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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield

Police Chief Setting Bad Example; Doctor Killed Couple in Texas. Aired 6-6:30p ET

Aired February 28, 2018 - 18:00   ET

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

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

[18:00:00] S.E. CUPP, HOST, HLN: Crime and Justice with Ashleigh Banfield is up next.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST, HLN: Good evening, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. And this is Crime and Justice.

The people of L.A. are used to car chases and there was something a little different about the black Chevy Silverado that`s barreling down the 210

yesterday afternoon because sparks were flying from its under belly as it charged down the freeway with a blown out tire.

The driver would make such reckless decisions at high speed that it would lead the local station`s chopper pilot sounding more like a sports

commentator. The truck endangered pretty much everyone on the freeway, but it turns out someone inside that car was in danger, too.

The driver`s ex-girlfriend whose mother reportedly told police that she had just been kidnapped across town at knife point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here you see this big truck threw off the right front tire as it went through the 57-60 interchange. What we are

understanding, this is a carjacking with the victim still in the car. The suspect was armed with a knife.

We`ve been hearing the police -- correction, the sheriff observer overhead from L.A. County sheriff 21 calling that the victim is fighting with the

driver. Right now he is right on the right shoulder eastbound 210 coming through the Pomona area. You see it dragging that side of the car up there

on the right front corner.

It`s unbelievable. This car has not caught on fire yet from all the friction from that dragging. There goes the tire right there. Now it`s down

on the actual rotor and on the frame. So you`ll see it just kind of dragging it along. We`ll get this across for you just a second.

You know, they are going do a pit maneuver, coming up on the right hand side, coming up on the thing, bumping it and turning around into the center

divider across the freeway and a perfect pit by CHP. We`re going to come around here to the side to keep an eye on it, it`s coming to the north.

And as we see CHP with three units there a perfect pit job, they took him over the freeway over that on ramp and now coming to a stop here. Not we

got a -- we have a problem now. Now you have that victim inside with the suspect who is supposedly armed with a knife. And so they are going to have

to hold back here.

The car is totally disable at this point, not going to be able to get away from him now. OK. Both of them around of the right door as we came around

here, so we`re going to keep an eye on them from here. So right now it looks like they are giving up. This is going to come to an end pretty

quick. Because it could have been very long standing if the suspect stayed in with the victim and we were hoping that wouldn`t happen. But luckily

they made the right decision here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Great work by the police by the way. According to local reports, the highway patrol took the woman into safety before they then handcuffed

the ex and handed him over to the local police and there`s no word yet on how many or what kind of charges he is going to be facing for all of this.

What a video though.

And then there was this appalling act that was caught on surveillance camera on the west side of Detroit. A man dragging a naked woman`s body

through the brush just like he was taking out the trash. And then just dumped her there. Reportedly turned around and walked away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The police got him. He tried to run, but I seen him drop a body right there yesterday. She was lying, she was naked. I feel

bad. I feel bad. And I feel a loss for the family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The family because according to local reports, that woman was a 57- year-old mother who may have been homeless. Police say that she had severe trauma to her face and massive trauma to her head. Whether it was that man

who killed her remains to be seen, but he is reportedly now in custody. And we are waiting to find out what he will be charged with.

Good law enforcement officers always say that they try to stay in touch with their community. To relate to the people that they are called to serve

and protect. But one officer in Mississippi, one police chief in fact, may have aimed a little too high. And when I say high, I mean high as a kite.

And yes, somebody was rolling tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MCDANIEL, REPORTER, WDAM: This is Lumberton Police Chief Shane Flynt on video smoking what he himself implies is marijuana.

SHANE FLYNT, POLICE CHIEF, LUMBERTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: I`m the only chief of police in Lumberton that likes to smoke weed.

MCDANIEL: While we don`t know when it was recorded at times, but Christmas music can be heard in the background.

FLYNT: I like the Rudolph the red nose reindeer.

MCDANIEL: Also in the background what appears to be Flynt`s chief uniform. Using vulgar language and a broken pipe, he laughs about being the chief of

police and high.

FLYNT: Who is the coolest here? Me. I`m the coolest.

MCDANIEL: To get some answers we took our e questions about the video to the police department straight to the Chief Flynt.

We just want to know if we can ask you about your suspension and the reason.

[18:05:06] FLYNT: I started the cover, you know.

MCDANIEL: Can we ask you about the video?

FLYNT: What video?

MCDANIEL: The one of you smoking marijuana.

FLYNT: I`m not aware of that.

MCDANIEL: I can show it to you.

FLYNT: I`m not aware of any of that.

MCDANIEL: You haven`t seen it?

FLYNT: No, sir.

MCDANIEL: Would you like to see it? We have the video.

FLYNT: No, sir.

MCDANIEL: Chief Flynt was not interested in talking to us and went back inside the department. So we took our questions to Mayor Quincy Rogers who

says he hasn`t seen the video so we showed it to him.

What do you think knowing that`s the chief of police in your city?

QUINCY ROGERS, MAYOR OF LUMBERTON: Disturbing.

MCDANIEL: Mayor Rogers said he had heard about the video of Chief Flynt and was told that ward 3 alderman had it but never showed him.

You didn`t ask the board member (Ph) if you could see it?

ROGERS: Yes.

MCDANIEL: You did ask?

ROGERS: Yes, I have.

MCDANIEL: And what did they tell you.

ROGERS: That they will let me see it, but as of today this is the first time that I`ve seen that.

MCDANIEL: We reached out to every board member but only one, Jonathan Griffith called us back and agreed to talk. He said he had never seen the

video and wasn`t aware of any other board member having seen it either.

JONATHAN GRIFFITH, WARD 3 ALDERMAN, LUMBERTON: Everyone in life makes mistakes. And so it is our intent to make sure that we investigate this

matter properly.

MCDANIEL: Griffith questions the video and why it was released, saying everyone deserves a second chance.

Would you support the police chief in remaining in position currently?

GRIFFITH: I currently support the police chief, yes, I do.

ROGERS: It`s quite disturbing. Still trying to get over this video.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, still trying to get over this video as well, the police chief. Shane Flynt who since that report has now been suspended with pay.

And who also since that report posted this on Facebook last night. "One video, one mistake does not define the person I am. My moral or ethical

values. I made a huge mistake. I love serving the town of Lumberton. The people are like family to me. It saddens my heart that I disappointed many

as well as myself."

With me now Mike McDaniel from CNN affiliate WDAM in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Mike happens to be the author of that exclusive report that

you just saw. Thank you for joining me, Mike. What a story. Did you know how this was going to turn out when you saw that video?

MCDANIEL: Well, Ashleigh, thanks for having us. When we first got the video into our newsroom, we kind of like a lot of people just looked in disbelief

like, is this real? Is someone playing joke. We just couldn`t believe what we were seeing. So we made the decision after we kind of cross start you

know, t`s and dotted i`s that we would just go to Lumberton.

We didn`t know how it was going to turn out. This all happened yesterday morning actually. We just rode down there and tried to find the police

chief and went to the police department and one of the officers actually called the chief in for us and the chief came to meet us. But of course we

never said why we were there and what we were looking for. And that`s the confrontation you saw.

He walked up to us while we were there and then started asking some questions. And that was the only conversation we had with the chief at that

point. So we then went to the mayor and he was in his office. We were able to talked to him and it took a little while to get him out of the office,

but we spoke to him and he was very sincere with us, he was very open and honest which we do appreciate of course in the media.

And he told us his take on things and that`s when we started calling Alderman once we realized or we`re told that this board of alderman knew

about this video ahead of time, it kind of raised some questions in our minds as to why they haven`t done something or, if they have, what was it.

(CROSSTALK)

CHURCH: OK. You bring up, Mike, you bring up a really good point that I need to bring our viewers sort of up to speed on.

MCDANIEL: Sure.

CHURCH: You just said it, yesterday you got this video in your hand. Yesterday, you went and confronted the police chief. Yesterday you talked

to the mayor, and some of those alderman.

But back in September when the chief was voted into office, that same month he was also suspended with pay and the only thing anyone will say about

that is that it was some personnel issue. Was that personnel issue this little ditty that we are seeing on tape or do we even know?

