can say? You lost at pool (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Conrad, any comments?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you regret your actions?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any comments? Do you regret your actions?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Conrad, any comments? Anything?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re a scumbag?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m a scumbag? I`m the scumbag? Me? OK. I`m not the one leaving jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So Alan Duke, what are the conditions, apart from the fact that the judge ordered him to be under the custody of his father and to go and

get assessed at this facility? Is it a lock-up? Has he got bail? Where does this stand?

DUKE: It`s the Menninger Clinic in Houston, which, ironically, I found out is the same mental hospital that his great uncle, Conrad Hilton, had been

taken 50 years ago when he had some similar behavior. How ironic is that?

[20:10:12]BANFIELD: Wow.

DUKE: (INAUDIBLE) irony. But yes, it`s tough love. Rick and Kathy Hilton are now doing some tough love on their son. Instead of spoiling him and

immediately bailing him out, they`re saying, We`re not going to pay your bail, which they can well afford, until you go -- unless you do it under

our conditions.

BANFIELD: So did they suggest that hospital?

DUKE: Yes, that was...

BANFIELD: Because of the family history. They suggested it,

DUKE: Yes.

BANFIELD: ... and they got it?

DUKE: Well, there`s a connection there with the Hiltons. They`re from Texas, and this clinic is in Houston. An LA judge wouldn`t just pull a

Houston mental clinic out of a hat.

BANFIELD: I didn`t think so. I was curious about that.

So here`s what I don`t understand. You`re saying that those two parents, Rick and Kathy, are, you know, pulling the tough love thing, but nobody

seems to have pulled the tough love on him before...

DUKE: Right.

BANFIELD: ... because he is no stranger -- I mean, I showed you something from 2014. I`m going to tell you just a quick list of the bad boy, you

know, history. He was given probation for trespassing at an ex- girlfriend`s home. He was given probation for the antics in the sky. He was given probation for car accidents, plural, and drug use.

And I don`t understand how somebody like this just keeps getting probation. Like, why didn`t somebody do tough love a little sooner?

DUKE: Well, he`s done a little bit of jail time, but not a whole lot. This is Los Angeles, the place that let Lindsey Lohan go free for a long

time generally, except to go to rehab. But Rick and Kathy -- they are, I believe, at the point now to where it is tough love time.

BANFIELD: So you mentioned Lindsey Lohan. I actually want to list off a number of famous faces that I think a lot of this audience has watched over

the years and wondered some of the same questions. Do these famous people living in LA get some kind of a magical break and a revolving door when

they head into the court system there?

I`ll start with Robert Blake. A lot of people say that he got off pretty damn easy.

DUKE: He was acquitted.

BANFIELD: Yes. How about...

DUKE: Found not guilty.

BANFIELD: ... O.J. Simpson? There`s an acquittal.(INAUDIBLE)

DUKE: He was acquitted.

BANFIELD: No, that`s a lot of evidence, but no. And then there`s, of course, Paris Hilton, who was sentenced I think to 45 days. I think she

served three for driving and alcohol-related charges. And by the way, it took a while for her to ultimately get sentenced. Then there was Lindsey,

who was in and out of a jail -- well, in and out of probationary hearings, et cetera.

DUKE: Dozens of them.

BANFIELD: And Mel Gibson, too, on a battery case. A lot of people said that the court system went real light on Lindsey Lohan.

I want to bring in Dan Schorr and Misty Marris, if I can, on this one because I think that`s the question for you all. You know the legal

system. How does it work when someone is famous?

DAN SCHORR, FMR. PROSECUTOR: Well, there`s a lot of scrutiny on them. They get better representation, if they can afford it, and having a good

lawyer matters a lot. I know you`ve watched court for a long time. If you have a better lawyer, you can make better motions. You can make a bail

argument. A bad lawyer might have gotten Conrad thrown in jail for his antics, but Robert Shapiro knew how to keep things under control, get his

client out on bail, and that helps.

BANFIELD: So Misty, couldn`t it work the opposite way, as well? Couldn`t A judge in LA say, Hey, I have an opportunity to make headlines here and

tell my constituents you can`t do this stuff. See this famous guy? You`re all consuming this media. He`s going to get punished, just like you will.

