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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
Murder Investigation; Murder Charges Imminent?; Chilling Surveillance; Unbelievable Rap Sheet; Groom To The Rescue. 8:30-9p ET
Aired September 26, 2017 - 20:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST (voice-over): A former model convicted of murder for hire.
TARA LAMBERT, CONVICTION OVERTURNED: Just put it in a chopper (INAUDIBLE) lumberjack type of thing.
BANFIELD: Now telling "Inside Edition" what she wore in court sealed her fate.
LAMBERT: They were worried about my wardrobe rather than what was really going on.
BANFIELD: Forget the facts, cops say she was caught red-handed trying to hire a hit man to kill her husband`s ex.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I take it you want some type of proof that they got...
LAMBERT: Of course.
BANFIELD: Now with her guilty verdict thrown out...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) move forward and prove that I`m not the one (INAUDIBLE)
BANFIELD: ... how she`ll dress when next in court.
A 5-year-old killed, cops say because he may have been a witness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To just know that someone can have that much evil inside of them to hurt a baby like that...
BANFIELD: A witness to the savage beating of his own mother and the unthinkable act of tossing her off a cliff, but his mom lived to tell the
tale.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know how she made it.
BANFIELD: Now cops are trying to process how a $200 debt may have been the motive.
Captured on camera.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was saying, No, no, leave me alone.
BANFIELD: Surveillance video shows the harrowing moment a woman is grabbed off a sidewalk and thrown in a car.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s scary. My kids are out here riding their bikes.
BANFIELD: What`s worse, no one stopped to help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey. Stop. Let go. Leave her alone. I mean, you could hear the girl banging the window hard.
A young girl brutally murdered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s heartbreaking.
BANFIELD: And cops say the killer lived just two doors down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just not (ph) hard to imagine.
BANFIELD: But how was he even on the street, given a rap sheet a mile long?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can`t even process something like that.
BANFIELD: And what happened inside that trailer that left seasoned detectives shaking?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve never seen anything this brutal in my entire career.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: Good evening, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.
Most people want to make good impression, be it a job interview or maybe a funeral or even when you`re at work. In a courtroom, the stakes are even
higher. And when you`re on trial for conspiring to commit murder, the stakes are off the charts.
If you`ve got money, there`s an untold number of consultants who can tell you how to act and how to dress and how to impress a jury. And you would
think that a former model would, A, know how to dress, and B, know how to act. But when it comes to Tara Lambert, a stunning blonde from Ohio,
answer is, C, none of the above.
Tara was convicted of trying to hire a hit man to kill her husband`s ex. And the evidence against here was crystal clear because it was on tape! As
plain as day, you could hear Tara tell the undercover cop to put the victim`s body in a wood chipper when he was done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you want done with her?
LAMBERT: Oh, my God. Just put it in a chopper, like one of those lumberjack chopper things.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) I don`t carry a lumberjack chopper.
LAMBERT: (INAUDIBLE) like, that`s how much I hate her, though.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: That hidden camera video came as quite a surprise to Tara when the police who arrested her told her that everything she said to that, you
know, hit man guy -- it was actually on tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, they are recorded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Yes. Yes, you were recorded. Turned out that the jury used that video to convict her in just 42 minutes. But Tara now tells "Inside
Edition" that the reason that jury convicted her was because of what she wore in the courtroom, those tight dresses and her high heels.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAMBERT: They were worried about my wardrobe, rather than what was really going on. White and black checkered dress got a lot of publicity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s the dress that actually sold out everywhere because people saw you wearing it in court?
LAMBERT: Apparently, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Just a few months later, a judge overturned this conviction, meaning that Tara could be planning whole new wardrobe for round two in
court.
Melissa Neeley is an anchor/reporter for 700 WLW radio, and she joins me from Cincinnati. Just tell me that the verdict wasn`t actually thrown out
because of her choices of wardrobe, that it was something actually technical and legitimate.
MELISSA NEELEY, 700 WLW: It was technical and legitimate. It was mistake by the prosecutors when they filed the indictment. There was a clerical
error, basically. And because of that, her conviction was thrown out and she was released from jail.
[20:05:08]BANFIELD: So as the -- sort of the machinations continue, I know that the prosecutors are pushing to have that conviction reinstated and
that, you know, obviously, her defense team is looking towards the possibility of having to go through this all again.
There`s the still question of what happened. and for any of our viewers who weren`t sort of around for this story the first time, give me the
synopsis of what the crime was that she was convicted of before the conviction was tossed out of court, Melissa.
