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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
New Clues From Vegas Killer`s Own Words/Cheerleader Burned Alive in Horror Attack; Murder Trial Starts; Shocking Video; CNN Heroes; Caught on Camera. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired October 09, 2017 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, you guys! Get down!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. History.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What made him snap?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To enable him to pull off such a complicated event.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He didn`t have a lot of friends. He had a couple of friends who he hung out with.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He called himself the biggest video poker player in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He would say he played all night and slept during the day, that he played somewhere between 14 hours a day?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gambling up to a million dollars in a single night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did anyone else know of his elaborate plans inside that Mandalay Bay suite shooting down on that concert, killing some 58 people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Less than a couple of hours before she was burned alive, this gas station surveillance video shows Jessica Chambers (ph)
pumping gas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not going to stop until justice is served. Now I`ll never see her again!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators believe someone set her and her car on fire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) for my daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A woman bound, gagged with underwear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As soon as I seen the cage, I knew it was our house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It appears she took these videos herself?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) she`s been wanting attention lately from other people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then her story starts unraveling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s because she needs help, not because she needs to be behind bars for the rest of her life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The man then went around to the front of the bus and stood in front of the bus as it began to move forward.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop! Open up the door!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m getting off the bus!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONI COOMBS, GUEST HOST: Good evening, everyone. I`m Loni Coombs, in for Ashleigh Banfield.
We`re learning new details about the tragedy on the Vegas Strip and about the man behind it. But tonight, there are still a whole lot of questions
about Stephen Paddock. In the hope of getting some of those answers, investigators have been talking to Paddock`s brother, Eric. He flew into
Las Vegas over the weekend and has been questioned by authorities. Paddock`s home in Mesquite, Nevada, has been searched again.
And now we know what was found in the suite that Paddock turned into his killing perch. First responders say they found lots of guns, ammunition,
laptops, phones and tools, including drills and drill bits most likely used for setting up the cameras he had. On a small table, there was a
handwritten note with calculations for distance and trajectory from his window to the music festival crowd below.
We`re also getting valuable insight into who Paddock was from a lawsuit he filed against the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino in 2011, when he claimed to
have slipped on a walkway.
CNN correspondent Kyung Lah obtained Paddock`s deposition from October of 2013.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before Stephen Paddock unleashed his murderous assault on an innocent concert crowd, he called
himself the biggest video poker player in the world, gambling up to a million dollars in a single night overnight, sleeping during the day.
Prescribed Valium for anxiousness. These are Stephen Paddock`s own words as he testified in 2013 in his lawsuit against the Cosmopolitan hotel in
Las Vegas. The suit stems from this moment, security cameras catching Paddock slipping and falling in a casino walkway. In the 97-page
deposition obtained exclusively by CNN, Paddock testifies about that fall and gives us fresh insight into his mind four years before the shooting.
Paddock moved from Las Vegas casino to casino, at one point staying maybe upwards of three weeks out of a month, he said. A high roller, his hotel
stays were comped 95 percent of the time. Bets range from 100 to 1,350 each time I push the button. Speaking of a peak year, asks an attorney,
how many dollars are we talking?
"I average 14 hours a day, 365 days a year, over 200 million coin through (ph). Paddock says on a given night, he`ll bet a million doors. An
attorney replies, That`s a lot of money. No, it`s not.
Paddock called video poker a game of discipline, at times appearing condescending and sarcastic as he explains to his attorney why he stays
sober while gambling. "At the stakes I play, you want to have all your wits about you." Paddock`s home in Mesquite, Nevada, suggests an upper
middle class retired life. For easy access to a doctor, Paddock testified he paid a yearly retainer fee to Nevada internist Dr. Stephen Winkler (ph).
[20:05:02]Paddock says Winkler prescribed him Valium. Why? It`s for anxiousness. Rage, aggressiveness and irritability are among the possible
side effects of taking Valium, according to the manufacturer of the drug.