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely. And that`s part of the issue with celebrities. You see at (ph) the flip side, too. Sometimes,

celebrities -- they go harder after celebrities just because of their name. You can see that there are certain people they`re not going to let this

slide. And even though he`s Conrad f-ing Hilton, it sounds like this judge is not going to go easy on him when it comes to the grand theft auto

(INAUDIBLE)

BANFIELD: Well, if Conrad f-ing Hilton doesn`t watch himself and get some help, he`s going to be inmate number blank, blank, blank, blank, blank.

Everybody, stand by. My thanks to Alan Duke.

Remember the movie "Fatal Attraction"? The willies that that movie gave an entire generation, absolutely terrifying, but it is what prosecutors are

calling the case against Shanna Golyar, how they say a twisted love triangle spiraled into murder.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:180:24]BANFIELD: If you`ve ever seen the movie "Fatal Attraction," you have probably not looked at a cute bunny rabbit the same way. And if you

just, oh, happen to be thinking of having an affair, please rent that movie. Trust me. Rent it. Have a look. Or I`m going to save you some

time. Check out the story that I`m about to tell you out of Nebraska because it`s being called the "Fatal Attraction" trial, and there is very

good reason for that.

The story begins with a young woman named Shanna Golyar. She is on trial for first-degree murder in the death of a pretty young woman, Cari Farver.

Prosecutor say that Ms. Shanna became obsessed with this young woman, Cari Farver, and then harassed her relentlessly after this young woman, Cari,

started dating Shanna`s ex-boyfriend. Yes, that never works out well, right?

But then as if by magic, Cari Farver simply vanished, and Cari Farver has not been seen for over four years, and Cari Farver`s body has never been

found. But the police sure think she`s dead, and there is a murder trial because of it and some of the details that are coming out are downright

spooky.

Shanna reportedly followed her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend, Cari, as they were arriving home from their first date. And then things got

really bizarre. Prosecutors say Shanna created a fake profile on Facebook and then tried to friend Cari and even tried to friend Cari`s son. They

say she even went so far as to contact Cari`s bosses pretending to be Cari, all the while, the authorities think that Cari was stone cold dead. The DA

summed it up this way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[20:20:16]BRENDA BEATIE, DEPUTY DA, DOUGLAS COUNTY, NE: This is a bizarre and twisted case of a fatal attraction. It`s about an obsessive woman that

would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: However, remember I said they haven`t found Cari? So they have not got a body in this trial, and prosecutors may just have a tougher

battle than they thought with this case. And that fact is not lost on the defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES MARTIN DAVIS, ATTORNEY FOR SHANNA GOLYAR: Where`s the body of Cari Farver? What`s the cause of death? Was it a homicide? Where did the

homicide take place? You heard an awful lot of opening statement material relating to how bad a person she is, crazy Liz (ph), or how evil she is,

but there isn`t any evidence of the evil act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I want to bring in Brandon Scott who was in the courtroom today. He`s a reporter for CNN affiliate WOWT in Omaha, Nebraska.

So it really kind of does sound like a fatal attraction case, minus the body. Without the body, that`s very problematic, I`m not going to lie,

Brandon. But do they have a lot of other evidence that will make up for that?

BRANDON SCOTT, WOWT-TV CORRESPONDENT: Well, we did hear some evidence in the courtroom yesterday that was presented just a little bit during opening

arguments. And it was about a foot, a photo of a foot that investigators say that they found somehow connected to Shanna Golyar. And that foot had

tattoos, the same tattoos that the victim, Cari Farver, had. And that photo of the foot -- the foot in the photo was decomposing, and that is a

key piece to the prosecution`s case.

BANFIELD: Yes, I`d say that`s pretty problematic. Maybe this is still to come down the road, but did any family members have to look at that photo

and say, That is absolutely my daughter or my sister or my child or my nephew -- or my niece`s tattoo? Did someone ID it?