MCDANIEL: It was actually he was appointed as police chief back in September, that`s correct. But he was suspended earlier this month so he

was suspended earlier this month and we reported on it but we were never told why. So we were just told it was a personnel matter and that city

leaders had no comment.

So, within that time frame, the chief submitted a resignation so we were told. We never got straight confirmation from the city that is in fact what

happened. So we were told he was suspended and then he resigned. The board of alderman then came back and instead of accepting the resignation or

letting the police chief go for wherever he can because at this point we still didn`t know, they decided to overturn or they decided to reinstate

and lift his suspension making him the police chief again.

[18:10:02] So in essence, the resignation letter was not accepted is in fact he did submit a resignation letter. We`re still are not clear on that.

CHURCH: OK. So, I have my dates wrong. I thought there was suspension back in September the same month that he was actually brought in. So, my

apologies. So he`s brought, he`s voted in in September. Then earlier in the month, this month, he is suspended and he offers his resignation and the

alderman decided to keep him. And then you show up.

MCDANIEL: That`s correct.

CHURCH: And as of yesterday, he is suspended again, correct?

MCDANIEL: I called the mayor this morning actually and I asked him if there was any update in regards to the police chief or what has transpired with

the city but as he told me yesterday on camera that there would be action taken.

So I was just following doing my due diligence to see what that action was. And he said that after we showed him the video, after we had left yesterday

in our report here, that he told the police chief to leave. And then I asked him, well, how far -- or how long is he going to be gone, is it going

to be an indefinite thing or it`s just another suspension.

And the mayor told me that it is a suspension with pay until the board can meet again. Now the next schedule meeting is not until March 6th, but the

mayor was trying to have a special called meeting but some alderman were refusing to meet. Others were out of town so there was no corum. So from

now until March 6th, he is still suspended without pay according to the mayor unless the special called board meeting happen.

CHURCH: It`s all very confusing. It safe to say the video has had a pretty strong impact as has your reporting. Let`s be super clear about

Mississippi. Because you know, all over the rules are different. We know what the federal rules are. No smoking dope, you know. They don`t even

matter if you`re sick. That`s the federal rule.

But every state is a little different. I looked up Mississippi. Medical marijuana use is legal in your state and in the officer`s state, but

recreational is not, correct?

MCDANIEL: That`s correct. Recreational marijuana is not legal in Mississippi.

CHURCH: So what about the decriminalization? Because that`s another thing that gets people little confuse. Some states in Mississippi is one of them

has said look, if you are in possession of a certain amount, usually smaller of marijuana, we`re not going to make this a felony. We`re going to

decriminalize it, and basically give you a fine of $250. No jail time. It`s like a civic summons. So that`s the sort of the lay of the land in your

state. But it basically means you`re still breaking a law if you fall on a weed pipe, correct?

MCDANIEL: That`s correct. I mean, if you follow the comment on the stories and if you look online or in social media there`s a lot of people

advocating for decrminalization of marijuana especially in our state.

Our capital city actually there is a councilman who had introduced an ordinance to decriminalize city in Jackson or decriminalize marijuana in

Jackson, Mississippi.

CHURCH: OK. Is it not already -- I was under the impression it`s already decriminalized in your state. Is that not true?

MCDANIEL: Not that I`m aware of, no, ma`am.

CHURCH: Let me double check that. Can I can get our producers to double check whether Mississippi has in fact decriminalized possession of

marijuana in the state of Mississippi. I think it`s really important.

Although I will say this. And I`m going to bring in a former police officer Brandon Tatum to sort of help me walk through this. Brandon, no matter what

the law, what do you think about a police chief smoking marijuana in his own home?

BRANDON TATUM, FORMER ARIZONA POLICE OFFICER: This would be funny if he wasn`t the police chief. This man is held to a high standard. He is to

uphold the law and to help his officers enforce the law. And if you have the very top person in law enforcement not even able to compose himself and

work with integrity, because you have to remember he wasn`t, you know, guilty of this. Or not say guilty, but he wasn`t sorry about this until he

got caught.

So when you have somebody in that position that cannot even take accountability for their own actions and not, you know, do things like this

off camera or whatever the case may be, then we have a problem.

Suspending somebody isn`t enough. This man has already been suspended. I give him this message. I forgive him. That`s fine. But there is no place in

police -- in a police department especially at a key position for you to be employed and be doing things that he`s doing.

CHURCH: OK. I`m going to read a bit more of the Facebook message in a moment. But first I`m going to play a little bit more of this tape. Because

in the background, you saw his chief uniform was hanging. He was in his own home he says. And we think it was maybe around Christmas like McDaniel

reported because there`s references to Christmas and here`s some Christmas music playing. But here`s a little bit more of the chief`s behavior.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLYNT: I`m going tell you something.

Look at that. Look. This is nothing. You know who the coolest is? Me. I`m the coolest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: I am so glad that my moments like have not been caught on video, but then again, I`m not the police chief either, you know. And I don`t

smoke weed. Now.

[18:15:04] But I do want to bring in what Shane Flynt said on his Facebook in addition to the apology to the community. Because it kind of mitigates

the apology in my books. He said, "I trusted the wrong person. Welcome them into my personal home. They recorded me in a vulnerable state and they

planned every minute of it. This person being my wife who is obviously very vindictive."

So, Mike McDaniel, real quickly, do we know anything more about the issue of the taping? Because the source of the video is the viewer, WDAM viewer.

MCDANIEL: Correct.

CHURCH: But he says it`s his wife who took the pictures. Do we know more anything about that part of the saga?

MCDANIEL: We don`t know, while we have an idea who sent the video and we don`t know exactly who that person will be. We can`t confirm whether in

fact it was the wife. We did our due diligence to make sure that this was in fact the police chief on video smoking what he himself implies to be

weed. And that`s why we took our -- that`s why we took our question to the mayor and to the city of Lumberton. Ultimately we found out that yes, that

is the city police chief doing exactly what he implied to do.

CHURCH: So he also says on the Facebook page he ascribes a little more blame here. He says, "Just a thought. Where would we all be if we all had

hidden cameras in our home."

Which is a good point to bring in Joey Jackson who is a criminal defense attorney, he is also really smart about all of this stuff. I don`t know how

you feel about weed or police chiefs doing weed.

JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Wow.

CHURCH: So, I want you to weigh in on this one.

JACKSON: You know, I just have a problem with it and I think that he shouldn`t hold the position. That`s my position on it. Everyone makes

mistakes. I get it. There is no perfect human being, I get it. What message does it send. You mention the issue of decriminalization. It`s my

understanding that it was. Meaning, that you get a civil fine as opposed to an arrest.

But that stated, what message are you sending our youth, what message are you sending the community? And not only that, as a chief anything can

happen at any time which requires you to respond. A shooting can happen at any time. A robbery can happen at any time.

You know whose leadership you need? The chief. And if the chief is out of his mind because he`s messing around with marijuana, I`m not sure how

appropriately he responds to that. And so, I have a bright line rule here and I just don`t think that he is the person who should hold this position

in light of that. Period.

CHURCH: I don`t think that`s unfair. I think you are right. Especially since you just highlighted that he is on the job at all times. At all

times.

JACKSON: That`s right.

CHURCH: My thanks to Mike McDaniel. Great reporting, Mike. Way to go. A good exclusive for KTAM -- or WDAM -- excuse me. Brandon Tatum, as always,

thank you. And Joey Jackson, there is no other. Stick around.

JACKSON: Thank you.

CHURCH: I have other questions for you. Like this, a Texas doctor accused of gunning down his neighbors in broad daylight right front of their own

three kids. And the police say those two were just helping out the suspect`s mother at the time. So what on earth happened here?

And then there is this. If you can stomach it. A nightmare dentist accused of torturing kids and then bilking the government. And apparently, he won`t

even face charges for this. I`m going to let you know why and then you`re probably going to let me know how you feel about it.

[18:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: In one small Texas town, there is a sign sitting at the front of the property of a local physician. And the sign says, "peace, love, health,

and happiness to all who enter here."