"The Las Vegas Review Journal" reported that Dr. Winkler prescribed him Valium in June of this year. CNN could not independently confirm that
information. Despite all the claims about his high-rolling ways, Paddock testified on the day he fell in the Cosmopolitan, he wore his typical
clothing. "I always wear black Nike sweatpants that are nylon or polyester." On his feet, black flip-flops that he wore 98 percent of the
time.
Life was better before the economic meltdown, he testified, saying Vegas casinos comped less and less, meaning he visited Sin City less. What
happened to the economy in 2007, he said, it tanked. Las Vegas went into the gutter with a lot of other things. They quit giving away freebies. I
just wasn`t worth coming out here as often. Kyung Lah, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOMBS: CNN correspondent Sara Sidner now joins me from Las Vegas. Thank you, Sara, for joining us. I want to start with this 95-page deposition
that I`m sure you`ve read through every page. And Sara, as we know, when you`re talking about other people describing him, it`s one thing. But when
you actually have his own words here, it`s a whole different thing as far as getting an insight into his mind.
After reading this deposition, what is it that you find so intriguing that it shows you about his personality of this man?
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly shows that he has a little bit of bluster, that he clearly believes in his ability as a player. Video
poker is a thinking man`s game. We talked to some professional players who basically explained that if you want to break even or try to make money,
you have to study it. You have to think through it. It`s not a game that you can just throw money at a machine and hope that you`re going to win.
It is not necessarily all by chance.
It really is someone who is calculating and trying to figure out the odds every time they hit that button. But we also read from him things like, I
am the best video poker player in the world. And then the attorney says to him, Well, how do you know that? And he`s, like, Well, I`m there 14 hours
a day, 365 days a year and you know, I play up to a million dollars in any given night. I mean, we`re talking about huge sums of money. And he`s
trying to show his prowess.
So certainly, he has a thought of himself as a very good player, one of the best in the world, if not the best in the world, as he puts it. And so
you`re getting some insight into how he feels about himself.
What we do not know from this deposition is why would he then turn violent? It doesn`t explain that. He doesn`t say anything to indicate that. So
that`s still a question that authorities are looking to find, Loni.
COOMBS: Is there anything they`re finding significant in his discussion about this doctor that he describes as being on retainer and having
prescribed Valium for him? Is that something that they`re looking at?
SIDNER: Yes. I mean, certainly, he talks about having anxiety. But then there are so many Americans who are also using similar drugs because of
anxiety. So it`s very hard to differentiate him from someone else other than the fact of what he did here in Vegas.
One thing that I think is very significant that the sheriff said today -- he changed the timeline. Now we have a whole different idea of the
timeline here, and this may give some insight into the shooter himself.
The security guard who initially went up to the Mandalay Bay, we were all initially making the assumption and told that it was a security guard
hearing the shooting and going to the 32nd floor, into the area, and then for Stephen Paddock seeing him that stopped him from shooting. Now we
learn that the security guard was actually shot a full six minutes or more before Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowd below him, below the
Mandalay Bay, for that country music concert.
What was happening in that six minutes? What prompted him to start shooting? We don`t know. Why did he wait five minutes after shooting the
security guard? Those are all answers that profilers are looking at. Those are all answers that investigators are trying to find. And the one
thing the sheriff said today was that, Yes, you are hearing frustration in my voice. Yes, I am expressing frustration because I am so frustrated that
we can`t find a very important piece of evidence to give us some idea of why Stephen Paddock opened fire on so many innocent people -- Loni.
COOMBS: Sara, that`s a very significant change in the timeline, as you describe it. We just learned today. So every day we get more and more
details that are so crucial to really trying to solve this huge mystery of what really triggered this man. Thank you, Sara.
Next, let`s go to Chris Kudialis, who is a reporter for "The Las Vegas Sun." Chris, I understand that you wrote an article this weekend for the
newspaper, and you actually went out into the streets trying to find people who actually gambled with this man to get some insight. Tell us what you
learned.