SCOTT: Well, I tell you, we didn`t have to see that photo in the courtroom yesterday. It will probably come up a little bit later in this trial. It

was just talked about during opening arguments.

But we did hear from Cari Farver`s mother this morning. She testified. She was the first witness this morning right out of the gate at 9:00

o`clock. And it was pretty emotional testimony. She said that she hasn`t talked to her daughter since January of -- excuse me, November of 2012 and

-- but she still gets text messages from her all the time, or at least text messages from her cell phone. She got them for years.

And each time she got a text message from her daughter`s cell phone, she thought perhaps her daughter was OK, but now she is certain that her

daughter is gone.

BANFIELD: OK, that is so sick and twisted. This crime, this disappearance, happened in 2012, and you`re telling me, Brandon, that the

victim`s mother over the last four years, or actually now we`re at five years, has been getting text messages from her disappeared, presumed dead

daughter?

SCOTT: Yes, and some of those text messages were not very friendly. They weren`t very nice because each time that the victim`s mother got a text

from what she saw was her daughter`s phone, she would say, You know what? Stop texting me. Just call me. Just call me. I want to hear your voice.

And the person who was sending those texts never called.

And the moment that the mother started really demanding to get a phone call, that is when those texts turned aggressive. That`s when she says

those texts turned angry and that`s when a lot of hurtful things were said.

BANFIELD: All right, Brandon, here`s the key that really ties this to in the "Fatal Attraction" movie, for those of you -- this is 30 years ago. So

Brandon, I don`t even expect you might have been alive when -- when "Fatal Attraction" came out.

SCOTT: I was 2.

BANFIELD: Right? Well, the rest of us who watched it have never let it -- like, we just can`t separate ourselves from the scene with the bunny being

boiled as retribution from the scorned lover. And it turns out that in court today, at Shanna Golyar`s home there was damage, and her pets had

been killed. So the woman who`s on trial, at her home, there was damage and her own pets were dead. What happened?

SCOTT: Yes. Here`s what I talked about today with that. They actually called a firefighter to the witness stand to describe this fire that the

Omaha Fire Department had to respond to. They pulled up. It was Shanna`s home, and it had burned, not completely, but there was some damage inside.

But inside some of those damaged rooms were Shanna`s pets, two dogs and a cat, and they were dead.

And prosecutors believe that Shanna set that fire herself and that she did so to blame Cari. She had told Omaha police that Cari was harassing her

and that she set that fire to continue -- just to continue harassing her and to show her how upset she was that she was dating her boyfriend.

[20:25:02]BANFIELD: That is so incredibly creepy, Brandon.

I want to read some of the text messages that Cari`s boyfriend -- you know, clearly, he used to be the boyfriend of Shanna. But this guy`s name is

Dave Crupa (ph), and he got these text messages that, I guess, he woke up with her any other day, I love you, I`ll see you later, I`m going to work.

And later that day, a text message came in saying, I`m done with you. I`m moving to Kansas.

And that text message was supposed to be coming from Cari`s -- you know, Cari`s phone, and it just made no sense. There was no acrimony in their

relationship. And I guess the boss, you know, Cari`s boss got text messages, as well, from Cari`s phone after Cari had been gone for two days,

hadn`t shown up for work for two days. And it said, I won`t be coming back. I am taking a job in Kansas. Sorry for the short notice. And

here`s the linchpin here. I`m sending someone out to you to fill the position. Her name is Shanna Golyar. And low and behold, later that day,

Shanna Golyar`s application showed up in their inbox.

Is that another really key piece of evidence, or can they trace those messages to anyone other than Cari Farver`s phone and Cari was a missing

person at that time?

SCOTT: Well, I tell you, the prosecution is very confident that all of these text messages can be traced to Shanna Golyar. But here is the key

element that we haven`t talked about yet. And that is there is no jury in this trial. This is a bench trial. And you know what that is. It is a

trial that a judge decides whether the defendant is guilty or not.

And I`ll tell you, the defense attorney decided he wanted to have a bench trial because he didn`t want a jury to hear all of this. He believes that

the judge won`t let this evidence get in the way of the simple fact that there isn`t a body, there aren`t any remains...