NEELEY: Well, she was going through a divorce and apparently was angry with her ex-husband and sought out someone to do something mean to him and
I think the woman that he was dating. And she met in the car with an undercover officer and they recorded the entire scene, which you`ve shown
the audience now, and her saying that she wanted to put her in the wood chopper.
So they have that all on tape, and that is big part of the evidence of what they convicted her on. And that is not going away at this point.
BANFIELD: Hold on, Melissa. It`s a little convoluted because there`s a lot of players in this and you almost need a flow chart. But I think the
actual connection was that her current husband -- well, this stunning model did not like her current husband`s ex. And it`s that lady that she wanted
bumped off, according to the police. And this whole wood chopper -- I thought it was typo because normally, I refer to it as wood chipper, being
from, you know, sort of the red states. But here she is actually saying those words, the whole wood chipper thing. I want to play for you what
that undercover officer heard her say inside that car. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you want done with her?
LAMBERT: Oh, my God. Just put her in a chopper, like -- like one of those lumberjack chopper things.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) I don`t carry a lumberjack chopper.
LAMBERT: Oh, just kidding! Like, that`s how much I hate her, though.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So the wood chopper thing, Melissa -- she giggled. And I`m just going to say that you can look at that two ways. You can say she is
unbearably heartless, or she was only kidding.
Did that ever come up in this story, that she was only kidding, she never meant for that body to go to a wood chipper. She never even mean for this
to be a body. She just wanted that guy to rough the girl up. Is that part of her defense that first round?
NEELEY: It absolutely is. That`s what she was saying, that she was just kidding the whole time and none of this was serious and she wasn`t actually
wanting to kill anyone.
Now, I guess that`s for the jury to decide if they indict her again. Of course, as you know, they`re trying to get the ruling overturned at the
Ohio state supreme court. So we haven`t heard on that ruling yet.
BANFIELD: Yes, that`s that whole tricky thing, too, because the overruling is of an overruling. I mean, it`s sort of confusing, but basically, it`s
simple. She was convicted. She was sentenced to seven years behind bars. And then all of a sudden, the technicality meant the judge said, Oops,
mistake, we have to throw out that conviction, and now those prosecutors want that conviction back. And if they don`t get it back, they may go for
round two.
Hold on for a second, Melissa. I want to bring in Sam Shamansky. He`s the attorney for Tara Lambert. He joins me now from Columbus, Ohio. Thanks
for coming on, Sam. Do you guys really believe that her sexy appearance in court, those hot dresses and those unbelievable stilettos, was a
distraction so much that the jury convicted her because she`s too pretty?
SAM SHAMANSKY, LAMBERT`S ATTORNEY: Ashleigh, they were one of many distractions that never should have occurred at the trial level. You know
that. Your colleagues know that, and I know that. It was an absolute tactical blunder that should never have occurred.
BANFIELD: OK, so I will give you that. I could definitely see the jury focusing on her nonstop, the way she walked had had a total wiggle, her
dresses were hot, she was hot, her stilettos were for dying. I don`t know how she could possibly even stand in them, let alone wear them.
But I`m going to do this. I`m going to play the devil`s advocate because that`s what we do when it comes to cases. I`m going to play what I think
personally -- and what do I know -- is the smoking gun in this case where she actually says the words and has a repartee with that undercover cop
that is clear as day to me that she wants that girl dead, not punched.
So let me just play that smoking gun moment, and then I`ll ask you about it after it plays.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ll just walk straight up, shoot her in the grill. You said the dude is gone all the time? Do they have guns?
LAMBERT: He can go, too, if you want, if he starts a struggle or he ends up being there. If the red truck is there, he`s there. But then again,
the van comes and (INAUDIBLE) picks him up. So I don`t -- I can`t say that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if he`s there, you want him to go, too?
[20:10:06]LAMBERT: You know, I mean, I really don`t mind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s your grand (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Sam, it`s your grand. I mean, he can go, too. I mean, I really don`t mind. And those critical words, "Shoot her in the grill." Your
client said she just thought it was a punch, but it`s pretty clear to everybody, including me, including you, what `Shoot her in the grill"
means. How do you get past that?
SHAMANSKY: Well, it`s not clear to me, A. And B, when we get back in court, I`ll get past it. And C, everything needs to be taken in context.
So you just can`t cherry pick one statement, two statements. Need to have everything looked at as a whole, which is what (INAUDIBLE) might be enough
to get back into court.
