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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield

Toddler Gone Missing from her Own Bedroom; Dual Murder Pointing to Justin Rey. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired November 27, 2017 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

[20:00:00] S.E. CUPP, HOST, HLN: I feel like I really learned a lot. I`m not Anderson, though.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got it, Wolf.

CUPP: I`m not wolf, either. That`s it for us. Up next, Primetime Justice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s a sweet child but she`s shy with strangers. She wouldn`t just go with a stranger.

SEEMA IYER, HOST, HLN: Jessica Monteiro Rey is the woman found dead in a Lenexa U-Haul storage unit in an ice chest.

JUSTIN REY, JESSICA MONTEIRO REY`S HUSBAND: My wife, Mrs. Jessica Rey is the only person that I love and will value for the rest of my life.

IYER: Thanksgiving night. The man you`re usually having cookouts with is accused of killing three people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My wife who was in (Inaudible) there was, it was a gunshot.

IYER: Gattis was a full-time youth pastor here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have two female down in the kitchen.

IYER: Charged with their murders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve never seen that in him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody stay behind the line no matter what happens.

IYER: Authorities say they responded to this scene because a white Sedan appeared suspicious. Inside was a man named Daniel Navarro along with an

unidentified woman and their 7-month-old daughter. Officers say he was armed with a knife. You can hear a barrage of bullets there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was just scared. He didn`t know what to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A white 1999 Dodge ram came flying through one of the doors at this local grocery store. Minutes later the driver takes out the

other doorway. One of the suspects pushing an object, which, according to police is an ATM machine that was inside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

IYER: Good evening, everyone. I`m in for Ashleigh Banfield.

Tonight, in North Carolina a 3-year-old girl is missing. And according to a family friend, she didn`t just wander off. She was taken.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s a sweet child, but she`s shy with strangers. So she wouldn`t just go with a stranger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

IYER: Mariah Woods` mom reportedly put her to bed last night and checked on her around 9 or 10, but when she went to her daughter`s room early this

morning that baby girl was gone. An AMBER Alert has been issued saying Mariah may have been abducted. The question now is by whom and where have

they taken this precious toddler.

Police interviewed Mariah`s mom and her live-in boyfriend. Now they`re asking neighbors to check their yard. Police are searching the woods around

their home and the mobile home park and even the military camp nearby.

Folks, the FBI has now joined in the investigation. Bringing in our first guest tonight to Primetime Justice let`s speak to Boz Profit from

Mytalkradio.net. Boz, are you with me here tonight?

BOZ PROFIT, TALK HOST, MYTALKRADIO.NET: Yes, Seema. Thank you very much for having me.

IYER: Boz, this story is absolutely heart wrenching. Take us through the night this little precious girl -- look at her in that little pink car of

hers. What happened?

PROFIT: It`s a very sad story, and having daughters of my own, it really does touch home and it`s very close. As you said, you know, that Mariah

Woods has gone missing. Her mom looked for her this morning, went to get her, and she wasn`t there. They don`t really know where she`s gone and the

FBI is looking into this.

The whole community has gone out to look into this. They have four volunteer fire departments. Law enforcement officials, K-9 units have been

involved in this as well. They`ve flown drones and helicopters over the area searching in and around her home area.

IYER: OK, Boz, I got to take you back -- take me back to what time did this little baby girl go to bed? And when was the last time she was seen and by

whom? Who was she last seen by?

PROFIT: Well, she was last seen by her mother. She was put to bed last night. And she was seen around midnight I think was the last time she got

up and went for a walk in the house and her mother told her to go back to bed. So when this morning was the last time when she went to look for her

at 6 a.m., she wasn`t in her room.

IYER: OK.

PROFIT: And they didn`t see her since last night.

IYER: Mariah Woods is just three years old, 30 pounds, blond hair, blue eyes. If you know anything, if you`re listening out there, if you have any

clues, call crime stoppers, please. And you can see a little picture of her.

OK, so, Boz, maybe around midnight they saw her. Do they have one of those walkie-talkies in the house where they could hear her if she gets up in the

middle of the night?