BANFIELD: OK, OK.

SCOTT: No crime scene.

BANFIELD: I hear you. No body. That is troublesome. However, there was blood in Cari`s SUV, Cari this missing woman with no body. There was blood

in her SUV. And also inside that SUV was a package of mints, and lo and behold, on that packaged of mints was Shanna Golyar`s fingerprint.

SCOTT: Correct.

BANFIELD: So I want to bring in Dan Schorr and Misty Marris on this one. Real quick, you guys, does it matter if you don`t have a body and you have

all this other great stuff?

SCHORR: It matters. It makes it tougher. You don`t need a body to prove murder, but it helps. You have to prove that the murder happened, and you

could do that with other evidence, but it`s difficult.

BANFIELD: Do you need extra, extra, you know, mounds of evidence to accommodate for the missing body?

MARRIS: Look, I mean, that`s what the defense is going to hang their hat on. They`re going to say, Well, we don`t know if she`s dead. There is no

body. How can you prove that a murder occurred?

But in this particular case, there is a lot of circumstantial evidence, and I`m not surprised the defense attorney made that strategic move, put this

before the judge because a jury is going to hear all this creepy stuff...

BANFIELD: Yes.

MARRIS: ... and not really be able to see past it.

BANFIELD: Bunny boiler is what keeps coming back to mind. Brandon Scott, you`ve got to come back and keep us posted on this when more evidence comes

in. You totally had me shocked with the bit about the dead pets today. I was already given the willies by this, but we`ll check in with you again.

Thank you so much.

SCOTT: You got it. Happy to help.

BANFIELD: A sheriff`s deputy among three people killed after a traffic stop, just a traffic stop that actually turned into a standoff in Arkansas.

Investigators say the officer was on his way to a disturbance call when he pulled someone over matching the description of the person involved in the

incident. The deputy was shot during that traffic stop. It was in Yell (ph) County about 80 miles northwest of Little Rock. And when other

officers arrived at the home where the suspect was believed to be hiding, they found the bodies of two other people outside.

So the standoff that ensued lasted hours. But afterwards, the investigators say that suspect, 32-year-old James Michael Bowden, was taken

into custody. Sheriff`s Department says Lieutenant Kevin Mainhart was the officer who was shot and killed. He had been with the Yell County

sheriff`s office for about five years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL SADLER, ARKANSAS STATE POLICE: This deputy checked in for duty this morning not even realizing that this would be his last call. Our hearts

are saddened. And we are in prayer for his family and the officers who were his comrades that serve and protect this county.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: State police say the suspect, James Bowden, will be charged with three counts of capital murder in the death of Lieutenant Kevin Mainhart.

Two 16-year-old boys accused of the attempted murder of their 14-year-old classmate made a first appearance in an adult courtroom today. And we have

been bringing you this story, so this is an update.

Remember the whole Snapchat thing, the story about Deserae Turner, this little girl who was found shot in the head and basically left for dead in a

canal back in February all because, allegedly, one of the teens was annoyed with the Snapchat messages that she`d been sending him.

The authorities say 16-year-old -- and I now can name him -- Colter Peterson -- admitted to shooting Deserae in the back of the head. And just

yesterday, he found out he`s facing what you call big boy charges, grown-up court.

He`s not the only one. His friend Jayzen Decker who prosecutors say was also involved in the plot to kill Deserae is also in adult court. Deserae

was released from the hospital. We showed you this last month.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

DESERAE TURNER, SHOT BY TWO TEENAGE BOYS: 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. It is still with me today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: When she says that, she means it, because the bullet is literally still in her head. CNN affiliate KSTU reports that she is now half blind

and that she has lost control of the left side of her body. Her parents say she will never ever be able to drive a car.

An attempted murder charge in the adult system could potentially mean life in prison for those two 16-year-old boys if they are convicted of this

crime.

A 73-year-old Houston woman became a crime victim in her very own driveway in such a brutal way. This is Kim Dang returning home the other morning.

Out of nowhere, that man comes up and sucker punches her in the head and then stole her car. It was parked right there. Brutal carjacking caught on

security video.