BANFIELD: I -- you know, cherry pick? I mean, I actually had five or six of these moments to go through. Let me play another one, where she talks
about her current husband`s daughters. They`re her stepdaughters, but refers to them as her own daughters, and she talks about how even they
would want this mother of theirs offed had they had the chance. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAMBERT: I`m going to be so excited. I just can`t even tell you. I`m so happy about this.
(LAUGHTER)
LAMBERT: I know that`s so bad, but even my girls, I think if they could pay people to do this, they probably would. They hate her so bad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don`t feel bad about that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t feel bad about it.
LAMBERT: She`s a loser. (INAUDIBLE) baby. I don`t know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Sounds good.
LAMBERT: OK! Very, very good. You the man!
(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: So Sam, I completely understand where as an attorney, you would say, you know, the media does edit things. But this jury took 42 minutes.
They saw everything. And each one of these moments was so clear that she hated this woman, she wanted her gone, incommunicado, I think, or something
like that. I mean, she was very specific in the number of times she talked about money, making it happen, making it look like a robbery gone bad. And
then by the way, help yourself to the stuff they have. They post it all over Facebook anyway. Just take it if you want it. That`s hard to get by.
You can`t just tell me it`s easy to get by.
SHAMANSKY: I never told you it was easy. I never said it was going to be easy. All I said is that the case needs to be continued, considered as
whole in a context. And remember, Ashleigh, she didn`t testify at this hearing. She should have, and if we`re back in court a second time, she
very well may.
BANFIELD: Oh, that`s interesting. What about the clothing choices? She did look stunning and beautiful. I didn`t think it made her look guilty, I
just thought it made her look off-the-charts beautiful. But what would your choices be for her the next time she`s in this -- this boat?
SHAMANSKY: Ashley, as a journalist, you know, you`re stunning and beautiful. As a defendant, were I defending you in court of law in
Circleville (ph), Ohio, I`d want you to look respectful and demure. You know that. I know it. And her lawyer should have known it.
BANFIELD: So how will she dress?
SHAMANSKY: In a demure, respectful fashion befitting of the environment in which she is about to testify, not...
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: Yes, I appreciate that you recognize how important it is. I always like to be respectful of those jurors and give them the benefit of
the doubt as they do to the case and think that it wasn`t just that she was a stunner that made her guilty, but it was, you know, her own words on tape
when she was dressed down in that -- in that vehicle.
So here`s other thing, Sam. And you`re going to have to walk me through this. She stood up at the end of the process last time around, not dressed
in her fancies anymore, and gave a -- what I thought was a heartfelt plea, essentially saying, You got me, I`m sorry. I take full responsibility for
this. And that`s hard to ignore. I want to play that moment for our viewers if they didn`t see it. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAMBERT: Kelly (ph), Sean (ph) (INAUDIBLE) I am truly sorry for the harm that my actions have caused. I never intended for this situation to get so
out of control, but it did and I do accept full responsibility for it. If I could go back to the future, if I had a time machine, I would go back in
time and this obviously would have never happened. But I can`t. I can only move forward and prove that I`m not the monster portrayed in this
trial. And I apologize to my husband, Bram (ph), and to my own family for the hardship that they have endured and will endure because of my actions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So Sam, that`s on the record. You can`t unring that bell for any of the jury pool out there right now that saw it. You can`t unring it.
And it`s also an official court record.
[20:15:03]But is it kind of record that can be reintroduced in round two? Can they show that or read that statement to the new jury, where she takes
full responsibility for it?
SHAMANSKY: Well, A, in answer to your question, of course you can. And B, I would say she doesn`t take full responsibility for any criminal activity,
but merely the harm and scrutiny that has befallen the family. And I think that was the high road to take, which is the road she`s always been on and
always will...
BANFIELD: I think that`s an uphill battle because when I saw it, I thought, This is me, you know, basically at rock bottom in an orange
jumpsuit, Judge, begging you for mercy. And I did it and I`m sorry, and OK, let`s just get on with it. So as a -- you know, and I`m not a lawyer,
I`m a juror, you know? I have volunteered for jury duty twice, and I would see that as someone who cops to it and I would think that`d be tough.
Will you come back on the show when this progresses? And we may get to that point where you`re choosing wardrobe and you`re choosing strategy?
SHAMANSKY: If asked. If you`ll help me with the wardrobe decisions.
BANFIELD: I tell you what. I have a village (ph). Left to my own devices, it is an ugly scene. But bless your heart for the -- for the --
for the props. I appreciate it. Sam Shamansky, we`ll see you soon.
