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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield

New Trouble For Dancing Doctor; Vince Vaughn Busted; Delayed Justice Delivered; New Scandal Rocks Police Department, Investigating Teacher`s Murder; Grandma Kept Kids In Dog Kennels; Casey Anthony`s Former Lawyer Sentenced to 15 years; "Affluenza Boy" Mom Arrested Again;. The Mother Of The New Born Babies Is Now Facing Murder; Police In Pennsylvania Are On The Hunt For The Person Who Gunned Down A Teacher On Her Mom`s Driveway On Mother`s Day; Actor Charged With DUI And Delaying Officers; Fake Mom Sentenced For Kidnapping Baby From Hospital. Aired 6-8p ET

Aired June 11, 2018 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:05] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST, HLN CRIME AND JUSTICE: Good evening, everyone, I`m Ashleigh Banfield. Welcome to "Crime & Justice." Tonight,

shocking new details about the Massachusetts man who had three dead women at his house. Turns out he also had 16 arrests in the last 16 years and 68

offenses overall. Dave Segal is covering this story. How is someone like this even out walking the streets?

DAVID SIEGEL, HLN PRODUCER: Actually, it`s going to take a while to go through this guy`s rap sheet, but we`ll walk you through it. By the way,

he`s still only facing kidnapping charges right now. He kept getting off.

BANFIELD: Yes, that`s another weird question. We`ll get to the bottomof that in a moment. Thank you Dave Siegel.

Also tonight, more trouble for a small town in Pennsylvania where detectives have arrested the assistant police chief after he allegedly sent

a dirty video to a teenage girl. Bernice Mann is covering this update. And Bernice,, it is not just any teenage girl, it`s one connected to a murder

investigation.

BERNICE MANN, HLN PRODUCER: That`s right, Ashleigh. And you know, that assistant police chief comes on the tail of two other police officers who

are on leave right now. And that same department is still looking for that slain teacher`s killer.

BANFIELD: Well, it`s going to be hard when you`re losing all your officers if they`re on leave. We`re going to sort that out in a moment. Thank you

very much Bernice.

Also the grandmother caught on camera helping her grandchildren climb out of dog kennels in the back of the car. Justin Freiman is all over this.

Justin, this grandmother apparently saying there wasn`t enough room in the car?

JUSTIN FREIMAN, HLN SENIOR PRODUCER: That`s right. The kids were actually interviewed by police who said their grandmother said there wasn`t enough

room in the car so they go in the back of the car in kennels, by the way, 95 degree heat that day.

BANFIELD: Well, it will be interesting to find out what this mug shot is going to lead to. Justin, thank you for that.

Plus, a new hobby for the "Real Housewife" who just spent a year in the slammer. Can you tell what she`s been up to? Wow. Also, why Casey Anthony`s

former lawyer is going to be spending the next 15 years behind bars. Why him? You`ll find out.

And remember the affluenza teen? How about the mom? The mom of the affluenza teen has just been busted again. We`ll tell you what for this

time. Plus, the punishment for the woman who stole a baby girl and raised her as her own. How long do you think the judge decided she should spend

behind bars. Here`s a hint. She had that baby for 18 years.

Later, the Florida mom accused of killing her newborn twins, but she can`t keep her story straight. And her internet searches, well they are not

helping her case.

First, let me take you to Springfield, Massachusetts. That`s where we are learning a lot more about that man who lived in a house of horrors with the

rotting bodies of three dead women. That man is 40-year-old Stewart Weldon, who police first found on a midnight drive with a severely beaten woman as

his passenger, a woman claiming who was claiming she was being held captive by him.

She told the officers who pulled him over that Weldon had been raping her and beating her in the house where they would soon find those dead bodies.

And tonight, her alleged captor is charged with kidnapping as police wait on autopsy results for how those three women died. But tonight we are also

learning that Stewart Weldon was no stranger to law enforcement.

In fact, they had arrested him 16 different times for 68 different offenses, ranging from assault and battery to possessing dangerous weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIMOTHY NOONAN, PUBLIC DEFENDER FOR NOONAN: All of this record occurred before, again, Mr. Weldon became a father for the first time. This has

dramatically changed his outlook, this has dramatically changed where he`s at in his life and what he`s interested in doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: With me now, Stephanie Barry, reporter for the Republican and Masslive. Also, Judge Fanon Rucker from the Hamilton County Municipal

Court, and trial attorney Randy Kessler. Thank you to all of you. Stephanie, I`m going to begin with you. I thought this was a typo, I

thought 68 different offenses since 2002. That`s got to be 6 to 8, not 68, but it is truly 68 different offenses?

STEPHANIE BARRY, REPORTER, THE REPUBLICAN & MASSLIVE (via telephone): No, it`s truly 68 different offenses, and I`m not sure if I`m actually making

up this term, but when I reviewed his criminal record he seems to me to be an insidious recidivist. So, he has multiple, multiple, multiple charges on

his record. But none of them are big bombs. It just is kind of consistent. He bumps along. So I`m looking at --

BANFIELD: But wait a minute, wait, before you go any further, I`m just -- I`m only at page two of this remarkable arrest record.

[18:05:03] And I get it. I know that you`re saying none of them is murder, and none of them is -- but there are some very, very serious low lights in

this. And I just want to go over a few because it`s too much for me to read all of them. We`re only on page three right now.

But assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, four counts, assault and battery on a cop, breach of the peace while armed, carrying a dangerous

weapon, disorderly person, two counts, failure to stop for the cops, giving a false name, resisting arrest, two counts. Those are just the low lights.

So yes, I understand that a lot of them might be smaller than the average bear, but a lot of them aren`t. And yet, this guy was let out on a monitor.

He had a GPS ankle bracelet, so to speak. How is that possible?

BARRY: Yes. So, collectively it`s bad, so I`m not arguing in his favor or in any of the law enforcement officials or, you know, court officials`

favors. But it seems like every time he appeared in court for default warrants, you know, reasonably minor charges, even the A&B on a police

officer, that could be -- you know, who knows what the underlying report entails, right?

So, we continue to mine information about this man since this case burst into the public. So he got on a GPS bracelet when he argued to a judge that

he wanted to get out to be there for the birth of his child.

BANFIELD: Well, thank you for bringing that up. Thank you for bringing that up. Because I actually want to play a moment in court where his public

defender who the taxpayers were paying for, of course, argued on his behalf as to why he wouldn`t be a problem. He`d be back in court to face the

music. They would beat the rap on a lot of this. And that the bail should be as low as $150. Listen to this repartee between the judge and the lawyer

in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOONAN: He will return to court. We are confident that we can beat at least some of these charges. And so for that, your honor, we`d suggest that

while we acknowledge the past history of this -- this case is different, this time it is different, and bail should be set at 150.

DAVID RICCIADIONE, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, MASSACHUSETTS SUPERIOR COURTS: The real problem is his record and some history of defaults, he`s got an

incentive to flee, because he`s been convicted for these things in the past, and also because he`s a known flight risk because he did flee on the

day in question. These are the issues.

(END VIEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I think flight risk is the understatement of the day, Stephanie, flight risk. He`d been a flight risk before. He certainly became quite a

flight risk. How bad a flight risk did he become?

BARRY: Well, flight risk in terms of, so, he didn`t show up to court a lot. So when I`m looking over his record right now, Ashleigh, as we speak,

probably the default warrants make up at least -- I wouldn`t say the lion`s share, but a good number of his charges. And probably that quote that

lawyer will regret for the rest of his life.

BANFIELD: Yes.

BARRY: But there were a lot of default warrants. And although there are minor charges it shows a disregard for the court and the consequences of

the criminal justice system.

BANFIELD: Well, if he`s guilty, it`s disregard for the court, and it`s disregard for people who need to breathe oxygen and live because there were

three rotting bodies in that home and there was a severely battered woman with stab wounds and what they think is a broken jaw, some healing wounds,

some not so healed wounds. Almost septic wound, as I understand it.

I mean, the violence that he is accused of perpetrating against at least four people, and I say at least because, Stephanie, there are reports now

that more people are coming forward as victims. Do you know anything about that and do you know the nature of what these people are saying?

