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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
Caught on Camera; Disturbing Video; Money Shot; Urgent Search; Heartbreaking Message; Death by Texts?; CNN Heroes
Aired June 08, 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): Her pictures are stunning.
TARA LAMBERT, CONVICTED OF CONSPIRACY TO MURDER: (INAUDIBLE) and I want it (INAUDIBLE)
BANFIELD: But this model was no fan of her husband`s ex-wife.
LAMBERT: Loser, crybaby.
BANFIELD: Convicted of hiring a cop that she thought was a hitman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want me to just walk up and cap her?
BANFIELD: Proof that cameras can make you and break you.
LAMBERT: Just put her in a chopper, like -- like one of those lumberjack chopper things.
BANFIELD: So how is it she could soon walk free?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have caught our monster.
BANFIELD: A 12-year-old disappears.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just -- just so heart-breaking.
BANFIELD: She`s found dead in a creek not far from home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, this is a huge, huge emotional and mental thing to bear (INAUDIBLE)
BANFIELD: Tonight, a convicted sexual predator arrested in the case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve caught the killer that took Naomi`s life.
BANFIELD: But why was he walking free with two rapes in his past?
The curious secrets of the roiling Feather River.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just love my mother so much!
BANFIELD: A mom gone without a trace after she`d just gone fishing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Parts of the river are very deep, fast moving.
BANFIELD: It`s the same river that took Ellie Yeoman (ph) after those haunting footprints led away from her car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why would, you know, she go missing?
BANFIELD: Two women, two mysteries, and a raging, angry river.
She`s accused of pushing her boyfriend to suicide with hundreds of texts and calls
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "You need to just do it. No more waiting."
BANFIELD: Thousands of messages, relentless pressure even while he was dying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there`s an incoming call from Michelle Carter to Conrad Roy. It`s 46 minutes and 35 seconds in duration.
BANFIELD: But her defense now says she tried to stop him from doing it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Oh, no. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) We`re not dying. I`m trying my best to dig you out."
BANFIELD: It looks like a scene from the wild, wild West, but this was a busy street in Baltimore with terrified civilians in the line of fire.
Take a wild guess at how this one ends.
Well, that`s a creative way to dig up some cash. A thief sticks his backhoe on an unsuspecting ATM. Little did he know his gargantuan gear
couldn`t break the bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: Hello, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.
There is no doubt about it. Tara Lambert is a beautiful woman. The former fashion model who grew up in rural Ohio is a total knocking. But you know
that old expression if looks could kill? Prosecutors say that looker may have actually tried to.
They say Tara was no fan of her new husband`s old wife. And for whatever reason, she wanted her out of picture. They laid out the case against her,
In search of a hitman, Tara looked up a long lost friend. But that long lost friend was more long lost than friend, and she called the police. The
sheriff set up a sting, and as luck would have it, we got the tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you want done with her?
LAMBERT: My God, just put her in a chopper, like -- like one of those lumberjack chopper things.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t carry a lumberjack chopper.
LAMBERT: No, I`m just kidding! Like, that`s how much I hate her, though.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Tara was probably describing a woodchipper. Her hate for her husband, her ex-husband, seemed to run pretty deep because here is how she
said she`d feel once the job were done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAMBERT: I`m going to be so excited. I just can`t even tell you. I`m so happy about this. (INAUDIBLE) Even my girls (INAUDIBLE) people to do
this. They problem would. They hate her so bad. Don`t feel bad about that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t feel bad about it (INAUDIBLE)
LAMBERT: Loser, crybaby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Sounds good.
LAMBERT: OK! (INAUDIBLE) Very, very good. (INAUDIBLE)
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, girl.
LAMBERT: I really appreciate this. I owe you, like, everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be easy.
LAMBERT: Yes, you, too. Thank you so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Thank you so much. That was the last word there. Thank you so much. And as an added bonus, Tara told the hitman cop that if he made it
look like a robbery, he could just keep all the fancy stuff he found in her house.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:05:00]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want me to just walk up and cap her?
LAMBERT: (INAUDIBLE) If something else is going on, like, in the area -- I don`t -- (INAUDIBLE) What do you think?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t...
LAMBERT: Like, we were trying to figure out, like, a home invasion gone wrong, but -- and, like, they do all flaunt their (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
Like, they live in this place for free off of his mom, and they always have, like, all this expensive stuff. And they`re walking around,
flaunting it and talking about how they ain`t got no bills and have cash and big TVs and stuff (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They got cash in the place?
