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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield

Family Eyed In Dad`s Mysterious Boating Death; Man Flies Into Home To Kill Wife; Richard Russell; convicted murderer, Scott Peterson. Aired 6- 8p ET

Aired August 14, 2018 - 18:00   ET

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


[18:00:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks for watching. Good night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prison is recording basically recording a body at the shore line.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A couple goes cruising on a cold winter`s day. But only one of them makes it back alive. She told police her husband fell

overboard, but there were no signs of drowning when his body washed up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That betrayal of trust.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a deadly dose of medicine. So why did she go on the run? While also accused of stealing from her company?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are a non-profit organization. It does really good things.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did she take her husband`s life as well as thousands of dollars?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is important to see justice be done. There are consequences to actions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was in a lot of pain. He was hurting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was arrested for hitting his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They had been drinking. He assaulted her. And witnesses saw this happening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said, I love you. Good luck. I`ll see you tomorrow. He said, I love you, too, he got in his truck and drove away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But hours later, he was back home crashing the company plane right through the roof.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a significant fireball. So like there is not a whole lot left of the plane, itself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somehow, his wife and her son survived.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s pretty amazing, actually, that they were able to get out without any injuries. A miracle, I think.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But tonight, that man is dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I miss my dad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was he trying to kill the family?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is not this person that is being portrayed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was an amazing man and would do absolutely anything for anyone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I receive a phone call and the devastating words that forever changed my life. Lacy`s missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lacy`s missing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She has been missing since Christmas Eve.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody out there knowing something, I wish they`d come forward.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We feel Scott has nothing to do with this, with the disappearance of Lacy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing to do with Lacy`s disappearance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is infamous for killing his pregnant wife and dumping her body in the bay.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can hear Lucy saying to me, mom, please finds me and Connor, and bring us home. I`m scared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scott Peterson has been arrested.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scott Peterson was the last one that saw her today. There were so many witnesses who saw her walking in the neighborhood after

I left.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, he is trying to get off death row.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He murdered my child. So as far as I`m concerned, he is where he needs to be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His own sister-in-law says he is guilty, but only of cheating on his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In my mind, we could be wonderful together and I could, I could care for you in any and every way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to express my sympathy to Lacy`s family. I just want to lead a normal life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is Scott Peterson an innocent man who is going to lose his life?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want the country to know our son is innocent. Someone took Lacy and the baby`s life and we`re going to find them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Or has he just fooled his own family?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is grateful that we`re speaking the truth on his behalf.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is grieving for his wife and child. So I`m speaking out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST, HLN CRIME AND JUSTICE: Good evening, everyone, I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is "Crime and Justice."

When a body washes up on the shore of a lake, it is natural to think someone drowned. And you`d be right 99 percent of the time, but Larry

Eilenberg did not drown. Far from it. Larry Eisenberg was found with a deadly level of diphenhydramine, the antihistamine allergy was coursing

through his vain. In fact, he had up to 70 times the normal dose, which most people probably wouldn`t give to themselves, especially before taking

a little lake cruise with their wife in the dead of winter, but that is allegedly how Larry Eisenberg spent his last hours. His wife Lori, telling

the police he fell overboard while fixing the motor and then disappeared under the water, but Lori got a little harder to talk to after Larry`s body

resurfaced. Because Lori went on the run. She was about to be charged with grand theft and forgery after allegedly stealing $500,000 from a non-

profit where she had been working.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[18:05:04] KERRI THORESON, BOARD PRESIDENT, NORTH IDAHO HOUSING COALITION: That betrayal of trust. Where a non-profit organization does really good

things. And I think we`re all really just determined that one person and their bad deeds will not destroy the organization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: But Lori Eisenberg is about to answer for those alleged bad deeds, because she is turned herself in and now she is preparing for trial,

but she is also under investigation for that strange death of her husband. And the question tonight is whether she took his life along with all that

money.

Joining me now, Nate Eaton is the News Director of East Idaho news.com. Also a retired detective and forensic specialist, Karen Smith is with us.

Defense attorney Troy Slaten is here. And on the phone Dr. Tim Gallagher, medical examiner and forensic pathologist. Thank you all for joining me.

Nate, if I can begin with you, why did Lori Eisenberg run?

NATE EATON, NEWS DIRECTOR, EAST IDAHO NEWS.COM: Well, that is the big question. You know, this goes back to February. She was under

investigation by the North Idaho Housing Coalition. This is a coalition that provides housing for middle-to-lower income families. She was under

investigation and on February 13th, a bitter cold morning, she and Larry decide to go for a sunrise cruise, according to her.

While they`re on this crews she says that he stood up, felt a little sick and then fell into the water. She didn`t call police for two hours, she

said she haven`t have her phone with her and she didn`t know that Larry`s phone was on the boat. But when she came back to shore, and called

authorities, she had a nose bleed. She said it was because she went to grab him as he fell in, but things didn`t seem right to the authorities.

One thing led to another and she ended up being charged with 40 counts of embezzlement from her job, the non-profit job. And then she took off. She

took off months later and wasn`t found until just a few weeks ago.

BANFIELD: And then some strange e-mails came in from Lori Eisenberg to her former employers. Let me just read, if I can, one from February 14th. I

am a horrible person, but please, please, please, don`t punish Larry`s family and his memory with this now. She went on to say, I need to be

punished for what I did. She is not the only person being investigated in the murder either at this point. Nate, it seems to be quite odd, but two

of her daughter are also now being investigated. Does that connect at all with the missing $500,000 or is it just about the death of Larry?

EATON: Well, we know that one of her daughters was actually working with her mother, with Lori, at the non-profit organization. In fact, e-mails

show that she was arranging some sort of payment, how to figure out how to pay her daughter. When all of this came to light, police began looking a

little further that E-mail you just read was sent the day after Larry vanished in the water. So she sends that e-mail to her boss saying, look,

give me some time, I promise, we`ll take care of things. We`re grieving right now, we are mourning. We don`t know where Larry is, and then once

Larry`s body showed up, she took off.

BANFIELD: It`s so important to know that Lori is not charged in this crime, in the crime of the death of Larry. Her daughters are not charged

in Larry`s death either. This is right now just an investigation, because at this point Lori is only facing the 40 counts of forgery and grand left,

but not anything with regard to the death of Larry. Although, that investigation is ongoing.

So this is a critical aspect to her appearance in court. She actually made this appearance with short brown hair, but it is a far cry from what she

used to look like before she went on the run. And by our account, we`re not sure how long she was on the run. But it is at least two months. And

there`s the difference long blond hair when she did her first appearance and then she disappeared and came back to a smiling mug shot with the short

brown hair.

Nate, I`m not sure how this happened. But when you go on the run and you miss appearances and then you turn yourself in, typically, it`s real hard

to get bond after that. Because you are now a flight risk. And you`ve proven it. And yet, Lori was given the same bond this time as she was last

time $500,000 and an ankle monitor. Why is that?

EATON: Well, that is a good question. You know, she did appear actually in court yesterday. They were supposed to begin those proceedings. She

have her new attorney, her attorney asked for more time. So, of course, Lori wants to be out on bond $500,000. If she does post that bond, you

mentioned the ankle bracelet that has a GPS.

[18:10:00] She will have to turn in her passport, and she will be monitored. But they are trying to get there case together because these

very well could go through a jury trial. Meanwhile, the police continue the investigation until Larry`s death, how did he get that drug into his

body? Did someone else have something else to do with it?

BANFIELD: So Tim Gallagher, as a doctor, you`d be the natural to answer this question. Somewhere between seven times the normal amount of

diphenhydramine and 70 times the normal amount of diphenhydramine was found in his system and the reason there is such a big window is the normal

amount, therapeutic amount of diphenhydramine is about between 100 and a thousand Nano grams.