BARRY: So, I do know something about it. I have to be a little bit careful about it because the Springfield Police Department did release kind of like

a vague statement about that. There are multiple victims who have come forward since his arrest. So, obviously those victims are alive since

they`ve come forward. But my understanding generally is a couple of things. One, the alleged victim profile is threefold, female, vulnerable, drug

addicted. Secondly --

BANFIELD: Wow, really? Wait, is that what the new victims as well, or is this just what we are putting together with the current list of victims

that we`re able to patch together?

BARRY: Let me just say that`s just kind of the profile that I`m putting together based on the research I`ve done thus far. And generally, I feel

like people don`t diverge much from their profile, right. So you know that, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Yeah.

[18:10:00] BARRY: But -- and I`m thinking that the victims who have come forward have similar stories. Luckily, they were able to survive.

BANFIELD: Yeah, but why wouldn`t they have come forward sooner before three women were found dead and rotting in that home? I do want to play

something as well, Stephanie, because hindsight is 20/20. And if we could only be in a courtroom and know the future, as judges decide whether this

guy, should I release him? Should I -- what should be the conditions?

Should I not release him? Is he just too dangerous? Is he a flight risk? Is he a danger to the society? Well, this judge made a decision, and this is

back, you know, in November. And this is just a couple -- a month or so after he was arrested on some pretty serious charges. And this is what the

judge decided to do back in November. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICCIARDONE: I`m going to set cash bail at $1,000, which I think is eminently reasonable on the facts and his demonstrated prior record, which

is very bad. And if he does post that amount I will set a GPS condition of home confinement and no -- no windows and although it`s redundant, I`m

going to say no operation of any vehicle. Of course he can`t do that if he`s confined to the home anyway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So Judge Fanon Rucker, help me get off the ledge on this one. I get it. We can`t all see into the future. But can we just, while you`re

answering, roll the arrest record that`s four pages long that goes back, you know, well over a decade and a half? How is it that a judge could look

at a guy like this, and look at a history like we`re seeing on the screen, and decide, you know what, I think you`re good to go, home arrest with a

GPS monitor, how is that?

FANON RUCKER, HAMILTON COUNTY MUNICIPOAL COURT: Well, first, let me say that even -- this is exactly one of the issues that judges like me face

every day. We don`t have the benefit of hindsight when we`re deciding whether or not to give someone a bond or what that bond should be. In the

large county like Hamilton County here in Cincinnati, what an average day when we`re setting bond, we may get 200 of few hundred cases.

And we have to make a split second decision about whether or not someone is going to have a high bond or sign their own name saying we trust you to

come back or something -- or some stipulations like GPS. And all we have to go on is the interview that they gave to the court services and their

record, and possibly a victim who comes in and alleges that something happened.

But you measure that against the fact that this is a person that`s standing there that`s innocent unless and until proven guilty. Measure that against

the stories like police blotter (ph), young man who is 16-years-old, and of course I know you all know the stories, Faedon (ph) in Rikers (ph)--

BANFIELD: Oh yeah.

RUCKER: -- in solitary confinement at 60-years-old named --

BANFIELD: But she didn`t have 68 charges. I know that story, judge. I respect that. Absolutely innocent until proven guilty. But then you also

have to weigh the possibilities as a judge, too. And here`s what I`m frustrated with. When he decided, after he got this little gift from god in

this courtroom and was given a GPS monitoring device and told to spend, you know, time at home, he busted that device off. And he went on the lam.

And it took months to find him. But what`s really strange is that it took nine days before anyone showed up to find him. Does that anger you as a

judge, knowing that you gave an order, he violated that order, and nobody even caught up to him or went to check things out for nine days?

RUCKER: When I hear that it makes me wonder about the resources that was available to the county or to the municipality where he actually was under

home incarceration. Many of us in Hamilton County deal with budget issues. So we have plenty of people who are being monitored, but is someone

actually watching that monitoring at all times? We don`t --

BANFIELD: Could have been in Mexico by that time. I mean, god, nine days. He could have been anywhere by that point. Randy Kessler, jump in if you

will, there are three bodies in that home and there are no charges relating to the dead bodies found in his home and we are well over a week, a week

and a half now I think. Can you explain that?

RANDY KESSLER, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Well, you know, they want to get their facts right. You see all these cases where people jump to conclusions where

people jump to conclusions, made to conclusions. He`s not going anywhere now. They are going to develop the case and it is going to be airtight. And

why would you come out and make a charge until you know exactly what the charge should be.

I don`t think it`s not a secret. He is going to be, you know, probably found guilty, but he`s going to at least be charged with those murders. It

seems all the circumstantial evidence that we`ve seen, you know, people watching the show right now would probably convict him just based on what

we know so, I don`t think they are worried about losing that case but they don`t want to make a mistake.

BANFIELD: But Randy, you know, I get it but, my god. I mean, three dead bodies rotting in your home, and a woman beside you who is near death. I

mean, she was so badly stabbed and so badly beaten and said she had been held captive. It sounds like this is not one of those issues where, gee,

once we charge him the clock starts ticking, we have to have our ducks in a row. They`ve got all the ducks lined up now. Anything else after that is

gravy.

[18:15:01] KESSLER: Well, may be there`s somebody else involved, may be they are trying to hope that he`s going to reveal or throws the blame on

someone else, and then you get the extra people that helped covered it up, that conspired, you know --

BANFIELD: Yes. They got that live witness though, right. She said she was in the house all that time. Well, I have another question for you, though.

KESSLER: OK.

BANFIELD: Did it not surprise you, slightly, and I love the fact that Judge Fanon Rucker is so down to earth and honest about resources, split

decisions, the number of cases that sheer volume just fly through those courtrooms. But if you saw a guy with that large of an arrest record, and

why not for fun, parlor games, let`s throw that arrest record back up again, all four full pages of it, are you not a little astounded that he

got ankle bracelet released?

KESSLER: I am very astounded, but you know what, I want to defend the judge to some degree. That`s what advocates are for. There is an advocate

for the defendant who did a good job and there is an advocate for the state. The advocate for the state needs to be pounding on this arrest

record and tell the judge, listen, there are a hundred cases before you. This one, with 68 of these offenses, you don`t give him the benefit of the

doubt. He`s forfeited his right to the leniency that you accord to somebody who is a first timer. And that`s on the advocate.

BANFIELD: I mean, 16, look at this -- 16 years and we couldn`t even put them on one page, two pages or three. We had to go to four. My great thanks

to Stephanie Barry for the amazing reporting that she`s been doing for us. Judge Fanon Rucker as well. We love your perspective. And Randy, you`re not

getting off the hook. So quickly I need you to stay throughout the entire two hours if you can. Thank you, sir.

In the months since Rachael DelTondo was gunned down in her mother`s driveway, there`s just been no shortage of drama, shocking twists, turns,

all of them involved in a murder investigation. But tonight, it is the actual police department itself that`s investigating her that`s making

headlines.

The assistant police chief actually, the one who had to step in for the police chief actually, both of them out, paid administrative leave, we`re

told, and criminal charges in the mix as well. And just for good measure, sexy videos being sent to a teen all amongst the allegations. What about

the murder? Do we even have time to investigate the murder of this beautiful young teacher? That story is next.

[18:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Tonight, police in Pennsylvania are on the hunt for the person who gunned down a teacher on her mom`s driveway on Mother`s Day, and not

just any teacher, this teacher. This teacher who was once caught by a police sergeant with a 17-year-old boy in a steamy car. But now there`s

another teenage victim in the mix.

And this one is both connected to Rachael DelTondo`s death, and also involves in the investigation itself because in a very bizarre twist to a

very bizarre story, a teenager has apparently been on the receiving end of a lewd video. The cops say it`s from the man who was leading the police

department. Are you with me?

Let`s start with the assistant police chief, Joe Perciavalle. He was just arrested after he allegedly sent a video to a 17-year-old girl of a half

naked woman urinating. To be fair, he apparently cc`d the girl`s parents on that e-mail with whom he is seemingly pretty friendly.

Reports say the 17-year-old girl`s dad, in another twist, is also involved into the investigation of the dead woman`s murder because he was apparently

the officer who found that teacher with the teenager in a steamy car three years ago. Now, that officer, Sergeant Kenneth Watkins, is joining two

other officers who`ve been put on leave since the teacher`s murder.