LAMBERT: Oh, I`m sure, yes. They have a safe. They have a badass (ph) TV. I mean, she has a ton of jewelry that just came from her grandma that
she brags about how she got it all appraised and it`s worth thousands and thousands of dollars. Like, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) on Facebook, like, the
appraisal. So that`s what kind of stupid we`re working with, but you really in (INAUDIBLE)
(LAUGHTER)
LAMBERT: Feel free to whatever you`d like.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Feel free. Just, you know, get whatever you`d like there.
So you would think that tape would end with a slam dunk conviction of this woman, and it did. And then it didn`t. The conspiracy to commit murder
conviction has just been overturned like it never even happened.
Pat Lalama is the managing editor for "Crime Watch Daily," joins me live now from Los Angeles. Pat, what happened? What on earth happened?
PAT LALAMA, "CRIME WATCH DAILY": All right, don`t get too nervous about this because -- you know how they refer to technicalities in the courtroom?
BANFIELD: I hate them.
LALAMA: This was a technicality. Yes, I know. But unfortunately, it upends the entire system because of this what I`m going to call a sin of
omission. I have the appeals ruling right here. So I can tell you -- I`m going to make it in layman`s terms.
When you indict someone, you can`t just say you`re indicted for this. You have to spell out how they planned to carry out that crime. So while the
indictment against her to the grand jury said conspiracy to commit a murder, they simply forget to lay out, well, how did she do that? Did she
call a hitman? Did she give somebody money? They just left it out.
So an appellate court said, Well, that`s enough. And then also -- they also claim that her defense attorney was not doing his job by not catching
this and challenging it.
And one thing I`ll read to you on page 11, it says, "Ohio law has consistently held that an indictment or complaint that does not set forth
all of the essential elements of the crime is invalid."
BANFIELD: Oh! Oh!
LALAMA: So that`s (INAUDIBLE) left out a few things. And now here we go again.
BANFIELD: Right! Well, thank you for saying at least that. Here we go again -- because tell me she`s not just going to walk out and walk among
us. It`s not going to be that easy.
LALAMA: Well, you know, it`s funny, when you were doing the intro, when we were hearing from her, I`m sitting here, thinking what she`s got in looks,
she lacks in conscience. I mean, laughing, joking, and even in court because we`ve covered this case from stem to stern, and smug, sassy, says
she was just joking, and that`s really sort of the attitude she displayed the whole time.
Now, everyone is saying, Does she get to walk free? Well, yes and no. Her lawyer has said that she could be released tomorrow on bond with $50,000.
But what happens now is the prosecution has three choices. They can either fix that language, refile -- they have I think a couple of weeks to do that
-- try to hold her and take her back to court, or they can appeal the appeal up to the Ohio supreme court.
Or -- and I think this might be real possibility, Ashleigh -- they might just offer her a plea deal.
BANFIELD: Wow!
LALAMA: She`s done one of seven. I think that`s a true -- I`m just guessing. I know nothing but...
BANFIELD: Wow!
LALAMA: ... they have those three options.
BANFIELD: A plea deal. I wonder how those who are affected by this crime would feel about that. Hold your thought for a second.
I want to bring in Ginny Cheadle. Ginny Cheadle says that Tara Lambert asked her to help her find the hitman. And she joins me live now from
Circleville, Ohio.
So Ginny, first and foremost, I want to get your feelings about the possibility that this former friend of yours could be out by tomorrow if
she gets the $50,000 bond. We haven`t confirmed that yet, but we`re hearing it in a lot of places.
How on earth, after 15 years of not seeing this person since you graduated, not really communicating much with her at all since you graduated -- how on
earth did she pick you to reach out to say, I need a guy?
GINNY CHEADLE, FORMER FRIEND OF TARA`S (via telephone): I -- honestly, I don`t know. I`m assuming it was one of those things, like, let me pick
somebody`s name out of a hat. You know, like, I hadn`t spoke to her in almost 16, 17 years.
[20:10:12]I have no idea why she felt so comfortable. We weren`t friends. We really weren`t even associates. We hadn`t spoke. It`s not like -- we
didn`t text each other once a year to see how each other was doing, you know what I mean? So we weren`t -- we weren`t in any kind of way at all in
communication with each other.
BANFIELD: So when she...
CHEADLE: And just out of the blue-...
BANFIELD: When she did...
