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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
Mystery Deepens; Verdict Watch; Shocking Face-Off; Manhunt for Escaped Georgia Inmates
Aired June 13, 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): This desperate and dramatic rescue saving Kala Brown from a locked metal container.
KALA BROWN, VICTIM: Todd Kohlhepp shot Charlie Carver three times in the chest...
BANFIELD: Making sure a serial killer wouldn`t have her as his next victim.
BROWN: And he says there`s several bodies dead and buried out here.
BANFIELD: Tonight, brand-new video as Kala is rushed from that filthy prison to a nearby hospital.
BROWN: He said if I was a good girl, he would teach me how to kill and I would get to be his partner.
BANFIELD: On one side of town, a beautiful family mysteriously murdered.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were great kids.
BANFIELD: On the other side of town, a couple robbed and shot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We started making a connection.
BANFIELD: Police say George Brinkman killed them all before a standoff lasting hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got him. We got him.
BANFIELD: What was the motive?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He worked for them for a number of years, at some point in time, had dated their daughter.
BANFIELD: And why two sets of victims?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m by no means sorry about what I did.
BANFIELD: A sadistic killer`s evil words.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She reminded me a lot of my ex-wife.
BANFIELD: His victim shot, burned and dismembered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve never felt better in my life.
BANFIELD: Her family forced to listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would be happen to take him out if you would let me.
BANFIELD: Why would a judge let it get to this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mother was never (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are still desperately looking for these two individuals.
BANFIELD: Killer inmates on the run.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Overpowered the guards.
BANFIELD: Escaping from the back of the prison bus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obtained their weapons and shot and killed both of the corrections officers.
BANFIELD: Tonight, breaking news in the nationwide manhunt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My biggest worry is they`re going to kill somebody else.
BANFIELD: And is it finally over for Bill Cosby? The jury weighs the case, their verdict at any moment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: Hello, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.
By their very nature, we have never heard from the victims of a serial killer, no insight, no perspective on what he did to them, no peek inside
the psyche of the monster and how he terrified them before he killed them. You`d have to survive that ordeal to relay all of that and clear up what
Hollywood has tried to recreate in the absence of a true script.
But tonight, Kala Brown has delivered a true script about this man in a harrowing account of being the prisoner of Todd Kohlhepp, a serial killer
of at least seven. Before he could kill her, police found her locked up as a prisoner inside a filthy and stifling hot storage container. She had
been there for more than two months, chained in the pitch black, raped daily, beaten, her life threatened.
He kidnapped Kala after she and her boyfriend, Charlie, showed up to work on his property. He shot Charlie dead right in front of her before leading
her off to the container. The stroke of luck came when investigators searching for Kala and Charlie started poking around his property. And
that`s when they heard the banging. It was Kala inside those metal walls.
And they immediately got to work on the lock. They used an electric saw. It sent sparks flying. But it went on and on. They pounded and pounded 24
times with that sledge hammer. And then finally, they broke it with a pair of bolt cutters.
And after wedging it open with a crowbar, the officers finally were able to rush in, uncertain of how they would find Kala. But she was ready to be
found, and she was ready to talk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) crowbar (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) crowbar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch out. Y`all move.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got it. Watch out, boss. Back up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: The kind of video we have never seen before. Listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just hang loose for me. Anybody got -- I need a handcuff key.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Handcuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Jaw-dropping, absolutely jaw-dropping. This video evidence of her rescue really something so few see. And believe it or not, there is
more. For the first time tonight, we are hearing her describe the hell that she lived inside those metal walls really just moments after she got
out of them.
[20:05:10]She was loaded, after these moments you`re witnessing, into an ambulance, where she meticulously laid out all of the evidence against Todd
Kohlhepp that would see that monster locked up in a dark prison of his own forever. And the police, along with the district attorney, released the
tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kala, how do you know Todd Kohlhepp?