So a guy that is considered extremely healthy, all of a sudden is found with all of this diphenhydramine in his system and low and behold he is

dead in the water. I`m sure as a doctor you would have a lot of questions from his own doctor correct?

TIM GALLAGHER, MEDICAL EXAMINER AND FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Yes, that is correct, Ashleigh. There is no reason for that amount of diphenhydramine

to be in anyone`s system therapeutically.

BANFIELD: So this is what his autopsy actually outlined. No evidence of a medical condition to indicate that Larry was in danger of dying. Also in

his autopsy, there were no invisible signs of stroke and no evidence of drowning. And it went on to say the toxicology report reflects the

presence of a lethal level of diphenhydramine. So with all of that in the autopsy, it would stand to reason it`s the diphenhydramine that killed the

man and not anything before hand or is there little wiggle room?

GALLAGHER: Very little wiggle room in that autopsy report, Ashleigh. There was no report of water being found in the lungs, there is no report

of water being found in the stomach or in some of the sinuses behind the nose. So with that level of diphenhydramine in any reasonable forensic

pathologist or medical examiner would come to the same conclusion that the diphenhydramine killed Larry and not the submerging in the water.

BANFIELD: So, Dr. Gallagher, the next reasonable question would be, is it possible to accidentally overdose that much? I mean we have all taken

Benadryl here and there, maybe we thought we needed even more. Maybe we just needed to relax or fly or go on a boat trip. But is it possible to

accidentally overdose that significantly?

GALLAGHER: Well, sometime people take diphenhydramine for motion sickness, especially when they go on boats. But Larry`s was so significantly high

that he may have had to have taken 30, 40 or 50 pills to get it to that level. Nobody makes that mistake and if he did do this to himself, that he

intentionally ingested that amount, it`s a tremendous amount of pills to accidentally take one or two unintentionally, but to take that many, there

definitely had to be intention involved.

BANFIELD: That does sounds awfully fishy. I want to mention what Lori Eisenberg told investigators, she said that Larry wasn`t making any sense

and that his face appeared to be grey in color and it was at this time Larry fell overboard. That is straight from the search warrant. That was

her quote to the investigators. You can see it for yourself. Her direct words, not making sense, appeared to be grey in color. But obviously, if

you talk to his doctor, the doctor has a very different version of the kind of health that Larry was in.

Let me let you know what his friends and his doctor have said that he walks three to four miles per day. That he had a 45-minute daily workout

regimen, the quote here, he was the most amazing guy and patient striving to do all he can to be healthy. The doctor also said that Larry had a pre

disposed towards cardiovascular disease. And high blood pressure which was being actively unsuccessfully treated.

The doctor said he was pre-diabetic, but that that, too, was under control. Larry did go to the emergency room on October 29th of 2017, apparently with

chest pains, but he tested negative for a cardiac event. Let`s just remember that this happened quite some time after that. This was February

13th, 2018. He had gone to the E.R. three months before that.

Larry also had a couple e-mails. And this is hard evidence that can be presented in any kind of courtroom, should there be one that arises. Larry

wrote to his doctor, February 9th. OK. Don`t forget. He disappeared on the 13th. But on February 9th of this years, he said, I think a flu bug

found me yesterday morning. Our last day in Florida.

[18:15:00] I had the shakes, terrible equilibrium and even my brain was foggy. I am better today by quite a bit. He continued to go on in that e-

mail to say I have every intention of living long enough that you have to make a house call on Mars.

Tim Gallagher, you couldn`t write a better e-mail literally a week or so before you disappear, but that is curious a flu bug a week or so before he

is found dead. And Lori said he turned grey and wasn`t speaking properly. Does that factor in for you?

GALLAGHER: You know, it does. Sometimes diphenhydramine can make you feel that way. It would not be surprise if she may have attempted to force him

to ingest some at that point as a test. It created those symptoms in him. And then she knew later on to increase the dose that the effect that she

wanted, that being his death.

BANFIELD: Karen Smith, I want to bring you in as a retired detective and a forensic specialist. I`m sure there is one or two of these little nuggets

that really stand out for you. Number one is that the investigators say Larry`s body would not have floated to the location where he was found if

Lori`s story is true. That is critical.

KAREN SMITH, RETIRED DETECTIVE, JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF`S OFFICE: That is very critical. Where his body was found, we`re going to have to bring in a

hydrologist or somebody that understands the tide flows of where they were at and how the water flows in that area. What was the tides and the flow

rate? Was there wind? If the body couldn`t have been located in that location basically on where she said it happened, that is very

questionable. And she is going to have to explain that.

BANFIELD: And Troy Slaten, we`re always told to follow the money. There is a lot of following the money in this story. But this one really stood

out. There was a change of will on January 11th, about a month before Larry disappeared. Handwritten changes were made to his will that left 80

percent of Larry`s estate to Lori`s children and 20 percent to Larry`s children. That is what you call a bad fact.

TROY SLATEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That doesn`t look good, but that doesn`t mean that she murdered him. It doesn`t mean that she poisoned him. Yes,

she may be guilty of larceny, embezzlement, grand theft, stealing from a non-profit organization.

But that doesn`t mean she killed her husband. Her husband was reporting an illness just days before he died. And he clearly had some sort of bad

reaction to diphenhydramine, to Benadryl, maybe he was taking a bunch himself, because he was feeling sick with flu symptoms.

BANFIELD: I don`t know, Troy, I am on a tough one with that. Dr. Gallagher said dozens of pills. This one is extremely curious. I just

want to remind everyone as we look at the facts in this case, that Lori Eisenberg and her two daughters are under the investigation for the murder

of Larry, but they haven`t been charged at this time. So, that is critical to note. You have the presumption of innocent at all times, the facts are

strange. We will continue to follow. Many thanks to Nate Eaton and also Tim Gallagher, I appreciate your input to this story.

Karen, Troy, I will ask you to stick around if you can. Any married person knows there are as many good times as there as bad, it seems fights just

seem to be par for the course in any kind of marriage. But how bad must the fight have been to push a husband to fly a plane into his own home

where his wife and her son were inside? The details next.

[18:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Every pilot knows that flying a plane takes focus, a sound mind, a calm state. So just imagine you are sitting in the cockpit of a Cessna

citation jet. Your blood is pumping as you grip the controls soaring over your own neighborhood in the middle of the night. And you are headed

straight for the roof of your own home, where you know your wife and her son are probably sound asleep.

That is the eerie story behind a tragic scene. The plane crash that killed pilot Duane Youd and almost killed his family. And Youd was reportedly an

experienced pilot, but authorities say this crash was no accident. Because hours earlier, Youd had been in handcuffs. His photograph snapped, after

assaulting his wife. Neighbors say they had been having issues trying to talk it out, but that talk ended with Youd behind bars and once he posted

bond and was escorted to his house to grab his things, here`s what`s next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGEANT NOEMI SANDOVAL, PAYSON POLICE DEPARTMENT: He gathered his belongings and picked up his truck. There were no indications, there was

no argument here at the home. He left and then later on we got the call that the plane had flown into the house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said, I love you, good luck. I`ll see you tomorrow. I said, I love you, too. And he got in his truck and drove away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And that should have been the end of it, but in the middle of the night, he was back, flying a plane straight into that house. Something

his own kids cannot wrap their heads around, especially since he had reportedly told them to leave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[18:25:15] JOGLYN YOUD, DAUGHTER: He was an amazing man and would do absolutely anything for anyone. And I feel very, very blessed to be able

to call him my father.