CHEADLE: ... she just hit me up one day.
BANFIELD: So that out of the blue hit-up (ph) -- did you get the sense right away, Ginny, that she wanted you to find someone for her to kill her
ex? Did she use those words? Was it clear?
CHEADLE: When she sent me the initial text, I knew right away what she was talking about...
BANFIELD: How?
CHEADLE: ... because in March, I had made a phone call for her. She had reached out to me in March. She had -- I had actually talked to her on the
actual telephone. And she asked me to make a phone call to Kellie. She said that, you know Kellie was harassing her, making her miserable, this,
that and other, and asked me to make a phone call to Kellie telling her to leave her alone, that you know, she had friends in places, and this, that
and the other, and pretty much threatening her to leave her alone.
BANFIELD: So you got...
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: You were clear. You were clear. Here -- I just want to play and I want you to listen along while Tara Lambert is in the interrogation
room and what she says it was all about. I think she`s trying to minimize all of this and suggest, You know, I just wanted my husband`s ex-wife, you
know, bopped in the face or hurt, but not killed. I want you to listen along, and then I want you to react to it. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAMBERT: (INAUDIBLE) to punch her in the grill (ph) and leave. And I told him that she`s always bragging about stuff that they have or something, and
then, he was like, OK. (INAUDIBLE) something about that he would take it. But it was just going to look like a robbery, and he was going to punch her
in the face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So knowing what you know now, Ginny, do you feel at all for Kellie Cooke, who was allegedly the target of all of this? Have you spoken
to her at all?
CHEADLE: Yes, I have. And I mean, my heart goes out to her and her family. Everything that you just played in the video that Tara says was an
absolute lie. The first initial phone call that I made to Kellie, there were no intentions of touching her. You know, and right before we hung up
the phone, Tara actually made the comment that she wished that she could kill her. So when she texted me that three months later in June and asked
me if I had anybody who could take care of her problem for good, I knew exactly what (INAUDIBLE)
BANFIELD: I`m looking at pictures of her in the courtroom, and she looks none too pleased to be there. She is a stunner. I`ll give her that. But
she looks mighty pissed off to be in the position that she`s in.
CHEADLE: Oh, yes.
BANFIELD: And it`s a good chance she may be in that position again. Are you worried if she does get out on bond because you were the linchpin in
all of this. You were the one that told police, and you were the one that ultimately got the police to set up a sting, and that`s where she is and
that`s why she there. Are you worried about your safety?
CHEADLE: I mean, inevitably. Anybody would be. You know, I`m not saying that I`m scared because I have three children, and I will defend myself to
the best of my ability against anyone that -- you know what I mean? But I think that it`s just -- how can anyone have faith in the judicial system?
You know, like, I can`t believe that she`s allowed to walk the streets. Imagine how the victims feel, you know, and not to mention their children,
you know, their family members. They`re going to have to look over their shoulder and sleep with one eye open because nobody knows what could
happen.
BANFIELD: And Kellie Cooke he has two daughters.
CHEADLE: We thought we were safe for the next seven years.
BANFIELD: Yes, there are many people affected this.
CHEADLE: Because of a technicality.
BANFIELD: Yes. Well, listen...
CHEADLE: Now we feel that we`re not.
BANFIELD: Ginny, I appreciate your time. Thank you for that. And my thanks to Pat Lalama, as well. We`ll watch the case and see what happens,
if there is a plea deal in the offing.
Outrage tonight in Pensacola, Florida, after police say a convicted sex offender is the suspect in the death of a 12-year-old Florida girl who went
missing just days ago. Why does this keep happening? And what can we do to protect our kids?
And this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: A horrifying shootout caught on camera in Maryland. And yes, those are civilians hiding from the gunman.
First, though, there is a new show on HLN premiering this Friday, "BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT." It goes deeper inside the world of forensic
investigations than ever before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:15:08]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For years, they got away with murder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Serial killers don`t stop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now the evidence they left behind...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time was not on our side. It`s going to be a cold case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... is coming back to haunt them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Suddenly, we had physical evidence to place someone there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The devil is in the details. "BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT," a true crime series tomorrow night at 9:00 on HLN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Ow often do you clench your fists and grit your teeth when a convicted sex offender gets out of jail and does it again, especially when
he ups the ante to murder? It`s a huge problem, and something Eric Runnion knows firsthand because her little girl, Samantha, was abducted and killed
by a man who had already been investigated and charged with molesting a little girl before.