BROWN: (INAUDIBLE) about five or six years ago when a guy I was dating said they were friends. After that, we stayed in touch (INAUDIBLE) I refly
started cleaning houses (INAUDIBLE) Being my boy friend, Charlie came out here to his land (INAUDIBLE) thin some underbrush. And -- that`s when he
shot Charlie and kept me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He shot Charlie and kept you? Can you describe what happened to Charlie?
BROWN: (INAUDIBLE) walked back outside. (INAUDIBLE) side by side outside the building, waiting for Todd to come back out. When Todd came back out,
he had a gun in his hand. He fired three shots, and Charlie (INAUDIBLE) Charlie fell backwards. I was completely in shock (INAUDIBLE) grabbed me
from behind, took me inside (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So Todd shot Charlie and then brought you inside. What happened then?
BROWN: He put me on the floor. He handcuffed my hands behind my back and cuffed my feet. Then he sat down in a chair and told me that he was sorry
about Charlie, but he had to let me know that he was serious, that he wouldn`t hurt me if I did what he said, and that he couldn`t believe that I
didn`t realize that (INAUDIBLE) used to do it for a living (INAUDIBLE) for a living and I should have known better. (INAUDIBLE) didn`t know if he was
going to kill me or sell me or (INAUDIBLE) He just wanted me to (INAUDIBLE) And when he took me outside (INAUDIBLE) in a blue tarp in the bucket of his
tractor. And he put me in the building (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. What did he tell you he did to Charlie?
BROWN: He told me he buried him and -- somewhere out there, and that he said that he put (INAUDIBLE) would let the dogs smell him. I don`t know if
it`s true or not but...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know what happened to your car?
BROWN: It was Charlie`s car. He said he that he -- he said (INAUDIBLE) He took our phones, and while he was talking to me, he asked me what the
password for both of our (INAUDIBLE) our Facebook. I told him that (INAUDIBLE) both of our phones, but I didn`t know Charlie`s Facebook
password.
He said that he drove all the way up (INAUDIBLE) different places. He said he (INAUDIBLE) the car, he dumped it in a ravine (INAUDIBLE) spray painted
(INAUDIBLE) and said going to tear it up and not leave any evidence. And then two weeks later, he told me that it was tore it up real good, and he
said he covered it with (INAUDIBLE) and that he had (INAUDIBLE) a bunch a foliage on top of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bunch of what?
BROWN: Tree limbs and stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Pretty detailed account of what happened to Kala. Within minutes, minutes of getting out of that prison, watching the man that she
loved brutally murdered, but that part of the story is just the beginning. She continued to tell that investigator on that ride to the hospital about
Todd Kohlhepp and how he described his other murders in gory detail, bragging that his kills would reach into the triple digits.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has Todd told you about anything else?
[20:10:00]BROWN: He said that -- not in a lot of details, but I know he said he had another guy -- he was just (INAUDIBLE) the girl didn`t know who
he was (INAUDIBLE) but she (INAUDIBLE) building one day (INAUDIBLE) shot her in the back of the head. He said he buried her somewhere on the land.
So he also claimed he (INAUDIBLE) but he said he did. He said used to kill people for the government (INAUDIBLE) and when he got home, he just
(INAUDIBLE) mad at everybody. He said he liked doing (INAUDIBLE) and stuff, but -- that for some reason, he didn`t want to be (INAUDIBLE)
Charlie was just had to go so he`d know I was serious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he ever tell you how many people he`s killed out there?
BROWN: (INAUDIBLE) once he told me about four. He also told me that he walk into -- a few years back, that he walked into a bike shop in Anderson
and shot more people and left, and they never found out who did it.
He liked to brag that he was a serial killer and a mass murderer. He said he was going to kill more people because he had dreams of his body count
being three digits. He said right now, it was still high two digits.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: If you listen to the detail that this young woman is recounting to an investigator on the way to the hospital, it is nothing short of
remarkable. Something about Kala Brown locked every one of the details about her two-plus-months captivity into her head, perhaps knowing at some
point, she`d be able to tell the story and catch that man.
Something about this position that she was in, chained at the neck, sitting on dog beds, chained at the ankles, chained at the hands -- most of the
time, the hands changed behind her head. Something about the way she was in this container, or something about Kala herself, the fortitude that this
young woman was able to muster, to give these details to the investigators.