[20:05:09] PROFIT: No, I don`t believe they do have those in the home. That would be something that would be very handy to have when you have a young

child like that. They`re looking all over for her, though.

IYER: And who lives in the home? It`s the mom with the boyfriend, is that correct?

PROFIT: Yes. The mother and her live-in boyfriend they have questioned both the mother and the live-in boyfriend about where her whereabouts could be.

They`ve searched the house, they`ve searched their vehicle. And they`re asking neighbors to look in their sheds, in their yards all over. They have

looked, you know, all around the community looking for her. I believe the search now nightfall I think they`ve stopped the search for now, but they

are still interviewing people.

IYER: And you bring up a very good point. She goes missing at nightfall. Yesterday, the weather during the day was 65 degrees, at night it was 38

degrees. OK. What else was missing besides this little baby girl? Was there a coat missing? Was there`s a blanket missing? Was there anything with this

little child?

PROFIT: Well, she normally wears orthopedic braces on both of her feet. So, you know, when she`s without them, she doesn`t walk very straight. So,

those, you know, those are some clues that can help people to identify who she is -- if they see a little girl of that age.

IYER: Well, hold on a second, Boz, because we don`t know if the braces are missing as well. But for the viewers out there that you should know that

the braces that she has are pink. Mariah Woods has pink braces, but we don`t know if those braces are missing because the authorities are not

telling us.

I want to bring in Bobby Chacon, retired FBI special agent. Bobby, are you with me tonight?

BOBBY CHACON, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Yes, Seema, I am. Thanks.

IYER: Bobby, OK, what do you make out of the fact that we don`t know a lot of details about what was taken with this girl. Was there a blanket

missing? Was there a jacket with her? What about those braces?

And let me just point out -- I think the viewers need to know the braces are from an orthopedic condition. And actually, I had the same condition.

My feet were pigeon toed and I wore the orthopedic braces. My best friend Jasmine had the orthopedic braces. It`s common for kids to have this

condition. But it`s also a sign of how we can find her. So what are your thoughts on that?

CHACON: Well, clearly the authorities know whether or not those braces are missing or not and they`re not letting that information out. So that,

generally we don`t let as much information out as we have to benefit the investigation. So unless it`s going to benefit the investigation, we don`t

let it out.

So they`re being close to the vest right now, as they should be to protect the information, so that if somebody comes forward with certain

information, you can judge the veracity of the information by the things that nobody else knows or at least that the public doesn`t know yet.

So you kind of hold on to as much as you can. You release what will benefit the investigation, to release what will benefit finding this child the

quickest that will aid the investigation. But there are also things that you hold back just in case that somebody comes forward and you can test the

veracity of what they`re saying.

IYER: Back to Boz Profit, talk show host, Mytalkradio.net. Boz, tell me this. Do you feel from your communications with authorities and your

digging for information that the authorities are holding back and preventing the public from finding this child?

PROFIT: Honestly, I don`t think they`re holding back in preventing from finding the child. I think that exactly as the FBI agent explained that the

reasoning behind it is so that, you know, when people come forward and talk about things, that they`re able to check information better rather than

chasing a lot of, you know, chasing a lot of wild, a wild ends.

IYER: Right. But when you say chasing, let`s start off with this. The AMBER Alert said abduction. And many of us are familiar with this AMBER Alerts

that pop up on the phone, and again, if you have any tips call crime stoppers, 910-938-3273. Blond hair, blue eyes, 30 pounds, two feet nine

inches baby girl.

So, Boz, a lot of times the police will hold back, but there are clues that will help the public get involved. So the AMBER Alert says abduction, but

the sheriff`s department is telling us at Primetime Justice that they`re unsure about what happened yet. So why were the AMBER Aler say, is it an

abduction, is it not an abduction? Why did it say that?

PROFIT: Well, you know, when someone is taken, you know, without their consent, it`s an abduction. So, you know, with the mother and the

boyfriend, live-in boyfriend there, the child has been taken without their consent, and she has disappeared without their consent.

