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At This Hour

Joyce Mitchell Pleads Guilt to Helping in Prison Escape; Key Trump Adviser Apologizing for Controversial Rape Comment; West Virginia Escort Likely Shot Serial Killer in Self-Defense; Rescue Efforts Ramped Up for Two Teens Missing at Sea. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired July 28, 2015 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00] RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And he told me that there was definitely something going on between Joyce Mitchell and David Sweat, that she would keep him back when all the rest of the guys went to the mess hall for lunch and she would bring him fried chicken and barbecue chicken and all kinds of special lunches. Her lawyer said she and David Sweat did not have any type of relationship but who knows.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: It seems they didn't want that to become public.

KAYE: Absolutely.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: One other thing here, the state inspector general looking into the prison in Clinton Correctional has made clear that he will be talking to Joyce Mitchell at length, and she put out this statement after this plea deal was reached. She said nothing short of her full cooperation will be tolerated. I'm confident when she fulfills the obligation I will provide a thorough and complete accounting with all the factors contributing to this elaborate breakout. So Joyce Mitchell could be a big part of helping to fix this prison.

KAYE: Absolutely. And this woman would know, I mean, she is a woman who somehow managed to get hacksaw blades to these guys through hamburger meat. She managed to figure out a good meeting spot for them to meet not just far from the manhole where they emerged from where they could see this power plant from the tailor shop. She had this figured out. She could certainly be a great resource for them.

BERMAN: All right. Randi Kaye, thanks so much. And of course, there will be much more tonight, a special here on CNN, Randi Kaye's special report, the Great Prison Escape, 9 P.M. only on CNN.

BOLDUAN: Coming up still for us, an escort shoots and kills a man attacking her. In the trunk of his car though, police find handcuffs, an ax, a machete, bleach, and a possible hit list. So was he a serial killer?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. Welcome back. AT THIS HOUR a key adviser to Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, a counsel apologizing for suggesting in an interview to the Daily

Beast -- suggesting for flat out stating that a man cannot rape his wife. That, of course, is not true. Marital rape is illegal in all 50 states. Michael Cohen has apologized for that remark. The Trump campaign trying to distance itself from it a little bit.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

[11:35:00] BERMAN: Gets in for what's going on, joining us by the way is Mike Shields, the former chief of staff for the Republican National Committee. Mike, thanks for sticking around of talking to us more. What's going on in the campaign, you hear it from a lot of people, Donald Trump is taking up all the oxygen. Donald Trump is getting all the press in the campaign right now. This Michael Cohen thing, he didn't say that, this isn't him who said that, but it's an example of how all the press is focused on Trump right now.

So these other candidates trying to find a way to get in, is that why Mike Huckabee you think is talking about marching Israel to the ovens when he talks about the Iran deal?

MICHAEL SHIELDS, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF REPUCLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Well, I can't speak for Huckabee, but certainly the other candidates are going to make noise. This is sort of the preliminary part right before the debate. We're in the last part of the campaign before the debates start, before the selection of who the people are going to be on the stage of the debates are. So you're seeing this jockeying, you're going to have candidates saying things getting ready. But then, once you get to the debate, I think there will be more of a policy discussion. I think the debate moderator.

BOLDUAN: I hope so.

SHIELDS: That's what their job is, to ask questions about policy that the voters care about. I think that will change the shape of this. Sometimes the field can kind of look like in the Olympics where you have the runners starting off in different blocks and they sort of look to be in the lead but then once you start coming into the bend and get into the real debates, things look a little bit different after that.

BOLDUAN: That's an interesting way of putting it, Mike. Drawing from your experience as being chief of staff to the RNC, I do want to ask you because the RNC seems to have found themselves a little bit in the middle of this war of words between a lot of these candidates. I spoke with Sean Spicer last night, chief adviser -- chief strategist for the RNC and he said over and over again, it's not the RNC's job to be the referee.