[20:20:14]But Alejandro Avila was acquitted. And nobody watched him. No one paid attention until he struck again and he raped and killed little
Samantha. And after his conviction in her case in `05, her mom, Erin Runnion, delivered an impassioned message to criminals who victimize
children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN RUNNION, MURDERED GIRL`S MOTHER: A tremendous sense of relief that Samantha`s fight was not in vain, that her courage and the courage of his
previous victims to stand up not once but twice was not in vain, was finally vindicated today. He is guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty! And that
feels really good because nobody should get away with this!
And in honor of Samantha, in honor of Jessica and Molly Fish (ph) and Polly Klaas and Adam Walsh -- how many children do we have to take away before we
as Americans get organized? We outnumber you so many times over! There`s no excuse, and we`re not going to let you get away with this anymore!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I`m sad to say it has happened again. This is Naomi Jones. She vanished last week near Pensacola, Florida, and five days later, two
fishermen found Naomi dead in a creek four miles from home -- just 12 years old. She was suffocated, left in the creek. And investigators quickly
zeroed in on Robert Howard, a convicted rapist. His story did not add up. They say he lied and didn`t have an alibi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MORGAN, ESCAMBIA COUNTY SHERIFF: We are pleased this morning to announce the arrest of Robert Letroy (ph) Howard, a black male born March
the 19th, 1979. Mr. Howard is a former convict from Alabama who was convicted in 1999 for two counts of sexual assault and rape for which he
served 15 years.
Video surveillance from citizens provided an accurate vehicle description on Ashland Avenue at the time of the disposal of Naomi Jones`s body.
Investigators knew that his vehicle matched the vehicle on the video, driven by Howard. Investigators began immediate surveillance on the
suspect, Howard, and began executing search warrants of his known locations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: In addition to first degree murder, Robert Howard is also charged with kidnapping, and maybe no surprise here, failing to register as
a sex offender.
Tom Conway is a news anchor and host for Newsradio 1620. He joins me from Pensacola. How did they find him? What led to this man?
TOM CONWAY, NEWSRADIO 1620: Well, it was surveillance video, Ashleigh. And thank you for having me on this evening. It was surveillance video
right by where that creek where Naomi`s body was disposed that linked up Robert Howard to this case.
There was a car -- automatically, they were canvassing the area, and when they went back and searched the surveillance video of any possible leads,
Howard`s car matched the description of what they were looking for.
BANFIELD: So the truck. They found that truck. Do we know, at this point, Tom, if she was raped, if that`s part of the crime?
CONWAY: We don`t know if she was raped. What we do know is that sexual contact was made, Ashleigh. That`s what the Escambia County sheriff, David
Morgan, said yesterday in a press conference. We don`t know to the extent of what that sexual contact was, but we do know that there was sexual
contact.
BANFIELD: We also know that Robert Howard was visiting his girlfriend. He`s actually from Alabama, but he was in Florida visiting his girlfriend.
And his girlfriend lived in the same apartment complex as little Naomi.
Do the police also seem to think for some reason Naomi was familiar with him, had maybe even spoke with him before?
CONWAY: Well, we`re learning new information tonight, Ashleigh, that, apparently, Naomi`s family knew who Robert Howard was. There is a local
media outlet here in Pensacola that interviewed the sister of Naomi Howard (sic). And in an exclusive tonight, we`re going to find out that the
sister finds that Howard wasn`t a monster, according to Sheriff David Morgan, that Naomi knew and was familiar with Robert Howard.
Again, officially from the sheriff`s office, we don`t know to the extent of how close Naomi was with Robert Howard. But we do know that she was
familiar with him.
BANFIELD: There`s some weird talk, and I don`t know if it`s just talk or true, that they may have even communicated in social media. Do you know
anything about that?
[20:25:02]CONWAY: Yes, Ashleigh. The social media app was Marco Polo (ph). And that is the only social media app that we know right now where
Naomi and Mr. Howard communicated. I`m not too sure about the particulars of Marco Polo, the app itself. But we know that there was one of several
apps that they were looking into. When I questioned Sheriff David Morgan today about how these social media aspects played a factor into this, he
really couldn`t expand because it gets into the technical aspects of the investigation. So right now, what we know is that...
BANFIELD: Real quick.
CONWAY: Excuse me?