[20:10:07] IYER: Time to bring in Ashley Willcott, she`s a certified child welfare law specialist. Ashley, you`re a lawyer as well as a specialist in

children and family law, is that right?

ASHLEY WILLCOTT, CERTIFIED CHILD WELFARE LAW SPECIALIST: That`s right. Thank you, Seema, for having me.

IYER: Thank you for being here. What do you make of this? And is there anything in your expertise that can help us find this girl now?

WILLCOTT: I think the thing to keep in mind is this is still an open, active investigation. Bottom line nobody really knows what happened.

Perhaps she was with abducted by a stranger, perhaps there was foul play. Nobody knows.

And so the most important thing to the public to keep in mind is if you know anything, if you have any suspicions, if you have any information, if

you see anything that feels like, this isn`t right or maybe this will help, you`ve got to report it.

Law enforcement has responded appropriately and they are doing a deliberate search to find this child. But nobody knows what happened yet. So anything

the public knows if they can share it, it can only help.

IYER: Eric Johnson, defense attorney. Eric, this evening the mom spoke out and she said that Mariah is her angel, is her everything. And that`s how we

all feel about our kids, right? So in this situation, Eric, I know the police have spoken to the ex-boyfriend -- I`m sorry, the boyfriend of the

mom that lives in the house with Mariah.

Would you advise the mom and the boyfriend to retain counsel at this point? Because you know and I know, we all know, you always look at the family

first, right?

ERIC JOHNSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I wouldn`t advise them to retain counsel at this time especially if they had nothing to do with it. They

don`t need counsel at this particular time. The state will be prosecuting and finding their daughter on their behalf.

However, if they do have anything to do with it and they believe that they may be subject to further police question, then it may be something that

they want to get an attorney for it.

IYER: So, Eric Johnson, you would let your client be interviewed by the cops knowing that the cops are going to be looking side eyed at that

boyfriend. Come on, you`re going to let your client go talk to the cops without a lawyer?

JOHNSON: Well, in this particular situation given the seriousness of the situation and the abduction of a daughter, if the mother and the boyfriend

were not willing to cooperate with the police, that is something that would definitely put light on them and make them look in a negative way with the

public.

So I think that if they did not have anything to do with it, them being as most upfront and forthcoming as they could be would only help their

situation but that`s only if they had nothing to do with it.

IYER: Which is why they should maybe call a lawyer. I got to go back to Bobby Chacon. Bobby, the parents or the mom and the boyfriend, they weren`t

working for the military or anything. However, the camp Lejeune military base that`s adjacent to where they lived, where the girl was taken from,

they`re looking at that military base. We can see that on the map.

What are your thoughts on that? Because obviously we know if the body is found on that military base, this could be upgraded to a federal crime.

CHACON: Well, in fact, it may be a federal crime already. The Lindbergh Statute 18USC-201 I believe, it gives us jurisdiction in these types of

cases. So you know, the fact that it`s adjacent to a military base I`m not sure how relevant it is yet.

IYER: OK.

CHACON: But they`re searching that simply because a ground search in a geographic case like this, you have to, you go out from where the kid was

last seen and geographically you just grow that area, you know, in a big circle. If there was no car heard leaving that early in the morning maybe

the person who took her stayed on foot which means that you have to search all of the immediately adjacent geographic area.

If that includes a military base, then so be it. If there`s no fence line and the person can access that area and those grounds, then that search has

to take place in that area. I`m sure they have bloodhounds, I`m sure they have tracking dogs that are tracking from that house where the child was

last seen outward and they`re getting hopefully some trails and some scent and leading them in the proper direction.

IYER: Bobby, quickly, what do the police do with a sex offender map? OK, there is about 177 sex offenders in a 10-mile radius. And we have the map.

I`m showing it now. How do the police handle that when looking for a 3- year-old baby girl who is missing?

CHACON: Well, the people are responsible for doing checks on those offenders can maybe do a check on each of them and see if they`re still in

the area, if they`ve had any -- if they`re still going to work, showing very similar to a parole officer checks on their parolees, if there`s

someone overseeing their release or their situation, those sex offenders should be interviewed, they should be seen if they have an alibi.