Gosh, that`s nice. Which is why it is so utterly confusing that that place is now a violent crime scene. It`s been surrounded and taped because that

doctor is accused of shooting his neighbors dead. Those neighbors? A beautiful young couple just over helping his mother move furniture.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY SOTO, TEXAS RESIDENT: I heard the voices, my God, my God. Then I heard two more shots and the voice stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: According to local reports, Dr. Robert Fadal shot Anthony and Tiffany Strait right in front of their three children making it all the

more difficult for their family to process this tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES STRAIT, ANTHONY STRAIT`S BROTHER: I want to know why. He`s a good man. He didn`t deserve this. I hope he gets the same thing he gave my

brother, honestly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: With me now is People magazine staff writer, Elaine Aradillas. Elaine, this is so strange. I feel like there are a lot of missing pieces.

You know, a doctor doesn`t just come rushing out with a shotgun and shoot two people who are helping his mom. What am I missing?

ELAINE ARADILLAS, STAFF WRITER, PEOPLE: That is -- that`s the big question. It doesn`t make any sense. This is a small Texas town. I am sure everyone

knows everybody and it doesn`t make any sense why he would pull a shotgun on them for no reason.

CHURCH: And you say, when you say a small Texas town, Sabine, Texas, it`s actually not far from where you grew up.

[18:24:57] ARADILLAS: I grew up in San Antonio. Sabine everyone takes day- trips there. It`s this beautiful picturesque town known for their pecans and everyone knows everybody. It`s just, it`s a sweet town. And so this

sort of crime doesn`t make sense.

CHURCH: So all we know at this point is that Tiffany and Anthony Strait have their three kids and they are under the age of 10, right?

ARADILLAS: Yes. Three children from ages 7 to 10 witnessing this horrible incident.

CHURCH: So just walk me through, you know, what happened from start to finish. They are in a truck. They are driving up Dr. Fadal`s home. His mom

lives in the home and they are doing him a favor. They are coming to help Dr. Fadal`s mom to move furniture or do some job, right?

ARADILLAS: Right. That`s what they did. They did landscaping and they go and it`s a compound, it`s along the Guadalupe River. It`s a beautiful area.

CHURCH: It`s gated and safe, right?

ARADILLAS: Yes. And so they went to go help move furniture. You know, I`m sure it was a pleasant Sunday and...

(CROSSTALK)

CHURCH: By the way, Sunday morning. We`re not talking middle of the night. It`s dark. There is a mistaken identity. I mean, this is bright sunshine in

11 or 12 in afternoon or in the morning afternoon.

ARADILLAS: In the morning.

CHURCH: OK.

ARADILLAS: You know, it`s a family outing. Their children, their three children are with them and outcomes Dr. Fadal with a shotgun.

CHURCH: From the home.

ARADILLAS: From that home.

CHURCH: As Antis is getting out of the pickup truck.

ARADILLAS: Right. And so he was shot first and his wife comes around to check on him when she gets shot.

CHURCH: And that`s presumably the voice that the neighbor heard, my God, my God, my God, a few more shots and then that voice was silenced.

Jaime Strait or James Strait is Anthony`s brother. Anthony being the victim here. And he, I mean, clearly is probably more than the rest of us about

how this could have happened. This is what he said about his brother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STRAIT: I was his best man. He helped me all the time. I helped him. We did things together. We grew up together. He`s my brother.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: So obviously reporters in that area are asking the police what did they know about it and how bizarre is this? And we`re not getting a lot of

information. This is all they would say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG JONES, LIEUTENANT, GUADALUPE COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE: I think anything like this is unusual for any kind of neighborhood. In cases like

this where we don`t always understand the why of what goes on in our communities, there is a reminder that evil exists out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: So, Elaine, it`s like every fact that we find out seems to be more upsetting than the last. And it turns out the victims, Leanne and Anthony

were actually on their way after helping the mother of this person who is now alleged to have killed them, they were on the way to his mother`s

birthday.

ARADILLAS: That`s what -- that`s what we`re hearing.

CHURCH: So they were, I mean, obviously when you say family outing, they were on the way to a family celebration and this along the way they thought

they do a good deed. But we don`t know anything else about them. We don`t know if there is something sinister. We don`t know if maybe the doctor

thought something, rightly or wrongly.

ARADILLAS: The authorities are being very tight lipped and it`s bizarre in such a small town where everyone knows everything about everybody.

CHURCH: A beautiful couple. Look at them.

ARADILLAS: Yes.

CHURCH: I will say this. That a neighbor, Rudy Soto, I hope I`m saying his name right, Rudy Soto was asked about Anthony, the victim. Obviously

Anthony and Tiffany are the victims and Rudy I think knows Anthony, he`s a neighbor. And this is what he had to say about his now dead neighbor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOTO: He used to be the nicest guy, you know, I`ve known in my life. One of the nicest persons. Just a big tragedy that happened. I really don`t know

what`s going to come out of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: I want to bring in retired special agent Bobby Chacon, he joins me now live from Palm Springs. Bobby, do you have any answers as to where you

even begin? I mean, what would the police be doing while they have Robert Fadal, Dr. Fadal held on $2 million bond? What are they doing now?

BOBBY CHACON, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, you know, Ashleigh, we`re often sitting here wondering how, what, where, when any of the crimes and

we already know all of that. And so, really where they are at now is seeing if this doctor can tell them why he did it or if the doctor`s mother can

provide any insight or anyone else that might have been in that home to provide any insight to what was going on just prior to that couple arriving

to give some indication.

Nothing makes sense. But the only way to make sense of it is somehow get inside the mind or get inside the life of that doctor just prior to him

taking this action.

[18:29:55] So, if somebody else was in that house, the mother was obviously there talking to the mother. If he`s talking himself, I mean, that`s really

what you have to go on. Everything else the mystery is solved here. The only mystery is why.

CHURCH: Yes.

CHACON: And we`re getting -- I`m hearing some reporting that the police had been called to that house on previous occasions more than once but nothing

of this kind of magnitude. So they are probably looking at those reports as well. But really the only thing they have to do is talk to the mother and

talk to the suspect himself and anybody else that might be in the house.

BANFIELD: Good point.

CHACON: (INAUDIBLE) few minutes for him grabbing that weapon and exiting that house.

BANFIELD: So that is an excellent point. For that, I want to bring in Joey Jackson, because as a criminal defense attorney and an HLN legal analyst,

CNN legal analyst, you know that question is coming. If mom was a witness, that`s doctor`s mom. If children were witnesses, well that`s victim`s

children. They both have dogs in the fight.

JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, CNN AND HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.

BANFIELD: And by the way, the kids are under 10. How does that play?

JACKSON: It plays huge. First, let`s talk about what the context of this is, right? When Bobby Chacon was saying we don`t know the why. The why is

everything. We always talk about you don`t have to prove motive, but inquiring minds want to know, what happened?

Now, could be that this was a mistake. Did he believe wrongly that his mother or someone else may have been under attack? That could be, you know,

could be the case and may well could be the case. We have to see. Was there any preexisting relationship with these people?

Did they mean him harm? Did they know him? It`s just not really in keeping or in contacts with life experience as someone just grabs a shot and starts

shooting, unless of course, that person is mentally defective or otherwise just not there. We know this.

BANFIELD: Yes, not according to his patients.

JACKSON: Exactly.

BANFIELD: (INAUDIBLE) seem anything wrong with the doctor.

JACKSON: This doctor is in a different position because apparently he is well respected and so therefore the motivation means everything to the case

and the defense is going to turn on what he was motivated by.

BANFIELD: It is so bizarre. I mean, I just feel for Tiffany and Anthony`s three children who this happened right in front of them.

JACKSON: Yes.

BANFIELD: Elaine (ph), thank you for your great reporting. Joey, as always, thank you. And Bobby Chacon, my thanks goes to you as well.

The dentist, the dentist accused of abusing more than 100 kids. Then accused of bilking Medicaid out of thousands of thousands of dollars. And

when you see and hear video like this, it rattles just about everyone, that he won`t be held accountable for any of it. Are you wondering why? We were,

too.

[18:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: It is no secret that the dentist is not always your easiest visit on the schedule, and just ask your kids, because they are usually not crazy

about the visit either, right? Which is probably why the parents of the kids who saw Dr. Howard Schneider took it in stride when the kids started

complaining about him.