[20:10:14]CHRIS KUDIALIS, "LAS VEGAS SUN": Well, Stephen Paddock, in addition to being a frequent gambler on the Las Vegas Strip, actually spent
a lot of time in downtown Las Vegas, as well. Up until the week before he shot at the Route 91 Harvest Festival crowd viewers, a downtown casino
(INAUDIBLE) Las Vegas reported seeing him there four times in a four-day span through the Tuesday (INAUDIBLE) about five days before the shooting
occurred. So even though he said in the CNN documents that were obtained the lawsuit that he reached had his peak maybe in 2006 playing 14 hours a
day for 365 days a year, Paddock definitely still a regular here to not only Las Vegas Strip but downtown casinos and other areas around the Las
Vegas valley (ph), as well.
COOMBS: Did any of these people that you were able to talk to have actual contact with Mr. Paddock? Were they able to talk to him or get any feel
for his personality or what type of gambler he was?
KUDIALIS: Yes. In fact, they knew him on a first name basis. One dealer that I spoke with talked about the fact that what we`ve heard a lot of
different testimonies about him is that he was very reclusive, not the nicest guy, but by no means threatening, actually was a poor tipper and
didn`t start tipping until she asked him, Speed, as she called him, if he would start tipping her. She said the dealer did. From that day on, he
was always very generous.
COOMBS: Let`s go to Jim Clemente, who is a retired FBI profiler and the CEO for XG Productions. He joins me now from Atlanta.
Jim, welcome to the show. I would love to ask you, as a former profiler for the FBI, hearing what was in the deposition and also now what you hear
from these people who actually gambled with Stephen Paddock, how do you perceive his persona? And what do you see as his profile and anything that
you can see in that that would lead to this type of event?
JIM CLEMENTE, RETIRED FBI PROFILER: Well, I think it`s very consistent with his behavior on that day when he started shooting. He chose to be a
sniper, and that means that he typically would have a God complex. And that means he would not get along with others well. He chose to take lives
indiscriminately from a distance without having any personal interaction or any really feud or anything against those people. He took it out on
society in general from above, like God may have taken lives. So that is something that`s consistent with somebody who is playing video poker, which
is a loner game. Nobody else is involved in that.
And then when you listen to the recent reports about other people that actually were dealers for him, that he wasn`t social, that he was kind of a
loner and he wasn`t a nice guy. When he was called out for not tipping, of course he would want to tip after that and be very generous because he was
called out on it. He doesn`t want to look bad in public. And I think that most of the time, he spent to himself doing the gambling on his own with
just a machine as his companion. That`s consistent with somebody who doesn`t care about other human beings.
COOMBS: So someone who has the type of profile you just described with this God complex, what is it that would trigger someone like that to do
something this massive, this preplanned, this violent?
CLEMENTE: Well, we also know he`s intelligent. And so he`s thought about this for a long time. But typically, there could be stressors which are
sort of long-term pressures over it could be years or many months, and there also are triggers and the triggers are typically some kind of major
loss. It could be he got diagnosed with a terminal illness. It could be that he lost in a relationship. It could be that he lost money, but
typically something that hurt him intrinsically. We know that he wasn`t really close to many people other than his girlfriend, and he basically
sent her $100,000, which she interpreted as possibly him breaking up with her. Well, in fact, it was a permanent good-bye. He wanted to take care
of her. So there is some humanity in this guy, even though he chose to take the lives of many people and injure hundreds more.
COOMBS: You know, listening now, we hear that he was actually out there gambling just up to the days, the few days before he went and shot all of
these people. How does that factor into his profile, the fact that he`s still out there gambling? For what purpose?
CLEMENTE: Well, let me just tell you this guy is a risk taker. Gamblers are risk takers. And he`s a thrill seeker. And so this was a lead-up.
This probably building up his courage to do this. He`s making up his mind that he`s going to carry out this plan, which he has to know is going to
end in his violent death. He knows that his name`s being used for the hotel room. He`s not hiding who he is when he walks in and out of the
room. There`s going to be no question that he did this.
[20:15:08]So I think this was the last big thrill-seeking event for him. He went out with a huge bang. And it`s really disgusting that this is how
he decided he would prove his superiority over other human beings.
COOMBS: So you believe that he never intended to escape this incident. We`ve heard from law enforcement there in their investigation that they
actually believe that he was planning to escape, to leave after this, to not die in this incident. Do you believe that he never thought that, that
he was going to take the life in the end of this.