BANFIELD: Tell me real quick, Tom -- just tell me real quick, they`ve got the truck, right? They have his truck. I`m just assuming that they are
combing it with a fine-toothed comb for forensics. We need to know where this little girl was killed. We need to know if she was killed at the
creek, if she was killed somewhere else. We need to know, if there was a sexual attack, where it happened. What do you know about the truck?
CONWAY: We know very minimal about the truck right now because we don`t have an exact crime scene where this actually occurred. What we do know
tonight in new developments is the FBI and Alabama law enforcement are raiding the mobile park home where Robert Howard lived. So I`m assuming
that they are combing through that truck, as well, but we haven`t heard any definitive answers on what exactly they are looking at. But again, I would
imagine that they`re looking at the truck this evening.
BANFIELD: Pretty carefully. Stand by for a second, Tom. Stacey Honowitz is with me, as well. She is with the Broward County state attorney`s
office, and she`s the supervisor of the sex crimes and child abuse unit. She joins me live from Ft. Lauderdale.
Stacey, I know you`re not going to be able to answer this question, but it has to be asked again. How does it happen that a guy who has two rapes on
his record, served 14 of 15 years, gets out and is allegedly able to do it again?
STACEY HONOWITZ, BROWARD COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Well, you don`t have -- there`s no answers for this, Ashleigh. I mean, we see these horrible,
horrible crimes. But one thing we know in this case is he didn`t register. You know, if you`re convicted of a sex crime in Florida and in all the
states, you have to register as a sexual offender or a sexual predator. And that`s exactly so that everybody can keep an eye on your every move.
If you leave your house, if you move somewhere else, if you move into a new state, even if you go and visit someone for a certain amount of time, you
must register that person`s address.
In this case, of course, he went to visit his girlfriend. He didn`t register at her location, so no one probably knew where he was, other than
the people in that area, who I`m assuming the parents did not know he was a sex offender.
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: What if he had registered as a sex offender? Does someone go knocking door to door, saying, Hi, do you have a little girl maybe named
Naomi? Don`t let her play -- like, how does it work? How do we get protected...
HONOWITZ: Well, what happens is...
BANFIELD: ... from a registered sex offenders?
HONOWITZ: Because it`s called talking. And that`s the thing. People have to look in their neighbors. They have to look on the registration. If
their child is talking to somebody, look on the registration and find out if he`s a sex offender. If the parents or anybody had known he was this
person, this monster, maybe the child wouldn`t have been allowed to go around him. So all of this -- it all comes to education and letting people
know. People like to bury their heads in the sand. They don`t want to know about a sex offender. They don`t want to look and see if someone`s in
the neighborhood. But you better find out...
BANFIELD: And maybe longer sentences.
HONOWITZ: ... if someone in your neighborhood -- yes.
BANFIELD: Yes. Yes. Hold on for a second, Stacey. Joey Jackson`s with me, as well. As a defense attorney, this has got to be a tough one because
if you`re a registered sex offender and you got two rapes on your rap sheet and this happens and you`re telling lies -- has this guy got an iota of a
defense? How would you actually take this case?
JOEY JACKSON, CNN/HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, let`s talk about a couple of thing. First let me say this. I know Stacey Horowitz (sic). I think the
people of Broward County will be well served with her prosecuting and with her supervision in that division, without question.
I think the case -- and you put your finger on something, Ashleigh, when you talked about combing through the car for forensics because right now,
it`s a largely circumstantial case, certainly appears to be him. He`s by his girlfriend`s house. His girlfriend`s house is by her house. He
doesn`t have an alibi. He gives conflicting statements. But I think it`ll focus on forensics.
And if I could touch on one other thing, Ashleigh, and that`s this. We talk about registering as a sex offender. Really? You`re going to
voluntarily leave it up to a guy who obviously has a problem and has been convicted before say, You know what? When you get a chance and you move,
you just go register, OK, so we can keep a track on you. Nonsense. There needs to be a better tracking mechanism...
BANFIELD: Yes. Amen.
JACKSON: ... such that when you move anywhere, the system is on you and knows about out. And we don`t leave it to you to rester you. We follow
you and ensure we know where you are at all times. That could prevent things like this.
BANFIELD: All right Joey, thank you. Stacey, thank you, as well, and my guest Tom Conway, thank you, too.
