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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
Police Fire 20 Times, Kill Unarmed Man In Backyard; Suspects Tries To Bite Police K-9; Florida Bridge Collapse; Mom And 9-Year-Old Son Found Dead In Home; Couple Wrongfully Accused Of kidnapping Hoax. Aired 6-8p ET
Aired March 22, 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)
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HLN HOST : Good evening everyone, I`m Ashleigh Banfield this is "Crime and Justice." We begin in Sacramento tonight where police
released body cam video of a deadly shooting committed by officers. Police say they thought that Stephan Clark had a gun in his hand when they opened
fire, but it turns out, it was a cell phone. And we should warn you, the audio and video are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Show me your hands!
(GUNFIRES)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Police say they were responding to reports of a man who was breaking into cars and a home and they spotted Clark from a helicopter.
This is what it looked like and sounded like from overhead as the officers chased Clark into the backyard of his grandmother`s home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s looking into a metal fence that`s in-between the fence and the front yard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible) -- gunpoint.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coy that, at gunpoint.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let`s get a perimeter on this guy, he`s going south and he`s gonna hit the field. He`s got one further house, one yard to the
south. Unit`s trying to catch him.
Shots fired, shots fired.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Copy, shots fired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I want to give you one more angle of this shooting and it`s from the body cam of the other police officer who was involved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Show me your hands. Stop!
Show me your hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Those officers were convinced that Stephen Clark had a gun. They say, that is why they fire 20 rounds. You hear them tell other officers
that very fact when they arrive on the scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`d he have on him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like this. Something in his hands. It look like a gun from our perspective.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Turns out no gun was found. Just a cell phone. Police believe that Clark was responsible for damage to three cars in the neighborhood the
night of the shooting as well as the shattered sliding glass door in another person`s back yard. Clark`s family is skeptical of the police
version and say that Stephen had been in trouble before, but wasn`t a bad guy. The officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave
while the incident is being investigated.
When a sheriff`s deputy responded to a call about an intoxicated man who would not leave a homeowner`s back yard, this is what it looked like.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Step up, right now. Step up, please. Thank you. Good, man. I appreciate it. You are a good guy. Just don`t rush at me. OK. Good.
The dog will bite you if you come at me too close. OK, just come out here a little more.
You are doing good, you`re doing great. Stay right there. Stay right there. Stay right there! Stay back. Stay back! Stay back! Get down on the ground!
Get down on the ground! Don`t bite my dog. Stop biting my dog!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: You heard that right. The perp was trying to actually bite the canine police dog. Thankfully the officer said the suspect eventually did
comply and the canine named Murphy released him. The sheriff said the outcome actually was a win-win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER SCHMALING, SHERIFF, RACINE COUNTY, WI: So here`s the bright side. I don`t have a deputy sheriff that is injured or killed, definitely
the dog is not injured. So this is a win-win. For the suspect, we did not have to use another level of force to overcome his resistance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: According to the Racine, Wisconsin Sheriff`s Office, not only was that man charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, but also,
one count of striking a police animal. Well, that animal, Murphy, sheriffs said, luckily he is doing well tonight and there is the picture. With a
little basket of something and a lily beside him. Love that dog.
[18:05:03] You know, that headline that we had was astounding enough. A brand-new pedestrian bridge gave way in Miami last week, crushing people
and cars, killing six and injuring at least nine, but tonight there is some brand-new video of this accident and it is crystal clear. It shows exactly
how that bridge collapse and where the victims were when it happened.
I want to you keep your eye on the left hand side of your screen, that`s where the bridge suddenly splits taking what seems to be a person down with
it. In that highlight, take a look, at blurry the figure falls into a cloud of dust, as the bridge crushes the cars beneath.
Now take a look the right hand side of your screen, where it appears pedestrians, who were on the bridge suddenly begin to slide as that bridge
falls. It`s astounding video. And then comes the appalling aftermath for a couple of seconds. There is no visible movement until people then police --
people begin to flood out of their cars and straight into the chaos. One man raises his hands to his head as if in disbelief. Others rush into the
rubble, possibly searching for survivors or simply trying to figure out what happened here.
The University that built the bridge said the engineers were examining a crack just hours before the bridge came crashing down. Today, the victims`
families filed a wrongful death lawsuit hoping also to get some answers in this case.
Kelli Kramer liked her customers a lot. She liked her co-workers, too. And there a pretty good chance that when Kelli took a pen to those cups at
Starbucks, she spelled their names right, but her regulars will not be seeing Kelli anymore and neither will her family, because Kelli was shot to
death at her home this week.
And yes, murders do happen every day across the country, but they don`t often include the kids and this one did. Kelli`s 9-year-old son, Aidan, was
murdered right alongside her. Gunshots. But whoever did this left some clues behind, like shell casings, an open door, and a tax return that might
just lead to a motive.
But, right now police say they do not have any suspects. And Kelli`s friend and co-worker from Starbucks said, she just cannot imagine anyone who would
want to do this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just don`t understand who would want to hurt her let alone her 9-year-old son. What did he do? Like, nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was always smiling. Always. Always positive and she loved her son. She would do anything for that little boy. I love her
very much. I`m going to miss her and I will miss Aidan. They didn`t do anything to deserve this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: With me now Melissa Neely, she is an anchor and reporter for 700 WLW. Melissa, what more do we know about this mystery?
MELISSA NEELY, ANCHOR/REPORTER 700 WLW: Well, not a whole lot at this point, because the police are being very tight lipped about this case. What
we do know is that, 31-year-old, Kelli Kramer and her 9-year-old son, Aidan, were found in their Burlington, Kentucky apartment early in the
morning by a friend that said she was concerned and came in and found their bodies. And the community is just devastated. They had grief counsellors on
the hand today at Aidan`s school and the community is just real shocked.
BANFIELD: So, we are not hearing anything about enemies or potential activity prior to this that Kelli might have been involved in. Literally
nothing of the sort. It just seems so remarkably random that Kelli Kramer and her son, Aidan, were shot to death, but that is all we know at this
point. And it was actually gunshots involved. Do the police have any more information from say, any autopsy results?
NEELY: Well, they are working on the autopsy right at this time. And what they are doing right now is they`re attempting to reconstruct the timeline
of Kelli Kramer`s day, the day that she died, hoping to find some answers about who killed her and why.
BANFIELD: And what about the people that she knows? Obviously, investigations go right to the heart of who is closest to her, friends and
family, et cetera. What do we know about investigators doing interviews with people like that?
NEELY: Absolutely and as you heard from her friend there in that piece, she was well liked by everyone. Her son is well liked by everyone at school.
And they were well loved in their community. So that is what makes this so hard, I think for everyone that knew them is because, it`s so unexpected
and right now, there just aren`t -- there don`t seem to be any clear answers as to why this happened.
[18:10:04] BANFIELD: And I guess that is almost an answer to my next question, but I`m going to ask it anyway. I know you that said the police
are being tight lipped. But, at least, to their saying that they have a direction, that they have a person of interest. That they have an idea of
where they are looking in terms of suspects. Had they given the community anything in order to feel a little bit better about what happened?
NEELY: I wish that were true, because right now we know that whoever did this is out there and no one know who is it is. They haven`t released a
suspect or a description of the suspect or even a clue about who a suspect might be. And so, I think as that they go back and they reconstruct where
Kelli was that day and maybe they will find some answers and find out why someone would want to shoot and kill her and her little boy.
BANFIELD: I want to bring in a close friend of Kelli Kramer, Amanda Warren, worked with Kelli at Starbucks. They were not only colleagues, but they
were friends. First and foremost, Amanda, I`m so sorry for your loss and for having found out about it in such an upsetting way, you know, through a
series of phone calls and then ultimately finding out little Aidan was part of this crime. Do you know anything more than what the police are telling
us?