CLEMENTE: I think it could have been in the back of his mind, he might have tried that. He set up these video surveillance cameras and he was
probably drilling into the next room to set up another camera, knowing that he made the attack from there. I think he may have actually triggered that
alarm to get security to come so that he could kill them, and then he thought everything would be shut down from there.
It`s a slight possibility he thought he could get away. But I think everything that he did in that room told everybody who he was, and he
wanted to go out with a bang. He knew it was going to be suicide by cop or suicide by his own hand.
COOMBS: We have CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former assistant director for the FBI Tom Fuentes. He joins me now from Fairfax, Virginia.
Thank you.
I have some questions for you about this hotel room, what we have learned now as far as what was in this sniper`s snare -- lair. We`ve heard
descriptions of lots of guns, ammunition, tools, even drills and drill bits to set up these cameras. What do you think? With all of this extensive
planning and all of these guns and the massive amounts of equipment that he had in this room, do you still believe that he acted alone in all of this?
TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Hi, Loni. Yes, I think he did act alone. And I think the fact that he was
not seen with anybody in the days leading up to it, you know, is another factor in this. But you know, it would not have been hard for him to get
all of that equipment up there with nobody really paying attention. You know, a high roller comes rolling up to the valet parking, let`s say, and
you know, all of the bellhops come running down with carts to help carry the luggage up there.
Plus, he could have been moving things into that room over the whole three or four-day period that he was checked in a little bit at a time. So I
don`t think -- you know, I`ve seen people checking in at these casino hotels in Las Vegas where they have an enormous amount of luggage. And you
have millionaires and celebrities, movie stars, athletes that come in there, and they have a lot of stuff. And I think that he could have got
that into the room without having to carry it himself.
COOMBS: You know, we`ve heard from one of the first responders, Officer Dave Newton (ph), who talked about this note in the room. We have a quote
from him, the way he described this note. He said that, I did notice a note on the nightstand near his shooting platform. I could see on it he
had written the distance, the elevation he was on, the drop of what his bullet was going to be for the crowd.
That sounds to me like some very sophisticated numbers analysis, knowledge of shooting. What type of person is able to do those kinds of calculations
and for what purpose?
FUENTES: Well, he wanted maximum effect of killing the most number of people he could possibly do. So he was trying to make sure he achieved
accuracy, you know, in shooting 400, 500 yards away, the drop in the bullet, the possibly windage, elevation, all of those factors.
But that`s easy. You know, people who are marksmen go to the range on a regular basis, they can look that stuff up in the library, on the Internet,
talking to other shooters. It`s not that complex. I mean, he can put all those numbers and formulas down. And he was, you know, an intelligent
person. So I don`t put a lot into that other than part of his meticulous nature to be accurate, to try to kill as many people as he could and not
fire into the darkness and miss.
COOMBS: Thank you.
Another event that has just unfolded recently is Richard Patterson, who is an attorney for the family of John Phippen. John was killed and his son
Travis (ph) was injured in the Las Vegas shooting.
Richard Patterson now joins me from Los Angeles. Now, Richard, I understand that you are representing the father -- the family of John
Phippen. He was the father of six from Valencia, California. And I understand you`re trying to freeze the assets of the killer, and you say
not just for John Phippen`s family, but also for all the victims. Explain to me how you want to do that.
RICHARD PATTERSON, ATTORNEY FOR PHIPPEN FAMILY: That`s exactly right. We have filed a petition in the district court of Nevada requesting the court
to appoint the public administrator as the person who would monitor, protect and then eventually for court order distribute those assets.
[20:20:04]And again, it is not for our clients alone. We have several clients. But it takes only one person to sign that petition. And Travis
Phippen was actually the one that had the courage to go public and make his name appear on that petition.
The petition will be considered by the court probably within 10 days to two weeks, and a decision will be made there who will be assigned. We have
heard from your news that the brother is in town and he has expressed his desire to be appointed. We have some reservation, as you can imagine,
putting him in charge of the assets, and he has also indicated that he would like to create a fund that he could distribute those assets to the
victims, not probably the best person to make those decisions.