In Maryland, an armed robbery suspect got into a wild shootout with police after he boarded a city bus. Needless to say, the commuters were
frightened. They were caught in the crossfire, and they had to flee for their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:30:00]
(GUNSHOTS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God! What the (beep).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST OF PRIMETIME JUSTICE: Baltimore County police officer and a civilian were shot in that fire fight. Happy to say they are
expected to survive. The suspect, however, not such a story. He was killed at the scene. Investigators are looking into what is behind a disturbing
video in the aftermath of a police chase and a fiery crash and what happened to the innocent man who was just trying to escape the flames.
I`m going to show you. You`ll be able to see him. He`s desperately trying to get out, rolling around, trying to put out the flames. Look at him. Then
the responding police officers jump into action, but what they`re actually doing is a source of dispute. Some say they are kicking him and dragging
the man, maybe mistaking him for the bad guy.
The Jersey City mayor says he wants the officers fired. But the local police union says something else. They say that the officers were trying to
help that victim put out the flames. Trying to pull him out of harm`s way. Right now, the prosecutors office has it and they`re going to have to sort
it out.
Police are looking for a man who stole a backhoe. Why? Because they say he did it so he could steal an ATM. The suspect drove the backhoe five miles
all the way to the bank and then did this. Got to work using the scoop repeatedly hitting the ATM trying to bust it open. Doing a pretty good job
though I got to say, messing it up big time. Knocking it to pieces.
But, it`s a big but. He couldn`t unlock the most important piece of the ATM. I guess it`s called the safety kind of thing. And he could not get any
money for all of those efforts. He did cause about $10,000 in damage to the ATM. Hence, they want to find that backhoe thief and attempted ATMP thief.
Another mysterious disappearance on California`s Feather River back in March. It was a beautiful coed named Alycia Yeoman. And now, it is Teresa
Blake, a mom. What on earth is happening at that river?
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: If you have ever been to the Feather River, it is a truly a beautiful and picturesque place in the Sierra Nevada foothills just north
of Sacramento. But earlier this year, the landscape changed dramatically when huge storms caused the Oroville Dam to spill dangerously into the
Feather River below. Hundreds of thousands of people downstream had to make for the hills.
But now, this beautiful place has become a river of mystery and two women have gone missing along its banks. A month ago, the body of 20-year-old
Alycia Yeoman was found downriver from where she disappeared five weeks earlier. Her truck had been found stuck in the mud with just a single set
of mysterious footprints leading away from it.
Now the latest, Terry Blake, a mom who went fishing in the river and never returned. Her husband, Randy, and their adult children decided to vacation
at one of their favorite spot and Terry had decided to go fishing on Sunday.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
RANDY BLAKE, HUSBAND OF MISSING WOMAN: My wife is not a great fisher person or knowledgeable. She is more enthusiastic than she was proficient.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: And when that wife, Terry, did not return, the Blake family called the police. Search teams got involved using dogs and a helicopter.
They looked for her but even though they found her car, there was still no sign of Terry.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
KATIE BLAKE, DAUGHTER OF MISSING WOMAN: She is so excited for a week of just our family together. We love her so, so much. I can`t wait to be
reunited with her.
ROB BLAKE, SON OF MISSING WOMAN: I know I keep saying this. I just love my mother so much. We`re so close, you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Randy Blake is Terry Blake`s husband. He joins me from Blairsden, California. Randy, I am so sorry that we`re meeting in this circumstance. I
am very sorry your family is going through this. Have the police given you any updates, any indication as to what they think might have happened to
Terry?
R. BLAKE: Well, the sheriff`s department has been -- first of all, thank you. The sheriff`s department has been very, very professional. Very, very
cooperative. Very, very from my point of view forthcoming. We have nothing but good things to say about the sheriff`s department. When they have had
to withhold certain information from us, it`s only because part of the investigation and we have no problem with that whatsoever.
BANFIELD: Do they believe that something suspicious happened or do they think an accident might have happened?
R. BLAKE: I think, as best I understand it, they are still keeping all of their options open in terms of what could have happened.
BANFIELD: I know that Terry`s SUV was found and while that might be slightly relieving, as I understand it, it was found in parking area that
was unusual. It would not have been the area
[20:40:00] you would expect her to have parked to go and do the fishing since you guys are familiar with this vacation spot.
R. BLAKE: Yes. It was in a very secluded spot. It`s a dirt road. It was not a particular location that to my knowledge Terry, my wife, was familiar
with. That`s all true. It was a secluded location.
BANFIELD: Did that truck yield any clues? Was there any damage? Was there anything missing out of truck? Any belongs that they found nearby? Were
there any footprints leading away from the truck?