AMANDA WARREN, CLOSE FRIEND OF KELLI KRAMER: You know, like, she had just said, they are being really -- really tight with the information that they
are giving us. When I have met with the investigators yesterday, I had not yet found out about Aidan. Sorry. I`d asked them, you know, before they
left if Aidan was OK and I could just tell by the look on the officer`s face that he wasn`t. He couldn`t give me any information.
BANFIELD: Aidan was a sweet kid in fourth grade and it seems, at least by all accounts, it seemed that Kelli didn`t have an enemy anywhere. And
everyone is kind of just, super curious about a potential motive or if this is just truly the most random of crimes which makes everyone in the
community terrified.
There are two facts that are interesting and may lead to clues. One is that she has just received her tax refund and two that she was planning to buy a
car. Is there anything that you know about those two facts that might help police to find who did this?
WARREN: I don`t know much more than what they`re, you know, what they are letting out. I do know that she was looking at a vehicle and she was
supposed to go purchase a vehicle yesterday. Unfortunately that didn`t happen. And I do know that she had test drove the vehicle on Tuesday.
BANFIELD: And the other issue, Amanda, is that, you know, you were all trying to connect with her, I know you sent her texts and she didn`t reply
and that was very unusual for her not to reply. Ultimately it was her boyfriend, I think at 3:45 or 3:40 in the morning who went and did the
welfare check and discovered her body. What did he tell you about what he found at that home?
WARREN: So, I have spoken with him. Unfortunately I`m not in a liberty to, you know, to disclose any names at this time, but she had called him
Tuesday night at about 10:40 p.m. to let him know the she was on her way back to the apartment from Kentucky, which was about a half hour drive.
The snow was starting to pick up and it was starting to get nasty out. So he called her to hang up the phone and concentrate on her driving and to
let him know, when she got home, but that didn`t happen. He tried reaching out via text again close to 11:30, you know, Tuesday evening. No reply. You
know, again it was unusual. She always, no matter if she was working or, you know, with Aidan.
BANFIELD: He ultimately -- Amanda, he ultimately discovered her body and I`m assuming also, he discovered Aidan`s body. We know that they`re --
according to him, there were 22-caliber shell casings that were found at the scene. Did he describe that all the way he found her or that he -- did
he say where she was shot? Where in the house and where on her person?
WARREN: No. The only thing that he had disclosed to me is when he arrived to the apartment, the door was unlocked. The living room light was on and
they were in the living room, facedown on the carpet.
BANFIELD: They were both facedown on the carpet. Did he see, if they`ve been shot in the head or somewhere in the body? Did it look like execution
style?
WARREN: At the time, I don`t think, you know, there was any indication that there were shots. I think initially, you know, the thoughts were maybe she
had fallen or they were, you know, they used to, you know, fall asleep on the floor by often, you know, watching Netflix or what have you. It`s when,
you know, they went to check for a pulse is when he discovered that there were shots.
[18:15:23] BANFIELD: So, he didn`t see evidence of gun spatter or blood spatter anywhere or gunfire, but ultimately found those shell casings.
Amanda, do you know if his alibi has checked out, if the police have already checked out his story of him traveling, you know, into this
location and being away from this location at the proximate time of the killing?
WARREN: Again, I know as much as everyone else. So far his -- you know, this person has been cooperating 100 percent.
BANFIELD: Well, like I said, Amanda, you know, our -- thoughts are with you in this extraordinary time. I`m so sorry for your loss and it is such a
terrible mystery. I hope you will stay with us as we look through the clues as well on this and hopefully they find the perpetrator of the killing of
this beautiful woman, Kelli Kramer and this adorable fourth grader, her child, Aidan Kramer. Just seems also so senseless. Our thanks, as well, to
Melissa Neely.
We are moving to a story about, well, it`s sort of like a movie. Like the movie, "Gone Girl." You probably remember, that was a terrifying story of
manipulation and betrayal, but what happened in Vallejo, California to Denise Huskins, was no big budget thriller, it was a kidnapping, a rape, a
nightmare, that police did not believe happened, but now they do. And we are going to tell you just how bad that mess up has cost them.
Also, you can now listen to our show any time, you can download our podcast on Apple Podcast, IHeartRadio, Stitcher, TuneIn or wherever you get your
podcasts for your "Crime and Justice" fix.
[18:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: It was a best-selling book, a number one movie and a water cooler topic that made people shutter and debate and wonder. Even the title had a
chilling effect on those who knew the story, "Gone Girl."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SCENES FROM GONE GIRL)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I like -- have the chills. That movie was a gripping tale of a beautiful woman who faked her own kidnapping to frame her husband for
murder. So when Denise Huskins disappeared in almost the identical way, naturally the cops were skeptical. They were told that Denise and her
fiance were jolted away in the middle of the night, a glared from a flashlight, blinding them and the demands being made unmistakable and
terrifying.
DENISE HUSKINS, KIDNAPPING VICTIM: And I remember thinking that this is a really bad nightmare. I don`t like this. The voice kept saying over and
over again, wake up, this is a robbery. We are not here to harm you. I open my eyes and there`s flashing light and he said Aaron, turn over.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He knew his name.
HUSKINS: Yes. So he said Aaron is going to put his hands behind his back. You are going to -- to tie his hands behind his back and his feet together
and he was encouraging me, saying you are doing a good job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: But it wasn`t just a robbery. Denise said she was taken by several men and repeatedly raped over two days and then something
inexplicable happened. The kidnappers drove 400 miles, shoved her out the door and led her to a mysterious concrete room and then took off. She was
left shaking and sobbing, but she was thankful that they didn`t kill her. The story was simply so astounding that the police didn`t buy it. And they
quickly turned their attention to the two victims of this crime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON QUINN, FIANCE: Everything was accusatory and fairly quickly detectives said, I don`t believe you and Thursday night I killed Denise, I
knew they were going to look at me as a suspect, I`ve actually -- that`s what they should do, I was the last person to see her, but if she didn`t
get the kidnappers to let her go, I will be behind bars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I want to bring in Denise Huskins attorney, James Wagstaffe. James, ultimately this story was turned on its head. How did the police
finally determine that Denise and Aaron were telling the truth and they were in fact victims, and this was in fact a crime and not a hoax?
JAMES WAGSTAFFE, ATTORNEY FOR DENISE HUSKINS: They should have determined this from the very beginning. You don`t disbelieve victims. These -- these
victims told their story, the police now were disbelieved. Aaron was grilled for 18 hours and accusing of murdering his girlfriend. And when she
rather inconveniently showed up, they changed their story, they`d doubled down and said it was a Congirl (ph) hoax.
These were victims who deserve to be believe from the very beginning and throughout the entire time. When they caught the kidnapper, just a few
months later and he is now in jail for 40 years, that was another inconvenient fact and at that point they finally fessed up to the fact that
this was an actual crime.
BANFIELD: And we are looking at a photograph of that kidnapper. Matthew Muller. Not your average garden variety kidnapper and rapist. Matthew
Muller is a Harvard law graduate, a lawyer and also a marine. That is the person who ultimately is now serving 40 years for this crime, but Mr.
Wagstaffe, how did they determine that it was him and what ultimately ended up unraveling the fact that this was no hoax? That this was real.
WAGSTAFFE: If they believe Aaron from the very beginning when he said, that kidnappers was going call him back in a cellphone. They might not have put
it -- the police might not have put it on airplane mode. They would have received a phone call. And had they done that, and not disbelief Aaron,
they would have been able to trace that call to South Lake Tahoe, where Mr. Muller had taken my client, Denise Huskins. They didn`t do that.