And that effectively brings that town`s police squad down about 20 percent. And you see Kenneth Watkins here in the upper right, the officer who

reported the steamy car, he is not charged with any crimes related to the teacher`s death. But apart from being the cop who reportedly found Rachael

in the car with the 17-year-old boy, he`s also the cop whose daughter, according to the police, dropped Rachael off at home minutes before Rachael

was gunned down.

And he`s also the same officer who while off duty, reportedly rushed his daughter back to that crime scene where he is then accused of possibly

contaminating the evidence at the murder scene. So the 17-year-old`s phone that was taken as part of the criminal investigation was actually how the

police detectives say they found the lewd video that the assistant police chief allegedly sent.

And while the police department is facing scrutiny for its assistant police chief, and its police sergeant, the officials are insisting that the third

officer who was put on leave, the actual police chief, Don Couch, has nothing to do with Rachael DelTondo`s death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MYRON SAINOVICH, ALIQUIPPA SOLICITOR: For personnel issues, they decided that they were going to place the chief of police on administrative leave.

Now, there`s been some speculation and some innuendo that this is in some way related to the DelTondo murder and things like that. That`s completely

false, all right.

[18:25:00] It has nothing to do with it. It`s an issue related to him and his performance with his job and with the police officers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to investigate the allegations that have been made, and look into whatever personnel issues there may be within the

department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Are you with me? Because it is really confusing. And here`s the problem with that, it shouldn`t be. It should be simple. A young woman is

gunned down in a hail of bullets and there`s a murder investigation done by the police. The police shouldn`t be part of a whole other mess. With me now

is John Paul. He`s the founder and reporter for "The Beaver Countian," also CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director Tom

Fuentes is with me, and trial attorney Randy Kessler whose head is about to pop off is also still with me.

First to you, John Paul, you have been doing such incredible reporting in your community about this. I don`t even know where to begin with the story

with you today because it seems every other day there`s a massive development. But put into context this most recent development for me, if

you will. And that is, that the man who filled in for the vacating police chief, who became the assistant police chief, has now been vacating himself

because of a lewd video. Explain the significance of this to me.

JOHN PAUL, FOUNDER & REPORTER, THE BEAVER COUNTIAN: Well, we literally had three different people in charge of one police department in under a week

is the situation. And from my perspective as a reporter, I`m finding that I am spending far more of my time reporting about the people doing the

investigating rather than the people being investigated.

And the law enforcement personnel I`ve spoken to, the chiefs of police in the county that I`ve spoken to, it seems to be a consensus concern that the

department in itself and the problems occurring in it, and the various issues that are arising, seem to be overshadowing the investigation of a

homicide of a 33-year-old woman who was gunned down on Mother`s Day in her parents` driveway.

BANFIELD: So, just real quickly, when you make inquiries to the police department, I don`t know what your treatment has been like, but regularly

our producers have been meet with people who yell at them, who tell them the chief`s not in the office today. That went on for a couple of weeks,

same story every day, chief`s not here today, and we`re not interested in hearing your questions. Are you able to get any headway as to whether the

murder investigation is actually moving forward?

PAUL: The murder investigation, there has been movement on it. I`m going to have some new reporting on that tonight. I`m not yet ready to report it

because I`m still waiting to hear back from a couple of sources on it. But it seems like I can tell you today the Aliquippa Police Department had

multiple cases in central court in the courthouse and the entire department did not show up to any of the cases that occurred because they had to have

a department-wide meeting about recent developments. So, literally central court for preliminary hearings today was devoid of any officers from this

department at all.

BANFIELD: Wow. Well, maybe they`re all, you know, afraid of this latest reporting. And I`m going to have to read something. You know, I just -- I`m

astounded that a 17-year-old homicide witness gets a text like this. And let me put it into context. I`m going to read the text, but this is the

allegation that the assistant police chief sends a text message to a family -- dad, mom and daughter -- daughter is 17, OK.

And the assistant police chief and the dad allegedly are pals, allegedly this is another police officer, although we have not gotten confirmation on

that, and John Paul, I don`t know if you do. Do you have confirmation that the assistant police chief --

PAUL: I do.

BANFIELD: OK. You have confirmation that the --

PAUL: Yeah, I have interviewed personnel, and indeed he did confirm that this is the Watkins.

BANFIELD: OK. So Sergeant Watkins who finds the murder victim in a steamy car a couple of years ago with a 17-year-old, who also rushes off duty to

the scene of that same teacher`s murder and allegedly contaminates the scene, brings along with him his 17-year-old daughter, is now in receipt of

a steamy, dirty text message video from the assistant police chief.

And let me just read for you what the text says. Uncle Perc is apparently the assistant police chief Joseph Perciavalle. That`s what Uncle Perc is in

the 17-year-old`s phone. He`s listed as Uncle Perc. The lewd video comes in of a half naked woman on a swing set urinating and it is sent to the 17-

year-old girl, her mom and her dad, Sergeant Watkins.

[18:30:01] The 17-year-old`s dad, Sergeant Watkins responds, wow. And the mom says really? And the mom says, perv. And then says my daughter`s too

young to see this. And Uncle Perc -- that`s assistant police chief Joseph Perciavalle says, shaking my head, she`s 21.

The mom says, 17. And Uncle Perc goes on to defend saying, and it`s a taking a pee. Uncle Perc continues to say like a true quip hood rat,

presumably Aliquippa hood rat. And the 17-year-old`s mom says, even worse.

So, do you have any idea -- well, so many questions, I guess, John. Do you have any idea why he would send a video like that to that family, why he

would include the 17-year-old daughter on that video, and what that video had to do with any of this?

PAUL,(via telephone): So what he told me on the record interview with him is that he had had a group message with that family on an unrelated topic

already on his phone. He said he got a copy of this video, as you described, and he told me that he sent it to just about every officer in

his department.

And one of the officers he intended to send it to was to Sergeant Watkins. And when he went to click on Sergeant Watkins` name to send him the video,

he clicked on that group message with the family and it went to the entire family.

BANFIELD: So you had me at he sends it to all officers. This is his defense. I sent that stuff to a -- he`s sending like pornographic dirty

material around to his fellow officers. This wasn`t an investigation. This wasn`t evidence. It`s a dirty me, right, a dirty me?

PAUL (via telephone): It`s actually a video of the woman swinging while she`s urinating. I`ve seen the text message.

BANFIELD: It`s not an investigation, though, correct? This isn`t something that the police department is working on. This is just, hey, everybody,

look at this funny dirty video I found?

PAUL (via telephone): Yeah. He was amused by it. It was sent as an active amusement.

BANFIELD: Tax dollars allegedly at work, nice to know. Tom Fuentes, I`m assuming that your head is about to pop off as a fellow law enforcement

officer, hearing that as the defense, as the defense for why the 17-year- old got the video in the first place, oh, she wasn`t supposed to get it. It was supposed to go out to her dad and all my fellow officers. Are you

kidding me?

TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: No. And I think now, Ashleigh, we have Uncle Perc has just become Uncle Perp. You know, it`s

disgraceful.

You have people that are supposed to be professional law enforcement officers, including an acting chief of police even trafficking this kind of

stuff, even possessing it on their phone or in their devices and sending it to anybody, much less the whole police department.

And, you know, Sergeant Watkins and his family, it`s just unbelievable to me. This whole town just sounds like it`s insane.

BANFIELD: So, can you answer me this, Tom? Why on earth would the state police not have already taken over this murder investigation? I mean, it

isn`t like it happened yesterday. It is fairly recent. But we are getting developments like this every couple of days.

And to me, I mean, I don`t work in law enforcement, but I think it`s a no brainer to say, it looks like you guys have a lot of confusion in your

midst, in your small town police department. And you`re not equipped at this time to take on something so grave as a murder like this. But that`s

not happening. Why?

FUENTES: No, I agree completely. It should happen. I think at this point it may not have happened because it sounded like the Beaver County

detectives are the ones that actually were working on this case, not the actual local police department itself. And that they had possession of the

phone and determined that that message has been sent.

But you`re right, I think it`s at a point now where there should be no question that the Pennsylvania state police should take this case over

because even the local county detectives would probably know these officers and it might be too close to the local police department. So just bring in

a whole set of investigators from the state police who have no involvement with this county.

BANFIELD: Right, clean it all up, start from a really clean slate.

FUENTES: Exactly.