PARKER YOUD, SON: I just think about all the things I`m going to miss with him and he is going to miss as I grow older and miss having my dad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: With me now on the phone, Sergeant Noemi Sandoval with the Payson police department. Also CNN aviation analyst and former NTSB

managing Director, Peter Gold and Defense Attorney, Troy Slaten. Sergeant Sandoval, if I can begin with you. It is simply a remarkable fact that

emerged today that this man called his own children urging them to leave the house and stay at their mother`s, but did not tell the other child, the

child of his estranged wife Sandy to leave. Are those the fact as you know them?

SANDOVAL: So what we know is that when he went for the keys to retrieve his property. He had called his biological son was there at the home, and

while he was there, he told him to go stay at his mother`s house. I don`t have any indication that he had contact with the other son that was still

in the home with Sandy when he left.

BANFIELD: Well, we know now that the result was the image on the screen, that Cessna flying into that home a fireball erupting. It is absolutely

miraculous that Sandy and her son survived this. In fact, I think so miraculous that, sergeant, I`m going to play our audience a reaction from

you to a question from a reporter at the crime scene so soon after this had happened, when everybody was just simply gob smacked at what had happened.

Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He crashes into a house. The house catches fire. The occupants are totally unscathed?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was pretty --

SANDOVAL: It`s pretty amazing actually they were able get out without any injuries. There was a significant fireball. So there, like I said, there

is not a whole lot left of the plane, itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Sergeant Sandoval, there has been a little more time and investigative work done. Are we any closer to finding out how it was that

Sandy and her son did escape that house and escaped uncertain death?

SANDOVAL: You know, I believe it was just the luck I guess that the plane didn`t completely enter the whole home. It stopped it`s in the front room

of the home. It didn`t penetrate any further into the house. Otherwise I feel structurally the house wouldn`t have been able to handle it, really.

BANFIELD: So Sergeant Sandoval, one of the most extraordinary facts that led up to this moment was that there had been this domestic incident and

that he had been photographed and booked on a domestic hours before this happened and that he had access to an airport and a company plane. Do you

know if there is any kind of procedure in place for those who are involved if domestics? And by the way, it was his second one. There had been

another incident I think a week or so prior. I`ll check the fact on that one, but is there any kind of protocol to limit access for people who are

charged or in his case pled to another incident of domestic abuse so that something like this can`t happen?

SANDOVAL: You know, there really isn`t. He was arrested in April for the domestic violence. Then, of course, the night before this happened, he was

arrested again for domestic violence, but there really isn`t anything in place restricting his access to any kind of vehicle, whether it be a car or

an airplane, this situation is unique. So definitely not something that happens all the time. When he was released from jail, he was assigned a

jail release agreement, which is a no contact order. So he can`t have contact with his wife or go to the residence without a police officer

presence. That is only for the purpose of retrieving some personal belongings that he will need such as a change of clothes and toiletry items

and things like that.

BANFIELD: Yes, let me put up sort of a map of the key locations where all of this played out. Because it all started at 7:30 in the evening on

Sunday at the American Fort Canyon where apparently he was arrested. He had been visiting the canyon with his wife. They had been drinking. There

was a huge argument, then there was this assault and battery on the wife.

But then next at 2:00, actually at midnight that escort happened. So he was arrested at the canyon. He is taken to jail. He bonds out and gets

the midnight escort to get his truck and his things at home. But at 2:00 in the morning, so two hours after that escort, he shows up at the Spanish

Fort Springville Airport, and 10 minutes after, actually about 20 minutes after, he takes off in that Cessna.

Ten minutes after that, at 2:30, he crashes into the outhouse, and at 2:38, about 8 minutes later, the calls start coming into 911 that this had

happened. Peter Goels, if I can ask you -- it`s still interesting to me to especially in light of what happened with Richard Russell this week, and

that Horizon Airlines incident where he made off with a Horizon Airlines airplane and did acrobatics before nose diving and killing himself.

The access that a maintenance worker had to that plane and then the access that this man had 24/7 to an airport, and to a company plane, and he had an

issue in his past, he had domestic violence in his past he pled to. And then he was, you know, bonding out of jail that night. Does this seem at

all strange to you or might it be rethought the accesses that we give people who are accused or in some cases guilty of violence.

PETER GOELZ, AVIATION ANALYST, CNN: Well, it`s an interesting question. But in general aviation, you know, it is almost just like a driver`s

license. You can fly. There is no age limit, for instance, on the upper end for general aviation pilot licenses. I know people who are 85 and 90-

years-old who are flying, you know, good size, general aviation planes.

And there is no psychological testing requirement to hold on to your license at the general aviation level. Once you move into commercial

license, like flying for a major airline, there are, you know, annual medicals. There are psychological questions that are asked. But access to

general aviation aircraft is pretty much un-feathered.

BANFIELD: It`s unbelievable. Troy Slaten, do you see any, you know, any liability for the airport? Any liability for the company he worked for,

giving him access to the plane after he had clearly had, you know, criminal incidents in his past and just hours prior had another criminal incident?

TROY SLATEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: So there is a theory under tort liability called negligent entrustment. If you know that somebody is going to do

something bad, has done something bad in the past, like if you -- if somebody has had a bunch of DUIs and you give them your car, and then they

go and kill somebody.

You could be potentially liable. But that`s a really big stretch here for to say that they are responsible in this case.

BANFIELD: It`s a remarkable story, and I think, you know, thank god above that Mrs. (Inaudible) and her son survived this. It`s just so astounding

that they could have managed to escape that. Great thanks to Sergeant Sandoval, Peter Goels, thank you as well. Troy, I`m going to ask you to

stick around if you will.

Convicted murderer, Scott Peterson, making headlines again, this afternoon his attorneys have filed the final California appeal of his death penalty

sentence. And now his sister-in-law says that just because Scott was a cheater does not indicate that he`s a murder. She says there is a lot of

evidence that actually proves to the contrary. She`s telling us now, and says this stuff wasn`t presented to the jury. How is that possible?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:00] BANFIELD: It is the mystery that captured the country. And it`s the question still haunting Modesto, the California town where

pregnant Laci Peterson went missing. Did her husband, Scott Peterson, really kill his college sweet heart? Smothering her, strangling her, and

then dumping her weighted body in the bay?

Laci vanished on Christmas Eve when Scott told police he had been fishing. He allegedly came home to find her gone with signs that his wife had been

abducted. And ever since then, he has been defending himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was the last one to see Laci that day. There are so many witnesses who saw her walking in the neighborhood after I left. The

cops just never followed up in the neighborhood across the street. The police failed to find my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:40:05] BANFIELD: What police did find were inconsistencies, a whole lot of them, inconsistencies with Scott`s story. And by the time they

found the remains of a full term fetus and the remains of Laci`s body, Scott Peterson`s reputation as a cheater was known across the country.

That`s what his sister-in-law says did him in.

The woman who is now speaking up in his defense, saying infidelity is all that Scott Peterson is guilty of. And she knows that the clock is ticking

because Scott is asking for a brand new trial as he faces his fate on death row.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does he know about this interview that you are doing with us?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He does.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was his input on it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he`s grateful. He`s grateful that we`re speaking the truth on his behalf.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I want to bring in my panel now with me live, journalist Ted Rowlands who has covered the Scott Peterson trial and has been on this

story since the beginning. Also, happy to say colleague of mine, also retired detective Karen Smith is with me, and defense attorney Troy Slaten

remains. Ted, welcome back to the program, it`s great to have you on.

I am always astounded when any kind of headline about Scott Peterson continues to make the news, because this was the story that riveted this

nation. And now, he has filed, and I am going to hold it up what we can say is his final part of the appellate process, two-pronged process and

there`s lot on each side. But this is the habeas corpus.

This is the one saying I didn`t get a fair trial because of my lawyer, among other things. But what`s interesting is that his sister-in-law,

Janey, says there was so much evidence that just didn`t make it into the case. How is that so?