And they ultimately were able to figure out, because when he commit a similar crime a few months later, that police department, the Dublin Police
Department did what we were supposed to do. They ask if other crimes like it, there is one in Palo Alto, Mr. Muller had some involvement in that and
they were able to then track him down from that point, using a cell phone and other information.
BANFIELD: It`s remarkable that the crime you are talking about that happened a few months later. Almost identical. I mean, it is freakishly
similar. The M.O., Matthew struck a second time. It was a home invasion robbery, it involves a couple that was asleep. He tried to bind them. He
was masked, but apparently they fought back. They attacked him and they chased him out of the house. And yet this is just a few months after poor
Denise and Aaron had suffered this horrible crime and then the indignity of being told they were liars. I want to just play this moment where,
Lieutenant Kenny Park, of the Vallejo P.D. talks about how -- not only this was a hoax, but it is a waste of their resources. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. KENNY PARK, VALLEJO POLICE DEPARTMENT: I can tell you the grand scheme thinks, Mr. Quinn and Miss Huskins has plundered valuable resources away
from our community and has taken the focus away from the true victims of our community while instilling fear amongst our community members.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: And that of course, turned out to be completely untrue. Defamatory potentially, if you want to look at the legal term and the
challenge, but, Mr. Wagstaffe, I want to ask you about the evidence they ultimately found in Matthew Muller`s mother`s house. What did they turn up
there?
WAGSTAFFE: Well, they found information that implicated Mr. Muller, in that particular garb, but let me say, it wasn`t just possible defamation. This
was character assassination that ricocheted around the world and it ricocheted around the world and told people that my clients were not
telling the truth. They were liars and wasting community resources. That is not what you do when you have victims of a crime who have no reason to lie
and have a lifetime history of that. This was a case in which the police compounded, a terrible, terrible tragedy. My client Denise being raped
twice, and put this around the world.
BANFIELD: So, there -- I got a list here and I`m just looking it over as I am speaking with you about the evidence in the case against him. In the
criminal case and it`s over. He`s behind bars for 40 years as we mentioned. At his mother`s home, there were recorded instructions that matched
recordings described by the kidnapping victims themselves. There was a video of Matthew with Denise, this is -- Matthew, the rapist with Denise
the victim. She is bound and blind folded inside his home.
It doesn`t get more airtight than that when you want to put a man away for kidnapping and rape and so, ultimately this was a -- this was a federal
plea deal. No trial, ultimately, but a federal plea deal of guilty and in the civil case that -- that was launched against the police, they settled,
$2.5 million was the settlement.
Look, money helps, but it doesn`t change the suffering. How are they doing? How are Denise and Aaron doing?
JAMES WAGSTAFFE, ATTORNEY FOR DENISE HUSKINS: They are doing their best. They are holding up. You can imagine the post traumatic stress that results
from years from this kind of event.
They are going to get married and they are trying to go forward and they are hoping that no one will ever have to go through this again, where
victims will not be believed, where someone who suffered a rape was not a good enough victim for them because she has not been physically injured
because she wanted to live and survive the ordeal. That victims will be believed.
That`s I think what they hope will come good from this terrible tragedy.
BANFIELD: And just quickly, do you know about the story of others involved? I mean the account that Denise had was that there were several people. And
we know that Matthew drugged her and drugged Aaron because there has been no discussion of any other perpetrators. Was that maybe a product of her
being drugged that thought that there might have been others?
WAGSTAFFE: Well, no, I think that they credibly believe there was more than one person involved and this case is settled before there was more form of
discovery so one doesn`t know. But certainly Mr. Muller has pled guilty.
BANFIELD: I want to bring in Wally Zeins. Don`t go anywhere, Mr. Wagstaffe. Wally, you`re a former NYPD hostage negotiator and supervisor. There is so
much to this story of her captivity that I think you can lend some insight into. Let me play a moment from Denise where she explains on "20/20" which
is coming up tomorrow night by the way.
She describe what she tried to do to save herself from dying or to save herself unsuccessfully from being raped by this monster. Let`s have a
listen. I want you to walk me through on the other side. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENISE HUSKINS, KIDNAPPING VICTIM: He spoke to me a lot. He shared with me that he just had a difficult time in his life. And so -- and I shared with
him something that happened when I was younger, hoping maybe that knowing that I`ve already been assaulted that he won`t want to add to it, but, you
know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He raped you?
HUSKINS: Yes. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So she did her best to talk him through it. To humanize herself. That`s what we always hear you are supposed to do. It didn`t work, or did
it, because she is alive. I will get you to answer that after the break. What are we supposed to do if we find ourselves in that position to save
ourselves from the worst of it? That`s coming up next.
[18:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: The case of the real-life "Gone Girl," Denise Huskins, kidnapped out of her bed. Her boyfriend lying beside her drugged and to wake up and
find that Denise is gone, he quickly reported her missing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Sir, what did he say happened to her?
KENNY PARK, LIEUTENANT, VALLEJO POLICE DEPARTMENT: He was essentially saying that the female, Ms. Huskins, was forcefully taken against her will
from the residence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Was there any reason to disbelieve that reporting part of the story?
PARK: At this point, like I said, we are treating this as a kidnap and ransom. And until our investigation concludes, I won`t have definitive
answer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Do you think it is a stranger abduction or somebody known to her?
PARK: We have no indication (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Was the person who reported this home when this happened?
PARK: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Only it wasn`t until a few days later when Denise Huskins appeared after being abducted that police began to call the whole thing a
hoax. Even voicing that publicly at a news conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARK: I can tell you in the grand scheme of things, Mr. Quinn and Ms. Huskins has plundered valuable resources away from our community and has
taken the focus away from the true victims of our community while instilling fear among community (ph) members.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Only it wasn`t a hoax. It was this guy, Matthew Muller. He actually did it. And now he is sitting in prison for it. For kidnapping, a
federal crime. And just so we are clear about how frightened Denise was, how much she thought she was going to die, she told exactly what she was
feeling to "20/20." Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUSKINS: When he opened the car door, I thought this is it. I will hear a gunshot and this is it or get pushed off of a cliff. He was guiding me and
I thought I was walking to my death. And then I heard a door closed behind me and I pulled up the blindfold and thought oh, my God. He is going to
release me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: And he did, Wally.
[18:40:00] He released her. He didn`t kill her. He repeatedly raped her. He held her for two days. He drove her across state line. And he dumped her
400 miles away from her home but he didn`t kill her. Do you ascribe her behavior with him? Talking him through this, humanizing herself to the
reason she is alive?
WALLY ZEINS, FORMER NYPD HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR SUPERVISOR: Yes and I will tell you why. First of all, in her profession, she was a therapist. She dealt a
lot with people, a physical therapist. And she was able to listen to the (INAUDIBLE) that she had about the pain and suffering that they might have
been going through.
So right off the bat, she knew how to talk and listen. Her key was she was a listener. She listened to Matthew first and used soothing words, words
like I understand, I had an incident. She projected herself with him. So she created a relationship where she was getting credibility. Remember, in
hostage negotiating, you always have a better outcome the longer you talk.
BANFIELD: And humanize on both sides.
ZEINS: And humanize. Absolutely.
BANFIELD: Right. So there is another element to this. After she was released, e-mails started going in to the San Francisco Chronicle from
Matthew Muller saying you got the wrong person. She`s not a liar. And one of those e-mails contained an audio message that was actually Denise
Huskins audiotaped in his home while she is in captivity. Have a listen to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): My name is Denise Huskins. I am kidnapped. Otherwise I`m fine. Earlier today there was a plane crash in the
Alps. One hundred fifty-eight people died. And one thing that people know about me is that I went to my first concert, me and my mom, to Blink 182
and Bad Religion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I am so astounded by this. You`re a cop. Grade this behavior. Grade this whole notion public hoax, defaming these poor victims.