And I want you to remember, if you will, that whomever is asking the questions in the back of that ambulance may very well likely have been just
moments before shocked at the vision of when those doors opened up and what they found inside. If you didn`t see it last night on this program, and
even if you did, it is worth seeing again. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Chained to the wall and my neck`s attached to the wall up here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. All right. All right, we`re going to get you out of here, OK? Give me that handcuff key.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bolt cutter, just hit the chain right there (INAUDIBLE) no, just -- just right there at her hand, Brandon (ph). We`ll get it off.
We`ll get it off (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know where your buddy is?
BROWN: Charlie?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
BROWN: He shot him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He shot him? Who did?
BROWN: Todd Kohlhepp shot Charlie Carver three times in the chest, wrapped him in a blue tarp, put him in the bucket of the tractor, locked me down
here. I`ve never seen him again. He says he`s dead and buried, and he says there`s several bodies dead and buried out there. And he says that
the dogs would be ruined if they go looking because there`s red pepper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re going to (INAUDIBLE) (INAUDIBLE) there`s what?
BROWN: Red pepper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell the dog people that.
BROWN: He said there`s pepper everywhere around the farm. (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: That`s the point where Kala Brown was led into the daylight and let right across that field into the waiting ambulance. And in that
ambulance, she was also able to recount to the investigators what Todd Kohlhepp did to her every single day multiple times. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: He would get there between 1:00 and 3:00 o`clock every day, take me up to the main building, beat me, make me do whatever he wanted sexually,
and then he`d put me back in the building. Sometimes he would leave, and sometimes he would get the tractor or four-wheeler out, reinforcing his
land, moving boulders and such (INAUDIBLE) everything and that he had to check stuff. (INAUDIBLE) and then he would always come back between 5:00
and 7:00, take me back up to the building, beat me again, (INAUDIBLE) do whatever (INAUDIBLE) sexually again.
[20:15:08]About 90 percent of the time, it was in the evening, too, but not always. And he would let me take a bath with a washcloth. (INAUDIBLE)
chain around my neck (INAUDIBLE) and cuffs around my ankle. (INAUDIBLE) he would come in with a gun. He would put the gun down before he got within
reach of me.
He would set his keys down (INAUDIBLE) and he would come in and he would cuff my hands behind my back, go back (INAUDIBLE) get keys (INAUDIBLE)
chain around my neck (INAUDIBLE) to the other building. When we got there, he had chains connected to the wall and a folded-up blanket that was my
spot on the floor (INAUDIBLE) chain around my neck, and then he would uncuff my hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Kala Brown`s details are not just jaw-dropping, they are critical. They`re evidence. And Kala Brown is more than likely the reason
that Todd Kohlhepp is now sitting behind bars after pleading to murder, seven counts, kidnapping, two counts, and criminal sexual assault, I`m not
sure how many counts, but Kala said somewhere between two and three times a day.
And for that, he will serve seven life terms, consecutively for good measure, and also for good measure, 60 more years for the rapes. Todd
Kohlhepp will be in prison much, much longer than Kala.
Remember the family that we told you about last night, Suzanne Taylor and her two daughters? They were very mysteriously murdered in their own home,
very few details. And now 24 hours later, the body count has nearly doubled, this couple also found killed nearby, and police say this man
might actually be the key suspect in both cases.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:20:20]BANFIELD: Murder mysteries unraveling in the suburbs of Cleveland Ohio. Last night, it was three murders. Tonight, though, it has
grown to five. We were so mystified by the deaths of Suzanne Taylor and her beautiful daughters, but we were positively stumped when the news broke
later they weren`t the only victims. Miles away, another innocent couple murdered in their home.
And then came the break. The murders were connected. First the 911 call reporting the young family dead.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They didn`t answer the door. I`m sorry. It`s locked. He went in and he said the bedroom door was closed. And he opened the
bedroom door and he says, There`s a body in here. And I said, I`m calling 911.