TED ROWLANDS, JOURNALIST, COVERED SCOTT PETERSON TRIAL: Well, what they`re alleging actually is that Mark Geragos didn`t bring in a number of

witnesses that should have been brought into the trial. Specifically, they believe that he should have brought a fetal growth expert in to challenge

the date of the life of Connor Peterson, the fetus. How old was Connor?

And they wanted to challenge the 24th as the date of death (Inaudible). They said that they should have brought in a dog expert to challenge that

riveting testimony that Laci`s scent was found at the Berkeley marina. If you believe that, he`s guilty. But there was no expert witness brought in.

So it`s these types of witnesses, and specifically you heard Scott talking about it.

Those people that claimed they saw Laci walking around the neighborhood after Scott left the house. These witnesses, some of them promised in his

opening statement never made it onto the witness stand. And that`s really the crux of this part of habeas that was just filed.

BANFIELD: Yeah. It`s so interesting to hear, Janey, you know, in her interview with the Modesto Bee. She went very explicitly over the morning

that Laci Peterson was alleged to have already been gone. Police saying that she had been killed the night before, but the morning of Christmas

Eve, Janey outlines all the evidence in the house she says Laci was there.

Laci had to have been there. Because otherwise, Scott would have had to stage all of these things that showed she was there. And if he did stage

all of those things, wouldn`t that have been the laundry check list that he would have provided to police and to his lawyer and to his trial, which he

didn`t do? Here`s how she put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANEY PETERSON, SCOTT PETERSON`S SISTER-IN-LAW: You look at the evidence in the home that she was alive that morning. You know, she`s using the

computer. She`s curling her hair. She`s mopping the floor. She`s putting the leash on the dog to take the dog for a walk. You know, these things

are all evidence that she was alive the morning of December 24th. If he staged those things, why isn`t he drawing attention to them?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Those are fascinating elements, Ted. Not only that, all of these other issues, failure to call witnesses that saw Laci that morning,

failure to challenge the prosecution about a burglary across the street, failure to deliver on all those promises he made during the opening, and

then as you mentioned, failure to bring in all those expert witnesses to refute so much of the evidence they did have.

Then there is the issue of the juror named Strawberry Shortcake, her real name Rochelle Niece. What was the specific issue about the juror that

Janey Peterson is now outlining in this habeas issue?

ROWLANDS: Well, basically, they allege that she did, and she did, that she did not fill out the juror questionnaire accurately. The question on the

questionnaire was have you ever been a victim of a crime, and have you ever been involved in a lawsuit. In both of those situations, she said no.

[18:45:07] And specifically, she was the victim of a physical crime, the girlfriend of her lover/boyfriend attacked physically while she was

pregnant. And she left that off. And they believe that that was pertinent, because she lied in. She was one of those jurors that came into

that jury room and was hell bent on convicting Scott Peterson.

When she entered the fray, the guilty verdict came quickly after. So they really are attacking. And they`re going after everything. That`s a very

minor thing (Inaudible) but it is one that`s brought up in this habeas.

BANFIELD: OK. Ted, don`t go anywhere, because as we talk about Scott Peterson`s appeal, it really makes us wonder if he is watching us right

now. If he has been watching all of this circus that followed the death of Laci. And the answer to that question is definitively no. We`re going to

tell you exactly what he is allowed to watch, exactly what he is allowed to read, and exactly what he`s not allowed to have in his cell while he`s

sitting on death row.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:00] BANFIELD: We`re still talking about Scott Peterson, the California man convicted of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn baby

boy, Connor. Though he still insists they were abducted on Christmas Eve when he went fishing. And now, he`s asking for a brand new trial, but he`s

asking for one from death row.

I want to play for you right now, if I can, Janey Peterson, in her interview with the Modesto Bee talking about what visiting Scott has been

like and how often they actually get a chance to see him. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETERSON: We visit Scott pretty regularly. I think for the first eight years or so, we had someone up there every week, you know. Jackie was

healthy then and, you know, slowly that kind of started to slip. But we definitely have somebody up there every week or two at this point. For

condemned inmates in California, if you`re convicted of murdering a minor, you cannot have a minor visit you.

So our children couldn`t go until they were over 18. That was the case for Scott because he was convicted of murdering Connor. He couldn`t have any

minor visitors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: What`s fascinating about what, you know, Janey Peterson tells us about these visits is that she also tells us what he`s allowed to have in

his cell. He does have a TV, but it is limited to only the four major networks and public TV. And he doesn`t have any of these cable shows that

have been talking so much about his case.

He`s also allowed to have magazines and paperback books but is limited to the amount of paper he can have in his cell. If I ask you, Karen Smith,

appeals are common, but how often do you get a new trial?

KAREN SMITH, RETIRED DETECTIVE: Well, I can tell you from personal experience, I have testified in somewhere between 75 and 100 homicide

trials, 20 of those were death penalty cases. And not one of them has gone back to trial. So I would say they`re not common at all.

BANFIELD: Yeah. That`s got to be a real Hail Mary for him. And Troy, the Hail Mary always is blame your lawyer. But how much do you think that

Geragos might be willing to fall on the sword? Mark Geragos is famous on TV, and it`s unlikely, most people would think that he would say sure, it`s

all my fault.

SLATEN: No. That`s unlikely. But the court is going to a look at the evidence and see whether or not he failed to bring forth evidence of the

dog scent expert or the fetal development expert, and all the other myriad of reasons that Scott Peterson`s lawyers are seeking this type of rare

relief because the courts really favor finality.

BANFIELD: All right. Well, thank you so much. Ted Rowlands, appreciate it. It`s good to see you again. Karen and Troy, I am going to ask you to

stick around, if you can. I want to direct your attention to this incredible website, explore.org. If you ever just checked it out, you can

watch these awesome bears live in their habitat catching salmon, you know, bugging each other, playing in the water.

It`s just amazing. But I will tell you what wasn`t so amazing. The other day, if you`ve been watching this live feed, some dude just wandered right

into it. Look at him. He just wandered right in, and then decided to take himself a selfie. So what do you think happened to him? One more thing is

next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:55:00] BANFIELD: Got one more thing for you tonight. And if you have ever logged into explore.org, it is a total treat, live animals in action

in their natural habitat. Right now, they`re actually featuring brown bears up in Alaska, splashing around in the river and grabbing salmon that

are headed upstream if they can catch them.

But if you happened to log last next week, the bears were not the only creatures that you would see on screen, because last week, some eagle-eyed

nature watchers caught this fellow just waiting into waters with the bears. Apparently, he really liked bears and wanted to get some pictures. In

fact, he really wanted to get a selfie. And when I say bears, I mean a whole lot of bears. There were about six that we could count, at least in

the screen.

The Katmai National Park rangers said that three people actually went into this restricted area, and then they got ratted out. They got ratted out by

visitors who were there and also by the explore.org bear cam viewers who saw this and were outraged because you`re not supposed to be in there.

This is a really important time for bears. They need to feast on all those salmon before they hibernate, so you`re not supposed to mess around in the

water.

And that`s why all these people are now facing charges plus they`re being ridiculed by me. Next hour of Crime & Justice starts right now.

Good evening, everyone. Welcome to our second hour of Crime & Justice. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. We are tracking the latest on tonight`s big stories

like the Vegas police officer who probably saved a young woman`s life by shooting the boyfriend who was trying to stab her to death.

Bernice Mann (ph) is covering this riveting story, all of it caught on camera. It`s unbelievable, Bernice (ph).

BERNICE MAN, CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER: That`s right, Ashleigh. We`re going to show you everything we`ve got from the body cam video to that

chilling 911 call that got the officer there just in time. And we`re going to find out from police what`s next for that officer who shot that fatal

shot.