ZEINS: It`s unbelievable. It was a very poor investigation done by the Vallejo Police Department.
BANFIELD: Yes. I want to bring in if I can, Vinoo Varghese. As an attorney, you`re looking through all of this. I`m not surprised with the $2.5 million
settlement in this case. It should have been more given what they went through. But I also want to ask you a little bit about the charging.
He went away for four years on a federal kidnapping charge. No rape. There is no rape charge here. Couldn`t this state come back and say, we are going
to double down and we are going to go after you for rape and kidnapping on a state level just as an insurance policy?
VINOO VARGHESE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They can, but I`m not sure they should. There is a doctrine called separate sovereign. So if you remember the
Rodney King case, he was acquitted. The cops were acquitted in state court and then they were convicted in federal court.
The reverse can happen here, right? He has been convicted in a federal court. He still can be prosecuted in the state court. But the question is,
why would the state want to do it?
BANFIELD: How about if he gets off in a technicality on appeal? Like if she can (ph) appeal if you make an agreement, right?
(CROSSTALK)
VARGHESE: Generally, but unless there is something in the plea deal that he did something wrong or he wasn`t properly advised on his rights. But the
issue is, are they really going to put this girl on the stand? If they are going to bring a case, she is going to have to testify. He could sit back.
Not do anything. But it will make her relive it and then be subject to cross examination.
BANFIELD: Let us just remind everybody, as if this case weren`t extraordinary enough, he`s a Harvard lawyer, this criminal. He`s a Harvard
lawyer and a marine. It is just unbelievable that this happened in such a way and (INAUDIBLE) characters.
I tell you what. I hate to say it is made for TV but it is. In fact, "20/20" special about Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn "Gone Girl" nightmare
is airing tomorrow night on ABC at 10:00 Eastern. I encourage you to check it out.
There is absolute outrage tonight and not surprisingly. I want you to you look at this video. This is a 1-year-old baby allegedly smoking pot and
that hand is allegedly the mom`s. More on that next.
[18:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Smoking weed is becoming more accepted right across the country as one by one states are passing laws to protect weed smokers and even weed
sellers. But there is one ban on weed that Americans almost universally agree and that is that babies should not be smoking it.
And I say almost universally because one 20-year-old mother in North Carolina apparently doesn`t agree. Brianna Ashanti rolled tape as she
allegedly shoved that lit marijuana blunt right up to her baby 1-year-old`s mouth. The baby could actually be seen inhaling and exhaling the smoke.
It`s unbelievable. Brianna apparently thought this funny enough to actually post it on Facebook.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[18:50:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I guess lucky for us she actually did post it because the video was reportedly viewed more than 1.5 million times and that is actually what
led to her arrest. Perhaps the irony here is that Brianna seems to think choosing a Facebook username "Bri Bad" was a good idea.
How bad? She is now facing two counts of felony child abuse contributing to the delinquency and possession of marijuana. Oh, and also, that child has
been taken from Brianna.
Defense attorney Vinoo Varghese joins me live again. I don`t even know where to begin other than, does she have any defense? It`s on tape.
VARGHESE: The first thing I would do as her lawyer if I were her lawyer is to have her examined. See what her psychological --
BANFIELD: Who cares? Who cares what her psychological state was? That child had pot coming out of its nose.
VARGHESE: I think it`s critical. I mean you have to take a look at this woman and figure out what caused her to do this, assuming it`s her, right?
So, the first thing obviously is a lawyer, you explore, see if there is any way to show that it wasn`t her on the tape. It is her account. Probably use
some kind of hand analysis to confirm it is her.
BANFIELD: I just feel like any time we see a parent that does this, that parent should have the book thrown at them. And I tell you the reason I say
this is because this is not the first time we have seen videos like this on Facebook. Take a look at what we have been able to (INAUDIBLE) just from
going through our archives today. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): The cell phone video is pretty hard to watch.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): She even blew marijuana smoke in the baby`s mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Video of a mother having her 22-month-old boy take a hit off her marijuana blunt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Watches the 2-year-old squirms and tries to escape, but the man repeatedly tries to put a marijuana pipe in the
toddler`s mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Video of her teaching her 2-year-old how to smoke pot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): This little boy is just two years old and yes, he is smoking a cigar. Not just any cigar. Police say it`s pot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I can`t believe we have this much evidence just after a quick look at our records. This is why I say, you think it`s funny to put on
Facebook? Could she possibly have not thought it was wrong and would that have mattered?
VARGHESE: I think that goes right to the heart of why she should be examined because if this woman is so strange or maybe the term is evil, to
put this on Facebook. The question though is if you look at the baby, the baby looks like he has done this before.
BANFIELD: It is not the first time. You know what? I am glad you noticed that, honestly, because most people who take their first inhale cough
violently.
VARGHESE: Absolutely.
BANFIELD: That 1-year-old baby has -- inhale and exhale and it doesn`t seem to be uncomfortable or difficult. The baby also knows to put his lips
around the cigarette. Anyway, I got to stop talking about it or my head is going to pop right off my shoulders. Thank you for that. Stick around if
you will.
Speaking of illegal drugs. A crew member from the airline Fly Jamaica is in some hot water because of what he had hidden under his uniform. And there
is a picture of it. So what do you think that was taped to his legs and while we are at it, how much do you think it was worth?
[18:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Terminal cancer is a devastating diagnosis. But Jon Albert`s wife battled the disease and he realized he could turn the time that she had
left into a priceless gift for their family of four and now he is doing the same thing for other people. That`s why he is this week`s CNN hero.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON ALBERT, CNN HERO: The cruelest part of late stage cancer is the emotion. Guilt that you are leaving behind your children and dread that you
are going to miss their milestones.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Florida.
ALBERT: We give the family a chance to have fun, have positive memories. We are trying to give each family their own unique treasured time together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Want to know more about the story and others, go to CNN Heroes to watch the full story. You can also nominate somebody you think should be a
CNN hero this year.
And one more thing for you tonight, if you ever wanted to know what $160,000 worth of cocaine looks like, you`re welcome. Ready? That`s kind of
weird, right? Customs officials say these four sexy packages taped to the legs of this fella has nine pounds of the white stuff.
The inspectors found them taped to the legs of a crew member on an airline called Fly Jamaica. They say he was trying to smuggle cocaine into the
United States under his airline uniform. He`s a Jamaican citizen, but he is now facing federal drug smuggling charges, and I guess you could say
humiliation on the internet.
Next hour of "Crime and Justice" starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): I was afraid of Leon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Two couples. Two breakups. And two alleged plots for a hitman to kill.
[19:00:02] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) that I want to do it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to do it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Because she won`t listen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): A Houston doctor on trial. Did he hire a hit man to kill his ex-? And his girlfriend`s ex, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I prefer not to have to do that by my survival is more important.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police first said it was all a hoax.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember thinking that this is a really bad nightmare.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A gone girl abducted from her boyfriend`s bed, drugged, bound, rape and released.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When are he opened the car door, I thought this is it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But everything changed when the rapist struck again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought I was walking to my death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now she is telling her story to ABC`s "20/20" and it`s a blockbuster.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I pulled up the blind fold and I thought oh, God, he is going to release me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s the video being shared all over the country. A 1- year-old baby inhaling marijuana. And cops say that was mom giving him the hit. How the online community helped track her down. And how she herself
has now become viral.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HLN HOST: Hello, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. Welcome to the second hour of CRIME & JUSTICE.
There is a fine line between love and hate and it is becoming crystal clear that a respected Houston doctor crossed that line. The problems between Dr.