911 OPERATOR: So the boyfriend called and said he went in the bedroom?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He called me earlier and said, Hey, something`s wrong because all the cars are here and the door`s locked and I don`t hear the
dog and that (ph) stuff (ph). And yesterday, I was there and I dropped off flowers, and it was kind of the same thing, where I didn`t hear the dog
barking. The cars were there and her friend George`s car was there, and I left flowers.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Suzanne Taylor and her daughters Kylie and Taylor were all dead. But that last sentence that was uttered was a major clue. Suzanne`s friend
George was there. Think about that. More on it in a moment.
First, though, the other 911 call that came in where the couple`s son finds their dead bodies.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of their things were still by the stairs where they had come in. Their dog was laying on its side barking. There was dog poop
on the floor. I checked through the house and couldn`t find anyone, noticed that one of the bedrooms, the door knob was broken off. I put the
screwdriver from my multi-tool in, turned it, and they`re both in there. She`s on the bed, he`s on the floor, and neither one of them is responding.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Police found Gene (ph) and Bobby John dead, both of them shot in the bedroom. And investigators quickly made a connection between the two
crime scenes, and they say that connection was George Brinkman. Officers say George Brinkman was house-sitting for that elderly couple found dead in
their bedroom, and George Brinkman was friends with the mom of those beautiful daughters, even commenting on that mom, Suzanne, her Facebook
with these posts, saying that a place was hot because she was there, even calling her a queen in one of her posted pictures.
Authorities caught up with George Brinkman at a nearby home, and it didn`t go well. It was actually nine hours before anything went well. It was a
standoff. And ultimately, he had to be tased before he could be brought into custody. And presumably, that`s when the questions began as they led
him off shirtless and handcuffed, hopefully, to solve more of this mystery.
Lieutenant Robert Safran is with Brunswick Police Department. He joins me on the phone. He was there at that stand-off. Lieutenant, thank you so
much for being with me.
What tipped you off as to where he was?
LT. ROBERT SAFRAN, BRUNSWICK POLICE (via telephone): Well, thanks for having me, Ashleigh. And first, I just want to say our thoughts go out to
the families of the victims in both Royalton and Lake township.
(INAUDIBLE) tipped us off, we received information from the North Royalton Police Department, as well as the Marshals task force, that Mr. Brinkman
was possibly at a location in our city.
[20:25:10]BANFIELD: So the location in particular, the home where it ended up being a nine-hour standoff -- was it his home? Was it an easy find?
Was there something else we don`t know about?
SAFRAN: No, my understanding was it was a house that he was staying at on and off again. He wasn`t residing there permanently and just sort of
drifted from one location to another, and that was one of those locations.
BANFIELD: And in that location was a woman. I`m not sure if it was her home, but certainly, she was there at one point. What happened to her?
SAFRAN: Well, she -- when officers first arrived at the residence, she came to the front door. And due to the gravity of the situation and what
we were actually going to the house for, she was removed from the house immediately. So she was never in the house during the actual negotiations.
BANFIELD: Did she know anything about George Brinkman and certainly what he`s accused of? Did she have any inkling that this guy potentially could
be this alleged mass killer?
SAFRAN: Well, I can`t speak to her mindset, but I know that during the course of the evening, into the morning hours, she did tell us the George
Brinkman that she knew, and then we described to her some of the things that we knew, and there were two different versions.
BANFIELD: And the reaction?
SAFRAN: She was shocked.
BANFIELD: So can you tell me a little bit about that nine-hour standoff? And it was an unusual -- it was an unusual nine hours. Tell me about some
of the things that went on between your guys and Brinkman in that home.
SAFRAN: Well, the negotiations -- they lasted, as you said, approximately nine hours. And I don`t -- I would say there were never any meaningful
negotiations established. We just wanted Mr. Brinkman to come out of the house and give up. But we were in a position where he was armed with a
pistol, and we were communicating with him through windows at the front of the residence. And we just kept talking for approximately nine hours,
asking him to come out.
BANFIELD: Were you ever face to face or did you have to keep a distance? And there`s all these odd reports that he was drinking whiskey and talking
right through the window to you. And I just want a clear vision of what it really looked like right from the horse`s mouth.