[20:15:01] And so they`ll reach out to the most immediate offenders that are in that area to if in fact they are around, if they`ve been seen, if

they`re showing up, you know, if they`re showing at work or if they`re simply gone, if one of these people is gone as of this morning, then it

might be -- it might be something they want to look into.

IYER: Ashley, do you agree with that?

WILLCOTT: I do agree, absolutely. The other question is about the biological father. I know the report is that the FBI...

(CROSSTALK)

IYER: I was wondering the same thing, yes.

WILLCOTT: Right. Law enforcement may have spoken to him but you`ve got to consider him and watch his involvement with this case and custody and all

these things that go along with it. I hope there`s no foul play. I hope that she`s found and she`s healthy and everything is OK. But you just don`t

know yet...

IYER: Thank you.

WILLCOTT: ... what really happened.

IYER: Thank you, Ashley. Viewers, please call crime stoppers 910-938-3273. Let`s find this little girl immediately.

And next, a Kansas man already facing charges for dismembering his wife and storing her remains in a cooler, he`s now facing new charges in the

mysterious disappearance of a California man. That`s next.

[20:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

IYER: The guy who cops say admitted to dismembering his wife has now been charged with murder. Now, that may not surprise you, but it`s not her

murder he`s charged with. It`s someone else`s. OK. We first told you about Justin Wright earlier this month. Cops say he was living in a storage unit

-- get this -- with his toddler and four-day-old baby plus -- wait for it - - two containers carrying his dead wife`s body parts. A wife he seemed to adore. In YouTube videos, he posted just like this beauty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REY: Hi. This is Mr. Justin Rey. And I just wanted to state a fact, a 100 percent fact that my wife, Mrs. Jessica Rey, is the only person that I love

and will value for the rest of my life, that I truly do love and will never, ever stop loving, and the most valuable precious thing in my world

personally is the time spent with my wife, Mrs. Jessica Rey, and our children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

IYER: That was a little disturbing. OK. But according to police, Justin Rey had a couple of stories, that his wife killed herself and there`s another

one that she died during childbirth. OK, folks, however she died, he admitted. He admitted that he was the one to cut her up in a hotel while

their kids were in the very same room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH MONTEIRO, JESSICA MONTEIRO`S SISTER: He neglected to try to help her in order to save her life. So either way he`s responsible for her death.

Knowing he dismembered her in front of his children, he`s just shouldn`t ever be released from jail on top of what he did to my sister.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

IYER: Now, Justin Rey is charged with endangering children as well as abandoning a corpse. And as of last week he`s charged with murder as well,

but not Jessica`s murder. He`s charged with murdering a California man, somebody else, who went missing last year whose body was never found. OK.

But cops say this man`s belongings were found in another storage unit rented by, who else? Justin Rey. OK. There is a lot to unpack here. And I

need the help of Bob Alexander, news director for 92.5 Fox News. Bob, break it down for me.

BOB ALEXANDER, NEWS DIRECTOR, 92.5 FOX NEWS: Well, Seema, to think that Justin Rey`s behavior has painted a bizarre picture is probably one of the

understatements of the year. Already in jail on child endangerment charges and abandoning a corpse in Missouri, now charged with murder by police in

Palm Springs, California.

Sean Ty Ferel disappeared in May of last year after vacationing with Rey. Three months later Rey crashed Ferel`s vehicle in Los Angeles. At that time

police picked up the scent, so to speak. The body has not been found but there was blood found in the truck. His belongings were found in the

Arizona storage unit that you mentioned and Rey also was accused of using Ferel`s credit cards, cash, personal financial information and car for his

own benefit after the killing happened.

IYER: But Bob, what were the authorities doing back then? OK. The timeline is that Farrell -- Ferel, excuse me, was reported missing in May of 2016,

family and friends last spoke to him in May of 2016. His blood was found in the car.