Leon Jacob and his girlfriend Meghan Verikas were anything but private. She broke it off and he started dating someone else. But pretty soon he was
facing assault and stalking charges.
Meghan had to take out a restraining order. And police say when they got wind that Leon had hired a hit man, that`s when they went into overdrive.
They staged a kidnapping and they staged a murder scene with this poor victim. Meghan herself posing in the lip tied and trying to look as
terrified as she possibly could. And she did a great job, just look at it. And then they lured Dr. Jacobs into their, well, I guess we can call it
their videotaped lair, talking details of the hit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you have to do that, I want to do it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to do it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, because she won`t listen. I prefer not to have do that because my survival I more important.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So that`s Dr. Jacob in the orange. He was arrested. And the testimony of that ex-girlfriend in court, the one in the zip ties, it`s
just been nothing short of dramatic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGHAN VERIKAS, EX-GIRLFRIEND OF LEON JACOBS: I was afraid of Leon. I sat in a chair in a warehouse and they zip tied my hands and my feet and put
duct tape around my mouth to make me look as if I had been kidnapped.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: And as if this story could not be more astonishing, just wait until you hear the twist.
The alleged plot didn`t just involve a hit man for Meghan. The new girlfriend was a doctor too and she had an ex-husband. And as the police
put it, well, that ex-husband was simply in the way.
With me now is Rachel Stockman, editor-in-chief for Law and Crime Network.
OK. First and foremost, Rachel, it is a little confusing. There are four players here. I think we have a flow chart to make it a little easier to
understand. Because the question I`m going to ask you involve this whole other hit man plot.
I mean, they had me at hello when Dr. Jacob allegedly was trying to off his girlfriend, Meghan. But then the new girlfriend who is now dead, she is
also a doctor on the far right of the screen.
RACHEL STOCKMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, LAW AND CRIME NETWORK: Right.
BANFIELD: They looked together to find a hit man to knock her ex-husband, too, Mr. McDaniel?
STOCKMAN: Yes. This whole thing honestly is like out of some kind of movie plot. You couldn`t invent it. The fact that it is real is just astounding.
And apparently according to investigators, the reason why they wanted to off McDaniel`s husband is because of this kind of this nasty divorce they
were going through and they had a child together. And the father was worried that Leon Jacob was a violent man and didn`t want the child around
this violent man.
BANFIELD: By the way, let`s put that picture back up again. It astounds me when the police do this. They stage this fake hit jobs. And this is Mr.
McDaniel, the poor suffering husband of that now dead, you know, veterinary doctor having this relationship. It`s very confusing, again. But these are
fakes, guys. This is -- Mr. McDaniel is very much alive and he is posing with pig`s blood and a fake bullet wound to his head.
But again, they are so realistic and they are so scary and I would also think just so incredibly clever. And the reason I say this because we have
some videotape when the police come - again, the flow chart if we could put it out because I think it helps. It`s very confusing.
Dr. Jacob was on the left and having this relationship with the dead woman way over on the right because she has now commit suicide after being caught
in this whole web of crime. So the doctor on the left and the veterinary doctor on the right. The police come to their apartment that they share to
tell them of course, this is fake, that it`s so horrible, the news we have for you. But you know, Ms. Valerie McDaniel, your husband. Mr. McDaniel is
dead. So just wait until you see the reaction. It`s delicious.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[19:05:53] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your ex-husband (INAUDIBLE) found. It looks like it turns out to be fatality. Looks like it might have been a robbery
gone wrong. Sorry to have to tell you. Have you heard from him recently?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard from him last night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You heard from him last night?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was at the house last night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now your boyfriend, is he awake? You might want to tell him, know what is going on, and I`m sorry. Her ex-husband been found
tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OH, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like it might be a robbery gone wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy shit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If anybody know anything?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. We --.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: might be able to help us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK, baby? We have been here all night. We were here all day with their daughter. We were watching movies. I never met him
except for once.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s your name?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Leon Jacob. I`m her boyfriend.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: Did you catch that, Rachel? Oh, my God! Holy S, you know.
STOCKMAN: And one thing he said is we have been here all night. He had to say that.
BANFIELD: The alibi right away upon the police confronting them with this. Very interesting.
So what is even more intriguing is that video that you just saw was taken after the hit man had paid them a visit. Now, of course, the hit man is
cop, posing as the hit man. And decided to say OK, the job is done.
We are going show you the pictures that we have here of your poor, you know, ex-girlfriend, Meghan Verikas and then of course your poor ex-
husband, Mr. Marion McDaniel with the bullet to his head, the pig`s blood. We are not telling you it is pig blood, but --.
So the police are posing, you know, and showing them their handy work as fake hit men and then you see that video of them being notified that their,
you know, one of the loved ones is dead. This would have been a good opportunity if you think about it for Dr. Leon Jacob to say wait a second,
I see that you have my ex-girlfriend in zip ties. I don`t want her to suffering here. I never said kill her. I just wanted her out of the picture
because that`s what they have. They got the quote thing. I want her out of here. She goes away and all the other problems go away. And his defense is
trying to suggest, well, he wanted her to go away somewhere else, not go away dead. This would have been a chance for him to say, hey, I never meant
for this to happen.
STOCKMAN: And in fact, that`s one of the questions that the prosecutor asked while he took the stand in his own defense today. And he said that
basically he had no idea that this was going to happen. And he thought he was just paying this private investigator to get rid of her out of the town
and not kill her.
BANFIELD: But he saw that picture. That`s not getting rid of someone out of town. That`s zip tying, gagging and maybe prepping for something more
serious. No?
STOCKMAN: That`s why I think it`s so unbelievable.
BANFIELD: Sorry, you are logical. I`m sorry, yes.
STOCKMAN: That the defense attorney in this case let this guy take the stand in his own defense. I mean, his explanations and the cross-
examination if you watched it this afternoon when it was going on are just, what are you thinking, man? Taking the stand here.
BANFIELD: Well, you know, you can never really -- listen, the lawyer can tell him, but ultimately, the client is the boss, right? Your lawyer can`t
tell you not to take the stand, by the way, if you are end up there. Listen to your lawyer.
So there is another moment I want to play that has been played in court. Again, these videotapes are so off. I called them delicious because I love
it when people just don`t know that they are being videotaped in these layers. But this is shortly after, this moment comes shortly after the
police comes to tell them I`m sorry, but you lost your husband and PS, we are arresting you. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will need you to come with us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I guess I will stay.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now we are going to read you your rights because both of you have been arrested for solicitation attempted murder.
[19:10:01] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Solicitation of murder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are we arrested? I mean, I don`t know why I`m being arrested.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: I don`t know why I`m being arrested. I guess that`s what you say when you don`t think anybody has been watching you all along the process,
right?
STOCKMAN: Right. And what makes this case like you said so delicious to watch is that you know that these people survived and this was all one big
fake set up. It is just, really, unbelievable.
BANFIELD: So we say that they survived kind of. There is a family that had a tragedy and that would be the family of Valerie McDaniel. Pop up the flow
chart again. This will help. The two people who are in the love affair that apparently allegedly made a deal with the hit man, the two on the top. Dr.
Jacob and Dr. McDaniel over on the right. Dr. McDaniel ended her life over all this. Didn`t she?
STOCKMAN: She did shortly after she was arrest. And you saw some of that there in the tape. She was then - she then committed suicide.
BANFIELD: Do you know how? Did they say?
STOCKMAN: She jumped out of her condo.
BANFIELD: She jumped to her death?
STOCKMAN: She jumped to her death, yes.
BANFIELD: So it is tragic and that someone lost a family member. I think a lot of viewers who say to hell with her, you know. She saved us the money
for prosecution. She wanted to have two people killed. That`s what the allegations were.