The people will be represented by us and many other fine lawyers, I`m sure, before this is over. And our mission is understand and help everyone
understand that the first wave of tragedy is coming to an end here in a few days. It`s been 10 days. The way the news cycles are, it won`t go on
forever.
The other wave of tragedy is right behind this one, and that is the individual lives, 16-year-old children and other adults without their
parents, without girlfriends, or wives who are now deceased, some who are still in the hospital in comas, some that are trying to recover from brain
injury, from paralysis. It`ll go on.
COOMBS: Yes, there`s definitely a lot of need here. And you`ve also talked about filing other lawsuits against the hotel in this situation as
far as getting more relief for these victims and their families.
PATTERSON: Absolutely. There are three primary targets here. As you may or may not know, our research has indicated that the site itself where the
festival was held is owned by MGM and owned by MGM. MGM also owns Mandalay Bay. You can imagine the difference if security would have been properly
strategized and set up. What an advantage it would be to the festival if the shooters were SWAT teams on top of that building protecting the crowd.
Instead, we had this murderer who was killing people as fast as he could.
We also learned that during the concert that one of the first things happened when the bullets started flying everywhere was that the operators
flipped on all the lights. In essence, darkness all around and they flipped on the floodlights, and as these people were panicking going toward
what we -- originally were checkpoints coming into the event now became choke points trying to escape. And as they crowded in, they were even
packed more together. Some were falling over people that were dead and shot and others trying to get out. And so it became a much denser target
for the shooter. There are plenty of...
COOMBS: Sounds like there`s going to be a lot more days in court ahead. Thank you so much, Richard, for being here with us.
PATTERSON: You bet.
COOMBS: Well, a horrific attack on a Mississippi cheerleader stuns and shocks her small home town.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A few yards away from the burning car, they spotted a young woman emerging from the woods wearing only her underwear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was saying, Help me, help me. I could see her mouth and tongue and stuff were charred real bad. I looked at her, then I
said, No, this is just -- Chambers is who this is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOMBS: Now the trial for her alleged killer is set to begin. Will there be justice for Jessica Chambers?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:28:07]COOMBS: A young woman, a former high school cheerleader, brutally murdered in Mississippi. Prosecutors say that Jessica Chambers
was doused with a flammable liquid, set on fire and left to die beside her burning car on a deserted road near Portland.
While the murder happened three years ago, the 19-year-old`s murder still haunts this small town. Chambers died the day after being set on fire, but
not before telling investigators someone set her on fire.
I want to take you back to December 6th, 2014. That`s the day that Jessica was burned. Listen to what firefighters told CNN`s Randi Kaye about what
they discovered when they responded to a call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were sitting around just talking and tone went off for a car fire.
RANDY KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): But after Chief Cole Haley (ph) arrived at the scene along Heron (ph) Road, he quickly realized this
was no ordinary car fire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know all the guys in my department on the scene -- I know every one of them could close their eyes right now and still see it
just like it was yesterday. I know I can.
KAYE: A few yards away from the burning car, they spotted a young woman emerging from the woods wearing only her underwear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was saying, Help me, help me. I could see her mouth and tongue and stuff were charred real bad. I looked at her. Then I
said, No, this is Jessica Chambers is who this is.
I asked her what happened and she said someone had set me on fire.
[20:30:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Someone had doused Jessica`s car in gasoline and set it on fire with Jessica trapped inside. Yet somehow, she
had fought her way out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOMBS: For months, investigators struggled to figure out who possibly could be behind this horrible crime, and they didn`t have a lot to go on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We brought out search and rescue the next day and walked them about a mile in either direction looking for evidence. I think the
entire community was shocked. It takes a lot of anger, it takes a lot of total lack of respect for human decency to actually pour a substance on
somebody, and then light them while they`re alive. That really left everybody wondering, you know, how could this happen where we live.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The car was pulled into this driveway. It pretty much nosed up to the fence, and then went up that hill.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were they able to collect any DNA from the ground or the car or from her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything was burned.