And when Dr. Schneider told the parents to stay out of the exam room, they probably had to lean pretty heavily on the trust factor. Even though they

could hear their kids screaming behind the closed door. Because after all, he was their dentist, a medical professional. But as it turned out, what

was happening in those exam rooms behind the closed door may not have been professional at all, instead criminal.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

(CRYING)

(SCREAMING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: It was hard for us to see that, too. The doctor admitted in an interview that he and his staff strapped the screaming children on to

something called a papoose board and then used some questionable tactics to keep them quiet.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

DR. HOWARD SCHNEIDER, PEDIATRIC DENTIST: With the help of the parent, in a professional manner, and using a (INAUDIBLE) board, we wrap them so they

will not fall out and hurt themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): I`ve heard from some critics who were saying that at some point in your history, maybe not recently, you are

holding hand over mouth and plugging the nose to keep them quiet, to get them --

SCHNEIDER: We put the hand on the mouth and put the nostril thing on the nose.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Is that -- they keep them from breathing?

SCHNEIDER: No, so they can breathe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: On top of the 100 plus claims that he assaulted, humiliated, tortured and even mutilated those kids with mouth work that you can see

here, that doctor was charged with 12 counts of fraud and accused of billing Medicaid for thousands of dollars for procedures that he did not

perform.

Something that absolutely infuriated the parents who took their protests right to his office door and took justice into their own hands.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma`am! Ma`am! Ma`am!

[18:40:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: what? What? What? Call police. (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: We can all understand that parent and how she feels. But the 81- year-old dentist will not be held accountable for any of this. At least not any time soon. Because the prosecutors in the case have just dropped the

charges against Dr. Howard Schneider.

They did it because a judge ruled him incompetent to stand trial. Schneider`s deteriorating medical condition is saving him from the criminal

justice system and the harsher sentence that over 100 families really wanted to see.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They wanted to see Schneider punished. It`s more than money to most of these families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Joining me now is WBOB News Director Roger Henderson. Roger, this is one of those stories where you are going to have to get me off the

ledge. I get it when someone is not competent to stand trial, but I don`t often just hear, so we are just going to drop the changes. Tell me those

charges can come back if he somehow mentally comes back.

ROGER HENDERSON, NEWS DIRECTOR, WBOB (via telephone) Well, this is a very, very difficult case to watch. Of course, he has been in the area here, the

Jacksonville area, for the past several years. Yes, he is suffering from an advanced form of dementia and therefore incompetent to stand trial.

Whether or not his mental capacities can be restored maybe at some point but again he is in his lower 80s right now and very likely will never have

to stand trial for these charges.

BANFIELD: I want to go over the timeline of this case so that everyone is crystal clear on Dr. Howard Schneider. Like you said, 81 years old and how

this all sort of unfolded. April 2015, the daily protests begin outside of his dental office. April 2015, the state attorney general confirms that he

is under fraud investigation.

The next month, May in 2015, he closes his practice and surrenders his license. Then November, same year, he turns himself in after being indicted

on 11 counts of medical fraud, not of any sort of violent crime against children.

Fast forward a little over two years later, February 2017, the judge finds that Schneider is not competent for prosecution. And then this year, a year

later, February 26th, 2018, prosecutors dropped the charges.

So, Roger, I think one of the biggest questions here that a lot of people would want to try to get some kind of answer to is, I get it. If they could

do a paper trail and find these fraud charges, bilking the medical system, bilking Medicaid, et cetera, I get it. Where were the charges even

considered of hurting the children? Was there even a discussion?

HENDERSON (via telephone): That is a very, very good question. I would imagine a lot of these parents` overwhelming guilt for having taken their

children who they love so much to this doctor, hearing their complaints and then just brushing it off, saying, you know, no one likes going to the

dentist, but these parents have a lot to be proud of.

These parents, they were out protesting his dental offices, were really the catalyst that got his medical practice shut down. Now why prosecutors never

filed charges against him? Maybe there was an ongoing investigation. Who knows? But it is what it is at this point. And thankfully he is no longer

practicing dentistry.

BANFIELD: Yes. It was so uncomfortable watching the video. Listen, as a news organization, we debated quite a bit within our team just how much of

that video we could even show. I am going to show you one small piece in addition because I`m about to speak with an attorney for the families.

I think the context is critical when it comes to what you are going to hear from this attorney who is coming up in a moment. So with that in mind, here

is just a second portion of the tape that you haven`t yet seen.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

(SCREAMING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Joining me now is John Phillips. He is an attorney for the victims` family members and the parents. John, it`s unconscionable. I get

it. I get that doctors have to usually strap pediatric patients so that they don`t flail and I get that children cry.

That wasn`t a normal cry. And any parent will tell you, that wasn`t a normal cry. So here is my next question. What about the rest of the staff?

Why weren`t they doing anything about this?

[18:45:00] JOHN PHILLIPS, ATTORNEY FOR VICTIMS`S FAMILIES: Right. Four years later, that video still gets me with a 6-year-old, 3-year-old, and a

6-month-old at home, that`s not a normal cry. No parent would ever just let that go by. And so some -- there was a dental assistant who was charged and

guess what, I heard charges were dropped last August as well.

There were two types of nurses and assistants that we talked to. One said that they were the safe keepers of the room. They tried to keep these

children more safe and prevent more harm from Schneider. And the other side just refused to talk because I think they were just as complicit as Dr.

Schneider.

BANFIELD: Yes. Hold your thought for a moment if you will, John. I want to talk to you a little bit more because the horror stories that these parents

tell, they are really hard to comprehend. Think about you. How would you feel if charges were dropped against the dentist who did this to your

child?

(START VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDI MOTLEY, MOTHER OF ALLEGED VICTIM: The nurse suggested that it`s best that kids act better when the parents are not in the room. They said we

don`t like parents back here for procedures.

The nurse came and got me and she said there had been an incident. She was hyper-ventilating. She had marks all over her and blood all over her. In

the parkin lot, she takes her gauze out, and I noticed all her teeth were gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: There are a lot of people who don`t like Dr. Howard Schneider of Jacksonville, Florida. In fact, they want to see him put away for the rest

of his life. But he is 81 years old and apparently he is just not with it enough to stand trial.

Despite the fact that over 100 children`s parents say he tortured them in his dental chair. And the prosecutors suggested on top of all this, he

actually bilked the system for money. Bilked the system for procedures he never performed.

Still with me, the attorney for the victims` families, John Phillips, and defense attorney Joey Jackson is with me as well. So, John, at least these

families had some recourse, they sued. They went after him civilly for the damage that their children suffered.

I`m going to play some pictures. If you are squeamish at all, please maybe just take this opportunity to look away from your set. If you have kids in

the room, good opportunity to ask them to move away. This is how many of his patients looked after the procedures. The lips were unmistakably

swollen and red and in some cases cut.

There were bruises on some of these children. It is unmistakable as a parent if your child comes out of the dentist looking like this, something

went wrong. What about those cases? Was it slam dunk, the civil cases against the dentist, John?

PHILLIPS: It`s slam dunk enough that I can`t talk about it. We resolved 131 cases over the course of two years with confidential settlement for legal

malpractice, for medical malpractice case, it happened pretty quick.

BANFIELD: Joey Jackson, how is it not criminal? I`m still completely at a loss. I have never seen anything so obvious in photographs and video, but

apparently not obvious in the court of law.

JACKSON: You know, it`s a great point, Ashleigh. I mean, from a criminal perspective, obviously, you have to be competent to stand trial. You have

to be able to understand the proceedings and assist your defense lawyers. If you can`t do that, you are incompetent, the case gets dismissed.

At the end of the day, remember, he is not practicing medicine and also remember the victims had a great lawyer in John Phillips who was able to

get the recovery that they saw, you know, that they deserve.

Mind you, they don`t want the recovery. You don`t want a dentist doing this to your children. But the civil remedy is money. It is confidential. We

can`t talk about it as John says. But the reality is that at least they got some measure of redress although he is 81 and he won`t be going to jail.

BANFIELD: The dismissal of the charges is without prejudice and while that sounds like he is more of a hero, it`s not. It means just you wait. If

anything changes, you can still be --

JACKSON: If he gets competent. We will find out.