BANFIELD: Yes, she`s been called a hero by a lot of people and we want to find out the condition of that poor girlfriend, too. Also tonight, the man

who crashed his company plane deliberately into him own home destroying the house, killing himself, and the question is did he also really mean to kill

his wife and her son?

Our Jillian Geyer (ph) is tracking the latest on this one. Quite a mug shot. It`s an amazing story.

JILLIAN GEYER (ph): Yes Ashleigh, there`s some dark details about the hours before this deadly crash. We`ll tell you where he was, why he was

handcuffed, and why his kids are defending him.

BANFIELD: Wow, it`s hard to think that they`d be defending him, but they are his kids. So much more on this one. Thank you, Jillian (ph). Plus

the most hated husband in California, Scott Peterson convicted of killing his pregnant wife Laci and then dumping her body in the bay.

Well, now he`s trying to get off death row, and Michael Christian is covering this latest development, which, Michael, in a very strange twist

includes a family member agreeing that he`s guilty. But -

MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, SENIOR FIELD PRODUCER: Yes, guilty, but only of cheating on his wife. You`ll hear why his sister-in-law thinks that he was

wrongly convicted of killing Laci Peterson, and the big question is will this help his appeal.

BANFIELD: I`m curious about all the evidence. She said, "we did not get to see." Thank you for that, Michael. First, I want to take us all to Las

Vegas where residents of an apartment complex on the outskirts of town were probably just turning down for the night when they witnessed a gruesome

attack through a window.

30-year-old, William Fuller repeatedly stabbing his girlfriend in the neck. Once of the neighbors called 911 making a terrifying realization before

that wounded woman bolted for the parking lot. I`m going to play that call for you now, but I need to warm you even the sound of it is chilling.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He cutting her. He`s cutting her. He`s cutting her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait, he`s cutting her?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s cutting her. He`s cutting her. He`s cutting her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you mean he`s cutting her? He`s cutting her how?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My neighbor saw it from the window, like, with a knife, with a knife. He`s stabbing her. He`s stabbing her. You need get

here. Code 3, now. Now. Oh my god, there`s babies in the house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, OK. All right. All right. Just keep calm (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh! She`s screaming!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s screaming?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s running. She screaming.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where is she running to?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t` now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: is she running out of the house?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just heard her - I hear the - I hear the police.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, they`re coming. Where is she running to and where is he?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know. Hold on a moment (ph) -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re both still inside? Nobody`s come out, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No, no. He`s got her outside! He`s got her outside around the car!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re outside? OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s got her by the neck! He`s got her by the neck!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they`re right outside the apartment?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he`s got her pinned!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is he still - is he on top of her? Is she on the gound?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he`s on top of her and I don`t know what he`s got up against her neck.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is he still on her?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Oh, tell them to hurry! She`s up now. No, no. She`s back. She`s screaming. He`s got blood all over her - all over him

from her. He`s just - I see lights. I see light. Tell them to keep coming down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re right there. They`re on the ground right thee. Tell them! Right there. Right there. Right there.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BANFIELD: That is the very moment that police pulled up, specifically Sgt. Daniella Cino, and Sgt. Cino`s body cam was rolling when she jumped out of

the patrol car to confront the man who was stabbing his girlfriend. The encounter would save that girlfriend`s life but it would also end up with

Fuller`s death. So again, I want to warn you, this is graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SGT. DANIELLA CINO: Get off of her. Control 7A4, I`ll be out with them. Get off. Get off! 7A4. Get off! Drop the knife! Drop the knife! Metro

police, drop the knife! I`m telling you, drop the knife now! Metro police. Drop the knife!

(END VIDEOCLIP)

[19:00:00] BANFIELD: With me now is Aaron Rosen, investigative journalist and former police officer himself. Darrin Porcher is with me, retired NYPD

lieutenant and criminal justice expert, and defense attorney, Troy Slaten, is also joining me. Plus on the phone, Deputy Chief, Andy Walsh, of the

Las Vegas Metro Police Department.

Aaron, I want to begin with you if I can. It seemed as though this whole crime was playing out in real time by the witnesses and neighbors who were

actually on phone - on the phone explaining this to the police even as they were arriving.

AARON ROSEN, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: You`re correct, Ashleigh. And you know what, a week ago that night, I`m sure Sgt. Cino had no idea that she

would be responding to an actual active domestic violence situation in progress, but Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department star policy, they`re

response requires multiple units to respond to these types of things in action and she just happened to arrive.

And thank goodness for this bystander witness was able to tell the 911 operator in real time exactly even up to the location of the stabbing

itself.

BANFIELD: It`s stunning. And I want to play a little bit more of what these neighbors were saying on the 911 call and how they were helping

direct the police to the scene that they were witnessing in, again, in real time, and even as the officer arrived, the 911 caller is narrating exactly

what`s happening. I do want to warn you, again, though, that this is very, very difficult to listen to.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you see the officers?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are they going the right direction?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, here she comes!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are they heading the right duration, ma`am?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s a female. Oh, he`s got a knife now! He stabbed - he stabbed her! He`s going -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who did he stab?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: - he`s going after the cop!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who did he stab?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s going after the cop! He`s going after the - no, he stabbed the lady, but he`s going (inaudible) She shot him (ph)! He ran

whoever was going after her (ph)!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did they injure the officer?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, she shot him!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She shot him!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, because he was coming after her with a knife!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The officer shot the man?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BANFIELD: Aaron, it`s astounding. You can even here the dispatcher gasps. "She shot him." I mean, the dispatcher herself is shocked by what`s

transpired. All of this took 43 seconds, and it looks to me - and I`m no expert, but it looks to me as though it was exactly as an officer should

react. Is there any backlash right now for officer - for Sgt. Daniella Cino?

ROSEN: Well, being that she was the first officer who responded, the typical protocols include the inquest and, of course, review of

departmental use of force policies and that type of thing, but did you notice how she gave him multiple commands including how many times she

identified herself as a Las Vegas Metropolitan Officer and ordered him to drop the knife multiple times?

She, undoubtedly, by her quick response possibly saved this victims life. And this is all unfortunate, but I am so glad that I even live here in this

Metro and I`m protected by this amazing crew of Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.

BANFIELD: Well, she is being hailed as a hero by a lot of people and as you said, Aaron, for possibly saving the life of this girlfriend from this

extremely violent man. And you`re right, there were four commands to get off the victim. That`s what Daniella Cino did. She commanded him four

times to get off the victim. She commanded him five times to drop the knife.

ROSEN: Yes.

BANFIELD: She commanded him four times before she shot him and one time after she shot him, and you can hear her actually even reaching for her

radio it seems. She`s about to male an announcement, "Metro Police," and then realized that it`s too late for that as well and had to discharge that

weapon. Do you know, Aaron, how that girlfriend is doing?

ROSEN: She was transported to an area hospital and she was just recovering, and now they have been able to conduct those reports, and now

she`s just been in recovery mode. But definitely a traumatic situation, and you had the minor children also on scene, too. So definitely going to

be a long road for this family, but I`m sure that the neighbors and the community will ban together to help them through this horrible situation.

[19:10:00]

BANFIELD: Well, Deputy Chief Andy Walsh, maybe you can step in at this moment. It`s always tragic and difficult when children are involved. And

in this case, the reports are that these children were witnessing this stabbing attack of - and I`m assuming it`s their mother, but maybe I`m

wrong.

Can you fill in some of the blanks Deputy Chief, and let me know what the story with the children was?

WALSH: Sure. First, it`s the echo of the sentiments that Sergeant Cino performed for Oakley (ph) in this incident. And you`re right, the four

children were present at the time that the attack was occurring inside the house, and then during the officer involved shooting, they were there.