Silver Honda was found yesterday. Dang is still recovering. But no arrests have been made yet. Police would love it if you know anything about this to

put that man where he belongs in custody.

A young woman charged with manslaughter in her boyfriend`s death. Prosecutors say she sent him text after text after text saying do it. Kill

yourself. But her attorneys say he had been threatening to do this for years and they have the documents to prove it, so are the judges -- is the

judge going to allow the jurors to see it and can you convict someone if they didn`t actually do it themselves?

[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Did a teenage girl goad her boyfriend into killing himself? More than a thousand text messages, emails, and phone calls, many of them urging

the 18-year-old to go ahead and do it, kill himself, are the reasons that Michelle Carter has found herself in a courtroom and charged with the death

of Conrad Roy.

When Conrad had second thoughts, the messages suggest that she dug in even more, mocking him. And now she`s about to go on trial for this in

Massachusetts. But she says she`s not responsible for her boyfriend`s death, he is.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

GREGG MILILOTE, BRISTOR COUNTY DA SPOKESPERSON: Instead of attempting to assist him or notify a school official, counselor, family member, anyone,

Ms. Carter is alleged to have strongly influenced his decision to take his own life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: It was Roy who decided to run a gas-powered water pump inside his pickup truck in the parking lot of a Massachusetts Kmart. He died from

carbon monoxide poisoning. But did her actions rise to the level of involuntary manslaughter?

(START VIDEO CLIP)

JOE CATALDO, MICHELLE CARTER`S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: He decided to kill himself. He had the whole plan. He went about this plan. He left suicide

notes to people and left his house. It was his decision and his alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: If she`s convicted though, Michelle Carter could end up behind bars for two decades. Serious case. Serious reporting from John DePetro, a

host of WPRO Radio in Providence, Rhode Island. He is here with me now. This is really an astounding case. Thousands of text messages and emails.

How many of them are actually in evidence? How many of them are actually damming?

JOHN DEPETRO, SYNDICATED TALK SHOW HOST: Ashleigh, the police have all of them. They interviewed her a couple months after this whole thing went on.

And it was amazing, the amount of communication between them. The texts the night that Conrad Roy decided to end his life, they are very disturbing.

She had been going back and forth with Conrad Roy leading up to it, sending him texts, did you do it yet? Are you going to do it? Are you sure you`re

going to do it? It`s very disturbing to think that he was in such a vulnerable state and then here she was, Michelle Carter, sending those text

messages encouraging him.

BANFIELD: It`s amazing to think she`s a girlfriend because if you`re a girlfriend, you would think you want him to stick around. I have a couple

of them -- four of the so-called thousands. I just want to read them out, so you get a sense of what she was typing to him. And I don`t know if they

are going to suggest that`s not her. I highly doubt it.

That`s gonna be tricky because it`s sort of traceable, but maybe that`s a defense. But listen to the purported texts between Michelle Carter and

Conrad Roy as he`s killing himself in his truck. You can`t think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were going to do it, like I don`t get

why you aren`t. The more you push it off, the more it will eat you.

You`re ready and prepared. All you have to do is turn the generator on and you will be free and happy. The time is right, and you`re ready. You just

need to do it. You can`t keep living this way, just do it, babe. Just do it, babe. I think your parents know you`re in really bad place and I`m not

saying they want you to do it, but I honestly feel like they can accept it.

Everyone will be sad for a while, but they will get over it and move on. Those are the texts to a suicidal boy who she is well aware has a generator

in his truck and is planning to do this.

[10:40:00] She also sent a text to a friend following the death of her boyfriend and it said this. His death is my fault. I was on the phone with

him. And he got out of the car because it was working and he got scared. And I told him to get back in.

I don`t know how you get past that, John DePetro. I don`t know how you get over those awful morally bankrupt text messages. But there is this notion

that her lawyer wants to introduce the medication she was taking, Celexa, an antidepressant.

DEPETRO: Yes.

BANFIELD: I guess they say that affected her mood, her personality, her behavior, her attitude. So is the drug the excuse for these texts?