BANFIELD: Thank you so much, Joey. Thank you as well, John, for joining us. My thanks to Roger Henderson for reporting on this story as well.

Straight ahead, two suspected shoplifters running from the police. And you will see them. That arrow points to where they are coming. There they are.

But you will never guess where this courtyard is. What they chose to run towards as they were trying to escape the police. Think about it. I will

tell you what it is in a moment.

[18:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: One more thing for you tonight. Lots of times we say bad guys are the not brightest bulbs in the box. But this video, it drives that point

home. Check out these two suspected shoplifters. Police say they are running from the cops, looking for a place to hide, may do what maybe

anybody might do when they see a big tall wall, a courtyard.

They jumped the fence hoping to get away. Problem is the courtyard is actually a restricted police area. And it turns out they ran right past the

entrance. There it is, of the brand new police precinct in Arizona. See those big blue letters saying police, maybe they didn`t see it, maybe they

can`t read. They were arrested. Both of them

[19:00:00] charged for shoplifting and trespassing of course and then also drugs. You can`t make these things up.

The next hour of CRIME AND JUSTICE starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two toddlers don`t show up for daycare.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My granddaughter is three and grandson is one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their grandparents find them home all alone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And their mom, nowhere to be seen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There has been a struggle besides my daughter`s car. Jewelry was all around like it was broken off. Her cellphone was stubbed in

the bushes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where is Terry Lynn St. John? Did somebody snatch her as she was getting the kids ready to leave the house?

A doctor in small town Texas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think anything like this is unusual for any kind of neighborhood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Accused of gunning down his neighbors right in front of their kids.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard this voice, you know, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God and I heard two more shots and the voice stopped.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why would he do this especially as they were just helping his mom?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope he gets the same thing he gave my brother.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Screaming children tortured in a chair, but their dentist will never have to answer to the charges against him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is the story of an 81-year-old man who is going to spend the rest of his life in nursing home-type care and never face the

criminal justice system.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How he has escape the wrap (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They wanted to see (INAUDIBLE) punished.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When over a hundred young victims --.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is more than money to my (INAUDIBLE) families.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- Say he hurt them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Good evening. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. Welcome to the second hour of CRIME AND JUSTICE.

You know, we tend to believe that bad things happen at night. That`s why parents kissed their kids goodnight, lock the doors and leave the porch

light on. Only then the most of us settle into the night and have a really sound sleep.

And when the daylight returns, many of those worries vanish. And that was probably the case for TerriLynn St. John who was likely in go mode

yesterday morning preparing the car to take those two kids to day care. Her two little toddlers inside that home. She is outside in that bright

daylight, broad daylight. Somehow that is where TerriLynn vanished right between the door to her home and her own driveway. She left behind a scene

that has terrified her family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY ST. JOHN, TERRILYNN`S FATHER: They looked through the woods. They can definitely tell that there has been a struggle beside my daughter`s car.

Jewelry was strolled around that goes broken off. Her cell phone was found in the bushes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: TerriLynn`s family reportedly found here front door wide open and her babies just one and three years old home alone inside. Her family said

she would never do that. She would never abandon them. That these kids were her entire world.

So who took TerriLynn away from her children in the bright morning sunshine? And where could she be now two nights later?

With me now Jake Burns, a reporter for CNN affiliate WTVR.

Jake, is there something to the story that I`m missing? It just seems so mysterious that she would disappear in the bright sunshine on the way out

to the car.

JAKE BURNS, REPORTER, WTVR (on the phone): Well, Ashleigh, that`s something that police are obviously looking into right now. It is odd circumstances.

And right now, the Middlesex County sheriff`s office is calling this a missing person`s case, but they admit that the detail and it is evidence

collected is very, very suspicious.

You mentioned the cell phone that was found, the necklace that was broken right there found in the front yard. We know that police have collected

that evidence and they are looking into it. The family said that is obviously highly, highly concerning.

We did get an update from the Middlesex County sheriff`s department the day they mentioned to us that at least four persons of interest have been

interviewed in this case. They say that those four people are being very cooperative with the investigation even submitting to a DNA sample that was

then sent to the crime lab.

BANFIELD: OK. So let me just jump in there. Jake, let me jump in because I don`t want to get too far ahead of the story. They are asking for DNA from

four people that they have called persons of interest for whatever reason they have deemed them to be. But we don`t have necessarily something to

compare that DNA to unless there is something more than just broken jewelry and the cell phone which I believe was found in the woods, right, or in the

bushes near the car? Is that correct?

BURNS: It was found in the bushes near her car. We were at the house today in the driveway is where her car still parked. It not terribly far from a

wooded area near at home. This is a very rural area. And you make a good point, the DNA samples that were collected and sent to state crime lab and

voluntarily turned over by those persons of interest. So police say they have more people they want to talk to in connection to this case.

[19:05:19] BANFIELD: So we are seeing the overhead view of her house and you are not kidding. This is really rural. It looks like the nearest

neighbor is a couple football fields away. Did they hear anything? Are they helping out in this case? Did they see something strange? A car that maybe

had not gone down that road before at that time of the day?

BURNS: Thus far, we haven`t heard from any neighbors directly in that area. We do know that the police are highly interested in hearing from anyone

that lives in that part of the middle peninsula. It is very rural. There are several rivers around there.

They say the good news in this case is that this area where TerriLynn lives is at an intersection, a cross point. There a lot of rural roads there but

there seems to a lot of traffic that goes through the area.

She was last seen around 7:30 in the morning. So police in Middlesex are asking for people that saw anything suspicious, a vehicle maybe they didn`t

notice that they hadn`t seen before in that vicinity to give them a call especially if they saw between like 4:30 and 6:00 in the morning on Tuesday

when TerriLynn was last seen.

BANFIELD: So we were just looking. And you know, while we are talking about it, we are going to put up her description, Jake. She is 23. She is a young

mom of a one and a 3-year-old. 5`6", 130 pounds, as you can see from her photograph, blond hair, blue eyes and she has a couple of tattoos that are

significant as well. As I understand, I think there are tattoos on her wrist or hand? Do you have that handy, Jake, what the tattoos are that

might help to identify her?

BURNS: Yes. Those tattoos are right on her right wrist. They include the letters RJM. And there is a princess crown tattooed on her left wrist and

across on her finger. Those are important details. And I`m sure you are showing a whole bunch of pictures.

The one in particular is important. She was last seen wearing a blue outer banks hooded sweatshirt. That is the last piece of clothing that I know

that she was wearing that morning from people that saw her. So that`s really important detail to this case. It is a blue outer banks sweatshirt.

Outer Banks, North Carolina on it. So police say that`s a highly important detail.

BANFIELD: So one other detail that I couldn`t help but notice is that when we showed you the aerial view, we then showed you a map of all the rivers

and the creeks and the waterways all-around where, you know, TerriLynn was last seen at her home. But here is the deal. This is wake Virginia. And it

is tiny place. They don`t have unlimited resources to be searching all though these areas. What are they able to do?

BURNS: Well, you mentioned that they do have limited resources. They have called in for help from the outside police agencies. We know, the Hampton

police department is involve. That`s a major city. The (INAUDIBLE) county sheriff`s office and the Virginia state police are all involved in the

search right now. We know they called in drones. They called in canine units to search that area.

You notice from the map, for a home, maybe a quarter mile away from the river. There is a lot of beaches along the wrap ahead river in that area.

We saw ATV tracks out there this morning. Police have confirmed to us that they have been searching those beaches. They have been searching the swampy

areas around her home with canine units and thus far no sign of TerriLynn.

BANFIELD: And we hear this. You know, this is really all hands on deck for this local law enforcement community. Apparently, some of the

administrative staff, the office workers, they are actually - I hope they are as well searching for TerriLynn. I mean, this is - it is really

remarkable.

One thing I do want to mention is that TerriLynn had some interesting social media posts on Sunday night. And you can read what you want into

them, but she is basically sharing some quotes in her social media profile.

And let me read them to you. She said this on February 25th.

Sometimes you just have to accept what happened, smile and move on.

Sometimes the best thing you can do is fallout of love.

Don`t let anyone take advantage of your trust. Forgiveness doesn`t make you weak, but too much chances can do some harm.