SAFRAN: Well, face to face -- I mean, that`s a loose term. The officers were back far enough so they weren`t that close to him, But all the
communication was really done by yelling through the windows. So our negotiators -- I mean, they -- they understood the gravity of the situation
and it wasn`t lost on them that they`re dealing with a subject that potentially killed five people.
BANFIELD: And was it true that he was drinking whiskey all the way through this long night?
SAFRAN: At the beginning, I think he was eating some Twinkies and drinking Pepsi. Later, he switched to whiskey, yes.
BANFIELD: Did that help in your efforts?
SAFRAN: Well, we -- you know, the thought crossed us if he drinks until he passes out, that would help, but that did not occur.
BANFIELD: It looks -- well, we`re just watching him being led out. It`s not easy to walk with hands, you know, cuffed behind your back. But he
doesn`t look particularly steady. He`d also been tased, am I correct?
SAFRAN: That`s correct. He was tased.
BANFIELD: So what was his condition when you got him? And did he start talking right away?
SAFRAN: He wasn`t talking right away. We -- after he was tased and then taken into custody by our SWAT team, he was led outside and we had an
ambulance on standby to check him out to make sure he was medically OK.
BANFIELD: And what about interrogation? How did that go? Did he get his rights? Did he say anything? Has he helped so far?
SAFRAN: Well, that end, this whole process, we were not involved in. We were just there to apprehend him, along with, you know, the FBI violent
fugitive task force, the North Royalton police department, Stark County sheriff`s office and the southwest enforcement bureau. The Brunswick
police department, we didn`t actually interview him.
BANFIELD: Understandable. But anything blurted out on scene with your guys that could be certainly passed on to those investigators? Sometimes
these guys say the damnedest things on site as they`re caught.
SAFRAN: No, Ashleigh, he really didn`t say anything. We just were concerned with getting him out of the house and getting him medically
cleared.
BANFIELD: Well, Lieutenant, great job. I mean, bringing in a collar like that after that long -- and if he is guilty of the things he`s alleged to
have done, that is one very dangerous, dangerous man. And I thank you for giving your condolences to those families because we are talking about five
souls, all with family members of their own who are in mourning tonight.
There is one more detail I want to read for you, if I can. And this is an intriguing part of this story. It wasn`t just the lieutenant and his guys
communicating with George Brinkman. There was a reporter communicating as well. I`m going to read you some Facebook repartee between Brinkman and a
young woman named Lacey Crisp. She is a reporter with CNN affiliate WOIO in Cleveland.
And here is how her Facebook communication started. Pretty innocent at first, thinking she might have found someone who knows one of the victims.
Says sorry to bother you again. I`m just checking in to see if you have a couple of minutes to talk. Thanks, I`m really sorry to bother, but anything
anecdotally you can tell us about Sue? This is Suzanne she is talking about.
Likes? Dislikes? Were she funny or serious? Thanks again. George Brinkman answers, hello, Lacey. I`m sorry I wasn`t able to call. Still interested in
talking face-to-face? And Lacey Crisp answers, yes, we are across the street from the house. Can you meet us here? And she gives her cellphone.
About four hours later, the tenor of the conversation changes completely.
Brinkman then sends her a message saying, hostage situation, please come, cops came for me, I`m barricaded, no lies. Lacey Crisp answers, get out of
the house, hands up. Brinkman answers, no. Lacey says, who is in there with you? Brinkman says, no one, I had her leave. This is going to end up with
me dead. Sorry.
And Lacey Crisp joins me now live. Lacey, this is an unbelievable communication that you had with this man. Is there anything more that you
can sort of shed color on, let me know a little bit more about you speaking with him during this whole ordeal?
LACEY CRISP, REPORTER FOR WOIO: You know, what`s really interesting as I started talking to him earlier in the day, about noon yesterday afternoon.
As you mentioned, we were just trying to learn more about these victims. We always like to tell our viewers who these people are, not just about the
heinous ways that they were killed.