BANFIELD: My apologies to all our viewers right now who are scratching their heads saying, what the, what the, where are you now? And he did what

now? Because is is complex and confusing. You do need a flowchart just to follow this murder investigation. That shouldn`t be the case.

As far as the former police chief, last week, it`s hard to even say that, but the police chief who was let go last week, I want to play for you this

interview that was taken by -- or that was done with the Aliquippa solicitor.

And the reason it`s significant is because it shows that not only is there turmoil this week, but last week the turmoil extended to other officers who

didn`t particularly have good things to say about their own chief in the midst of this very serious investigation. Have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[18:35:01] MYRON SAINOVICH, ALIQUIPPA SOLICITOR: It`s my understanding that some of the complaints are from rank and file. But I`m not privy to

all of the information that`s out there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): You think his own officers are complaining about him?

SAINOVICH: Some of the officers, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Randy Kessler, some of the officers were complaining about the chief. So the chief is turfed on paid leave. A new guy comes in and within

days he`s turfed because someone`s alleging that he sent this very filthy video to a 17-year-old friend`s daughter in an investigation into murder.

At this point, if you`re a defense attorney, looking down the road to a potential suspect and defendant in this murder case, is this all you need

to say, really, you think my guy`s guilty, from a police department like this? I mean, isn`t this just a ticket out of a murder case?

KESSLER: I think defense attorneys are jumping for joy. This is the definition of a cluster, not only state police, maybe the feds are going to

get involved. Somebody`s got to look at this just to make sure that the public feels comfortable that there`s an objective force in town looking at

their police force.

I mean, there are 12 or 13 policemen and these are three that are implicated. Absolutely, it`s a field day for the defense counsel.

BANFIELD: What a mess. And you know what, in all of this, let`s not forget Rachael DelTondo was gunned in a hail of bullets. And that is a person. And

that`s someone`s daughter. And she deserves justice. And this whole mess that has come of it is just tragic, senseless, and it better not scuttle

her justice.

My thanks to John Paul. John, you`ll have to join us tomorrow and let us know what this amazing break you`re going to have is later tonight. And Tom

Fuentes, thank you as well for your insight. Always appreciate it. Randy, as always, stay put.

Tennessee grandmother, I think it`s fair to say is in some serious hot water because of this video, video of her letting her grand kids out of dog

kennels. Look at this. They`re getting out of dog kennels in the back of her SUV. What do you suppose her explanation was? That`s next.

[18:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Sometimes you just don`t have enough room for everyone in the car. We have all been there. And some of us have taken the risk of cramming

a few more than three people maybe in the backseat or maybe putting someone all the way in the back of the SUV. Come on, you`ve done it, right? Short

drive, maybe.

But not everybody would do what one Tennessee woman did. Allegedly putting her own grand kids into dog kennels in the back of her Ford Explorer. A

sight that shocked both the concerned citizen who captured this video and the neighbors who know her best.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god, you`ve got to be playing. I can`t see her - - seriously?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a good neighbor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A very caring person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: The person they`re talking about is this woman. Her name is Leimome Cheeks. She`s now charged with child endangerment after police

tracked her down by her license plate. And by then the kids were in the backseat riding comfortably.

But they were just seven and eight years old. And they told the police all about how hot it was in those dog kennels when their grandmother drove them

20-plus miles on a 95-degree day.

I want to bring in "Crime and Justice" producer Justin Freiman and trial attorney Randy Kessler who is still with me. And I know you will have a lot

to say about this, Randy.

First, the straight reporting on this. Justin, was this a joke? Was this fun? Were the kids riding for fun? What was the story here?

FREIMAN: Oh, no. The kids say their grandmother actually told them there wasn`t enough room in the car and they would have to go in the back in

those kennels.

BANFIELD: And this is a 22-mile journey that would have taken over half an hour?

FREIMAN: Over half an hour, that`s right. And this video was actually taken just outside of Graceland, right near Graceland.

BANFIELD: Graceland?

FREIMAN: Yeah.

BANFIELD: So, there is Elvis component to this story?

FREIMAN: A little bit.

BANFIELD: So, the car that she`s in, the Ford Explorer, if you put the hatch down, you would not be able to open those doors to the kennel, right?

FREIMAN: That`s right. Not only that. That area in the back there is pretty much surrounded by windows, but no vents. So those kids said they

were hot and you better believe it on a day that went up to 95 degrees.

BANFIELD: Is that sweat on the back of the little girl`s purple shirt?

FREIMAN: It could very well be.

BANFIELD: So the person taking the video is somebody obviously saw something that just did not look right. But the other kennel is already

empty.

FREIMAN: Right, right, but then the other child apparently had already gotten out.

BANFIELD: Seven and eight years old. I want to play -- just this moment from this grandmother who obviously had to make a court appearance over

this one because she was arrested for this. The charge is child endangerment, two counts. This is what happened when a reporter caught up

with her and asked her, what the hell were you thinking? Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m sorry, I don`t have any comments for the media.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At all today, will you be talking at all today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, sir. No, sir.

[18:45:01] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us why you put the children in the kennel?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That would be a comment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are they?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That would be a comment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Randy, she seems pretty lucid. She knows full well, zip it, media, I`m sorry, but really, no comment on this one. How do you argue

this?

KESSLER: Oh, my goodness. You got to look at her mental history. You got to look at who entrusted her with the children. And the bottom line is that

the Department of Family and Children Services are government agencies that are going to step in hopefully and make sure this never happen again.

This woman doesn`t deserve to be left alone with children, period. Not her own children, not her own grandchildren or anybody.

BANFIELD: OK. I`m going to throw you for a loop here, you ready?

KESSLER: Yes.

BANFIELD: So, this looks awful, right? My god, who puts children in dog kennels, closes the door, and puts the hatch back down at 95 degrees with

no vents in the back? If you read the law in Tennessee, you don`t have to wear a seat belt if you`re in the backseat, if you are over 4`9" and you`re

between the ages of four and eight years old.

Is there anything to that? I mean, can you just sit anywhere you want in an SUV, in a dog crate, and there`s nothing illegal about it?

KESSLER: No, it`s clearly endangerment to a child. More importantly than the kennel is the heat and the heat factor. Where is the ventilation? You

can`t put someone in a position especially a minor where they`re going to suffering and where they`re going to be treated cruelly.

That`s clearly -- it`s the kind of law that you don`t need a law in the books to say you can`t put a kid in a kennel in the back of an SUV.

BANFIELD: I`m with you.

KESSLER: Can you imagine how many laws we have and you have to say you can do stupid stuff?

BANFIELD: I`m with you. But then I read that law, and I thought, oh, my god, I could see a loophole here.

KESSLER: No.

BANFIELD: All right. Randy, thank you. Justin, thank you for that. Then there`s this. If you needed to get off the ledge anymore. The mom of the

affluenza teen, remember him, Ethan Couch? So, mom is back behind bars again. We`ll tell you why. As is actor Vince Vaughn, smiling for his

mugshot. Why?

And then there`s this one. One of Casey Anthony`s former attorneys. Yeah, he`s headed to the slammer. "Crime and Justice" docket, straight ahead.

[18:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: We all know Casey Anthony is walking free after being acquitted in the killing of her daughter, Caylee. But one of her lawyers isn`t.

Instead, one of her former lawyers has just been told he`s going behind bars for the next 15 years of his life. That lawyer is Todd Macaluso.

Macaluso, tough one. Macaluso.

He was found guilty in an international plot to smuggle tens of millions of dollars worth of cocaine on his private jet. You heard right. Prosecutors

also say that Macaluso schemed with drug cartel members to bring the coke from Ecuador to Honduras to eventually be sold in the U.S. He was also

ordered to pay $10,000 in fines. And you might remember this, he was disbarred back in 2016.

Tonya Couch, mother of the so-called affluenza teenager, is back in jail again after violating bond by failing a drug test. If that sounds familiar,

you are right. This is the second time her bond has been revoked after failing the urinalysis test. Ms. Couch was charged with money laundering

and hindering apprehension after she and her son, Ethan, talk off to Mexico back in 2015.

Ethan Couch, you may remember, killed four people in that drunk driving accident, but he was spared from jail time after his defense argued

affluenza, affluenza, which sparked outrage and debate because that defense basically blamed his wealthy upbringing for not giving him a sense of

responsibility. Good one.