DEPETRO: It`s interesting, Ashleigh, because the defense did get a good ruling from Judge Moniz that they are going to allow the fact to him to

testify that on -- he`s trying to allege with her adolescent brain, that she was almost intoxicated and didn`t even understand what she was doing

because she was on Celexa. It was also introduced that Conrad Roy was also on this antidepressant drug.

So they are almost seemingly, Ashleigh, trying to paint a picture of two teens and one is suicidal and both on this antidepressant drug and she

didn`t realize that he was so far along and that`s all he talked about and she`s somewhat innocent. But make no mistake about it.

It is such a sad picture to think that Conrad Roy got out of the truck and was thinking I`m having second thoughts, I can`t do this, and someone that

he depended on in his biggest moment of need, Ashleigh, actually convinced him to get back in there.

BANFIELD: I wonder if she was thinking -- I wonder if she was thinking about Conrad Roy`s family, specifically his grandmother, Janice Roy, who

had this to say about this whole circumstance.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

JANICE ROY, CONRAD ROY`S GRANDMOTHER: Every grandparent is proud of their grandchildren. He was special. If she really loved him as she said she did,

why didn`t she try to persuade him not to? Every day you wake up and think, you know, why? Why? Why?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: That`s going to be a fascinating trial. John DePetro, we are going to check in with you again to see where this trial goes. We`re only

at the beginnings right now. A mother and her 3- month-old baby murdered, and police say it was the husband that killed them both. And tonight, there

are some grizzly new developments in the case, but it has nothing to do with the accused killer, so to speak, or maybe it slightly does.

It`s weird nonetheless because the mortician who handled those victims claims he was wrongly terminated because he said the case was so horrifying

it gave him PTSD. And the info that he`s revealing about the bodies makes an already gruesome case shattering.

[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: You have probably heard the whole business about if you`re a doctor, you just get used to seeing blood, just comes with the job, right?

The same thing can be said if you work in a morgue, if you`re a mortician, you`re going to see dead bodies. Pretty much that is all you`re going to

see, right? Sometimes those bodies are really rough, you know. Car crashes, plane crashes, and rough bodies that was certainly the case when a Texas

mother and her 3-month-old son were brutally murdered.

The dad, Craig Vandewege, was charged with capital murder when his wife Shanna was found dead in bed and their little baby son was dead in his

bassinet right next to the bed. Both of them had their throats slit, that`s what the police said. Vandewege has apparently told someone that he had a

dream that he had sliced their heads like bologna. I`m not kidding.

But now there is another twist to this story because the mortuary worker who was actually working on their two bodies is suing for wrongful

termination because he said it was such a brutal case he suffered posttraumatic stress disorder after handling those bodies.

He actually added to the picture from the police report saying their throats were slit, this morgue worker said those victims were decapitated.

It`s weird. He says he was fired because he threatened to file a workers` compensation claim. And then here come these details about this very

grizzly case that isn`t even in trial yet.

I want to bring in Jeffrey Boney, the associate editor for the Houston Forward Times. It`s a strange story, Jeffrey. There is this lawsuit. It`s a

workers` comp claim. But ultimately it`s a mortuary worker who said this case was the worst thing he had ever seen. Do we have any other details on,

you know, what it was he had to work with?

JEFFREY BONEY, ASSOCIATE EDITOR FOR THE HOUSTON FORWARD TIMES: Yes, so basically, Jeremy states in the lawsuit that he was fired for threatening to file a workers` compensation claim after he reported

suffering from PTSD, posttraumatic stress, after handling the bodies of Shanna Vandewege and her 3-month-old son Diederik.

The lawsuit states that when he was dealing with the bodies, that Shanna and Diederik were actually decapitated which is contrary to the police

report that stated that their throats have been slashed. He also states in he the lawsuit that he was not provided required personal protective

equipment and now that he suffers from chronic asthma, he said that he tried to move forward with his job.

[20:50:00] But back in November of 2016, he performed services also on a man who committed suicide by ingesting paint fumes and said that his

exposure to the fumes made him sick. So there is a lot of things involving this lawsuit.