Justin Rey was in an accident with the car. This is all back in 2016. And now we`re here in 2017, his wife is dead, cut up in millions of pieces in

different units. Kids living in a storage unit with him. How is this all connected? Paint this disgusting, horrific picture for the viewers.

ALEXANDER: Well, you have an individual here, Seema, that has said to a judge in his first hearing. He said I am not mentally unstable. You`re

trying to frame me and take my kids and you`re breaking the law, that sort of nonsense, which obviously very few people would tend to believe.

[20:25:06] But this individual obviously very narcissistic because of the fact of what he did to supposedly, a good friend that he went on vacation

with. And then the woman that he professed to love in all these YouTube videos, he has her lying dead in a hotel room for two days with his

children taking pictures of the four of them while she is dead and then proceeds to hack up her body, flush some of it down a toilet and boil...

(CROSSTALK)

IYER: But, hold on. You`re right. Well, Bob...

ALEXANDER: Obviously a crazy individual.

IYER: We got to -- we got to see this YouTube video once again because I think people don`t really have a picture of the depravity that is Justin

Rey. So can we please look at that video again from YouTube?

So in this video that we saw before -- I just love the video. I want to see it 10 times every day of my life. He`s professing his love to his wife. But

it`s somewhat difficult to believe with that video.

So here, let me bring in Eric Johnson. Eric Johnson, defense attorney. Eric, you have heard about Justin Rey`s court rants. Let`s play that video

of Justin Rey in court so I can get your thoughts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REY: Stop talking because I have rights, too. And you`re not letting me have any of my rights, marital rights, parental right. I have religious

rights, parental rights, marital rights. I`m not going to stop talking...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

IYER: So Eric, you saw that video, he`s ranting and raving. Also important to point out, OK, and he confessed to police, however, to an eyewitness at

a restaurant who gave him money, he said his wife died in childbirth. But then to police and everybody else he keeps saying she committed suicide. Is

there a possibility this guy is legit mentally ill?

JOHNSON: Well, I believe he`s very mentally ill. I mean the fact that he`s not been charged in the death of his wife means that authorities don`t have

any evidence to show that he actually did in fact cause her death. And the fact of the mysterious disappearance of the gentleman from California does

not mean that he, in fact, caused that death.

So we do not have any proof that he`s actually harm, I mean, done any physical violence to any living person. He was -- had his children in a

storage unit which we can say makes him an unfit parent and show some of his mental illness.

But there`s been no showing that he has committed an actual violent act against someone outside of the dismembering of the corpse, which would also

go to show some of his mental instability. So I think that analyzation of his mental faculties and instability is something that his lawyer should

undertake.

IYER: Bobby Chacon, come on into this conversation and explain to us how to reconcile this guy`s different crimes in different states, could they be

brought together and him charged federally for a combination of crimes? What do you make of Justin Rey?

CHACON: I don`t think that he`ll be charged federally. I think that the authorities in Kansas City and the authorities here in Palm Springs in

Riverside County will work together and coordinate their prosecution. They`ll likely both be state prosecutions possibly for murder.

They obviously have some evidence leading to -- they don`t have enough to charge or they are preparing to charge him so they are going to put it

before a grand jury. We don`t know what the investigators and prosecutors have in this case, they`re obviously compiling the evidence.

They will seek probably a mental health examination as so should his lawyer, but I think that the two crimes, the dismemberment of his wife, I

don`t think they are, you know, necessarily connected except that he seems to be a narcissistic psychopath.

IYER: Well, aren`t you...

(CROSSTALK)

CHACON: However, that shouldn`t be...

IYER: I wonder what he would...

CHACON: ... that shouldn`t spare him from being treated as a murder, if the evidence shows such.

IYER: Well, listen, if he comes back mentally ill he could spend the rest of his life in a psychiatric hospital. So he`s not going to be running

around the streets or in storage units ever again. But what about the fact, Bobby, that Ferel`s body still hasn`t been found?

CHACON: Well, that`s -- you know, out here in Palm Springs, and I live here part of the time, part of the year, we`re surrounded by very rugged

terrain. If in fact you wanted or he wanted to dismember that gentleman and hide his body parts around the desert or in the mountains, that wouldn`t be

a difficult prospect to undertake.