Life has knocked me down a few times. It has shown me things I never wanted to see. I have experienced sadness and failures, but one thing is for sure.

I always get up.

Three lies I am tired of hearing. I promise, I love you, and I`m sorry.

At the same time she was posting that, roughly around the same time, Sunday night. She was also having a conversation with her best friend, Shelby

Rose.

And Shelby Rose joins me now live.

Shelby, what do you know about your best friend, TerriLynn and what her whereabouts might be?

[19:10:18] SHELBY ROSE, BEST FRIEND OF MISSING MOM (on the phone): It is not really much that we do know at this time. We do know that somebody has

come and kind of fought with her and ran her down and picked her up from her home. It`s not really -- we have a few leads but the police are going

off of as of the moment. But it is not really too much that we do know at this point.

BANFIELD: So Shelby Rose, that`s a detail that we had not heard. And I want to be really clear. You are saying that someone ran her down, had a fight

with her and took her? Do you know that or is that your guess?

SHELBY ROSE: They are classifying it as a missing persons report right now, but the evidence shows that her shoes were pretty much drug off of her in

the front yard. Her phone was in the bushes and a male`s necklace was ripped off of her.

BANFIELD: A man? Did you say a man`s necklace? Shelby, a man`s necklace was ripped off of her?

SHELBY ROSE: That`s not confirmed, but that`s what the assumption at the time.

BANFIELD: So I want to be clear. It is not confirmed but you have been hearing reports that a man`s necklace was taken off of her or a man`s

necklace was ripped off from whoever? Which is that?

SHELBY ROSE: It was ripped off from whoever. It was laying in the yard with the rest of her belonging. And you can tell by the class that it had been

ripped off.

BANFIELD: And it wasn`t a necklace that you saw her wearing?

SHELBY ROSE: No, ma`am.

BANFIELD: Well, perhaps that`s the reason they are taking DNA samples now from the four people at least at this point who are deemed to be persons of

interest.

Shelby, one thing I want to ask you, and I would like to be really careful here. You know, your friend, TerriLynn had a boyfriend. And she had

separated from him recently and there was apparently some discussion of them getting back together.

Without naming the boyfriend because he has not been called a person of interest. He is not a suspect in this at this point at all. And I would

like to you know, make sure that it stays that way. What is the story between TerriLynn`s boyfriend and her? What were their circumstances and

how were they Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday of this week?

SHELBY ROSE: I mean, every weekend, we were all in that type of a girl`s trip and the guys went their separate ways for a guys` trip. I mean, they

weren`t exactly getting along at the time, but I mean, they had arguments just like every other couple has. TerriLynn was a very independent person.

They had a great relationship, but they had their ups and downs and this weekend just happened to be one of their downs. But Matt was with her for

the ending part of the day on Monday and they were trying to work on things. They had come to an arrangement and they both agreed on that they

were going to stay together and they were just going to work on things together and just be together.

BANFIELD: So the living arrangement as a Sunday when these posts were being made, these social media posts were being shared by TerriLynn, what was the

living arrangement? And again, please don`t use his name. He is not a suspect at this point. He has not been deemed a person of interest in the

case. But what was the living arrangement of TerriLynn and her boyfriend Sunday and then Monday, Tuesday and today?

SHELBY ROSE: I know Sunday he had went to spend the night at one of his friend`s house because him and TerriLynn were arguing. I`m not sure exactly

the circumstances, but I do know that Sunday was the only night that he was gone.

BANFIELD: So Monday night? Monday night presumably? Got it. So there is - there was one report I believe that a newspaper had that she - I guess

that`s the boyfriend woke around 4:00 in the morning. And gave her a kiss and then left for work. Is that correct? Do you know about that?

SHELBY ROSE: Yes, ma`am. That is correct.

BANFIELD: What do you know about that and how do we know about that?

SHELBY ROSE: I mean, we had everybody, everything has been confirmed. I mean, cameras have confirmed it. Everything has confirmed it.

BANFIELD: Cameras have confirmed what? Is there some kind of a video surveillance outside of TerriLynn`s home? Does she have any of that kind of

stuff at her place?

SHELBY ROSE: No. He was caught on camera at -- I want to say around 5:10 in the morning which is well over 30 minutes from where we all live.

[19:15:04] BANFIELD: OK. So he was caught on camera at Glouster (ph). How far is that from Wake where you guys are?

SHELBY ROSE: About 30, 35 minutes.

BANFIELD: OK. And that`s 5:30 in the morning. He is caught on camera there. But this didn`t happen until 7:30 in the morning, right? At least that is

the last known communication anyone has?

SHELBY ROSE: That`s not correct. The 911 phone call was made at 5:30 in the morning.

BANFIELD: OK. Can you tell me about -- who made a 911 call?

SHELBY ROSE: It came from Terri`s phone.

BANFIELD: So what do you know about that call? Could she be hurt on the phone?

SHELBY ROSE: Like I said in the beginning, there is not too much that we do know. Everything that is being post and shared is pretty much all we do

know at this time.

BANFIELD: But what kind of a call was made at 5:30 in the morning. And what do you know about that call? How do you know it was Terri?

Shelby, are you still there? I think we might have just lost Shelby Rose. And I sense that she had discomfort answering some of those questions.

There was also someone in the background who she was whispering with. It that sounded like a man`s voice. I have no idea who that was. I will say it

has been a little difficult to reach Shelby Rose. We tried probably from about 10 minutes before the hour until the top of the hour and did not even

reach her until halfway through this segment.

I`m not exactly sure what`s going on there. We are going to continue to try to reach her and see if she can clarify exactly what that is because we

have absolutely no reports of any 911 call being made at 5:30 in the morning. We certainly haven`t had a report of a 911 call was made from

TerriLynn St. John`s phone at 5:30 in the morning. But that definitely changes the timeline we have which is at 7:20 a.m. She had her last

contact.

Wow. All right. All I can do is leave you with that description and continue to watch the story. But that is very mysterious.

A Texas doctor is accused of gunning his neighbors down in broad daylight in front of their three kids. And police say the victims were helping out

the suspect`s mother. So what on earth happened here?

Then there is this.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

BANFIELD: A nightmare dentist accused of torturing children and bilking the government and he won`t face any jail time for the alleged crimes. We will

tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:22:38] BANFIELD: In one small Texas town, there is a sign sitting at the front of the property of a local physician. And the sign says peace,

love, health, and happiness to all who enter here. God, that`s nice. Which is why it is so utterly confusing that that place is now a violent crime

scene. It has been surrounded and taped because that doctor is accused of shooting his neighbors dead. Those neighbors? A beautiful young couple just

over helping his mother move furniture.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY SOTO, NEIGHBOR: I heard the voice, you know, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God and I heard two more shots and a voice stop stopped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: According to local reports, doctor Robert Fadal shot Anthony and Tiffany Strait right in front of their three children making it all the

more difficult for their family to process this tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES STRAIT, BROTHER OF ANTHONY STRAIT: I just want to know why. He is a good man. He didn`t deserve this. I hope he gets the same thing he gave my

brother, honestly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: With me now is "People`s" magazine`s staff writer, Elaine Aradillas.

Elaine, this is so strange. I feel like there are a lot of missing pieces. You know, a doctor doesn`t just come rushing out with a shotgun and shoot

two people who are helping his mom. What am I missing?

ELAINE ARADILLAS, PEOPLE STAFF WRITER: That`s the big question. It is - it doesn`t make any sense. This is a small Texas town. I`m sure everyone knows

everybody. And it doesn`t make sense why he would pull a shotgun on them for no reason.

BANFIELD: And you say - when you say small Texas town, this is a deemed Texas. It is actually not far from where you grew up.

ARADILLAS: I grew up in San Antonio. Everyone takes day-trips here. It`s a beautiful picturesque town, known for their pecans. And it is - everyone

knows everybody. And it`s just a - it is a sweet town. And so, this sort of crime doesn`t make sense.

BANFIELD: So all we know at this point is that Tiffany and Anthony Strait have their three kids and what, they are under the age of 10, right?

ARADILLAS: Yes. Three children from age of seven to ten witnessing this horrible incident.