Recognize this guy? That, my friends, is actor Vince Vaughn, smiling in his mugshot. Booked early yesterday morning on suspicion of DUI after he was

stopped at a check point near Los Angeles.

The star of "Wedding Crashers" and "Dodgeball" and pretty much one of my favorite actors in the whole wide world was accused also of delaying the

investigation. Police say that Vince Vaughn was later released. He had an unidentified male passenger in his car with him who was also hauled into

jail.

And in Florida, the woman who pretended to be a nurse so that she could just snatch an hours-old newborn infant right out of her mother`s hospital

room has now been told that she will spend 18 years in prison.

It is the exact same amount of time that Gloria Williams raised that baby, Kamiyah Mobley, as her own child. Gloria Williams pleaded guilty to that

kidnapping last month, and she apologized to Kamiyah Mobley`s biological mother.

But the apology fell on deaf ears with Shanara Mobley, telling the court that Williams should be executed instead for stealing that baby. That is

not legal, but 18 years is.

A real housewife makes a real change in her life, putting down the bar glass, and picking up the barbells.

[18:55:01] Feast your eyes on Teresa Giudice and her latest triumph. We`ll explain, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:00:14] BANFIELD: One more thing for you tonight.

Reality star and New Jersey housewife Teresa Giudice, like you have never seen her before, flaunting her absolutely fabulous abs and her beautifully

sculpted new pecks at the national (INAUDIBLE) Jersey championships this weekend. According to "People" magazine, she has been in training for this

competition since last December. And it really paid off. She came in third place in the 40 and older bikini contest. Brava, Teresa.

I have been working on that since December.

Next hour of CRIME & JUSTICE starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had a baby and then I passed out, and now the baby is not responding.

BANFIELD (voice-over): At first she said she gave birth to an unresponsive baby.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s not doing anything and it is cold and it`s blue.

BANFIELD: And said she didn`t even know she was pregnant.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn`t know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s OK.

BANFIELD: But then cops found a second little baby in the trash.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was only one, I think. I only felt one.

BANFIELD: And then found an internet search, all about birth. Did this mom kill her brand new baby twins? And if not, why would she change her

story from having one baby to having more?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: None of them made any noise or anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many was there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was two.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was two.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they were both dead, and I got scared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ms. Deltondo, it was (INAUDIBLE). Didn`t involve anybody. She didn`t hurt anyone.

BANFIELD: A stunning young teacher is murdered and we still don`t know who did it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are investigating everyone that was driving around Aliquippa that night.

BANFIELD: But is the police department investigating her death falling apart at the scene?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officers complaining about him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of the officers, yes.

BANFIELD: And why was an assistant chief just arrested for sending a dirty video to a teenage girl at the center of it all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s no allegations that he has done anything as far as illegal.

BANFIELD: Is this just one unlucky town or is something else afoot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are a lot of people who are trying to link a lot of things together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God, you have got to be --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seriously?

BANFIELD: Plus, Tennessee kept in dog kennels.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I sincerely hope that this would be a one-time incident. But I doubt it.

BANFIELD: Why her grandmother said she put them there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think she knew it was wrong.

BANFIELD: And how long she could end up behind bars herself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

Being charged with murder in Florida means you could very well lose your freedom. Being charged with two murders in Florida means you could very

well lose your life. And when the murder victims are newborn babies, the gloves come off in court, especially if you lie to the police.

Based on some pretty damning videotape, things are not looking good for Rachel Thomas. She is a Florida mom of two now facing a murder rap. The

woman who swore up and down that she did not know she was pregnant and the woman who swore up and down that she had only given birth to a single,

unresponsive baby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn`t know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s OK. Was the baby crying when you first -- when you first gave birth? No, you don`t remember if the baby was crying or

anything like that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I don`t know. It`s a really good thing all of that was caught on tape. Because what Rachel Thomas told the police next started to sound

a little bit different.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was only one, I think. I only felt one. Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean you only felt one?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I only saw one. None of them made any noise or anything else.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. How many was there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was two.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was two?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they were both dead. And I got scared.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: There were, indeed, two, two babies because not long after Rachel`s little boy was pronounced dead at the hospital, police made a

little discovery at that home. They found his lifeless twin sister in a trash can outside of Rachel`s house. And it probably doesn`t help that

police say Rachel looked up how to induce labor about a week before her frantic 911 call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like I said, we are treating it as a death investigation up to this point. But I had to interview you to speak with

you to figure out, you know, what all happened. It`s odd. It`s not normal for people to have kids in toilets. You know, so to say. It`s kind of

like a puzzle piece right now. We have got to connect all the dots and make sure everything lines up and everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:05:14] BANFIELD: Want to bring in my panel, Ray Caputo, anchor and reporter for News 96.5 WDBO, also certified death investigator and

professor of forensic at Jacksonville State University Joseph Scott Morgan. Trial attorney Randy Kessler is with me as well.

Ray Caputo, if I can begin with you, I did not believe this was possible for a woman to make a claim that she didn`t know she was pregnant, yet gave

birth to twins who were near full term. And when I say near, like one week before full term.

But that`s the story that we have here. This is what the police are alleging, that she said she didn`t know she was pregnant. She gave birth

to those babies, and they say she murdered them at that home.

CAPUTO: Yes, Ashleigh. If you review this case, it`s just lie after lie coming from Rachel Thomas. Like you said, I don`t know how a woman

couldn`t know that she was pregnant, not only with a baby, but with twins. And, you know what, if you go down the list of things she told the

investigators it all makes sense because again, it`s lie after lie after lie from Rachel Thomas.

BANFIELD: How did they -- what condition was that little baby girl? And like who did they actually discover her? What was done to her?

CAPUTO: It`s absolutely disgusting. In Florida waste management supplies these big trash cans. And they found this child stuffed under disgusting

trash, including a bag of kitty litter. And the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. Now, later, the autopsy later showed that she did die of

natural uh causes, you know, she was hit, blunt force trauma, and she was asphyxiated. We don`t know how but nevertheless, she was choked some way.

BANFIELD: And the little boy, the male newborn, he was not choked, but however, he suffered the same sort of injuries as the little girl?

CAPUTO: Yes, blunt force trauma. And they haven`t found a murder weapons. But that could mean a lot of things. I mean, these are precious little

newborn infants. They are so delicate. So she could have smashed their head on the sink. There was blood found on the sink in the bathtub. They

didn`t find a murder weapon but there was a lot of ways that she could have killed those precious little children.

BANFIELD: And of course, these are all allegations right now. She is facing two charges of first degree murder. She is also facing aggravated

child abuse and tampering with the physical evidence which Ray would speak to the condition they found that little girl in, underneath kitty litter

wrapped in a plastic bag in a trash can.

Joseph k Scott Morgan, you know, we can`t show a lot of -- there is a lot we can`t show on investigation. In this particular case we 100 percent

cannot show any aspect of the condition that that little baby girl was found in. But I have seen it and I know you have as well.

And the reason I want to speak about the way that this baby was found was so that anybody watching doesn`t think that this was maybe easy to mistake

as a person. Looked like a bunch of flesh or tissue. That was not the case at all. Can you describe in the most television friendly way the

photograph that you saw?

JOSEPH SCOTT MORGAN, CERTIFIED DEATH INVESTIGATOR: There was a beautiful little head of hair, Ash, absolutely the reporter hit it right on the head.

This was an angel. The child had the cord wrapped around her neck. And she has changed colors, if you will, almost what we refer to as cyanotic.

That means that she has kind of a purple discoloration to her body, gives us an indication that this child was potentially that this child was alive

at some point in time. Of course, that will be told out fully as this case develops. But nonetheless, this was a beautiful little child that`s now

gone and discarded, just like she was garbage.

BANFIELD: And I want to just describe for the audience, if I can, the image that was photographed by the police of the crime scene. The baby was

in the plastic bag, the plastic bag had been pulled away from this baby and it was 100 percent visible. This child was 100 percent visible and looked

almost larger than a newborn, I will to be honest.

MORGAN: Yes.

BANFIELD: Yes. There was a police officer`s shoe in the frame. So you can see the relative size of the baby. And it looks to be that the baby is

only another one-third longer, say, than the male police officer`s shoe. So I`m going to guess maybe around 20 inches or so. I mean, it looked like

a full term, non-twin, you know, a six to eight pound newborn.