I was reaching out to friends and family. And George Brinkman was friends with all three of the victims. He was very active on posting on their
Facebook pages, on their pictures, so I reached out to him thinking he would be a good person to talk to. He probably knows a lot about them. As
you mentioned, he didn`t end up meeting up with me.
I knew about an hour before he mentioned - before you mentioned that message at 9:48 last night, I knew that the SWAT team was closing in on a
location. I knew that they were targeting the suspect possibly for this triple homicide in North Royalton. So when he sent me that message saying
I`m barricaded, I`m in the house, the cops are surrounding me, I knew exactly what he was talking about and it was unnerving.
BANFIELD: I can imagine that the man you`ve been, you know, communicating with just four hours prior, thinking maybe you can get some details on this
unsolved crime of this beautiful family turns out to be the person they are looking for and is in a standoff.
Do you have any sense from your communication with him or anything else that you have learned along the way in the story that there could be
anybody else? We are at five. Last night, we were at three victims. We are at five tonight. Do we think there might be more?
CRISP: No, you know, even last night, he never mentioned the Stark County situation. In fact, even when he did mention Suzanne, Taylor, and Kylie, he
said I would never hurt them. I loved them. I`ve known them since they were in elementary school. He said, just tell everyone that I would never hurt
them. So, you know, when he was talking to me, he wanted to make it abundantly clear that I tell everyone that he was innocent.
BANFIELD: Well, do we not at this point how everybody died? There`s some sort of suggestions, there were guns used, but it doesn`t seem anyone has
been very, very clear on how all five of these victims died, do you know?
CRISP: No, we don`t. There was some confusion. I was actually out on the scene in North Royalton on Sunday night. There was some confusion. We were
given some information. And then the police went ahead on Monday afternoon and told us that information was incorrect.
That one of the victims was stabbed. And they`re not telling us anything about how the other two victims, the two daughters, adult daughters, have
passed away. I`m sure that`s something that the family members would like to know.
BANFIELD: Here`s the North Royalton Police just commenting on making this connection between these two killings and then sort of looking forward to
see if there might be something else in the offing. Have a listen.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE LOEDING, NORTH ROYALTON POLICE: It appears to be homicide. I don`t know the motive. It looks like a mother and two daughters, adults.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Apologies. We had an interview where the North Royalton Police said that the investigation is never really over. If there are connections,
we hope not, they say, but we`re going to continue
[20:35:00] to look at all angles, a lot of work yet to do. So some fascinating development and at the same time still a very strange mystery
because we have no idea what the motive might have been in the killings of that beautiful family and elderly couple.
All we know is that they are dead and there is a man who has been caught and our thoughts go out again to these families and what they`re going
through. My thanks to Lacey Crisp. My thanks also to Lieutenant Robert Safran.
Tonight in Pennsylvania, jurors in Bill Cosby still at work, believe it or not, in that trial, the aggravated indecent assault trial. Famous comedian
accused of drugging and assaulting a Temple University employee back in 2004.
Those jurors have now been at work deliberating for 15 and a half hours. He was charged with three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault. If he
is convicted, he could end up spending the rest of his natural life in jail.
In Massachusetts tonight, Michelle Carter`s fate is now in the hands of a judge. That judge, bench trial, hearing her case, she`s been charged with
involuntary manslaughter in the suicide death of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy. The state says that calls and text messages between Michelle and Conrad
while he was in the process of killing himself, were reckless, and that they contribute to do his death.
Specifically they point to a phone call where she told Conrad to get back into truck when he was getting scared and instead finish what he started.
Carter`s defense team countered that Conrad Roy was a troubled young man, who had carefully planned and executed his suicide.
The decision in the case could set a legal precedent on whether it is a crime to encourage someone to commit suicide. If convicted, Michelle Carter
could be sentenced to 20 years in prison.
A convicted murderer addresses the court, not to express any remorse, but instead to declare his pride in the crime that he committed.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BRENTON WALKER, CHARGED WITH MURDER: It felt great. I feel vindicated because of it. I`ve never felt better in my life. The fact that it happened
to this particular individual.