BANFIELD: So just walk me though, you know, what happened from start to finish. They are in a truck. They are driving up to Dr. Fadal`s home. His

mom lives in the home and they are doing her a favor. They are coming to help Dr. Fadal`s mom to move some furniture or do some odd job, right?

[19:25:05] ARADILLAS: Right. That`s what they did. They did landscaping and they go and it`s a compound. It`s along the Guadalupe River. It`s a

beautiful area.

BANFIELD: It`s gated. Safe, right?

ARADILLAS: Yes. And so, they went to go help move furniture, you know. I`m sure it was pleasant Sunday. And --.

BANFIELD: And by the way, Sunday morning. We are not talking middle of the night. It is dark. There is a mistaken identity. They think it is her. I

mean, it is bright sunshine. Is it 11:00 or 12:00 in the afternoon?

ARADILLAS: In the morning. And you know, it is a family outing. Their children, their three children are with them and out comes Dr. Fadal with a

shotgun.

BANFIELD: From that home.

ARADILLAS: From that home.

BANFIELD: As Anthony is getting out of a pickup truck.

ARADILLAS: Right. And so, he was shot first and his wife comes around to check on him when she gets shot.

BANFIELD: And that`s presumably the voice that the neighbor heard, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God, a few more shots and then that voice was

silenced.

Jimmy Strait or James Strait, is Anthony`s brother. Anthony being the victim here. And he - I mean, clearly, is this - I mean, probably more

(INAUDIBLE) than the rest of us in how this is going to happen. This is what he said about his brother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STRAIT: I was his best man. He helped me all the time and I helped him. We did things together. Grew up together. He was my brother.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So obviously, reporters in that area are asking the police what did they know about it and how bizarre is this? And we are not getting a

lot of information. This is all they would say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. CRAIG JONES, GUADALUPE COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE: I think anything like this is unusual for any kind of neighborhood.

In cases like this where we don`t always understand the why of what goes on in our community is a reminder that evil exists out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So Elaine, it`s like every fact that we find out seems to be more upsetting than the last. And it turns out these victims, Leanne and Anthony

were actually on their way after helping the mother of this person who is now alleged to have killed them. They were on the way to his mother`s

birthday.

ARADILLAS: That`s what we are hearing.

BANFIELD: So they - I mean, obviously, when you say family outing, they were on the way to a family celebration and this along the way, they

thought they would do a good deed. But we don`t know anything else about them. We don`t know if it`s something sinister. We don`t know if maybe the

doctor thought something, maybe rightly or wrongly.

ARADILLAS: The authorities are being very tight lipped. And it`s bizarre in such a small town where everything knows everything about everybody.

BANFIELD: Beautiful. Beautiful couple. Look at them. God.

You know, I will say this that the neighbor, Rudy Soto, I hope I`m saying his name right, Rudy Soto, was asked about Anthony, the victim. Obviously,

Anthony and Tiffany are the victims. And Rudy, I think knows Anthony. He is a neighbor. And this is what he had to say about his now dead neighbor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOTO: He used to be the nicest guy, you know, I have known in my life. One of the nicest persons. Just the bit pressure that happened in. I really

don`t know what`s going to come out of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I want to bring in retired FBI special agent Bobby Chacon. He joins me now live from Palm Springs.

Bobby, do you have any answers as to where you even begin? I mean, what would the police be doing while they have Robert Fadal, Dr. Fadal, held on

$2 million bond? What are they doing now?

BOBBY CHACON, RETIRE FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, you know, Ashleigh, we are often sitting here wondering how, what, where, when, and (INAUDIBLE). We

already know all that. And so, really where they are at now is seeing if this doctor can tell them why he did it or if the doctor`s mother can

provide any insight there. Anyone else that might have been in that home to provide any insight to what was going on just prior to that couple arriving

to give some indication.

Nothing makes sense here. But the only way to make sense is somehow get inside the mind or get inside the life of that doctor just prior to him

taking this action. So if somebody else was in that house, the mother was obviously there, talking to the mother, if he is talking himself, I mean,

that`s really what you have to go on. Everything else is - the mystery is solved here.

The only mystery here is why. And we are all getting -- I`m hearing some reporting that the police have been called to that house on previous

occasions more than once, but nothing of this kind of magnitude. So they are probably looking at those reports as well.

But really, the only thing they have to do is talk to the mother and talk to the suspect himself and anybody else that might be in that house.

BANFIELD: A good point.

CHACON: -- few minutes. Grabbing that weapon and exiting the house.

BANFIELD: So that is an excellent point. And for that, I want to bring in Joey Jackson. Because as a criminal defense attorney and an HLN legal

analyst, CNN legal analyst, you know that question was coming.

If mom was a witness, well, that`s the doctor`s mom. If children were witnesses, well that is victim`s children. They both have dogs in the

fight.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN & HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.

BANFIELD: And by the way, the kids are under 10. How does that play?

JACKSON: It plays huge and first, let`s talk about what the context of this is. Right? When Bobby Chacon was saying we don`t know the why. The why is

everything. We always talk about you don`t have to prove motive, but inquiring minds want to know what happened. Now, it could be that this was

a mistake. Did he believe wrongly that his mother or someone else may have been under attack? That could be, you know, could be the case and they may,

well, couldn`t be the case. We`ll have to see. Was there any pre-existing relationship with these people? Did they mean him harm that he know of?

It`s just not really in keeping or in context with life experience as so much as just grabs a shotgun and starts shooting unless, of course, that

person is mentally defective or otherwise just not there. We know this --

BANFIELD: Yes, not according to his patients, though.

JACKSON: Exactly.

BANFIELD: Didn`t seem to be anything wrong with the doctor.

JACKSON: This doctor is in a different position because, apparently, he`s well-respected and so (INAUDIBLE) the motivation means everything to the

case and the defense is going to turn on what he was motivated by.

BANFIELD: It is so bizarre. I mean, I just feel for Tiffany and Anthony`s three children who -- this happened right in front of them.

JACKSON: Yes.

BANFIELD: Elaine, thank you for your great reporting. Joey, as always, thank you. And Bobby Chacon, my thanks goes to you as well.

The dentist, the dentist accused of abusing more than 100 kids, and then accused of bilking Medicaid out of thousands and thousands of dollars. And

when you see and hear video like this, it rattles just about everyone that he won`t be held accountable for any of it. You`re wondering why? We were,

too.

[19:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: It is no secret that the dentist is not always your easiest visit on the schedule. And just ask your kids because they`re usually not crazy

about the visit either, right? Which is probably why the parents of the kids who saw Dr. Howard Schneider took it in stride when the kids started

complaining about him. And when Dr. Schneider told the parents to stay out of the exam room, they probably had to lean pretty heavily on the trust

factor even though they could hear their kids screaming behind a closed door. Because after all, he was their dentist. A medical professional. But

as it turned out, what was happening in those exam rooms, behind the closed door, may not have been professional at all, instead criminal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: It was hard for us to see that, too. The doctor admitted in an interview that he and his staff straps the screaming children onto

something called a papoose board and then used some questionable tactics to keep them quiet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. HOWARD SCHNEIDER, DEFENDANT: With the help of the parent in a professional manner and using a (INAUDIBLE) board, we wrap them so they

will not fallout and hurt themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve heard from some critics who were saying that at some point in your history, maybe not recently, you were holding hand over

mouth and plugging nose to keep them quiet, to get them --

SCHNEIDER: We put -- we put the hand on the mouth and put the nostril thing on the -- on the nose.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that to keep them from breathing?

SCHNEIDER: No, so they can breathe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: On top of the 100 plus claims that he assaulted, humiliated, tortured, and even mutilated those kids with mouthwork but you can see

here, that doctor was charged with 12 counts of fraud and accused of billing Medicaid for thousands of dollars for procedures that he did not

perform. Something that absolutely infuriated the parents who took their protests right to his office door and took justice into their own hands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the kids (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma`am. Ma`am. Ma`am. Ma`am. Ma`am. Ma`am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can`t -- (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma`am. Ma`am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What? What? What? What? Call the police. (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: We can all understand that parent and how she feels. But the 81- year-old dentist will not be held accountable for any of this. At least not any time soon because the prosecutors in the case have just dropped the

charges against Dr. Howard Schneider. They did it because a judge ruled him incompetent to stand trial. Schneider`s deteriorating medical condition is

saving him from the criminal justice system and the harsher sentence that over 100 families really wanted to see.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[19:40:12] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They wanted to see Schneider punished. It`s more than money to most of these families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Joining me now is WBOB News Director Roger Henderson. Roger, this is one of those stories where you`re going to have to get me off the ledge.