BANFIELD: And then, afterwards, what happened? Were there family members? Is someone looking after these four kids? And all four of them witness

their mother nearly being killed, and then, obviously, this man? And I don`t know if he`s their father, but they witnessed him being killed?

WALSH: Yes. Well, they were there on-scene. What their view of the officer involved shooting part is something that we`ll go through the

process of seeing what they did witness. But they`re safe with family members, and their mother is still in the hospital and making a recovery.

BANFIELD: And do you think she`s going to make a full recovery, Deputy?

WALSH: Well, I believe, you know, after being stabbed multiple times and the way she was victimized, I don`t think she`ll ever be the same, and

neither will Sergeant Cino after having experienced this. But at the same time, you know, she`ll hopefully be back on her feet and be reunited with

her children quickly.

BANFIELD: And let me talk to you a little bit about Sergeant Cino. I mentioned before that she`s being hailed as a hero for more than likely

having saved this woman, this mother of four`s life. And I want to play some of that body cam video of hers. Again, it`s from her perspective.

And I just want to warn you, this is very difficult to process this, but I think it`s helpful because the question I have for you Deputy Chief is what

does the sergeant go through now? She doesn`t just go back to work the next night. She`s got a long road ahead of her, not of just protocols, but

also mental health and the environment that she`s been put through.

WALSH: Yes, it`s a great point. I mean these are things that, you know, officer involved shootings are portrayed, you know, in the media very often

when they occur (ph). And you know, body cameras play a large role in that now, and people get to see the world through a cop`s eye, and we`re able to

provide that type of footage.

So these are traumatic experiences. You know, the sergeant, along with all of our other officers, we, you know, believe in the sanctity of human life.

And in a case like this, she had to shoot one human being to protect another. And then the recovery process from that, both mentally and

physically, will take some take, but we have a police employee`s assistance program that is actively involved with all employees who are involved in

critical incidents like this. And she`ll go through their critical incident review process that we have in here.

You know, although the circumstances in this case are pretty clear, you know, as to why she needed to use deadly force, she`s still going to have

to tell the story from her perspective. And that`ll be part of the review process which will take some time.

BANFIELD: And just listen in at the end of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIELLA CINO, SERGEANT, LAS VEGAS METRO POLICE: Metro Police. Drop the knife.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I mean she - Deputy Chief, she barely even got that notification to Metro Police before she realized he is coming at me with that knife. He

has already demonstrated how violent he is with that knife. I want to ask you if you`ve had a chance or if anyone`s had a chance to ask Sergeant

Cino?

And this is tough, because we all the situation that`s happening in the media right now. We all know that Black Lives Matter has pointed out that

so many injustices have befallen African-American men or boys who have been shot and have been unarmed.

This is not that case, but at the same time, optics can be everything. And the facts sometimes don`t always come into play. Do you know if Sergeant

Cino had that flash before she pulled the trigged, thinking, "Oh, dear God, please don`t let me be the next media victim who loses her job in the line

of the duty," when she was thinking she had no other choice?

WALSH: You know, it`s a great point because like I said earlier on, body cameras provide a great opportunity for people to see what an officer is

seeing and what an officer is confronted with. And when you look at the images of this man standing up, covered in blood, and then coming at our

officer with a knife, it paints a clear picture as to why deadly force was a reasonable option for that sergeant in that moment.

You know, at the minute we have our officers hesitate because of what they think, someone will say, "They all know that they`re subject to scrutiny.

They all, in our agency, wear body cameras, so they know that the review process will take place. But we ask them and we train them to make

decisions, based upon the circumstances that are in front of them."

And then in this case, you know, the person holding the weapon (ph), actively engaged in harming another human being, to the extent that he was.

You know, I - I spoken to her, I don`t think that media scrutiny, review process, or any of the things that she knows she will be subjected to by

making this decision to protect another human being with her firearm, I don`t think she was concerned about the - the aftermath of it.

It was the reasonable, righteous thing to do.

BANFIELD: So, Darrin Porcher, weigh-in on this, because I can`t imagine in training nowadays, that this isn`t a big discussion. You may be faced,

like Officer Sino - like Sergeant Cino was faced, with a deadly decision, and it`s instantaneous, and you may have it in the back of you mind that,

"If I discharge this weapon, I might be the person who goes."

DARRIN PORCHER, RETIRED NYPD LIEUTENTANT: Well - well, police shootings have been an enigma in this country for years on end. And I look at police

shootings as a three-legged stool. The first component is, the assailant has a propensity for immediate danger to either the victim or the police

officer, and that danger is imminent. That`s the first leg of the stool. The second leg of the stool is, there`s an actual weapon involved that can

cause this danger.

And the third leg of the stool is, the officer has no other alternative means. This officer clearly had all three legs of the stool in place.

Therefore, this was a justified shooting. And the truth of the matter is this. I invested a lot of these shootings when I was the lieutenant in the

internal affairs crew (ph).

Your heart is beating out of your chest. When you have an assailant standing in front of you holding a knife, coming directly towards you after

you`ve given numerous commands - and this is a diametric opposition of what we saw happen up in Chicago with the Laquan McDonald shooting.

The officer had no time, and she acted appropriately, and she ultimately saved this woman`s life, as a result of her actions.

BANFIELD: So very quickly, Troy Slaten, and just a couple of seconds left. But I`m assuming that this officer will have all of the efforts of the

union behind her, as she may need an attorney at some point to represent her through all the protocols?

SLATEN: That`s ture. Officer Cino - Sergeant Cino here did everything right. She`s going to have the union support. She`s going to have the

community support. And she`s got the support of the police department.

BANFIELD: Well, I want to mention something as we - as we go out to break, and that is, that, since this is a domestic violence story, it`s critical

to know that there is a domestic violence hotline, and if you are watching right now, and this is the kind of thing that - it`s drawing your

attention, but there`s fear for you or others, please know that these numbers are there for you. 1-800-799-SAFE, 1-800-799-7233.

And my great thanks to Aaron Rosen, Deputy Chief Andy Walsh. Karen and Troy, I`m going to ask you to stick around, if you will, as well. Any

married person knows that there are as many good days as bad days, and that sites can be par for the course (ph). But how bad must that site have been

before a husband flew his plane into his own home where his wife and son were sleeping. Details are next.

[19:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Every pilot knows that flying a plane takes focus, a sound mind, a clam state. So just imagine you`re sitting in the cockpit of a

(inaudible) jet. Your blood is pumping as you grip the controls soaring over your own neighborhood in the middle of the night.

And you`re headed straight for the roof of your own home where you know your wife and her son are probably sound asleep. That is the eerie story

behind a tragic scene. The plane crash that killed pilot Dwayne Youd and almost killed his family.

And Youd was reportedly an experienced pilot. But authorities say this crash was no accident because hours earlier Youd had been in handcuffs, his

photograph snapped after assaulting his wife.

Neighbors say they`ve been having issues, trying to talk it out. But that talk ended with Youd behind bars. And once he posted bound and was

escorted to his house to grab his things, here`s what`s next.

(VIDEOTAPE BEGINS)

SERGEANT NOEMI SANDOVAL, PAYSON POLICE DEPT.: He gathered some belongings and picked up his truck. There were no indications; there was no argument

here at the home. He left and then later on we got the call that the plane had flown into the house.

PARKER YOUD, SON: He said I love you. Good luck. I`ll see you tomorrow. She said I love you too and then got in his truck and drove away.

BANFIELD: And that should have been the end of it. But in the middle of the night he was back, flying a plane straight into that house. Something

his own kids cannot wrap their heads around especially since he reportedly told them to leave.