BANFIELD: Needless to say, the victim`s family is absolutely outraged. And wouldn`t you be? Just standing feet away from a man like that. You`re going
to hear all of what played out in just a moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: It happens every night in most cities across America. Guy meets girl. They leave the bar together. Such was the case of Brenton Walker and
Heather Young in northern Michigan. A couple met at a local bar, went back to Walker`s house, and then everything went sideways. Brenton says he got
upset when Heather started talking about her boyfriend.
So he got out his rifle and he shot her in the leg. Must have had a change of heart though because he tried to bandage her up. That`s when
understandably Heather maze him and tried to run away. So Brenton walked and shot her and killed her. And he wasn`t done yet. He then tried to rid
himself of her body by burning it, using a chainsaw to dismember her into pieces, and then bury those pieces on a neighbor`s property.
When Heather was reported missing, police tracked him down because he was the last person seen with her. Heather remains were found and Brenton
Walker was charged. He took a deal, second-degree murder and firearms charge. He was sentenced to 45 to 70 years behind bars.
And again, that`s when things went sideways. During the hearing, Brenton Walker addressed the court, said he wasn`t at least bit sorry for killing
Heather Young, a woman he had only just met. As you listen, just imagine her family, because they`re sitting just a few feet away.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Well now when I was given the opportunity to follow through with something that I`ve known for a long time I`m capable of doing, it felt
great. I feel vindicated because of it. I have never felt better in my life. The fact that it happened in this particular individual was because
number one, she reminded me a lot of my ex-wife and other women I`ve been with, a liar, a dope fiend, and a (beep).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: You hear that? As you can imagine, Brenton Walker`s comments didn`t sit well with Heather`s family. When it was their turn, they fired
back.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope you live in misery and pain for the rest of your life, and you will be every prisoner`s "little Susie."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said he`s happy now. I would be happy to take him out, if you would let me, you know. I hope that wherever he goes, you know,
they might do that for me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He stands there with a smirk on his face. That is not right. They need to get ready to bring the death penalty back in Michigan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get rid of this man. Just -- I -- my mother was never a (beep). You (beep).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Did you catch that? That was Brenton Walker laughing, as that victim`s daughter was led out of court. She is led out of court. Joining me
now is Misty Marris and Troy Slaten from Los Angeles. First to you, Misty. Why would a judge allow this? Why would a judge allow him to say those
things and then drag the daughter out?
MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It`s absolutely unbelievable, Ashleigh. First of all, most defendants in his situation who have pled guilty would
use that time to seek some mercy from the court, to say perhaps some mitigating statements, mitigating factors.
[20:45:00] He chose to simply boast about his crime and say he`s never felt better. Unbelievable. The judge probably did not know that was coming. And
the family, our hearts go out to them, of course.
BANFIELD: So the family, Troy, one of them said, I hope you become someone`s little Susie in prison. And that actually got me wondering. What
will the treatment of a man who is going down for a second-degree murder and felony firearms, what will the treatments of him be like in prison?
TROY SLATEN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: He`s not going to be treated very well, Ashleight. I mean, he displayed a depraved indifference to human life.
Normally, people who are rapists and child molesters and people that kill attractive women are not treated very well in prison. I don`t think that
his statements are going to do him very well behind bars.
BANFIELD: I think we can all agree we hope not, we truly hope not. I mean, that is a sad thing to say, but that man deserves something more than the
45 to 70 years that he got. Stand by, guys.
A desperate manhunt is ongoing right now in central Georgia because two prisoners busted loose out of the back of the prison bus. They allegedly
killed the two correction officers who were taking them to their new jail and now these guys have nothing left to lose.
[20:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Following breaking news right now. Two correction officers shot dead. They were killed while transporting 33 prisoners in Georgia. The
investigators say two of those inmates busted through what should have been a locked back door on the bus and attacked those officers.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD SILLS, PUTNAM COUNTY SHERIFF: Approximately 6:45 this morning on Highway 16 between here and Sparta, Georgia. That was a department of
corrections bus. A trasport bus. Similar to the one you see there. That`s not the bus, but similar to that one. Transporting state prisoners.