SHAMANSKY: Thank you.
BANFIELD: A Kentucky woman says that was she was thrown off a cliff and that her 5-year-old son was murdered all allegedly because her husband owed
somebody 200 bucks. It is a horrifying crime with more questions than answers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:20:46]BANFIELD: The weekend after Labor Day, the weather was absolutely beautiful in Jackson County, Kentucky. And if you`ve ever been
there -- it`s about an hour south of Lexington -- you would know that this is a really, really nice place for hiking.
But there are two hikers who may never, ever go back there after what they saw beneath an 80-foot cliff out in the middle of nowhere. They came upon
a woman badly beaten but still alive. She had been thrown from that cliff, again 80 feet up. Her name is Jessica Durham, and even in the condition
she was in, she was able to describe who she thought did this to her, and worse that her 5-year-old son was missing. So crews began searching, and
two days later, they found him just under a mile away. Sadly, little James Spoonamore was dead. Only his killer didn`t throw him off a cliff. He
instead bashed in his head and left him for dead in the woods.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANDERS, KENTUCKY STATE POLICE: At 9:31 AM, we found the victim, the 5-year-old little boy about .6 of a mile where we had found his mother.
It`s horrible any time we have a death, but when we have a death of a young child, it hurts even more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Police say mom and son had been kidnapped, apparently because of an outstanding debt allegedly owed by the husband. Grand total owed to the
suspect, something like 200 bucks. Police say that suspect, Lonnie Belt, admitted to taking Jessica and James. He allegedly beat them both, threw
mom off the cliff and then hit the child in the head with a hollow pipe, quite possibly because that little boy was a witness to what had happened
to his mother.
Sergeant Josh Lawson is with the Kentucky state police. He joins me from Frankfurt, Kentucky. Sergeant, how close was Jessica Durham to not
surviving what happened to her and being thrown off that 80-foot cliff?
SGT. JOSH LAWSON, KENTUCKY STATE POLICE (via telephone): She had very significant injuries. It says in some of our reports that there are non-
life-threatening, however several broken bones. Can`t get into all the details of her injuries, but significant injuries, and she had to be flown
from the scene there immediately to one of our top hospitals in the state in Lexington.
BANFIELD: When did she start talking about who it was who threw her off the cliff and who just might have done what was done to her son?
LAWSON: It`s my understanding that she began talking as soon as she was located. A call was made to 911, a local dispatch, county dispatch in
Jackson County, dispatched out to their local deputies. And that`s when one of our troopers heard the call on the radio and took it upon himself to
respond to the scene. And it was when he made contact with her that we started getting the information we did that led us to begin searching for
her son, as well as searching for Lonnie Belt.
BANFIELD: Sergeant Lawson, if she did not -- if she had not survived that fall, if she had not survived that beating, would you have been able to
find the person who you arrested?
LAWSON: Of course, in all of our cases, we have the utmost confidence in our detectives. I`d like to believe that even with that little information
to go on, that they would have been able to do their job, speak with people in the area. It`s a small community, a very rural community where a lot of
people know each other. Her and Mr. Belt were known to one another. And I`d like to think that the pieces would be put together eventually, but not
so quickly as what they were being able to get some information from her.
BANFIELD: I mean, it is an astounding series of events. It`s just -- it`s unthinkable to most people who just hear these details. I think most
people listening right now will probably be thinking, Surely, you`re getting something wrong here. Is that the response of the police, as well?
Did you think for a moment this really can`t be the narrative of what happened?
LAWSON: There`s always a level of disbelief, even with detectives as seasoned as some of ours are, the supervisors that are involved, as many
years as they`ve had on, seeing the things that they have, there`s always some disbelief that it can`t really be the way it`s been laid out in front
of us. And we just have to follow the clues and follow the facts that we have until we`re left with no other option other than the details that
you`ve gone through today.
[20:25:20]BANFIELD: What happened to that little boy? I mean, we`re hearing just the -- you know, the nuts and bolts were that the murder
weapon was a hollow pipe. What more do you know about how he died?
LAWSON: I don`t really know much more than that. But one of the problems with it being an ongoing investigation is we can`t really get into all the
details that we know. I know some details were given in court testimony that`s been had since this incident. But all that I can say is that, yes,
head trauma was the cause of death for the little boy, and then where he was located, .6 mile, about 180 feet off of the roads in the woods. That`s
-- it`s enough to -- that -- sometimes, that`s all you really want to know.