R. BLAKE: Well, to our knowledge, we haven`t been able to see the car. Our understanding is the car is not damaged. That the contents, as we
understand them, are what we would have expected. But they do still, the sheriff`s department still is holding the vehicle for investigation
purposes.
BANFIELD: Randy, have they said anything about what seems like the elephant in the room, that it was only a month ago we were reporting on Alycia
Yeoman. She had disappeared five weeks earlier at that same river. She was found downriver. Have they suggested at all to you or have you asked them
if it`s possible these cases might be related?
R. BLAKE: Actually, no on both counts. If I may, we are a fair distance from I understand where Yeoman disappeared. It`s the same river, but we are
a fair distance from them.
BANFIELD: And it`s about 70 miles. While I agree with you 70 miles is a fairly long way, it`s still in the same rough vicinity and these are two
very mysterious stories.
I just wondered if they had suggested to you at all that maybe even all of that construction on the Oroville Dam with all the transient workers who
are coming in and out of that area to do the repairs on that massive project, whether that could be a factor here? Have they suggested that?
R. BLAKE: Well, no. Short answer to that is no.
BANFIELD: So it just remains this incredible mystery near this royal dam and this beautiful river.
R. BLAKE: Well, for us it`s obviously a mystery. We don`t know what has happened to my wife and my children`s mother. That is obviously very, very
tough for us. But to what I said before, we do feel as though we`re being reasonably kept in the loop as much as reasonably possible by the local
sheriff`s department.
That`s all we really feel. We`re trying to cooperate with them as much as we can and give them as much information as we can. We do believe they are
utilizing that as best as they reasonably can.
BANFIELD: Yeah, Randy, we`re putting her picture up as we are speaking so that anybody who is watching tonight who may have any information, who may
have seen her, any shred of information can be massive even though it doesn`t seem to be.
So we do ask anyone who is watching and has seen Terry and her smiling face to please call the local police. Randy, I wish you the best. Please give
our best to your kids, to Rob and to Katie. I do hope the best for you, sir. Thanks for being with us.
R. BLAKE: Thank you very much. We really sincerely appreciate you putting up Terry`s picture and if you`re also putting up the contact information
from the sheriff`s department, we sincerely appreciate that. Thank you very much.
BANFIELD: We do appreciate you, Randy. We`ll get that on our website. It wasn`t up during the segment, but we will do that as well. Also 911. We
also say 911, easiest thing to remember, easiest thing to do. If you have information, they can certainly get it to the right people.
One month before Conrad Roy killed himself, he sat down at his computer. He put in his ear buds and he spoke from the heart.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
CONRAD ROY, COMMITTED SUICIDE: Depression can mean you don`t like yourself. The sooner I like myself, the better I`m going to be.
BANFIELD: Well, now the judge in this young woman`s manslaughter trial has that video. How could it impact her case given their saying that her texts
convinced him to kill himself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: For the first time, we have a face and we have a voice and a personality behind the troubled and tormented teenager who took his own
life. We now know how sad and depressed Conrad Roy felt in the days leading up to his death.
And what made it even worse, records show that he was urged to kill himself with texts and phone calls from his girlfriend. You watch this video, you
may believe in his pain and his hurt, or you may not. But have a listen.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
ROY: But I have a lot to offer someone. I`m introverted, nice and caring. Those are the benefits. I`m a nice kid. But it comes to a point where I`m
just too nice.
[20:50:00] BANFIELD: What may be even more awful, Michelle Carter, the young woman charged with manslaughter in Conrad`s death, does not seem
concerned about his feelings. Instead, seems very concerned about her own. Michelle was worried how all of this would affect her.
And with a personality like that, it is probably not too tough to believe that Michelle had the gall to text Conrad when he didn`t go through with a
suicide attempt eight days earlier and then say this to him.
MICHAEL BATES, MASSACHUSETTS STATE TROOPER: I feel like such an idiot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does Conrad say?
BATES: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does she say next?
BATES: Because you didn`t even do anything. You lied about this whole thing. You said you were going to go to the woods and do it and you said
things that made me feel like maybe you were actually serious. And I poured my heart out to you, thinking this was going to be the last time I talked
to you. I thought you really wanted to die, but apparently you don`t. I feel played and just stupid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I feel played and just stupid. Natisha Lance. Natisha is our HLN producer who is having to sit through all of this in the courthouse in
Taunton, Massachusetts. I`m sorry, Natisha. I didn`t think that this could get worse, and today, that seemed to even get worse. Was it as bad in the
courtroom as it feels out here?