[19:10:09] MORGAN: Yes. And keep in mind, ash, as you well know, you are a mommy, and I`m a daddy. So it`s well within range of survivability, of

viability as it is put. You talk about being one week shy of full term here. That child could have potentially been viable if, in fact, the child

was born in a loving, careful way where the child was not just simply discarded. And we haven`t even talked about the child that made its way to

the hospital.

BANFIELD: Right. And they both had the blunt force trauma.

MORGAN: Right.

BANFIELD: This is the police interview with Rachel Thomas. And this is where they had to ferret out the lies that Ray Caputo was telling us about

specifically when she called 911 and said I have a baby unresponsive and it`s been a couple hours. That was a big red flag.

MORGAN: Yes.

BANFIELD: But eventually they get to the reality of was there another baby? And listen to how they got that out of her. Have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You advised me earlier that you did not know that you were pregnant.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, and everything was fine and stuff. And I hadn`t gained much weight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me explain something to you, Rachel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I do investigations, I deal with truths and lies. Let me ask you this. How many kids did you deliver today? Be honest with

me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think only one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We will try this again. How many kids did you deliver today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was only one, I think. I only felt one. Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean you only felt one?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I only saw one. He just stopped breathing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who stopped breathing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The baby?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which one?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was another one?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s what I`m asking you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know. I got panicked. I got scared. I started cleaning up. None of them made any noise or anything else.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. How many was there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was two.

There was two?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then they were both dead and then I got scared. I got so scared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got so scared.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Randy Kessler, she says I didn`t know I was pregnant. She says its lots of times. She said it on the 911 call. She said it in the

interrogation. And then just led on accidentally plural until the detective nailed her down on it. There were two.

This is a 30-year-old woman, Randy, who had two other children. She is not a first time mom. How is that going to go over, you know, in a court of

law if it ever makes it there in terms of believability that you don`t even know you are pregnant when you`ve already had two children prior to these

twins?

KESSLER: About the only honest thing she said was that she got scared. I think that`s believable because she knew she did something wrong.

You know, the good news for the prosecution is that she called the police. She called 911. This wasn`t an arrest where she was not red her rights.

And then she started blurring out admissions. I mean, she started the conversation to not only are the facts and the science going to implicate

her, her own words are going to doom her. This is a case where the prosecution is going to get a plea or they are going to put her away for

good. She may be getting the death penalty.

BANFIELD: Well, you know, God, two babies, two babies who were near full term, a week from full term. That just looks full term, I`m going to say

it. They were 39 weeks, they were effectively considered full term.

KESSLER: A lot of people would be happy to get kids that far along.

BANFIELD: Would they ever, right?

Joseph Scott Morgan, there is another disturbing details on this. There`s a couple of disturbing details in the way these babies were killed. Blunt

force trauma to the head, but the little girl had some kind of an asphyxiation, some sort of gauging. There was something whether it was

gauze or tissue or something that was stuffed down into her mouth. Can you make any sense of that?

MORGAN: Yes. Potentially as a fail-safe, in order to guarantee that the child would not survive, if that is, in fact, the case, there is no

expectation you are going to find a foreign object in a newborn`s mouth and let alone down into the airway. That`s the way it sounds to me. And it

wouldn`t take very much to occlude the airway or to block the airway on a small little fragile child like this.

The reporter alluded to something quite fascinating a moment ago. He was talking about how was blunt force trauma facilitated, on these children?

Ash, let`s be real here. These children are fragile. These are newborns. It doesn`t take much. This can be easily accomplished with an individual`s

bare hands.

BANFIELD: Joe, she said that they hit the toilet.

MORGAN: No.

BANFIELD: She said the babies hit the toilet. Is there any chance that newborn babies bumping into the toilet might be blunt force trauma enough

to kill them?

MORGAN: Not from that height. You would have to go a long way to convince me of that. This is a very short distance, if she did, in fact, deliver

into the toilet that these children would have had to have fallen. So therefore, that leads us to another path. We have to consider both of

these children sustained, according to the authorities, blunt force trauma to the skull. And it doesn`t sound as if it`s a one off kind of thing.

[19:15:18] BANFIELD: So distressing. And you know, what else is distressing? There were little children`s toys apparently all over the

home for the other two children. So I mean, this could have been a -- could have been, whatever, so much, right?

There`s the picture. Look at that. This is the home in which those two children were allegedly born into, and allegedly murdered. Thanks to the

Florida state attorneys for providing us with those pictures.

Also, my thanks to Ray Caputo for the reporting.

Joe, always good to have. Thank you.

And Randy Kessler, I`m going to stay on, if you would.

We still do not know who killed Rachael Deltondo, that gorgeous young teacher who was gunned down on her mom`s driveway on mother`s day. But

there`s another mystery out of that town tonight. Why would one of the officers investigating Rachel`s murder send a video of a half-naked woman

urinating to the teenage girl at the center of the investigation? Yes, bizarre, I know. And it`s next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:21:03] BANFIELD: Tonight, police in Pennsylvania are on the hunt for the person who gunned down a teacher on her mom`s driveway on mother`s day.

And not just any teacher, this teacher. This teacher who was once caught by a police sergeant with a 17-year-old boy in a steamy car.

But now there`s another teenage victim in the mix. And this one is both connected to Rachael Deltondo`s death, and also involved in the

investigation itself. Because in a very bizarre twist to a very bizarre story, that teenager has apparently been on the receiving end of a lewd

video, the cops say it`s from the man who was leading the police department. Are you with me?

Let`s start with the assistant police chief, Joe Percival. He was just arrested after he allegedly sent a video to a 17-year-old girl of a half-

naked woman urinating. To be fair, he apparently, he seized the girl`s parents on that email with whom he assumingly pretty friendly.

Reports say the 17-year-old girl`s dad, in another twist, is also involved into the investigation of the dead woman`s murder because he was apparently

the officer who found that teacher with the teenager in a steamy car three years ago.

Now, that officer, Sergeant Kenneth Watkins, is joining two other officers who`ve been put on leave since the teacher`s murder. And that effectively

brings that town`s police squad down about 20 percent.

And you see Kenneth Watkins, here in the upper right, the officer who reported to the steamy car, he is not charged with any crimes related to

the teacher`s death. But apart from being the cop who found reportedly found Rachael in the car with the 17-year-old boy, he is also the cop whose

daughter, according to the police, dropped Rachael off at home minutes before Rachael was gunned down. And he is also the same officer who while

off duty reportedly rushed his daughter back to that crime scene where he is then accused of possibly contaminating the evidence at the murder scene.

So the 17-year-old`s phone that was taken as part of the criminal investigation was actually how the police detectives say they found the

lewd video that the assistant police chief allegedly sent. And while the police department is facing scrutiny for its assistant police chief, and

its police sergeant, the officials are insisting that the third officer who was put on leave, the actual police chief, Don Couch, has nothing to do

with Rachael Deltondo`s death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MYRON SALNOVICH, ALIQUIPPA SOLICITOR: For personnel issues, they decided that they were going to place the chief of police on administrative leave.

Now, there has been some speculation and some innuendo that this is in some way related to the Deltondo murder and things like that. That`s completely

false, all right. That has nothing to do with it. It`s an issue related to him and his performance with his job and with the police officers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to investigate the allegations that have been made, and look into whatever personnel issues there may be within the

department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Are you with me? Because it is really confusing.

And here`s the problem with that, it shouldn`t be. It should be simple. A young woman is gunned down in a hail of bullets. And there`s a murder

investigation done by the police. The police shouldn`t be part of a whole other mess.

With me now is John Paul. He is the founder and reporter for "the Beaver Countian." Also, CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI

assistant director, Tom Fuentes, is with me. And trial attorney Randy Kessler whose head is about to pop off is also still with me.

First to you, John Paul, you have been doing such incredible reporting in your community about this. I don`t even know where to begin with the story

with you today because it seems every other day there`s a massive development. But put into context this most recent development for me, if

you will. And that is, that the man who filled in for the vacating police chief, who became the assistant police chief, has now been vacating himself

because of a lewd video. Explain the significance of this to me.

[19:25:33] PAUL(on the phone): Well, we literally had three different people in charge of one police department in under a week is the situation.