JOHN CHAMPION, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, PANOLA COUNTY: And couple that with the fact that there is no (INAUDIBLE), period. We knew we had a true mystery on
our hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOMBS: Now, we told you that Jessica whispered to police as she was close to death that someone had burned her. But would the name that she gave
officers help them solve the case?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Generally in this county, if somebody commits a crime, within 24 hours they`re going to tell us or somebody is going to tell
somebody and we`ll find out. That did not happen in this case.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you ever look into finding Eric or Derrick?
CHAMPION: Oh, yes. That was our first lead in the case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If your name was Eric and you lived anywhere close to Courtland, you had some explaining to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said it was an accident, I think, down the road and your name was mentioned. And I was like, well, no, I`ve been here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just called in to, you know, in for an interview about a situation I don`t know anything about.
CHAMPION: We interviewed every single Eric or Derrick that we know exists in Panola County and the surrounding areas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And nothing?
CHAMPION: Absolutely nothing.
(PHONE RINGING)
CHAMPION: Yes, sir. I`m doing good. How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Investigators would learn from various burn experts that their big lead may not have been a lead at all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The severity of her airway burns would make it so that anything that she said would not be clear and would not be dependable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Knowing how badly she was burned, I don`t put a lot of faith into the actual word "Eric."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Instead investigators would put their faith in the people of Courtland to help them solve the most heartless crime their town
had ever seen.
COOMBS: Police didn`t arrest an Eric for Jessica`s murder. They arrested a Quinton, Quinton Tellis. The two were friends and maybe -- maybe more, we
just don`t know. Now, a jury has been seated in his capital murder trial with opening statements tomorrow, but interestingly, he won`t face the
death penalty if convicted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOMBS: Now, the big question is, how strong is the prosecution`s case? And will there ever be justice for Jessica? We`ll break down the evidence
straight ahead.
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOMBS: This week, the family of a young woman in Mississippi hopes that they`ll finally get closure in their daughter`s death. Jessica Chambers was
doused in a flammable liquid, set on fire, and left to die on a road in the small town of Courtland.
She just left her house to get some gas and get her car cleaned, but for more than a year, her murder was a mystery until police finally made an
arrest. And it was an arrest that no one saw coming, a man who was actually close to Jessica.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHAMPION: I would like to announce the indictment of Quinton Verdell Tellis in the death of Jessica Chambers and the grand jury issued an indictment
for capital murder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOMBS: Opening statements are now going to begin tomorrow in the Quinton Tellis murder trial. And although it is a capital case, Tellis won`t face
the death penalty.
Jesse Weber is a host on LawNewz.com. He joins me now from New York. Thanks for joining us, Jesse.
JESSE WEBER, HOST, LAWNEWZ.COM: Thank you for having me.
COOMBS: I`d like the start with this question about how it took so long to finally make an arrest in this case. Quinton Tellis and Jessica Chambers,
the victim, both grew up apparently in this very small town of Courtland, Mississippi where there`s only about 500 people in this town. Why did it
take so long for the police to figure out who it was that did this?
WEBER: So as it was explained in your opening, the words that were spoken, her last words were Eric or Derrick. So police first went to any Eric or
Derrick in the community that might be a suspect. That victim statement was the first thing that they went on. And they interviewed enormous amount of
people, so many different kinds of people. In fact, even at one point, they interviewed
[20:40:00] tons of different gang members trying to see who was violent in the community. In fact, Quinton Tellis was interviewed initially. However,
new evidence came forth about cellphone records that indicated he was with her near the time of this attack. They say now they can place him with her
moments before this attack occurred.
COOMBS: So other than him being apparently the very last or close to the last person with her, what other evidence does the prosecution have in this
case to link him to this crime?
WEBER: Great question. They`re keeping it very close to the vest until tomorrow when opening statements begin. We really don`t know the kinds of
evidence and the breadth of evidence until this trial begins. We know they`re going to call about 40 witnesses.
We expect the trial to last several weeks. We imagine that many of these witnesses are going to testify about the relationship between Quinton and
this young girl and try to understand what they were involved in.