NATISHA LANCE, HLN PRODUCER: Ashleigh, you know, these words are on these two monitors, they`re on both sides of the courtroom. And it was so quiet
when this was read, but you could also hear an audible gasp as it seemed like every line got worse and worse.
Now, there is also a monitor in front of Michelle Carter and her demeanor throughout the entire trial has pretty much stayed the same. There`s really
no reaction, even during this text message that was read.
BANFIELD: So, these aren`t the only text messages. Natisha, it seemed a bit abrupt, but the prosecution rested its case today. But not before some
cross-examination that made some headlines. And I want to just play for our audience, if I can, Natisha, trooper Michael Bates.
When he was on the stand, Michelle`s defense attorney asked him about all the texts and other messages that we had not heard about, suggesting that
Michelle had plenty of material that was supportive of Conrad, that tried to stop him from doing these sorts of things. And even one instance where
Conrad was suggesting that they do it together, Romeo and Juliet style. Have a look.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you`re not aware that Conrad Roy asked Michelle Carter to join in a suicide with him, a Romeo and Juliet, are you?
BATES: No, I`m not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you are not aware that Michelle Carter said to Conrad Roy, oh, no, (beep) we`re not dying.
BATES: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you are not aware that Conrad Roy said to Michelle Carter, "so I`m stuck in this deep hole." You`re not aware of that, are
you?
BATES: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you are not aware that she said, "I`m trying my best to dig you up." And you are probably not aware that he said, "I don`t want
to be dug out."
BATES: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you aware that he said that he wanted to kill himself?
BATES: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Okay, so that`s a pretty fascinating back and forth. Joey Jackson, I want you to jump in on this. There`s a reason. I`m going to
replay one very small piece of what that defense attorney said. The defense attorney used his inflection, okay? The text messages, we don`t have
inflection.
JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, CNN AND HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Right.
BANFIELD: They`re flat, they`re words, right? He uses his inflection about the fact that, "oh, no, we`re not dying." Michelle is telling Conrad, "no,
no, no, we`re not dying." Okay, so have a listen to how he said that again.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you`re not aware that Michelle Carter said to Conrad Roy, "oh, no, (beep) we`re not dying."
BATES: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So now we want to put it on the screen in a text message. And I`m going to add a different inflection in the text message. I want you to look
at it and tell me, "oh, no, we`re not dying." No, no, not we.
JACKSON: Not me.
BANFIELD: Not me.
JACKSON: You.
BANFIELD: Maybe you. Is it possible that that is a text message that could be used with that inflection enough, the defense attorney`s inflection?
JACKSON: Without question and that is what attorneys do, Ashleigh. They spin. And since we`ve been talking about this, I`ve been caught up on that
causation issue. And the causation issues is, did he cause it or did he cause it? You know, the longer this trial goes on and I know they rested
today, I am so troubled that if I`m the court, I mean, it meets the standard in the law. She really -- just the depravity of her conduct, I
just don`t get.
BANFIELD: You think a judge will say that, will think that?
JACKSON: You know, I have to tell you, she literally -- and I use the analogy, she gave him the gun, he may have pulled the trigger, but she
really provided the means. And I think a court certainly could conclude that she`s guilty.
BANFIELD: Well, we`re going to watch obviously. Let`s take a break from this story for a moment and tell you a little bit about this week`s CNN
hero who absolutely sold everything in his house. His house, his car. All he wanted to do was start a boxing gym
[20:55:00] so that kids from Detroit`s toughest neighborhood would have a safe place to go and a safe place to grow. Meet Coach Khali Sweeney.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
KHALI SWEENEY, CNN HERO: I`ve been shot at multiple times. He shot 26 rounds at the car. There was a reason that he didn`t hit me. It was for me
to be here for these kids. I`ve been there. So when they hear it from me, they`re like, okay, he`s not sugar coating. No mentors, no positive role
models. You put them in a position to be ready for prison or the county morgue. I don`t see bad kids. I see a kid who haven`t been heard yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: My thanks to the great Joey Jackson, as always.
JACKSON: A pleasure and a privilege. Thank you, Ashleigh, wonderful job.
[21:00:00] BANFIELD: Oh, my privilege. My privilege. "Forensic Files" starts right now. Make sure you stick around. See you Monday.
END