This was not a work (inaudible). Two of the prisoners got out of the back somehow and got into the driver`s compartment. Overpowered the guards, the
officers who were driving the bus. Obtained their weapons and shot and killed both the correction officers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Out there tonight somewhere, Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose. Investigators say they carjacked 2004 green Honda Civic. Just moments after
the murders, they could still be in it. Sheriff says simply put these men dangerous people.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
SILLS: We are still desperately looking for these two individuals. They are armed with 9-mm pistols that were taken from the correction officers. They
are dangerous beyond description. If anyone sees them, they need to contact, call 911, whoever they are and report it immediately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: CNN national correspondent Nick Valencia joins me now from the sheriff`s office in Putnam County, Georgia. What`s the latest, Nick?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ricky Dubose and Donnie Rowe, both of them have extensive criminal histories. Both of them on the run
right now. The outstanding question of course, Ashleigh, is where these individuals might be.
We heard just a little while ago according to local media reports that they may have been spotted about 25 miles outside of Atlanta, east of Atlanta,
in a place called Conyers. That green Honda that they carjacked evidently still the car that they are using. Both these men said to be armed and
dangerous. Ashleigh?
BANFIELD: So the Dubose character, we just had a shot of him up, man, those tattoos are so obvious, I can`t imagine he`s going to get far. He`s got
designs over his eyebrows. He`s got the word "always" tattooed across his neck. Are they able to give any better descriptions that that? Clothes they
might have stolen along the way. I think two robberies have been possibly reported now.
VALENCIA: We know according to the Putnam County sheriff that they entered a residence in Madison about 20 or so minutes away from here. In that
residence, were out of their prison jumpsuits. changed into clothes. They were also spotted later at a family dollar there in Madison.
We understand from local reports as well that some of those businesses in Madison were on lock down for a short time, but the latest sighting of
them, Ashleigh, is about 20 miles outside of Atlanta in Conyers.
It seems as though they`re trying to head west. We also know that the authorities in neighboring Alabama have been given a heads up about the
potential that they may be heading there. It`s a nationwide manhunt at this point. Officials have stressed to us that they could be anywhere. Ashleigh?
BANFIELD: One of them was in prison for life without parole. Stand by for a second, Nick. I want to bring in Misty Marris and Troy Slaten into this.
Misty, life without parole means you are not living your prison unless you`re toe tagged. Don`t you transport those prisoners way differently?
MARRIS: Absolutely. You have to have precautions far beyond average. You`re talking about someone with absolutely nothing to lose that`s now in the
public at large. The precautions have to be above and beyond. The fact that these prisoners were able to overtake this van is beyond disturbing.
BANFIELD: I mean, get out of the van and get into the cab of the van and get the weapons apparently from the corrections officers and murder both of
them allegedly. Real quick, Troy, you talk about murder in Georgia and it`s serious business now. You talk about murdering a corrections official and
you up the ante, don`t you?
SLATEN: The most dangerous thing that correction officers do is transport prisoners, especially ones that have nothing to lose. That it doesn`t mean
anything for them to commit this murder because you can`t keep them in longer except in this state the death penalty is alive and well.
[20:55:00] BANFIELD: Bingo. And the aggravator is corrections officer. So, everyone, keep your eyes for tattoos like these and looks can kill. So, be
real, real careful. Ricky Dubose and Donnie Rowe out there somewhere tonight. We`re going to keep an eye on this manhunt for you. Meantime, back
right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: This Friday, the HLN original series "Beyond Reasonable Doubt" takes an in-depth look at a cold case that was cracked literally by DNA
found on a cigarette butt. You`ve got to see it. "Beyond Reasonable Doubt." Left for dead. It airs this Friday at 9:00 p.m.
My thanks to Troy Slaten and Misty Marris for being with me through the program. Thank you, everyone, for watching. We`ll be right back here at
8:00 tomorrow for "Primetime Justice." In the meantime, stay tuned. "Forensic Files" is coming up next.
[21:00:00]
END