BANFIELD: You know, I can`t imagine for the boy`s stepfather, you know, having to think through all of this. I want to play for a moment,
Sergeant, if I can, David Durham had something to say about this possible motive of owing this suspect a couple hundred dollars and this being
potentially the reason why this murder -- this kidnapping and attempted murder happened. Have a listen to what David Durham said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID DURHAM, MOTHER`S HUSBAND: They`re telling me that it was $400 that I stole from his coffee table or something that morning. I never stole no
money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: If I can, I want to bring in Bill Estep. He`s a reporter with "The Lexington Herald," and he`s in Somerset, Kentucky, right now. Bill,
you were in court for this appearance. This is the sort of defendant who would walk in and I would assume you could hear a pin drop. What was it
like? What was he like?
BILL ESTEP, "LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER" (via telephone): There were a lot of folks in court yesterday. It was a regular -- a motion day in court, so
people had various kinds of hearings going on. But this hearing for Lonnie Belt was called -- in Kentucky, it`s called a preliminary hearing. It`s
for a judge to decide whether there`s probable cause to believe that he committed the crime. If there is, then the case is waived to the grand
jury for an indictment, which -- which indicts -- becomes a felony case.
And it`s already charged in state court, but a grand jury indictment would be a felony charge and it would go forward from there. So he came into
court yesterday. He didn`t say anything in court. His lawyer spoke for him, asked several questions. There was state police detective Charles
Brandenburg (ph), who`s the one who`s the lead investigator on this case. He testified about the investigation yesterday and responded to questions,
but (INAUDIBLE) Belt didn`t say anything in court.
But there were a lot of folks in court and they were -- there was a -- people seemed to be paying pretty close attention to what he was saying.
There`s a lot of interest in this case locally and around the region.
BANFIELD: And as I understand it, Bill, the mother, who was thrown off the cliff and survived -- she was not there, correct?
ESTEP: No, she was not there. She was -- there was some testimony. Detective Brandenburg (ph) testified that she had a broken pelvis, a broken
leg, punctured lung, obviously head injuries, some other injuries. So she was pretty badly injured. She was in the hospital for several days. She
was released one day last week, but she was still not able to come to court yesterday. So she was not there.
BANFIELD: And this is how her condition was described by her husband. I want to play that real quickly. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DURHAM: I must have married the strongest woman that I have ever met in my life. I don`t know how she made it, but I`m so glad she did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Bill, the motive, you know, being that potentially money was owed and this notion that this baby, this 5-year-old boy may have been
murdered because he witnessed what happened to his mom -- did they talk about that in court?
ESTEP: Yes. Detective Brandenburg testified about that. It was part of the preliminary hearing. What he said was this was a situation -- this
actually occurred September the 8th, and David Durham, who`s the stepfather of the little boy and the husband of Jessica Durham -- they live about a
half mile from Lonnie Belt in this very rural area, as Mr. Lawson said. And David Durham, the stepfather, was gone to a city about a 35-minute
drive from there to a medical appointment.
So Jessica and the little 5-year-old boy were home by themselves. Lonnie came -- Lonnie Belt came at that time and told them -- told Jessica -- told
Jessica that her husband was passed out at his house, was unconscious and she needed to come and check on him. So that was the ruse to get her in
the car. Belt told police -- Detective Brandenburg testified that Belt said he didn`t think the little boy would be there, that he was surprised that
he was there. But nonetheless, the took both of them to his house. He told Jessica Durham that her husband was in the back bedroom.
When she walked down the hallway to see about him, she told police and Detective Brandenburg testified that Belt hit her in back of the head with
a metal object and then choked her. She never lost consciousness. And then he hit her some more, ultimately tied her hands, blindfolded her, put her
back in the car.
Drove around (INAUDIBLE) was her son in backseat then got her out at a very rural area at this spot where there was this cliff. This is out in the
Daniel Boone National Forest, so it`s a wooded area, very secluded, that he told her he was going to bandage her head wound, but he didn`t. He struck
her some more. She was able to get one of her hands free and fought back.
It was during that struggle that he shoved her over the cliff, this 80-foot cliff. That`s what Detective Brandenburg testified to us. So, she fell over
the cliff. You know, the assumption is that he believed she was dead, that he then took the little boy to a location a little bit more than half mile
away and hit him in the back of the head with what Belt later told police was two-foot long hollow metal pipe and then left his body in the woods
there as well.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, PRIMETIME JUSTICE SHOW HOST: And presumably it`s because that child was party to all of that and could -- even at five years old,
could be a help to investigators and certainly could lead to him. There`s special place in hell --
ESTEP (via telephone): The testimony -- yes, the testimony was -- the detective testified that Belt told them that -- that -- that the child was
a witness and that`s why this happened.