And from my perspective as a reporter, I`m finding that I am spending far more of my time reporting about the people doing the investigating rather

than the people being investigated. And the law enforcement personnel I have spoken to, the chiefs of police in the county that I have spoken to,

it seems to be a consensus concern that the department itself and the problems occurring in it, and the various issues that are arising, seem to

be overshadowing the investigation of a homicide of a 33-year-old woman who was gunned down on mother`s day in her parents` driveway.

BANFIELD: So just real quickly, when you make inquiries to the police department, I don`t know what your treatment has been like. But regularly

our producers have been met with people who yell at them, who tell them the chief`s not in the office today. That went on for a couple of weeks, same

story every day, chief`s not here today, and we`re not interested in hearing your questions. Are you able to get any headway as to whether the

murder investigation is actually moving forward?

PAUL: The murder investigation, there has been movement on it. I`m going to have new reporting on it tonight. I`m not yet ready to report it

because I`m still waiting here by for a couple sources on it. But it seems like I can tell you today the Aliquippa police department had multiple

cases in central court in the courthouse, and the entire department did not show up to any cases that occurred because they had to have a department-

wide meeting about recent developments. So literally, central court for preliminary hearings today was devoid of any officers from this department

at all.

BANFIELD: Wow. Well, maybe they are all, you know, afraid of this latest reporting. And I`m going to have to read something. You know, I just --

I`m astounded that a 17-year-old homicide witness gets a text like this. And let me put it into context. I`m going to read the text. But this is

the allegation that the assistant police chief sends a text message to a family. Dad, mom and daughter. Daughter`s 17, OK? And the assistant

police chief and the dad allegedly are pals, allegedly this is another police officer, although we have not gotten confirmation on that. John

Paul, I don`t know if you do. Do you have confirmation that the assistant police chief --? OK.

PAUL: Yes, I have interviewed personnel, and he did confirm that this is the Watkins.

BANFIELD: OK. So Sergeant Watkins who finds the murder victim in a steamy car a couple of years ago with a 17-year-old, who also rushes off duty to

the scene of that same teacher`s murder, and allegedly contaminates the scene, brings along with him his 17-year-old daughter, is now in receipt of

a steamy, dirty text message video from the assistant police chief.

And let me just read for you what the text said.

Uncle Perk is apparently the assistant police Chief Joseph Percival. That`s what Uncle Perk is in the 17-year-old`s phone. He`s listed as uncle

perk. The lewd video comes in of a half-naked woman on a swing set urinating and it is sent to the 17-year-old girl, her mom and her dad

Sergeant Watkins. The 17-year-old`s dad, Sergeant Watkins responds, wow. And the mom says really? And the mom says, perv. And then says my

daughter`s too young to see this. And uncle Perk, that`s assistant police chief Joseph Percival says shaking my head, she`s 21. The mom says -- 17.

And Uncle Perk goes on to defend it saying and it is a girl taking a fee.

Uncle Perk continues to say like a true quip hood rat, presumably Aliquippa (INAUDIBLE). And the 17-year-old`s mom says even worse.

So do you have any idea -- well, so many questions. I guess, John. Do you have any idea why he would send a video like that to that family, why he

would include the 17-year-old daughter on that video? What that video had to do with any of this?

PAUL: So what he told me in my On the Record interview with him is that he had had a group message with that family on an unrelated topic already on

his phone.

[19:30:00] He said he got a copy of this video, as you described, and he told me that he sent it to just about every officer in his department. And

one of the officers he intended to send it to was to Sergeant Watkins, and when he went to click on Sergeant Watkins name to send him a video, he

clicked on that group message with the family and it went off to the entire family.

BANFIELD: Wait, so you had me at, he send it to all officers. This is his defense? I send that stuff to -- he`s sending like pornographic dirty

material around to his fellow officers? This wasn`t an investigation, this wasn`t evidence. This is a dirty meme, right, a dirty meme?

PAUL: It`s actually a video of the woman swinging while she is urinating. I`ve seen the text message (INAUDIBLE)

BANFIELD: It`s not an investigation, though, correct? This isn`t something that the police department is working on. This is just, hey,

everybody, look at this funny, dirty video I found?

PAUL: Yes, he was amused by it. It was sent as an act of amusement.

BANFIELD: Tax dollars allegedly at work, nice to know. Tom Fuentes, I`m assuming that your head is about to pop off as a fellow law enforcement

officer, hearing that as the defense, as the defense for why the 17-year- old got the video in the first place, oh, she wasn`t supposed to get it. It was just supposed to go out to her dad and all my other fellow officers.

Please, are you kidding me?

FUENTES: No, and I think now, Ashleigh, we have uncle Perk has just become uncle perp. You know, it`s disgraceful that you have people that are

supposed to be professional law enforcement officers including an acting chief of police, even trafficking this kind of stuff, even possessing it on

their phone, or in their devices, and sending it to anybody, much less the whole police department and, you know, to Sergeant Watkins and his family,

it`s just unbelievable to me. This whole town just sounds like it`s insane.

BANFIELD: So, can you answer me this, Tom? Why on earth would the state police not have already taken over this murder investigation? I mean, it

isn`t like it happened yesterday. It is fairly recent. But we are getting developments like this every couple of days. And to me, I mean, I don`t

work in law enforcement, but I think it`s a no brainer to say, it looks like you guys have a lot of confusion in your midst, in your small town

police department. And you`re not equipped at this time to take on something so grave as a murder like this. But that`s not happening. Why?

FUENTES: No, I agree completely. It should happen. I think at this point, it may not have happened because it sounded like the Beaver County

detectives are the ones that actually were working on this case, not the actual local police department itself. And that they had possession of the

phone and determined that that message has been sent. But you`re right, I think it`s at a point now where there should be no question that the

Pennsylvania State Police should take this case over because even the local county detectives would probably know these officers and it might be too

close to the local police department. So, just bring in a whole set of investigators from the state police who have no involvement with this

county.

BANFIELD: Right, clean it all up, start from a really clean slate.

FUENTES: Exactly. Exactly.

BANFIELD: And, like, my apologies to all our viewers right now who are scratching their heads, saying what the, what the, where are you now, and

he did what now? Because it is complex and confusing, and you do need a flowchart just to follow this murder investigation. That shouldn`t be the

case. As far as the former police chief, last week, it`s hard to even say that, but the police chief who was let go last week -- I want to play for

you this interview that was taken by -- or that was done with the Aliquippa solicitor. And the reason it`s so significant is because it shows that not

only is there -- this turmoil this week, but last week, the turmoil extended to other officers who didn`t particularly have good things to say

about their own chief in the midst of this very serious investigation. Have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MYRON SAINOVICH, ALIQUIPPA SOLICITOR: It`s my understanding that some of the complaints are from rank and file. But I`m not privy to all of the

information that`s out there. What`s happen --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s having his own officers complaining about him.

SAINOVICH: Some of the officers, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Randy Kessler, some of the officers were complaining about the chief. So, the chief is turfed to unpaid leave. A new guy comes in and

within days, he`s turfed because someone`s alleging that he sent this very filthy video to a 17-year-old friend`s daughter in an investigation into

murder. At this point, if you`re a defense attorney, looking down the road to a potential suspect and defendant in this murder case, is this all you

need to say, really, you think my guy`s guilty, from a police department like this? I mean, isn`t this just a ticket out of -- out of a murder

case?

[19:34:55] KESSLER: I think defense attorneys are jumping for joy. This is the definition of a cluster, not only state police, maybe the Feds are

going to get involved. Somebody`s got to look at this just to make sure that the public feels comfortable that there`s an objective force in town

looking at their police force. I mean, they had 12 or 13 policemen. And these are three that are implicated. And I mean, absolutely, it`s a field

day for the defense counsel.

BANFIELD: What a mess. And you know what, in all of this, let`s not forget Rachael DelTondo was gunned in a hail of bullets. And that is a

person, and that`s someone`s daughter. And she deserves justice. And this whole mess that has come of it is just tragic, senseless, and it better not

scuttle her justice.

My thanks to John Paul. John, you`ll have to join us tomorrow and let us know what this amazing break you`re going to have is later tonight. And

Tom Fuentes, thank you as well for your insight, always appreciate it. Randy, as always, stay put.