Was it a romantic relationship? Was it something else? Because when you can get a better picture of their relationship, you can have a better
understanding of what happened to this girl because everybody in this community and the family need answers and justice.
COOMBS: Trial attorney Monique Pressley joins me now from Washington. Monique, I know you`re also following this case.
MONIQUE PRESSLEY, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Absolutely.
COOMBS: At the time that he was arrested, Quinton Tellis was actually in a different state. What was he doing in Louisiana?
PRESSLEY: He was serving a sentence for apparently admitting to use the business card, the ATM card of another homicide victim. So they, I believe,
suspected him in that murder as well, but he had not been charged with it. He`d just been charged with and admitted to use of the ATM card.
COOMBS: And then after he was charged with the murder in this case, was he not also then charged in the murder of that case even though prior to that,
he had only been charged with using the debit card of the murder victim in that case?
PRESSLEY: After the fact, they are looking to bring an indictment, but it`s my understanding that`s not official yet. I think the important part here
is that it looks like it`s some scant evidence. As a defense attorney, the jury in my head is still out as to whether they`ve actually solved Miss
Chambers` murder at this time.
COOMBS: Jesse, why do you think it is that they`re not going after the death penalty in the case of Jessica Chambers` case? I mean, here she was
set on fire and left to die.
WEBER: The brutality of this crime, not a question. The reason they`re not going after the death penalty is because it can be a numerous amount of
reasons. Remember, when you have a death penalty case, it`s a bifurcated trial. That`s a longer phase, that`s a second part of the trial. That`s an
extra cost to the community.
A lot of times people don`t seek the death penalty, the prosecution, because of cost. I also happen to believe that many prosecutors believe if
they can get a conviction, life in prison without the possibility of parole is an even worse punishment than getting someone into the death penalty.
Sometimes prosecutors see all different kinds of reasons. And also, let`s not forget, that if you put a jury, tell them they`re going to be in a case
that involves the death penalty later on. You hope that doesn`t affect their judgment, you hope they can have a clear head, but it might not
always be the case.
COOMBS: Well, this is a case we`ll definitely be taking a close look at as it unfolds in the courtroom. Thank you both for your time.
WEBER: Thank you.
PRESSLEY: Thank you.
COOMBS: A woman tied up and gagged, crying and pleading for help. The only problem? Cops say it was all a lie.
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOMBS: There`s nothing more frightening than the thought of a home invasion. We hear those stories almost daily on the nightly news. Someone
at home alone ambushed by a stranger when they least expect it. And in Ohio, just over a week ago, that`s exactly the kind of situation
authorities thought they were responding to.
Police say that Thelma Williams claimed to have been basically attacked by a masked intruder as she went downstairs to the basement. Tied to a pole,
gagged, threatened. This is the video of the alleged kidnapping that was posted to Facebook. And it`s what prompted this frantic 911 call.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`ve hacked her old Facebook account. They`re sending video and pictures of her, saying that they have her and they`re
going to kill her today.
No, that`s her on the line right now with us. Thelma, I`m on the police, with Middletown Police Department.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s in the background.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trying to get an address from her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thelma, Thelma. Where are you in the house? Are you in the kitchen?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The laundry room?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Basement. I`m tied to a pole by my throat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re sliced up?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is she sliced up?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`ve cut her up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did they cut you with?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing`s cut. My throat`s tied to a pole.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thelma, do you know if these men are still in your house?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think so. I think there was one who went in and out the back door.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He went out the back door, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think he went out the back door? Do you remember anything about him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn`t really get a good look at him. He had a mask on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOMBS: that desperate call, it was all hands on deck for first responders. Police even scrambled a helicopter to help search for the suspect. The only
problem? Police say they later learned there was never even a suspect. Thelma Williams is accused of making the whole thing up even those videos.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD JONES, SHERIFF, BUTLER COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE: She took these videos herself. We can actually see her waiting
[20:50:00] until it come on so she could get her serious face on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOMBS: Sheriff Richard Jones is with the Butler County Sheriff`s Office and he joins me now from Hamilton, Ohio. Thank you for joining us, sheriff.
So, you said this is one of your most bizarre cases ever.