[20:29:56] So, you know, he`s had a lot of time. He travels to Los Angeles which is obviously next to the ocean, there`s many ways he could have

gotten rid of the body of that gentleman, that now he`s being looked at by the Palm Springs Police Department as a murder suspect.

IYER: Eric Johnson, you would have big problems, my friend, if you`re representing this guy and Farrell`s (ph) body comes back dismembered,

because now you have a pattern here. He`s dismembering one person`s body, he`s dismembering another person`s body. Maybe then we can put these crimes

together or one prosecution would help the other. And what, Eric Johnson, would you do then?

ERIC JOHNSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, if the body comes back dismembered, I mean, as the officer stated, there has been some time lapse in this

situation. So therefore, how was the body dismembered? Are there cuts? Or is it something that the body has been opened into the wilderness and been

torn apart by animals?

So how could you really say? Unless they have something to show that the client in this case was tied into this individual`s death, the fact that

there maybe some similarities would help the prosecution, but not necessarily convict him.

IYER: Thank you, gentlemen. An unthinkable crime on Thanksgiving night when a Virginia youth pastor allegedly kills his wife, stepdaughter, and her

boyfriend. More next.

[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

IYER: A Virginia suburb is reeling after Thanksgiving got gruesome. Shots ringing out from a home on a quiet cul-de-sac. And three people were

killed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE BROWN, NEIGHBOR: My wife heard some strange noise. She`s like, what is that noise? Then it was a gunshot. Pow. I walked over into the neighbor`s

yard. You know, it was -- is that two bodies laying on the ground? Because they had him on the ground. And he was, you know, right there beside the

guy I guess he had shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

IYER: A mom, her daughter, and her daughter`s boyfriend all dead. And the man inside the house, he was arrested for what? Their murder? Fifty-eight-

year-old Christopher Gattis, the mom`s husband, the daughter`s step-dad, and the youth pastor at the local church.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Never seen that in him, you know. He`s always a gentle guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

IYER: Now, he`s facing life in prison or the death penalty, depending on how he`s charged and depending on what investigators say happened between

the meal and the murders. Let`s bring in Ali Rocket. She is a reporter with the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Ali, you with us tonight?

ALI ROCKETT, REPORTER, RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH (via telephone): Hey, thanks for having me.

IYER: Thank you so much for being here. OK, so, Ali, let me tell you, for the last 20 years, I have worked arraignments in the courthouse. And for 20

years, the courthouse is flooded with domestic disputes, people walking in with stuffing and turkey all over their bodies, fighting with their wives,

fighting with their kids, alcohol is involved. Is this what happened here?

ROCKETT (via telephone): At this point, we don`t really have a clear indication of motive. We don`t know if, you know, alcohol was a factor or

anything. All we know is that police arrived and found three bodies, one outside. And Christopher Gattis, the father and husband of two of the

victims, outside as well. And he`s been arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

IYER: So Ali, take us through this scene. Because, set the scene for us. Andrew Buthorn, who was the boyfriend, he was found outside, correct?

ROCKETT (via telephone): Yes, he was found outside basically on just below the stairs in the driveway leading up to the house. Mr. Gattis was also

found outside by police and surrendered to police when they arrived.

IYER: How was he when he surrendered? Was he compliant? Did he resist? Do you know?

ROCKETT (via telephone): Police said that he was very compliant. Surrendered himself. There was no incident there. It was actually him, in

fact, who alerted the alarm company. They have an alarm system in their house. And he had the alarm company call police. We`re not really sure if

that was before, during, after the incident, but it was him who initiated the police call.

IYER: Ali, from all the materials I read, I cannot find a motive here. This is crazy, this story. I read that this guy, Gattis, and his now deceased

wife, Jeanett, they went to high school together. I think they were friends in high school, 1977 high school.

And then what? Twenty-five years later, they reunite in 2000. How romantic is this? Oh, my God. My heart is breaking here, Ali. And then 2000, they

reunite, get together, beautiful couple. And then 2009, they`re married. And then boom, 2017, Thanksgiving goes wrong and she`s dead. What went

wrong?