JOSLYN YOUD, DAUGHTER: He was an amazing man and would do absolutely anything for anyone. And I feel very, very, very, very blessed to be able

to call him my father.

P.YOUD: I would (ph) just think about all the things that I`m going to miss with him and he`s going to miss as I grow older and I`m just going to

miss having my dad.

(VIDEOTAPE ENDS)

BANFIELD: With me now on the phone, Sergeant Noemi Sandoval with the Payson Police Department. Also CNN aviation analyst and former NTSV (ph)

managing director Peter Goelz and defense attorney Troy Slaten.

Sergeant Sandoval, if I can begin with you. It is simply a remarkable fact that emerged today that this man called his own children, urging them to

leave the house and stay at their mothers but did not tell the other child, the child of his estranged wife Sandy (ph) to leave. Are those the facts

as you know them?

SANDOVAL: So what we know is that when he went for the keys of peace (ph) to retrieve his property, he had called his son, his biological son was

there at the home, and while he was there he told him to go stay at his mother`s house.

I don`t have any indication that he had contact with the other son that was still in the home with Sandy when he left.

BANFIELD: Well, we know now that the result was the image on the screen that (inaudible) flying into that home, a fireball erupting. And it is

absolutely miraculous that Sandy and her son survive this.

In fact, I think so miraculous that Sergeant I`m going to play our audience a reaction from you to a question from a reporter. At the crime scene so

soon after this had happened when everybody was just simply gob smacked (ph) and what had happened. Have a look.

(VIDEOTAPE BEGINS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Plan crashes into a house, house catches fire, the occupants are totally unscathed, that seems pretty .

SANDOVAL: Pretty amazing actually that they were able to get out without any injuries. There was a significant fireball. So there -- like I said

there`s not a whole lot left of the plane itself.

(VIDEOTAPE ENDS)

BANFIELD: Sergeant Sandoval, there`s been a little more time and investigative work done. Are we any closer to finding out how it was that

Sandy and her son did escape that house and escape uncertain death?

SANDOVAL: You know I believe it was just the luck, I guess, that the plane didn`t completely enter the whole home. It`s stopped basically in the

front room of the home and it didn`t penetrate any further into the house. Otherwise, I feel structurally the house wouldn`t have been able to handle

it really.

BANFIELD: So -- so Sergeant Sandoval, one of the most extraordinary facts that led up to this moment was that there had been this domestic incident

and that he had been photographed and booked on a domestic hours before this happened and that he had access to an airport and a company plane.

Do you know if there is any kind of procedure in place for those who are involved in domestics? And by the way, it was his second one. There had

been another incident I think a week or so prior. I`ll check the fact on that one.

But is there any kind of protocol to limit access for people who are charged or in his case, pled to another incident of domestic abuse so that

something like this can`t happen?

SANDOVAL: You know there really isn`t. He was arrested in April for the domestic violence and then of course the night before this happened, he was

arrested again for domestic violence but there really isn`t anything in place restricting his access to any kind of vehicle whether it be a car or

(inaudible) airplane.

This situation is unique. It`s just definitely not something that happens all the time. When he was released from jail, he was made to sign a jail

released agreement, which is a no contact order.

So he can`t have contact with his wife or go to the residents without a police officer present. And that`s only for the purpose of retrieving some

personal belongings that he will need such as a change of clothes and toiletry items and things like that.

BANFIELD: Yes.

SANDOVAL: So that`s really what was in place.

BANFIELD: Yes. Let me put up sort of a map of the key locations where all of this -- this played out because it all started at 7:30 in the evening on

Sunday at the American Fork Canyon where apparently he was arrested.

He`d been visiting the canyon with his wife. They had been drinking. There was a huge argument and then there was this assault and battery on

the wife. But the next at -- at 2 o`clock well actually about midnight that escort happened.

So he`s arrested at the canyon he is taken to jail, he bonds out and gets the midnight escort to get his truck and his things at home. But at 2

o`clock in the morning, so two hours after that escort, he shows up at the Spanish Fork-Springville Airport and ten minutes after -- actually about 20

minutes after, he takes off in that Cessna.

[19:30:00] Ten minutes after that, at 2:30, he crashes into the outhouse and at 2:38, about eight minutes later, the calls start coming into 911

that this had happened. Peter Goelz, if I can ask you, it`s still -- it`s still interesting to me, especially in light of what happened with Richard

Russell this week, and that Horizon Airlines incident where he made off with the Horizon Airlines` air plane and did acrobats before nose-diving

and killing himself.

The access that a maintenance worker had to that airplane and then the access that this man had 24/7 to an airport and to a company plane. And he

had an issue in his past, he had domestic violence in his past he pled to. And then, he was, you know, bonding out of jail that night. Does this seem

at all strange to you or might it be rethought? The accesses that we give people who are accused or, in some cases, guilty of violence?

GOELZ: Well, it`s an interesting question. But in general aviation, you know, it is almost just like a driver`s license. You can fly -- there`s no

age limit, for instance, on the upper end for general aviation pilot licenses. I know people who are 85 and 90 years old who are flying, you

know, good-sized general aviation planes. And there is no psychological testing requirement to hold onto your license at the general aviation

level. Once you move into commercial license like flying for a major airline, there are, you know, annual medicals, there are psychological

questions that are asked. But access to general aviation aircraft is pretty much untethered.

BANFIELD: It`s unbelievable. Troy Slaten, do you see any -- you know, any liability for the airport, any liability for the company he worked for,

giving him access to the plane after he had clearly had, you know, criminal incidents in his past and just hours prior had another criminal incident?

SLATEN: So, there is a theory under tort liability called "negligent entrustment." If you know that somebody is going to do something bad, has

done something bad in the past, like if you -- if somebody has had a bunch of DUIs and you give them your car and then they go and kill somebody, you

could potentially be liable. But that`s a really -- going to be a really big stretch here for to say that they are responsible in this case.

BANFIELD: It`s a -- it`s a remarkable story. And thank -- you know, thank God above that Mrs. Youd and her son survived this. It`s just so

astounding that they could manage to escape that. My great thanks to Sergeant Sandoval, Peter Goelz, thank you as well. Troy, I`m going to ask

you to stick around, if you will.

Convicted murderer Scott Peterson making headlines again. This, after his attorneys have filed the final California appeal of his death penalty

sentence. And now his sister-in-law says that just because Scott was a cheater does not indicate that he`s a murder. She says there is a lot of

evidence that actually proves to the contrary. She`s telling us now. And says this stuff wasn`t presented to the jury. How is that possible?

[19:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: It is the mystery that captured the country. And it`s the question still haunting Modesto, the California town where pregnant Laci

Peterson went missing. Did her husband, Scott Peterson, really kill his college sweetheart, smothering her, strangling her, and then dumping her

weighted body in the bay?

Laci vanished on Christmas Eve when Scott told police he`d been fishing. He allegedly came home to find her gone with signs that his wife had been

abducted. And ever since then, he has been defending himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT PETERSON, CONVICTED MURDERER: I wasn`t the last one to see Laci that day. There are so many witnesses who saw her walk in the neighborhood

after I left. The cops just never followed up on the burglary across the street. The police failed to find my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: What police did find were inconsistencies, a whole lot of them. Inconsistencies with Scott`s story. And by the time they found the remains

of a full-term fetus and the remains of Laci`s body, Scott Peterson`s reputation as a cheater was known across the country. That`s what his

sister-in-law says did him in. The woman who`s now speaking up in his defense saying infidelity is all that Scott Peterson is guilty of. And she

knows that the clock is ticking because Scott is asking for a brand new trial, as he faces his fate on death row.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[19:40:15] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does he know about this interview that you`re doing with us?

JANEY PETERSON, SCOTT PETERSON`S SISTER-IN-LAW: He does.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was his input on it?