BANFIELD: And there you have it. Bill Estep with the Lexington Herald. Thank you for that. I was just saying there`s a special place in hell for
anybody who could do any of those things, let alone all of them. Thank you to all of my guests, including Sergeant Joshua Lawson.
Last June, 33-year-old Judy Malinowski died of injuries that she sustained when she was doused with gas and then set on fire by her ex-boyfriend. Now,
investigators have ruled her death a homicide and her ex could be facing some brand new charges and with that will come some brand new prison time
and lot of it.
Michael Slager is currently serving just 11 years for that initial attack that left her in an ICU hospital room for 696 days, pretty much burns all
over her body. The pain, unbearable, every single one of those days. The egregious nature of Judy`s injuries inspired the passage if Judy`s Law.
It`s a law that mandates an additional six years of jail time for anybody who uses accelerant in an attack that leaves a victim disfigured or
disabled. So now that she has died, Michael Slager is actually tried for her murder. Testimony from Judy recorded in the hospital before she died
could actually be used in the prosecutor`s case against him. Stay tuned. We`re going to keep following it.
An attempted kidnapping caught on tape. The suspect grabbing a woman and carrying her, kicking and screaming to his car. Unfortunately for him, she
was having none of it. And now the LAPD is searching not just for him but for her, and searching for a case in total. I`ll explain.
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: There was something that just wasn`t right about that light gray sedan driving in reverse up a Los Angeles street the other night. The
driver had been creeping along before stopping and shifting it into reverse. Moments later, he got out of the car and then just grabbed a woman
walking down the sidewalk. Just grabbed her.
And even though she`s kicking and screaming and yelling for help, he stuffs her into his car and he takes off. And the whole thing took like -- like a
couple of seconds. Witnesses saw the whole thing, so did this surveillance camera. Take a look for yourself. You will see this car backing up. See it
backing up and the arrow shows where it stops.
And then look at her. She is just unsuspecting, walking down the sidewalk. He`s getting out. She doesn`t seem to really move or change direction. Then
he just grabs her. Just grabs her. She`s kicking. She`s trying to get away. It`s all pretty clear. He opens the passenger door of this sedan, and he
stuffs her into the passenger seat, but it takes a little work.
He`s not quite done. He`s doing something. He shuts the door and then he goes around to the driver`s seat. Well, not yet. She tries to get out. He
shuts it again. Checks, and then checks something else when he`s in there. He`s doing something as she`s in that passenger seat.
And now he thinks he`s in the clear, so he goes around to the driver side. Does not see that she`s now struggling to get out. But, look, her right
arm seems to be stuck in there.
[20:40:00] She is trying to get out. A car goes by. It`s a convertible, a convertible. She`s screaming. Another car goes by. She still can`t get that
arm, that right arm out. And then look, he has come across and stuffed her right back into that passenger seat. Presumably right now he`s crossing
over to the driver`s seat.
Within seconds, he just takes off. That car in forward gets out of there. Headlights on and out. Here`s what`s so weird about this. Police do not
have a whole lot to go on even though all of that is on tape. They actually can only say this. The driver is Hispanic, about 6 feet tall, 200 pounds.
They think the car is a light gray four-door sedan, don`t know the make.
They do think it`s Texas plates though. First three digits, maybe 763. But what is so weird, when you look up close at this woman struggling to get
out, but that right arm seems jammed until he pulls her back in. What is really weird is they don`t have a report of a missing woman at this point.
Ryan Kerns is a reporter with WildAboutTrial.com. He joins us from Los Angeles. So what do they think happened here, Ryan?
RYAN KERNS, REPORTER, WILDABOUTTRIAL.COM: Ashleigh, this looks like a scene out of a movie "Taken," and it`s a really nightmare situation because the
police really don`t as you said have a lot to go on. We have the description of the vehicle. We have the description of the individual. But
we don`t know anything about this woman.
That`s what the police are really looking for help with, looking for anybody in the community who can help identify the woman. She is walking
down the street. This man in his 20s, Hispanic, driving this four-door sedan clearly approaches her on the side.
LAPD detectives have said, they don`t know if she knew this man or if this is something just random on the side of the street. He bear hugs her and
forces her into this car before driving away. Clearly, she is struggling with all of her might, but we don`t know anything else about --
BANFIELD: It`s bizarre.