ROCKETT (via telephone): Unfortunately, we just don`t know at this point.

[20:40:00] You know, police might have a bit of an idea, but they`re not releasing that to media especially right now. There is a search warrant in

the case but it has been sealed so that, you know, there`s not a lot of records out there that kind of give us an indication of what really

happened there.

IYER: Ali, I know you`ve been digging arduously for information on this case. And you found out that in 2012, he had a misdemeanor assault, but it

was dismissed. However, a misdemeanor assault, he was arrested for that, and he was dismissed.

And then about two years before that, there was a public intoxication incident which, of course, could be completely innocent. However, public

intoxication is where I suspect that maybe there was other substances involved in this guy. So, anything else that you`ve dug up?

ROCKETT (via telephone): Yes. In 2012, I saw -- he -- Mr. Gattis was actually convicted in a lower court, in (INAUDIBLE) court in Chester

County, but he appealed that conviction to a higher court, in circuit court. And that is where it was dismissed after he agreed to pay a sum of

money to the man involved.

I actually spoke with the man, the victim, his name is Kevin DeFord, earlier today. He kind of recounted the encounter he had with Mr. Gattis.

He was delivering papers, actually, for the local Chesterfield Observer with his son and Mr. Gattis was not happy about having the paper delivered

and made that --

IYER: That`s a little different than murder, Ali. But last question, what was his demeanor in court? I know you were in court today.

ROCKETT (via telephone): Yes. He actually had two appearances in two separate courts here in Chester. He was very calm. He answered clearly and

concisely when the judge asked him questions. And then he actually asked the question of why he was being arraigned in two separate courtrooms. It

has to do with the fact that two of the victims were his family members and one was not. But he seems very calm and collected in court.

IYER: Ali, thank you, good reporting. Eric Johnson, last question. Is it weird or strange procedurally that Andrew Buthorn, that case goes to

regular court, criminal court, and the stepdaughter and the wife`s murder case goes to domestic court or is that just Virginia?

JOHNSON: That would be just Virginia. Here in Georgia, those cases were probably be mattered by -- handled by the same district attorney.

IYER: Yes, I think that would be the same thing in New York. Thank you both for joining us.

The mother of three-year-old Sherin Mathews was in court this morning, where her attorney successfully argued for her $250,000 bond to be reduced

to $100,000. Sini Mathews is charged with child endangerment. Prosecutors say Mathews and her husband left the three-year-old home alone while they

and their four-year-old biological daughter went to a restaurant for dinner.

Later that night, Sherin Mathews disappeared. Her body was later recovered in a nearby drainage ditch. Prosecutors argued against the bond reduction

saying they think Sini Mathews is a flight risk. If she makes bail though, she will be subjected to electronic monitoring.

A terrifying seven-hour standoff where the suspect holds his own baby daughter hostage as he faces off with the police. That`s next.

[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

IYER: What reportedly started as a fight Sunday night between a couple in an L.A. suburb turned into a fatal standoff on the street. The disturbing

finale was captured on camera after police say a young father held his baby girl hostage in this car.

Only seven months old, this baby is, for nearly seven hours. Officers ultimately fired multiple shots at the suspect while rescuing the baby. A

moment that may be hard to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay behind the line no matter what happens.

(GUNFIRE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My baby!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ll let you know how he is, OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

IYER: Here it is now from a different angle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, hey, hey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shooting!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back. Get back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get behind the pole.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

IYER: OK. So it`s hard to see, but you can spot an officer apparently carrying the baby to safety, while she`s still in her carrier. Thank God.

She didn`t suffer any injuries, but her dad died at the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was just scared. He didn`t know what to do. And he just looked for comfort. (INAUDIBLE) baby so much. He talks about her every

day. He talks about us.