Remind me what the deal was. Like if the allegations are true, if Dr. Jacob and Dr. McDaniel, the lovers wanted their two exes offed, what was the deal
that the police say they struck with the hit man?
STOCKMAN: So basically, 10-k for each person and two watches that they were going to pay the hit man with these two expensive watches.
BANFIELD: (INAUDIBLE) watches.
STOCKMAN: Yes. Very expensive watches. That was the deal to get these two people allegedly.
BANFIELD: That`s also the detail that makes it a, you know, made for TV movie or lifetime movie.
STOCKMAN: Exactly, yes.
BANFIELD: If I can, I want to bring in Steve Moore for a moment, CNN law enforcement contributor. He is also a former FBI agent and investigator.
Steve, I am going to do something here. I`m going to put those pictures back up on the screen, particularly of Meghan Verikas, OK. Meghan is seen
zip tied and gagged. And that picture would make complete sense if it were true. If she was a hostage, she is faking it. But she is not an actress,
Steve. She is a person trying hard to work with police.
And I guess, you as a police, you know, representative and an FBI agent, how do you do this? How do you take a lay person and get them to be so
convincing? Do you truly scare the hell out of them in the process to get the right picture? Because we are not all actors and actresses. We cannot
all make this things convincing.
STEVE MOORE, FORMER FBI AGENT/INVESTIGATOR: You know, I found out that when people are put into undercover situations or whatever situation you want to
call this one, it`s really not hard to get them to act afraid even if there is no threat there. All you have to do is get them in touch with the fact
that somebody out there is trying to kill you. And this is what they want to do to you. And when you put, I would assume when they were doing this,
putting on the zip ties and duct taping her mouth, the feeling of reality here had to strike her. I think it will be hard not to feel that emotion.
And the one thing that struck me here is she wouldn`t look at the camera. She didn`t look at the camera. That was such a brilliant move because it
looks like I`m not going to give you the pleasure of seeing me.
BANFIELD: And what about the police? Because there are two sets of actors here, right. The would-be victims who probably are pretty traumatized
finding out that this has been going on and someone wanted them dead. And then there are the cops who have to play hit men. And they have to become
pretty damn good actors if they are going to convince people like, you know, Dr. Jacob and Dr. McDaniel that they will do the job for them as
Rachel just reported $10,000 each and two beautiful (INAUDIBLE) watches.
MOORE: Yes. These officers, these detectives did a fabulous job. There are people just because you have a badge, doesn`t mean that you are good under
cover. And these people obviously were very good at what they did. And I`m a little jealous that I couldn`t have been the one to say, and by the way,
you are under arrest. Because that`s the payoff for everything they have done.
You look at these people as you are speaking to them and there is a feeling of just disgust that first ever all these people were that dumb. And number
two, that they would care so little about people who the police by that time know and probably like.
BANFIELD: And I want to thank ABC`s "20/20" and CBS`s "48 hours" actually for giving us some of these images that we have been able - so we can tell
the story. It is very complicated with four players.
But I do want to bring in Vinoo Varghese, our defense attorney because there are a couple of thing that are on tape that haven`t yet been sort of
released into the hands of the public. I`m assuming they will be given that we are at trial. But the hit man which is cops apparently got on tape a
conversation about how Meghan should be killed, right? And Dr. Jacob allegedly tells them the hit man cop, that listen, if this is tough, I will
do it myself. I`m a doctor so I would use potassium chloride and it would stop her heart and it will be untraceable. In your line of work, that`s
usually called bad facts. Real hard to get over. How do you get over that stuff especially when there is tape?
[19:15:41] VINOO VARGHESE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I think you have to look at the entire tape, right. So it`s possible during the defense here could
be potential entrapment. And it is tough defense, right? So you have to show that his will was overborn. So we got to look at the tape, see how
much he was being led. He may have said a bunch of bad things, but what was being said before this?
BANFIELD: How do you entrap a guy who is a doctor, who is suggesting, you know what, if it is hard, I can do the job myself. Potassium chloride.
VARGHESE: He may be looking for a more humane way of ending it.
(CROSSTALK)
VARGHESE: All I`m saying is it is good set of facts, but I think it is something that his lawyers looks like they have a tough client.
BANFIELD: Yes. Boy, did they ever? They have a tough client. They got a tough case.
But you know what? They got the case. They got the side.
My thanks to all of you. I really appreciate that.
And again, I think we can all laugh through it a little bit because as you said, Rachel, nobody died.
My thanks to Rachel Stockman, Steve Moore and also Vinoo Varghese.
The movie, gone girl, was a terrifying tale of manipulation and betrayal. But what happened in (INAUDIBLE), California to Denise Huskins was now big
budget thriller. It was a kidnapping and a rape and a nightmare that the police did not believe really happened. And now they do. We will tell you
why, what made them see the light and how much it`s going to cost.
You can now listen to our show any time. Just download our podcast on Apple podcast, I heart radio, Stitcher, Tune In or wherever you get your pot
casts for your crime and your justice fix.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:22:19] BANFIELD: It was a bestselling book, a number one movie and a water cooler topic that made people shutter and debate and wonder. Even the
title had a chilling effect on those who knew the story. Gone girl.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)
BANFIELD: I have chills. That movie was a gripping tale of a beautiful woman who faked her own kidnapping to frame her husband for murder. So when
Denise Huskins disappeared in almost the identical way, naturally the cops were skeptical. They were told that Denise and her fiance was jolted away
in the middle of the night and glare from a flashlight blinding them. The demands being made unmistakable and terrifying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENISE HUSKINS, KIDNAPPING VICTIM: And I remember thinking that this is a really bad nightmare. I don`t like this. The voice kept saying over and
over again, wake up. This is a robbery. We are not here to harm you. Like open my eyes and then flashing light. He said Aaron, turn over.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know his name.
HUSKINS: Yes. So he said Aaron is going to put his hands behind his back. You are going to tie his hands behind his back and must be together. And he
was encouraging me saying you are doing a good job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: But it wasn`t just a robbery. Denise said she was taken by several men and repeatedly raped over two days and then something
inexplicable happened. The kidnappers drove 400 miles, shoved her out the door, led her to a mysterious concrete room, and then took off. She was
left shaking and sobbing, but she was thankful they didn`t kill her.
The story was simply so astounding that the police didn`t buy it. And they quickly turned their attention to the two victims of this crime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON QUINN, FIANCE: Everything was accuse story and it is very quickly, the detectives said I don`t believe you. And they started saying I killed
Denise. I knew they are going to looked at me as a suspect. Actually, that`s what they should do. I was the last person to see her. If she didn`t
get the kidnappers to let her go, I would be behind bars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:25:13] BANFIELD: I want to bring in the Denise Huskins` attorney, James Wagstaffe.
James, ultimately, this story was turned on its head. How did the police finally determine that Denise and Aaron were telling the truth? That they
were in fact victims. And that this was in fact a crime and not a hoax?
JAMES WAGSTAFFE, DENISE HUSKINS` ATTORNEY: They should have determined this from the very beginning. You don`t disbelieve victims. These victims told
their story to the police and they were disbelieved. Aaron was grilled for 18 hours and accusing of murdering his girlfriend. And when she rather
inconveniently showed up, they changed their story. They doubled down and said it was a Congirl hoax.
These were victims who deserved to being believed from the very beginning and throughout the entire time. When they caught the kidnapper just a few
months later, and he is now in jail for 40 years, that was another inconvenient fact. And at that point they finally fessed up to the fact
that this was an actual crime.
BANFIELD: And we are looking at a photograph of that kidnapper, Matthew Mueller. Not your average garden variety kidnapper and rapist. Matthew
Mueller is a Harvard law graduate, a lawyer, and also a marine. That`s the person who ultimately is now serving 40 years for this crime.