BANFIELD: That`s interesting. There is another case that he`s concerned about. It might shed light on this one. Because the first headline that

jumps out at me is how can a mortician suffer PTSD from, you know, two murder victims unless when those murder victims came in there is a lot more

to the story than what was in the police report?

I want to just go back over the timeline if I can for anyone who didn`t cover, you know, if you weren`t with us when we covered the story

originally and the original murder happened. At 10:30 in the morning that husband, Craig Vandewege, left for work as his wife and baby were still

asleep. He says the wife woke up, said I love you.

At 11:45, he then said he arrived at work after picking up some bagels. He said it normally takes him 30 minutes to get to work so that would be 12:15

right, but his boss says he was 45 minutes late. Between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m., the husband says he texted his wife three times but didn`t get a

response. Didn`t think it was unusual, though.

While on work time, he ended up actually purchasing diamond earrings for his wife, he says, and also a ladder to hang wedding pictures in his home.

At 9:30 p.m., awfully late, he said he returned home and that`s when he found his wife and his baby dead. He says he called the police four to six

minutes later.

Jeffrey, other than this very strange twist and this additional detail coming from a mortician who now says he suffers PTSD from the condition of

their bodies, are we finding out anything more about the case, about Craig Vandewege? Is he saying anything in jail lockup? How is the case coming

along?

BONEY: Yeah, I mean, the only thing according to the arrest warrant, I mean, of course, there are a lot of details to this case. Police found

Shanna`s body lying on the bed as if she had been sleeping with a large amount of blood and had pooled around her neck and it appeared, according

to police, that she had a deep horizontal cut that was extending the width of her neck.

And next to the bed on the side where she was lying was a baby bassinet where Diederik was inside and the baby was lying on his back. He also had a

horizontal cut extending the width of his neck. Police believe the bodies were dead for hours before they arrived but police are saying that the

crime scene was staged to resemble a burglary, a crime scene that was actually staged with who they believe to be by Craig Vandewege.

BANFIELD: Bizarre story. Jeffrey Boney, thank you so much for adding to this tonight. A dramatic rescue by D.C. Fire and emergency responders, you

cannot miss the reunion from the rescued down the storm drain and their mommy. It`s like nothing you`ve ever seen before. Please do not miss this.

It is just all the good that you need to see in the world when you feel so down.

And then I have this for you, a favorite thing that we do here at CNN HLN. Two CNN heroes joining forces last month. They are looking to assist women

who are struggling because they are in refugee camps. You`ve probably not been the one and if you have, you know what I`m talking about. One of these

women already works with refugee families here in the U.S.

The other one helps women to escape life from the streets in Tennessee. But together, they came together and got this really interesting project to

help these refugee women rebuild their lives and get this, the tool they are using is the very life vest that they and others had to wear on their

journey.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The project is making welcome mats from the life vests. So they are weaving these and getting paid to weave them. And we are

going to sell these in the U.S. And the idea is that we are laying down the welcome mat for them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are done.

(CHEERS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So much better in welcoming people into our country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a direct way to give empowerment and hope and something as simple as purchasing a mat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: To find out more about the welcome project and about how you can buy a welcome mat or to nominate a CNN hero, I encourage you to go to

cnnheroes.com. Check it out. Be right back.

[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Emergency responders see a lot of pretty rough stuff on the job but sometimes they get to see something that would only bring a smile. Take

a look at this.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Eight little baby ducks somehow got washed into a storm drain and D.C. Fire and EMS were there as well as animal control officers to work

together to get them out and put them in that bin, that little cage. And then the super duper magic moment happened when they actually found mom and

set up the reunion. Watch carefully.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: Okay. No crime here. But there is great justice in being able to end the show with something this nice after all the yucky stuff that we

have to report. Look at that. Altogether again.

[21:00:00] Happy little family. Our thanks to the folks in D.C. who did that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: What do you think, guys? Don`t you feel better now about everything, the world?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a happy ending.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like (inaudible).

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: (inaudible) movie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

BANFIELD: Thank you for watching, everybody. We are going to see you back.

END