Tennessee grandmother, I think it`s fair to say is in some serious hot water because of this video, video of her letting her grandkids out of dog

kennels. Look at this. They`re getting out of dog kennels in the back of her SUV. What do you suppose her explanation was? That`s next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:41:09] BANFIELD: Sometimes you just don`t have enough room for everyone in the car. We have all been there. And some of us have taken

the risk of cramming a few more than three people, maybe, in the backseat or maybe putting someone all the way in the back of the SUV. Come on,

you`ve done it, right? Short drive, maybe, but not everybody would do what one Tennessee woman did, allegedly putting her own grandkids into dog

kennels in the back of her Ford Explorer, a sight that shocked both the concerned citizen who captured this video, and the neighbors who know her

best.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God, you`ve got to be playing. I can`t see her like that -- seriously?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a good neighbor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s a real caring person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: That person they`re talking about is this woman. Her name is Leimome Cheeks. And she`s now charged with child endangerment after police

tracked her down by her license plate. And by then the kids were in the backseat riding comfortably. But they were just 7 and 8 years old, and

they told the police all about how hot it was in those dog kennels when their grandmother drove them 20 plus miles on a 95-degree day. I want to

bring in CRIME & JUSTICE producer Justin Freiman, and then trial attorney Randy Kessler who`s still with me. And I know you`ll have a lot to say

about this, Randy. But first, this straight reporting on this, Justin, was this a joke? Was this fun? Were the kids riding for fun? Or, what was

the story here?

FREIMAN: Oh, no, the kids say that their grandmother actually told them there wasn`t enough room in the car and they would have to go in the back

in those kennels.

BANFIELD: And this is a 22-mile journey that would have taken over a half an hour?

FREIMAN: Over half an hour, that`s right. And this video was actually taken just outside of Graceland, right near Graceland.

BANFIELD: Graceland.

FREIMAN: Yes.

BANFIELD: So, there`s an Elvis component to this story?

FREIMAN: A little bit.

BANFIELD: So, the car that she`s in, the Ford Explorer, if you put that hatch down, you would not be able to open those doors to the kennel, right?

FREIMAN: That`s right, and not only that, that area in the back there is pretty much surrounded by windows, but no vents. So, those kids said they

were hot, and you better believe it on that day that went up to 95 degrees.

BANFIELD: Is that sweat on the back of the little girl`s purple shirt as she`s walking?

FREIMAN: It could very well be.

BANFIELD: So, the person taking the video is somebody obviously saw something that just did not look right. But the other kennel is already

empty.

FREIMAN: Right, right, by then the other -- the other child apparently had already gotten out.

BANFIELD: 7 and 8 years old. I want to play just this moment from this grandmother who obviously had to make a court appearance over this one

because she was arrested for this. The charges child endangerment, two counts. This is what happened when a reporter caught up with her and asked

her, what the hell were you thinking? Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEIMOME CHEEKS, DEFENDANT: I`m sorry, I don`t have any comments for the media.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At all today, will you be talking at all today?

CHEEKS: No, sir, no, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us why you put the children in the kennel?

CHEEKS: That would be a comment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are they? Do you know?

CHEEKS: That would be a comment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

CHEEKS: I`m sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Randy, she seems pretty lucid. She knows full-well, zip it, media, I`m sorry, but really, no comment on this one. How do you argue

this?

KESSLER: Oh, my goodness, I mean, you got to look at her mental history, you got to look at who entrusted her with the children, and the bottom line

is the Department of Family and Children Services are government agencies are going to step in hopefully and make sure this never happens again.

This woman doesn`t deserve to be left alone with children, period, not her own children, not her own grandchildren, or anybody. And I think the

(INAUDIBLE)

BANFIELD: OK. I`m going to throw you for a loop here. Are you ready?

KESSLER: OK. Yes.

BANFIELD: So, this looks awful, right? My God, who puts children in dog kennels, closes the door and puts the hatch back down in 95 degrees with no

vents in the back?

[19:45:01] But then, if you read the law in Tennessee, you don`t have to wear a seatbelt if you`re in the backseat, if you are over 4`9", and you`re

between the ages of 4 and 8 years old. Is there anything to that? I mean, can you just sit anywhere you want in an SUV, in a dog crate, and there`s

nothing illegal about it?

KESSLER: No, it`s clearly endangerment to a child, more importantly than the kennel is the heat and the heat factor. I mean, where`s the

ventilation? You can`t put someone in a position, especially a minor, where they`re going to suffer and where they`re going to be treated

cruelly. That`s clearly -- it`s the kind of law that you don`t need a law in the books to say you can`t put a kid in a kennel in the back of an SUV.

BANFIELD: I`m with you.

KESSLER: Can you imagine how many laws we have if you have to say you can`t do stupid stuff?

BANFIELD: No, I`m with you. I`m with you. But then I read that law, and I said, oh my God, I could see a loophole here.

KESSLER: No.

BANFIELD: All right. Randy, thank you. Justin, thank you for that. Then there`s this, if you needed to get off the ledge anymore, the mom of the

affluenza teen, remember him? Ethan Couch. So, mom is back behind bars again. We`ll tell you why. As is actor Vince Vaughn smiling for his mug

shot. Why? And then there`s this one, one of Casey Anthony`s former attorneys, yes, he`s headed to the slammer. CRIME & JUSTICE docket,

straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:51:04] BANFIELD: We all know Casey Anthony is walking free after being acquitted in the killing of her daughter Caylee, but one of her lawyers

isn`t. Instead, one of her former lawyers has just been told he`s going behind bars for the next 15 years of his life. That lawyer is Todd

Malacuso -- Macaluso, that`s tough one -- Macaluso. He was found guilty in an international plot to smuggle tens of millions of dollars` worth of

cocaine on his private jet. You heard right. Prosecutors also say that Macaluso schemed with drug cartel members to bring the coke for Ecuador to

Honduras to eventually be sold in the U.S. He was also ordered to pay $10,000 in fines and you might remember this, he was disbarred back in

2016.

Tonya Couch, mother of the affluenza teenager is back in jail again after violating bond by failing a drug test, and if that sounds familiar, you are

right. This is the second time that her bond has been revoked after failing the urinalysis test. Ms. Couch was charged with money laundering

and hindering apprehension after she and her son Ethan took off to Mexico back in 2015. Ethan Couch, you may remember, killed four people in that

drunk driving accident but he was spared from jail time after his defense argued affluenza. Affluenza, which sparked outrage and debate because that

defense, basically, blamed his wealthy upbringing for not giving him a sense of responsibility. Good one.

Recognize this guy? That my friends is actor Vince Vaughn smiling in his mug shot. Booked early yesterday morning on suspension of DUI after he was

stopped at a check point near Los Angeles. The star of "Wedding Crashers" and "Dodgeball" and pretty much one of my favorite actors in the whole wide

world was accused also of delaying the investigation. Police say that Vince Vaughn was later released, yet an unidentified male passenger in his

car with him who was also hauled into jail.

And in Florida, the woman who pretended to be a nurse so that she could just snatch an hour`s old newborn infant right out of her mother`s hospital

room, has now been told that she will spend 18 years in prison. It is the exact same amount of time that Gloria Williams raised that baby, Kamiyah

Mobley, as her own child. Gloria Williams pleaded guilty to that kidnapping last month and she apologize to Kamiyah Mobley`s biological

mother. But the apology fell on deaf ears with Shanara Mobley, telling the court that Williams should be executed instead for stealing that baby.

That is not legal but 18 years is.

A real housewife makes a real change in her life putting down the bar glass and picking up the barbells. Feast your eyes on Teresa Giudice and her

latest triumph. We`ll explain straight ahead.

[19:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Got "ONE MORE THING" for you tonight. Teresa Giudice, real housewife who has never shied away from a challenge. So, it should come as

no surprise that her body-building debut was jaw dropping. She showed off her ripped abs and her chiselled packs at the National Physique Committee

South Jersey Championships over the weekend. According to People Magazine, she`s been in training for this since last December and it sure did pay off

for her. She entered the contest in the 40 and older bikini division and she came in a respectable third out of seven competitors.

What do you eat when you win something like that? I just eat a lot, I think. See you back here tomorrow night, 6:00 Eastern. Thanks so much for

watching tonight. "FORENSIC FILES" begins right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The medical examiner ruled the death an accident.

END