JONES (via telephone): Forty years. I`ve never seen anything like this. Of all the things that happened when people really have situations and they
get kidnapped, they get molested, and here you have someone that fakes that she was kidnapped, ties herself up, videos it and sends it to her friend
who frantically calls 911 from another state.
We get all hands on deck. We get the live squads responding. We get police from all jurisdictions. We get our helicopter up. She said it was somebody
named Tony (ph), she`s not for sure. And then within two hours, we realized her story starts falling apart.
COOMBS: You know, after all of those horrific details that she`s giving to you, at some point, you realized that it was fake. What was it that told
you that this was all made up?
JONES (via telephone): In the very beginning. My detectives were watching the video and you could see her pause for a second as it`s coming on and
you could tell she`s getting her game face on for this incident. And then she starts crying and screaming and you can see her hand.
She is filming it herself. But when you go into a situation like this, first thing you do is you have to -- she`s treated as though she`s a
victim. We`re looking for somebody going out the back door. She gives a name of one of her friends. And we`re all -- it`s organized chaos.
We`re all trying to find this, other police organizations, and then we start questioning her. She has a McDonald`s receipt that the times are
different than when she said she was at McDonald`s. So we`re going to McDonald`s and at that point, she breaks down and she says after two hours,
you know, she breaks down and says she made it all up.
COOMBS: Sheriff, we were able to actually get a hold of Thelma today, and she gave us a statement. This is what she said. I have no comment at this
time other than I regret that what I did cost the city revenue and resources and took resources away from those in emergency situations. How
do you feel about this apology?
JONES: I don`t feel good about it at all. She feels bad about it now because she was caught. She wanted to do this. She was trying to get
attention. She`s not got -- I don`t believe she has mental issues. I`m not a psychiatrist. I believe she just wanted attention. She was angry at her
boyfriend, and she thought she would do this right here.
And what do you think that does for my detectives that see this all the time, but they`re real victims? And then you have somebody like this that
has the audacity and thinks that she just says I`m sorry, I didn`t mean to do it, it`s OK? It`s not. She`s charged with an F-5 in Ohio, a felony five.
She could go to jail for a long period of time for this, which she should.
COOMBS: We also have Monique Pressley. She joins me again. Thank you, Monique. She is charged as the sheriff said with a felony that appears to
have a maximum of a year in prison. Are there any other charges that might be charged here?
PRESSLEY: I don`t think that there should be, and I hope that she`s got a good attorney who is getting her on some psychologist or psychiatrist`s
couch as soon as possible because there`s a difference between her hatching a plan in her mind and actually going through with it.
She went through a lot of trouble and put other people at risk who were denied medical services, not to mention what she put her own friends and
family through. And I do think that that`s a cry for help that should lead to some mitigating circumstances in her defense.
COOMBS: Well, we`ll have to leave it there. Thank you, sheriff, and thank you, Monique, for your input.
Well, a power house athlete and a single mother and an amputee. This week`s CNN hero was 17 when a drunk driver slammed into her, but in losing her
leg, she gained the power to lift others up and help a community often overlooked. Meet Mona Patel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MONA PATEL, CNN HERO: Once we lose a part of our body, there are just so many questions. Will I ever be able to work again? How will I take care of
my children?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s strange to learn how to walk. It`s a new world.
PATEL: Part of my job is to remind people that we are so much more than just a body part. We can either lay down and let our circumstance overtake
us or we can stand up and take charge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOMBS: To see Mona and a team of amputees, take charge and take on the world. Go to CNNHeroes.com right now.
[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOMBS: Well, we`ve seen all different types of road rage episodes, but this one is unique.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Open the door!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop the bus!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Open up! Open the door!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOMBS: That`s right. A man jumped on to the front of a school bus and refused to get off. He claims someone on that bus threw something at his
car. The bus driver says he tried to drive slowly to a police station,
[21:00:00] but an off-duty officer jumped in to help. The 68-year-old was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and other charges.
Thanks for watching. I`m Loni Coombs. Ashleigh Banfield will be back tomorrow night. "The Hunt with John Walsh" begins right now.
END