KERNS: It`s really bizarre. And police are asking --
BANFIELD: Yes, I mean, they are asking for help. I mean, weird part is that right now, you would think that there are all sorts of reports that Sarah
didn`t come home or so and so didn`t make it home from work.
Let me play the one thing they do have from actual person as opposed to this very, very video. This is one of the witnesses. She doesn`t want to be
identified, but she is talking about what she heard and she saw. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): She was saying no, no, leave me alone, please help me, someone help me. I said hey, stop, let go, leave her alone.
And you could hear the girl banging the window hard, hard, saying please let go of me, let go, and crying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Sound to me like there`s a big, bad crime there. Attorney and former prosecutor actually, Elura Nanos, joins me live. Here is what I`m
wondering. If you don`t have complainant, if you don`t have someone to come forward saying my mom didn`t come home, my girlfriend didn`t come, my
daughter didn`t come home, can you open case anyway?
ELURA NANOS, ATTORNEY: Certainly the police can. I think we need to separate the difference between the police opening an investigation and
prosecutors opening a legal case. No prosecutor in their right mind is going to open a legal case when we have no idea who the defendant is, we
have no complaint --
BANFIELD: You don`t have a victim, you don`t have --
NANOS: I mean, there`s no way to prosecute it.
BANFIELD: Right.
NANOS: But that`s really several steps down the line. Certainly the police can open an investigation based on this video tape.
BANFIELD: Yes.
NANOS: And, you know, police have all sorts of investigative techniques that they can put to work and, you know --
BANFIELD: Follow a trail of surveillance video that might be, you know, another half block down and see where this car goes and see what else you
can come up with that.
NANOS: I`ve seen a lot of crimes that way.
BANFIELD: Real quick question, though. Those people driving by, I mean, just as a person, not as a lawyer, it`s just despicable to think they`re
listening to a woman yelling at convertible.
NANOS: And sadly, Ashleigh, we see this all the time. There is tremendous unwillingness on the part of bystanders to really get involved when it
comes to crimes. People don`t want it to be their problem. They don`t want to go on record because they`re afraid. It`s serious problem in the
criminal justice system.
BANFIELD: All right. So, at least they got that one witness. They got something. They got something, videotape and that one witness. All they
need now is to figure out who she is and then maybe we`ll get somewhere.
Hold your thought for a moment. A 12-year-old girl killed in her own home in the middle of the afternoon and the suspect is a man with a rap sheet
that dates back 25 years. And get this, more than 30 different arrests. So I guess you`re asking, how is he out? We`re asking that too.
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: When 12-year-old Yhoana Arteaga texted her mom at work saying that somebody was at the front door, that was the last time that mother
would ever hear from her little girl or ever see her alive again. Because an hour later, mom would come home from work to a horrifying scene.
Blood all over the home and Yhoana battered and dead. The official wording the police used was blunt force trauma to her body. But the unofficial
language that they used was that her death was so brutal they have never seen anything like it before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID KAUTZMAN, SERGEANT, METRO NASHVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT: This is a horrible, brutal thing. I`ve never seen anything this brutal in my entire
career.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: And now more than a month after this little girl was battered and murdered, an arrest has been made. Police say it was someone Yhoana and her
family knew, a neighbor who lived just two doors down, Roy Coons, definitely no stranger to officers in the Nashville area. He is now charged
with multiple counts including the attempted rape of a child and premeditated first-degree murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:50:00] STEVEN WEATHERSBY, SUSPECT`S NEIGHBOR: Real easy talking. Nice guy. It`s just hard to imagine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Natalie Allison is the breaking news reporter for the Tennessean Newspaper, and she joins me now from Nashville. Natalie, before I even ask
you my first question, I don`t have the time in a one-hour television show to go over his rap sheet, but the arrest record is so unbelievable.
I`m just going to roll it while we talk. Here is goes and I`m going to let the audience just read for themselves. It`s long, so get comfy. What led
them to Roy, specifically with regard to this murder?
NATALIE ALLISON, BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, TENNESSEAN (via telephone): Well, you know, Ashleigh, police say that they found Roy in their investigation
pretty early on. As they started to unfold the case, they became aware of him. As you know, he lived two trailers down, he was a neighbor. They say
that they believed that Yhoana and Roy probably knew each other as neighbors would, but don`t believe they particularly had a relationship.