[20:50:00] She smiles when she sees him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) or whatever and a background. He`s a good person. He`s a great dad. I don`t know how to put more emphasis on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

IYER: Police say the investigation is still ongoing. I want to bring in Eric Johnson, attorney who is with us. Eric, this is so painful to watch

especially when you know there`s a seven-month-old involved.

What do you -- what do you say to the family in this situation? How do you assess this in terms of a criminal justice perspective, whether you`re a

prosecution or defense, what do you see with this?

JOHNSON: Well, I think this is another case of the police being rather obsessive with what it is they`re doing. You heard multiple shots in that

video. So with the smoke and the flash bang that was fired out, how can those officers say that none of those shots would have eventually hit the

child?

And if they can`t say that those shots were fired with such precision not to hit the child, then it`s possible that they may have been able to use

some nonlethal methods to subdue the man as well. The fact that he was killed at the scene like this is something that I think that they need to

look into with their procedures and policies and his death possibly could have been avoided.

IYER: OK. Eric, let`s just hold on a second and make sure the viewers know all the facts here. This man was wielding a knife. We know from the

previous video that he did have a criminal record. And this hostage standoff, this lasted almost seven hours.

Aren`t those circumstances, don`t they factor in to your assessment as a lawyer when you`re looking at an excessive force case? And also, let`s

point out to the viewers that, when you`re talking about excessive force, Eric, are we talking about state? Are we talking about federal? Are we

talking about civil criminal, both, everything?

JOHNSON: Well, I would be looking at what the state laws are first. In this particular situation, the fact that he has a criminal history really should

have nothing to do with this. This is an isolated incident where he was holding his daughter hostage from the police officers at this particular

time.

IYER: Eric, Eric --

JOHNSON: Yes.

IYER: You just said that he`s holding a hostage. You can`t hold people hostage, whether it`s your kids or someone else`s kids. Trust me, my mother

would have held me hostage for the first 21 years of my life --

JOHNSON: Well, that is true. That is true. But there are numerous circumstances where the police officers have been involved in violent

crimes and the perpetrator not ended up dead. So therefore, there are circumstances when the police can come and address these issues without

using lethal force. That is what they should be trying to do and it happens all the time.

IYER: Eric, they -- Eric Johnson, with all due respect, they did try that. They tried talking to the man. This went on for seven hours. Eric Johnson,

thank you so much.

In Alabama, a robber used a pickup truck to bust into a grocery store and steal the ATM. More "Primetime Justice" after this.

[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

IYER: Voting is now underway for the CNN hero of the year. Here is one of this year`s top 10 heroes. Meet Rosie Mashale.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSIE MASHALE, CNN HERO: There are so many orphans who are left behind. We can build their lives again. In the year 2000, I found a boy on my

doorstep. And I took him in. (INAUDIBLE) orphanage.

I`ve never turned any child away. Most of them are abandoned by their parents because of HIV and Aids.

Blessings on their meals.

We feed them. We clothe them. We send them to school. The basics that we`re giving them is love.

(INAUDIBLE) has became a sentinel of hope for the children. Everybody (INAUDIBLE). My wish is for that dream to be fulfilled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

IYER: Rosie has stolen my heart. I`m voting for Rosie. But you can vote for Rosie or any of your favorite top 10 heroes. Just go to CNNheroes.com.

Police in Valley, Alabama are searching for the man who did this. They slammed a stolen pickup truck through the plate glass doors of a local

grocery store not once but twice. And on their second time, they crashed through the store -- oh, my God, look at this, where they got right next to

the ATM.

OK. So once inside, one of the suspects tried his best to pull the ATM from the wall. Look at him. No luck. OK. So that`s when he ran to the office to

steal what he could. Of course, he did this. And the driver then slams into the ATM.

Oh, my God, this is such a mess. There was so much soda on the floor. The truck kept spinning out as he tried to back up to the ATM. But they were

eventually able to load it up and then take off. Cops say they found the badly damaged truck near Atlanta, but they are still searching for the

suspects.

Thanks for watching, everyone.

[21:00:00] I`m Seema Iyer. We`ll see you back here tomorrow night, 8:00 p.m., "Primetime Justice." "Forensic Files" starts right now.