I get it, when someone is not competent to stand trial, but I don`t often just hear, so we`re just going to drop the charges. Tell me those charges

can come back if he somehow mentally comes back.

ROGER HENDERSON, DIRECTOR, WBOB NEWS (via telephone): Well, this is a very, very difficult case to watch and of course it`s been area herein the

Jacksonville area in the news for the past several years. Yes, he is suffering from an advanced form of dementia and then therefore incompetent

to stand trial whether or not his mental capacities can be restored maybe at some point, but again, he`s in his lower 80s right now, and very likely

will never have to stand trial for these charges.

BANFIELD: I want to go over the timeline of this case so that everyone is crystal clear on Dr. Howard Schneider, like you said, 81 years old, and how

this all sort of unfolded. April 2015, the daily protests begin outside of his dental office. April 2015, the state attorney general confirms that

he`s under a fraud investigation. The next month, May in 2015, he closes his practice and surrenders his license. Then November, same year, he turns

himself in after being indicted on 11 counts but of medical fraud, not of any sort of violent crime against children. Fast forward a little over two

years later, February 2017, the judge finds that Schneider is not competent for prosecution. And then, this year, a year later, February 26th, 2018,

prosecutors dropped the charges.

So, Roger, I think one of the biggest questions here that a lot of people would want to try to get some kind of answer to is I get it, if they could

do a paper trail and find these fraud charges bilking the medical system, bilking Medicaid, et cetera, I get it. Where were the charges even

considered of hurting the children? Was that ever even a discussion?

HENDERSON: That is a very, very good question, and I would imagine a lot of these parents feel overwhelming guilt for having taken their children who

they love so much to this doctor, hearing their complaints, and then just brushing it off, saying, you know, no one likes going to the dentist, but

these parents have a lot to be proud of. These parents that were out protesting in his dental offices were really the catalyst that got his

medical practice shut down. Now, why prosecutors never filed charges against him, maybe there was an ongoing investigation, who knows? But it is

what it is at this point. And thankfully, he`s no longer practicing dentistry.

BANFIELD: Yes. So, I -- it was so uncomfortable watching the video, and listen, as a news organization, we debated quite a bit within our team just

how much of that video we could even show. I`m going to show you one small piece in addition because I`m about to speak with an attorney for the

families. And I think the context is critical when it comes to what you`re going to hear from this attorney who`s coming up in a moment. So, with that

in mind, here is just a second portion of the tape that you haven`t yet seen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Joining me now, John Phillips, he`s an attorney for the victims` family members and the parents. John, it`s unconscionable. I get it. I get

that doctors have to usually strap pediatric patients, so that they don`t flail and I get that children cry. That wasn`t a normal cry. And any parent

will tell you, that wasn`t a normal cry. So, here`s my next question, what about the rest of the staff? Why weren`t they doing anything about this?

JOHN PHILLIPS, ATTORNEY FOR VICTIMS` FAMILIES: Right. Four years later, that video still gets me with the 6-year-old and 3-year-old and a 6-month-

old at home, that`s not a normal cry. No parent would ever just let that go by. And so, some -- there also was a dental assistant who was charged and,

guess what, her charges were dropped last August as well. There were two types of nurses and assistants that we talked to. One said that they were

the safekeepers of the room, that they tried to keep these children more safe and prevent more harm from Schneider and the other side just refused

to talk because I think they were just as complicit as Dr. Schneider.

[19:45:12] BANFIELD: Yes. Hold your thought for a moment if you will, John, I want to talk to you a little bit more because the horror stories that

these parents tell, they`re really hard to comprehend. Think about you -- you know, how would you feel if charges were dropped against the dentist

who did this to your child?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDI MOTLEY, MOTHER OF ALLEGED VICTIM: The nurse suggested that it`s best that kids act better when the parents aren`t in the room. They said we

don`t like parents back here for the procedures. Finally, the nurse came and got me and she said there had been an incident. She was

hyperventilating, she had marks all over her and blood all over her. In the parking lot, she takes her gauze out and I noticed all her teeth were gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:50:43] BANFIELD: There are a lot of people who don`t like Dr. Howard Schneider of Jacksonville, Florida. In fact, they want to see him put away

for the rest of his life. But he`s 81 years old and apparently, he`s just not with it enough to stand trial, despite the fact that over 100

children`s parents say he tortured them in his dental chair, and that prosecutors have suggested on top of all this, he`d actually bilked the

system for money, bilked the system for procedures he never performed.

Still with me, the attorney for the victims` families, John Phillips and defense attorney Joey Jackson is with me as well. So, John, at least these

families had some recourse, they sued. They went after him civilly for the damage that their children suffered, and I`m going to play some pictures,

if you`re squeamish at all, please maybe just take this opportunity to look away from your set. If you have kids in the room, good opportunity to ask

them, move away. But this is how many of his patients looked after the procedures. The lips were unmistakably swollen and red and in some cases,

cut. There were bruises on some of these children. I mean, it is unmistakable as a parent if your child comes out of the dentist looking

like this. Something went wrong. What about those cases? Was it slamdunk the civil cases against the dentists, John?

PHILLIPS: It`s slamdunk enough that I can`t talk about it. We resolved 131 cases over the course of two years with a confidential settlement that, you

know, for legal -- for medical malpractice cases, it happened pretty quick.

BANFIELD: Joey Jackson, how is it not criminal and still completely at a loss. I have never seen anything so obvious in photographs and video. But

apparently, not obvious in the court of law.

JACKSON: You know, it`s a great point, Ashleigh. I mean, from a criminal perspective, obviously, you have to be competent to stand trial, you have

to be able to understand the proceedings and assist your defense lawyers. If you can`t do that, you`re incompetent, the case gets dismissed. At the

end of the day, remember, he`s not practicing medicine and also remember, the victims had a great lawyer in John Phillips who was able to get the

recovery that they so, you know, that they deserve. Now, mind you, they don`t want the recovery, you don`t want a dentist doing this to your

children. But the civil remedy is money, it`s confidential, we can`t talk about it as John says, but the reality is that at least they got some

measure of regress although he`s 81 and he won`t be going to jail. Although, that`s where he certainly belongs.

BANFIELD: The dismissal of the charges is without prejudice, and while that sounds like he`s more of a hero, it`s not. It means just you wait, if

anything changes, you can still be charged.

JACKSON: If he gets competent, which I doubt.

BANFIELD: Thank you so much, Joey, and thank you as well, John, for joining us. And my thanks to Roger Henderson for reporting on the story as well.

Straight ahead, two suspected shoplifters running from the police. And you`ll see them. That arrow points to where they`re coming. There they are.

But you will never guess where this courtyard is, what they chose to run towards as they were trying to escape the police. Three guesses, think

about it through the commercial. I`ll tell you what it is in a moment.

[19:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: And "ONE MORE THING" for you tonight from Peoria, Arizona, where two shoplifting suspects played a little game of hide and seek with the

local police, except that the place they chose to run and hide was the brand spanking new police precinct. I guess they missed those big bright

blue letters over the front door or they couldn`t read them, but the candidates for Criminals of the Year ended up right where the police host

their guests in a little courtyard next to their parking lot, and, yes, it`s restricted. To their credit, the man tried to keep the game of hide

and seek going, but he was caught after jumping a nearby fence while his female friend decided to try to stay hidden under a bench in the restricted

police area. Both of the smooth criminals were charged with shoplifting and trespassing as well as a variety of drug charges.

So, that happened. Also known as adorable video. See you back here tomorrow night 6:00 Eastern Time. And now, you can listen to our show any time. Just

download our PodCast on Apple PodCasts, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, Tune In, or wherever you get your PodCasts for your "CRIME & JUSTICE" fix. Thank you so

much for watching, everybody. Stay tuned, "FORENSIC FILES" begins right now.

END