I will say that police a few days after the murder did hold a press conference saying at that point they didn`t really have a suspect. They had
received just a few tips. They were a little mystified by the lack of tips they received for crime this horrific, but they were pleading with public
to come forward with any information.
BANFIELD: But, eventually, wasn`t it DNA -- I mean, wasn`t it a DNA that led right to his doorstep?
ALLISON (via telephone): Yes, that`s what they said. They said yesterday that it was, quote, scientific evidence that both the Metro National Police
Department and federal bureau of investigation analyzed, including DNA. They didn`t say specifically what else, but they said that they continue to
monitor Roy as they continue --
BANFIELD: Good point. Good point, Natalie, because I had heard and you tell me if this is true. I have heard that there was a cruiser in that trailer
park, in that neighborhood, for weeks upon weeks. And it`s been like a month and a half. I`m still curious why it took so long to get him, but
that they were monitoring him and they were in that park. Is that true? Were they really there watching that long?
ALLISON (via telephone): Yes. I can`t confirm that they were there 24 hours a day for more than a month, but I will say that I went back to the trailer
park multiple times after this murder occurred and there was a cop there. They were there.
They were monitoring. Initially, they held down the scene day and night. They didn`t let anyone back in, including the family. So that`s why they
said they were there. Beyond that, I couldn`t tell you.
BANFIELD: So, let me bring in Joseph Scott Morgan. He is a certified death investigator and forensic professor at Jacksonville State University. He
joins me from Jacksonville, Alabama. Listen, Joseph, they are charging him along with this murder. They are charging with attempted rape of a child.
To me, that is curious because a guy who had got a rap sheet that took a minute and a half to roll doesn`t just sort of go into a kid`s trailer to
kill her for fun. Usually it`s for a rape or some kind of terrible crime.
So, why if you`ve got 12-year-old girl who was beaten so savagely can you not actually say a rape? What would be attempted? And why could they not
come up with a conclusion at autopsy that she was raped?
JOSEPH SCOTT MORGAN, CERTIFIED DEATH INVESTIGATOR: OK. I don`t think that`s necessarily the case, Ashleigh. Let`s examine this very closely. With a
rape kit, a lot of people believe that the rape kit is going to confirms whether or not a rape occurred. That`s separate from sexual assault. Rape
kit implies that you`re gathering scientific evidence like body fluids. They may not have recovered any specific body fluids like semen.
However, examination that pathologist did at autopsy would give indication that perhaps she was sexually assaulted and they could visually see this,
like trauma to the external body, but that means with negative results in rape kit, that means it wasn`t brought to a conclusion within her, if you
will, to keep this as -- you know, as temperate as we possibly can.
He could have finished somewhere else. So, that doesn`t mean that sexual assault didn`t occur. Remember, talking about how her clothes were
disrupted. There appears to be something going on. And also this is highly brutal. This gives us indication that he knew this little girl, it was
close contact. I think that`s how coming up with DNA, probably touch DNA, and that implies that there is mutual contact between these two. Horrible,
horrible case, Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: A couple seconds. It is so disturbing on so many levels.
MORGAN: Yes.
BANFIELD: Elura Nanos, I want to bring in real quickly here. As former prosecutor, he had a rap sheet, you saw it, everybody saw it rolling. Does
that factor into a case like this?
NANOS: Well, it certainly can. But I`ll tell you one of the things that really struck me about that rap sheet and it`s what was missing from that
rap sheet. Years and years of law enforcement interactions, none of those crimes were violent, none of those crimes were sexual.
And it makes me wonder for a minute, is this guy just kind of a usual suspect who happens to be near this victim? Or is there real evidence to
tie him to the crime?
[20:55:00] Either could be the case. I think it`s major point to look at. What the defense is going to bring up.
BANFIELD: I knew you would spot that. I knew you would spot that. That is missing. Violent crime is missing. That`s why it`s so bizarre, if he did
this, just bust into a kid`s trailer to brutalize and murder her? But it`s only an attempted rape? It just seems weird to me. Let`s hold that thought.
More coming up right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: So we all know that a groom is the hero in the bride`s eyes. But in the case of Clayton and Brittany Cook, he really, really is a hero.
Great pictures. They have just been married. They`re snapping the pictures.
The photographer was actually taking some solos of Brittany when the husband saw a young boy struggling to stay afloat in the river nearby.
[21:00:00] And he just jumped right in. Look at him. Look at Clayton. The wedding photographer was there to capture Clayton`s rescue and his saggy
emergence from the river.
END