J. PETERSON: I think he`s grateful. He`s grateful that we`re speaking the truth on his behalf.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I want to bring in my panel now. With me live, journalist Ted Rowlands, who has covered the Scott Peterson trial and has been on this

story since the beginning. Also happy to say colleague of mine. Also, retired detective Karen Smith is with me and defense attorney Troy Slaten

remains. Ted, welcome back to the program. It`s great to have you on. I`m always astounded when any kind of headline about Scott Peterson

continues to make the news. Because this was the story that riveted this nation. And now, he has filed -- and I`m going to hold it up -- what we

can say is his final part of the appellate process, two-pronged process. And there`s a lot on each side that this is the habeas corpus, this is the

one saying I didn`t get a fair trial because of my lawyer, among other things. But what`s interesting is that his sister-in-law, Janey, says

there was so much evidence that just didn`t make it into the case. How is that so?

ROWLANDS: Well, what they`re alleging, Ashleigh, is that Mark Geragos didn`t bring in a number of witnesses that should have been brought into

the trial. Specifically, they believe that he should have brought a fetal growth expert in to challenge the dates or the life of Connor Peterson, the

fetus. How old was Connor? And they wanted to challenge the 24th as the date of death on Connor. They said they should have brought in a dog

expert to challenge that riveting testimony that Laci`s scent was found at the Berkeley Marina. If you believe that, he`s guilty. But there was no

expert witness brought in. So, it`s these types of witnesses and specifically you heard Scott talk about it, those people that claim they

saw Laci walking around the neighborhood after Scott left the house, these witnesses, some of them are promised in his opening statements, never made

it onto the witness stand, and that`s really the crux of this part of the habeas that was just filed.

BANFIELD: You know, it`s so interesting to hear Janey, you know, in her interview with the Modesto Bee. She went very explicitly over the morning

that Laci Peterson was alleged to have already been gone, police saying that she had been killed the night before. But the morning of Christmas

Eve, Janey outlines all the evidence in the house she says Laci was there. Laci had to have been there, because otherwise, Scott would have had to

stage all of these things that showed she was there. And if he did stage all of those things, wouldn`t that have been the laundry checklist that he

would have provided to police and to his lawyer and to his trial, which he didn`t do? Here`s how she put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J. PETERSON: You look at the evidence in the home that she was alive that morning. You know, she`s using the computer, she`s curling her hair, she`s

mopping the floor, she`s putting the leash on the dog to take the dog for a walk. You know, these things are all evidence that she was alive the

morning of December 24th. If he staged those things, why isn`t he drawing attention to them?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Now, those are fascinating elements, Ted. Not only that, all these other issues, failure to call witnesses that saw Laci that morning,

failure to challenge the prosecution about a burglary across the street, failure to deliver on all those promises he made during in the opening, and

as you mentioned, failure to bring in all those expert witnesses to refute so much of the evidence they did have. Then, there`s the issue of the

juror named Strawberry Shortcake. Her real name, Richelle Nice. What was the specific issue about the juror that Janey Peterson is now outlining in

this habeas issue?

ROWLANDS: Well, basically, they alleged that she did -- and she did -- she did not fill out the juror questionnaire accurately. The question on the

questionnaire was, have you ever been a victim of a crime? And have you ever been involved in a lawsuit? And both of those situations, she said

no. And specifically, she was the victim of a physical crime, the girlfriend of her lover/boyfriend attacked her physically while she was

pregnant. And she left that off. And they believe that that was pertinent because she lied and she was one of those jurors that came into that jury

room and was hell bent on convicting Scott Peterson. When she entered the fray, the guilty verdict came quickly after. So, they are really attacking

-- and they`re going after everything. That`s a very minor thing in the grand scheme of things, but it is one that`s brought up in this habeas.

[19:45:04] BANFIELD: OK. Ted, don`t go anywhere because as we talk about Scott Peterson`s appeal, it really makes us wonder if he is watching us

right now, if he`s been watching all of the circus that followed the death of Laci. And the answer to that question is definitively no. We`re going

to tell you exactly what he is allowed to watch, exactly what he is allowed to read, and exactly what he`s not allowed to have in his cell while he`s

sitting on death row.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:50:46] BANFIELD: We`re still talking about Scott Peterson, the California man convicted of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn baby

boy, Connor. Though, he still insists they were abducted on Christmas Eve, when he went fishing. And now, he`s asking for a brand new trial, but he`s

asking for one from death row. I want to play for you right now if I can Janey Peterson in her interview with the Modesto Bee, talking about what

visiting Scott has been like, and how often they actually get the chance to see him. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J. PETERSON: We visit Scott pretty regularly. I think for the first eight years or so, we had someone up there every week. You know, Jackie was

healthy then and, you know, slowly that kind of started to slip, but we definitely have somebody up there every week or two at this point. For

condemned inmates in California, if you`re convicted of murdering a minor, you cannot have a minor visit you. So, our children couldn`t go until they

were over 18. That was the case for Scott because he was convicted of murdering Connor, he couldn`t have any minor visitors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: What`s fascinating about what, you know, Janey Peterson tells us about these visits is that she also tells us what he`s allowed to have in

his cell. He does have a T.V. but it is limited to only the four major networks and public T.V., and he doesn`t have any of these cable shows that

have been talking so much about his case. He`s also allowed to have magazines and paperback books but he`s limited to the amount of paper he

can have in his cell. If I can ask you Karen Smith, appeals are common, but how often do you get a new trial?

SMITH: Well, I can tell you from personal experience, I`ve testified in somewhere between 75 to 100 homicide trials, 20 of those were death penalty

cases, and not one of them has gone back to trial. So, I would say they`re not common at all.

BANFIELD: Yes. That`s got to be a real Hail Mary for him. And Troy, the Hail Mary always is blame your lawyer, but how much do you think that

Garagos might be willing to fall on the sword. Mark Garagos is famous on T.V. and it`s unlikely most people think that he`d say, sure, it`s all my

fault.

SLATEN: You know, that`s unlikely. But the court is going to look at the evidence and see whether or not he failed to bring forth evidence of the

dog scent expert or the fetal development export, and all of the other myriad of reasons that Scott Peterson`s lawyers are seeking this type of

rare relief because the courts really favor finality.

BANFIELD: All right. Well, thank you so much. Ted Rowlands, appreciate it. It`s good to see you again. Karen and Troy, I`m going to ask you to

stick around, if you can. I want to direct your attention to this incredible Web site, explore.org. If you`ve ever just check it out, you

can just watch these awesome bears live in their habitat, catching salmons, you know, bugging each other, playing in the water, it`s just amazing. But

I`ll tell you what wasn`t so amazing, was the other day, if you`ve been watching this live feed, some dude just wandered right into it. Look at

him. He`s wandered right in and then decided to take himself a selfie. So, what do you think happened to him? "ONE MORE THING" is next.

[19:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Got "ONE MORE THING" for you tonight. Well, we do a whole lot of stories about bears breaking into cars and homes, what do you suppose

happens when humans break into their natural habitat. Thanks to the magic of the live stream cameras of explore.org -- go there, it`s awesome -- we

know exactly now what happens if somebody dares to crash a bear`s dinner party. Because last week, some eagle-eyed nature watchers actually caught

this dude wading into the river to take a selfie with the feeding bears. The Katmai National Park rangers say three people went into this restricted

area and were ratted out by both visitors to the park and the explore.org`s live bear cam viewers. And now, those folks are facing charges because

that part of the park is closed during the feeding season. It`s also excruciatingly dumb.

No accounting for folks` taste. We`re going to see you back here tomorrow night 6:00 Eastern. Thanks so much for watching. "FORENSIC FILES" begins

right now.

END