But Mr. Wagstaffe, how did they determine that it was him? And what ultimately ended up unraveling the fact that this was no hoax. That this
was real.
WAGSTAFFE: If they believed Aaron at the very beginning when he said the kidnapper was going to call him back on his cell phone, they might not put
-- the police might not have put it on airplane mode. They would have received a phone call. And had they done that and not disbelieved Aaron,
they would have been able to trace the call to South Lake Tahoe where Mr. Mueller had taken my client, Denise Huskins, they didn`t do that. And
ultimately, were able to figure it out because when he committed a similar crime a few months later, that police department, the Dublin police
department, did what they were supposed to do. The asked if there other crimes like it. There is one in (INAUDIBLE). Mr. Mueller had some
involvement in that. And they were able to then track him down from that point using the cell phone and other information.
BANFIELD: It`s remarkable that the crime you are talking about that happened a few months later, almost identical. I mean, it is freakishly
similar, the mo. Matthew struck a second time. It was a home invasion robbery. It involved a couple that was asleep. He tried to bind them. He
was masked. But apparently they fought back. They attacked him and they chased him out of the house. And yet, this is just a few minutes after poor
Denise and Aaron had suffered this horrible crime and then the indignity of being told they were liars.
I want to just play this moment where Lieutenant Kenny Park of the Vallejo PD talks about how, not only this was a hoax, but that it was a waste of
their resources. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. KENNY PARK, VALLEJO POLICE DEPARTMENT: I could tell you the grand scheme of thing. Mr. Quinn and Miss Huskins have plundered valuable
resources away from our community. And they have taken the focus away from the true victims while instilling fear among the community members.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: And that, of course, are turned out to be completely untrue. Defamatory potentially if you want to look at the legal term and the
challenge.
But Mr. Wagstaffe, I want to ask you about the evidence they ultimately found in Matthew Muller`s mother`s house. What did they turn up there?
WAGSTAFFE: Well, they found information that implicated Mr. Muller in that particular regard.
But let me say, it wasn`t just possible defamation. This was character assassination and it ricocheted around the world. And it ricocheted around
the world and told people that my clients were not telling the truth. They were liars and wasting community resources. That`s not what you do when you
have a victim of a crime who have no reason to lie and have a lifetime history of that. This was a case in which the police compounded a terrible,
terrible tragedy. My client, Denise, being raped twice and put this around the world.
BANFIELD: So I have a list here and I`m just looking it over as I`m speaking with you about the evidence in the case against him and the
criminal case. And it`s over. He is behind bars for 40 years as we mentioned.
But at his mother`s home, there were recorded instructions that matched recordings described by the kidnapping victims themselves. There was a
video of Matthew with Denise. This is Matthew, the rapist, with Denise, the victim. And she is bound and blind folded inside this home. It doesn`t get
more airtight than that when you wanting to put a man away for kidnapping and rape. And so, ultimately, this was -- this was a federal plea deal. No
trial ultimately, but a plea deal and guilty. And in the civil case that was launched against the police, they settled. $2.5 million was the
settlement. Look, money helps but it doesn`t change the, you know, the suffering. How are they doing? How are Denise and Aaron doing?
JAMES WAGSTAFFE, ATTORNEY FOR DENISE HUSKINS: They`re doing their best, they`re holding up. You can imagine the post-traumatic stress that results
for years from this kind of event. They`re going to get married and they are trying to put forward, and they`re hoping that no one will ever have to
go through this again, where victims will not be believed or someone who suffers a rape was not a good enough victim for them because she`s not been
physically injured because she wanted to live and survive the ordeal. That victims will be believed. That`s I think what they hope will come good from
this terrible tragedy.
BANFIELD: And just quickly, do you know about the story of others involved? I mean, the account that Denise had was that there were several people. And
we know that Matthew drugged her and drugged Aaron because there`s been no discussion of any other perpetrators. Was that maybe a product of her being
drugged, the thought that there might have been others?
WAGSTAFFE: Well, no, I think that they credibly believed there was more than one person involved and this case is settled before there was more
formal discovery. So, one doesn`t know. But certainly Mr. Mueller has pled guilty.
BANFIELD: I want to bring in Wally Zeins. Don`t go anywhere, Mr. Wagstaffe. But Wally, you`re a former NYPD hostage negotiator and a supervisor.
There`s so much to this story of her captivity that I think you can lend some insight into. Let me play a moment from Denise where she explained on
"20/20", which is coming up tomorrow night, by the way, she describes what she tried to do to save herself from dying or to save herself
unsuccessfully from being raped by this -- by this monster. Let`s have a listen. I want you to walk me through it on the other side. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENISE HUSKINS, KIDNAPPING VICTIM: He spoke to me a lot. He shared with me that he just had a difficult time in his life and so -- and I shared with
him something that happened when I was younger, hoping maybe that -- knowing that I have already been assaulted that he won`t want to add to it,
but, you know --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He raped you?
HUSKINS: Yes. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So she did her best to talk him through it, to humanize herself. That`s what we always hear you`re supposed to do. It didn`t work, or did it
because she is alive. And I`m going to get you to answer that after the break. What are we supposed to do if we find ourselves in that position to
save ourselves from the worst of it? That`s coming up next.
[19:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: The case of the real life "Gone Girl," Denise Huskins kidnapped out of her bed, her boyfriend lying beside her drugged and to wake up and
find that Denise is gone, he quickly reported her missing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, sir, what did he say happened to her?
LT. KENNY PARK, VALLEJO POLICE DEPARTMENT: He was essentially saying that the female, Ms. Huskins, was forcibly taken against her will in her
residence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there any reason to disbelieve that reported part of the story?
PARK: Well, at this point, like I said, we are treating this as a kidnap for ransom and until our investigation concludes, I won`t have a definite
answer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think it`s a stranger abduction or somebody known to her?
PARK: We have no indication of that at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was the person who reported this home when this happened?
PARK: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Only it wasn`t until a few days later when Denise Huskins appeared after being abducted that police began to call the whole thing a
hoax, even voicing that publicly at a news conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARK: I can tell you in the grand scheme of things, Mr. Quinn and Ms. Huskins has plundered valuable resources away from our community and has
taken the focus away from the true victims of our community while instilling fear amongst our community members.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Only it wasn`t a hoax. It was this guy, Matthew Muller. He actually did it. And now, he`s sitting in prison for it for kidnapping a
federal crime. And just so we`re clear about how frightened Denise was, how much she thought she was going to die, she told exactly what she was
feeling to "20/20." Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUSKINS: When he opened the car door, I thought this is -- this is it. Either I`m going to hear a gunshot, and that`s it, or am I get pushed off a
cliff. And I was -- he was guiding me and I thought I was talking to my death. And then, I heard a door close behind me and I pulled up the
blindfold and I thought, oh, God, he is going to release me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:40:19] BANFIELD: And he did, Wally. He released her. He didn`t kill her. He repeatedly raped her. He held her for two days. He drove her across
state line and he dumped her 400 miles away from her home but he didn`t kill her. Do you ascribe her behavior with him, talking him through this,
humanizing herself to the reason she`s alive?
WALLY ZEINS, FORMER NYPD HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR SUPERVISOR: Yes and I`ll tell you why. First of all, in her profession, she was a therapist, she dealt a
lot with people -- a physical therapist. And she was able to listen to the clients that she had about their pain and suffering that they might have
been going through. So, right off the bat, she knew how to talk and listen. Her key was she was a listener. She listened to Matthew first and used
soothing words. Words like I understand, I had an incident. She projected herself with him so she created a relationship where she was getting
credibility. Remember, in hostage negotiating, you always have a better outcome the longer you talk.
BANFIELD: And humanize on both sides.
ZEINS: And humanize, absolutely.
BANFIELD: Right. So, there`s another element to this. After she was released, e-mails started going into this. San Francisco Chronicle from
Matthew Muller saying, you got the wrong person, she`s not a liar. And one of those e-mails contained an audio message that was actually Denise
Huskins audio taped in his home while she`s in captivity. Have a listen to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUSKINS: My name is Denise Huskins and I am kidnapped. Otherwise, I`m fine. Earlier today, there was a plane crash in the Alps. 158 people died. And
one thing that people know about me is that I went to my first concert, me and my mom, to Blink 182 and Bad Religion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I`m so astounded by this. You`re a cop. Grade this behavior. Grade this whole notion, public hoax, you know, defaming these poor
victims.
ZEINS: It`s unbelievable. It was a very poor investigation done by the Vallejo Police Department.
BANFIELD: I want to bring in if I can Vinoo Varghese As an attorney, you know, looking through all of this, Vinoo, I`m not surprised there`s a $2.5
million settlement in this case. I actually think it should have been more given what they went through. But I also want to ask you a little bit about
the charging. He went away for 40 years on a federal kidnapping charge. No rape, there`s no rape charge here. Couldn`t the state come back and say
we`re going double down and we`re going go after you for rape and kidnapping on a state level just as an insurance policy?
VINOO VARGHESE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They can, but I -- I`m not sure they should. There`s a doctrine called separate sovereigns, so, if you remember
the Rodney King case, he was acquitted. The cops were acquitted in state court and then, they were brought -- they were convicted in federal court.
The reverse can happen here, right? He could -- he`s been convicted in federal court, he`d still be prosecuted in the state court. But the
question is, why would the state want to do it because --
BANFIELD: How about -- how about if he gets off on a technicality on appeal? I guess you can appeal if you make a -- if you make an agreement,
right?
(CROSSTALK)
VARGHESE: Generally, but unless there`s something in the plea deal that the lawyers did something wrong or he wasn`t properly advised of his rights.
But the issue is, are they really going to put this girl on the stand?
BANFIELD: Sure.
VARGHESE: Because once she -- if they`re going to bring a case, she`s going to have to testify. He could sit back, not do anything, but -- it will make
her relive it, and then, be subject to cross-examination.
BANFIELD: Let`s just remind everybody the -- I mean, as if this case weren`t extraordinary enough, he`s a Harvard lawyer, this criminal. He`s a
Harvard lawyer and a Marine. It is just unbelievable that this happened in such a way and that the cast of characters -- I tell you what, it`s -- I
hate to say it`s made for T.V. but it is. In fact, "20/20" special about Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn`s "Gone Girl` nightmares airing tomorrow
night on ABC at 10:00 Eastern. So, I encourage to you check that out.
There is absolute outrage tonight and not surprisingly. I want you to look at this video. This is a 1-year-old baby allegedly smoking pot. And that
hand is allegedly the mom`s. More on that, next.
[19:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Smoking weed is becoming more accepted right across the country as one by one states are passing laws to protect weed smokers and even weed
sellers. But there is one ban on weed that Americans almost universally agree on, and that is that babies should not be smoking it. And I say
almost universally because one 20-year-old mother in North Carolina apparently doesn`t agree. Brianna Ashanti rolled tape as she allegedly
shoved that lit marijuana blunt right up to her baby 1-year-old`s mouth. The baby could actually be seen inhaling and exhaling the smoke.
Unbelievable!
[19:50:05] Brianna apparently thought this funny enough to actually post it on Facebook.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I guess lucky for us she actually did post it because the video was reportedly viewed more than 1.5 million times, and that is actually
what led to her arrest. Perhaps the irony here is that Brianna seems to think choosing a Facebook username Bri Bad was a good idea. How bad? She`s
now facing two counts of felony child abuse contributing to delinquency and possession of marijuana. Oh, and also, that child has been taken from
Brianna. Defense Attorney Vinoo Varghese joins me live again. I don`t even know where to begin other than does she have any defense? It`s on tape.
VARGHESE: Look, the first thing I would do as her lawyer, if I were her lawyer, is to have her examined, see what her psychological --
BANFIELD: Who cares? Who cares what her psychological state was? That child had pot coming out of its nose.
VARGHESE: I think it`s critical. I mean, you have to take a look at this woman and figure out what caused her to do this, assuming it`s her, right?
So, the first thing obviously, as a lawyer, you explore, see if there`s any way to show that it wasn`t her on the tape. I mean, it is her account, you
know, they`ll probably do some kind of hand analysis to confirm it`s her.
BANFIELD: I just feel like any time we see a parent that does this, that parent should have a book thrown at them. And I`ll tell you the reason I
say this because this is not the first time we`ve seen videos like this on Facebook. Take a look at what we`ve been able to scrounge up just by going
through our archives today. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cell phone video is pretty hard to watch.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jessica even blew marijuana smoke in the baby`s mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Video, the Centralia mother having her 22-month-old boy take a hit off her marijuana bong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Watch as the 2-year-old squirms and tries to escape but the man repeatedly tries to put a marijuana pipe in the toddler`s
mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Video of her teaching her 2-year-old how to smoke pot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This little boy is just 2 years old, and, yes, he is smoking a cigar, not just any cigar, police say it`s pot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I can`t believe we have this much evidence just after a quick look at our records, but this is why (INAUDIBLE) you think it`s good enough
to -- you think it`s funny to put on Facebook? Could she possibly have not thought it was wrong and would that have mattered?
VARGHESE: I think that goes right to the heart of why she should be examined because if this woman is so strange or maybe is -- the term is
evil, to put this on Facebook. The question, though, is if you look at the baby, the baby looks like he`s done this before.
BANFIELD: It`s not first time. You`re -- you know what, I`m glad you noticed that, honestly, because most people who take their first inhale
cough violently.
VARGHESE: Absolutely.
BANFIELD: That 1-year-old baby has -- I mean, it`s an inhale and an exhale, and it doesn`t seem to be uncomfortable or difficult. The baby also know to
put its lips around the cigarette. I know I got to stop talking about it or I`m going to -- my head`s going to pop right off my shoulders. Thank you
for that. Stick around if you will.
Speaking of illegal drugs, a crew member from the airline Fly Jamaica is in some hot water because of what he had hidden under his uniform. And there`s
a picture of it. So, what do you think that was taped to his legs? And while we`re at it, how much do you think it was worth?
[19:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Terminal cancer is a devastating diagnosis, but as John Albert`s wife battled the disease, he realized that he could turn the time she had
left into a priceless gift for their family of four. And now, he`s doing the same for others. And that`s why he`s this week`s CNN`s Hero.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cruelest part of late-stage cancer is the emotion. Guilt that you`re leaving behind your children and dread that you`re going
to miss their milestones. We give these families a chance to have fun, have positive memories.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sweet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are trying to give each family their own unique treasured time together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Go to CNN Heroes to watch the full story. And also, you can nominate someone that you think should be a CNN Hero.
We`ve got "ONE MORE THING" for you tonight. And actually it`s four things, four little pretty packages of cocaine. They were taped to the legs of a
crew member of Fly Jamaica Airways. Estimated street value $160,000 or priceless if you consider the images that everybody gets to see. The
Customs official say the Jamaican national was trying to smuggle the stash into the United States under his uniform. But now, he`s facing not only
humiliation on the internet, but federal drug smuggling charges. Some people, huh? Thank you for watching, everybody. I`m Ashleigh Banfield.
We`ll see you back here Monday night, 6:00 Eastern for CRIME & JUSTICE. "FORENSIC FILES" begins right now.