They're not there to call the balls and strikes between what candidates should say and shouldn't but they did step into it regarding Donald Trump and the remarks he made about John McCain. They came out very strong and were very critical about what he said about John McCain's military war hero status. But then when it comes to Mike Huckabee, they say we're not here to be the referee. Are they walking too fine of a line? SHIELDS: No, I think Sean was pretty clear about that. It is not the

job of the RNC to call ball and strike.

BOLDUAN: Then why did they comment on that?

SHIELDS: Because in that case, there was a comment that was made about veterans and about a specific person, about John McCain. They actually didn't mention Trump in their statement. All they did was put a statement out that said John McCain is a war hero and we shouldn't disparage our war heroes. And so, I think that was one they felt they had to say something about it. But I think it's hard -- they've done a very good -- I mean, it's hard to be the chairman of the party and to go on these things, you're going to have.

BOLDUAN: No question.

SHIELDS: This is just going to keep going more and more and I think Reince is very experienced. He's been through this before in 2012. He did a fantastic job. I think the RNC has done an amazing job of creating a debate system that they have created and so I think that they're doing this exactly the right way.

BERMAN: Let's talk the debate. We have one poll here right now from New Hampshire just to give you a sense of where everyone stands right now. Donald Trump up in New Hampshire, a new monument poll he's a 24 percent. Jeb Bush at 12 percent. So Trump is doing twice as well. This gives you a sense of where people are right now. Doesn't even show you the bottom tier.

A lot of guys on the bottom tier right now have like three days, four days to try force themselves into this first debate. What do you think they will do over the next few days?

SHIELDS: Well, I think you're seeing it. I mean, they're making news, putting out videos. They're running campaigns. This is what really matters in an election but I think it's interesting to look at how volatile this could be.

I went back and look, in August of 2013, I'm getting ready to head into August. August 1st of 2013, it was Christie, Paul, Rubio and Bush. In August 1st, 2014 it was Paul, Huckabee, Christie, Bush. And so just going back a year and two year, you see how this can change. My guess is, when you get to say, the third debate, the people on stage won't be the same people as in the first debate. Someone will have moved into that debate and so there's going to be some changes that go on here and that's why we're here talking about it.

BOLDUAN: That's why and that's why these are going to be some fascinating debates. We cannot wait. Mike, it's great to see you. Thank you so much.

SHIELDS: Thank you. Happy birthday.

BOLDUAN: Thank you. Very sweet of you. Thank you so much.

BERMAN: You stole my thunder. SHIELDS: Sorry.

BERMAN: An escort kills her attacker, a man who might have been a serial killer. A kill kit found in his car complete with bleach, cuffs, shovels. Were there more victims?

BOLDUAN: Also ahead, the coast guard expanding its search for the two teenagers lost at sea still today. How long can they survive in those waters without their boat. It was found capsized. We're going to talk to someone who has lived through it, stranded at sea and survived to tell the tale.

[11:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning authorities in West Virginia and beyond believe that an escort who shot and killed a violent John might have executed upon a possible serial killer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEATHER, SHOT SUSPECTED SERIAL KILLER: I knew he was there to kill me. I could tell that he had already done something because he said that. He was going to prison for a long time and that's when I knew that he was going to kill me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The man she's talking about is Neal Falls. When police showed up Falls was dead and what they found in his car, well, disturbing.

BOLDUAN: Yes. I mean, it was a so-called, "kill kit" was found there including handcuffs, an ax, a machete, a container of bleach and a list of the names of ten women, all of them escorts in West Virginia. Detailed their ages and their phone numbers. All of those women are alive but investigators believe that Falls could now be linked to the unsolved murders of missing escorts and at least three other states.

Joining now us for more on this is Lieutenant Steve Cooper. He is heading up the investigation in West Virginia. Lieutenant, thanks very much for your time. This story is so, so scary and how it all unfolded is just truly amazing.

At this point, Lieutenant, are you confident that you have a serial killer on your hands?

LT. STEVE COOPER, CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA POLICE: It's very likely that Mr. Falls was a serial killer. 45 years old, highly unlikely that this was his first violent crime. The items that he had on is person and in his vehicle were pretty sinister in nature with the axes and the machetes, the for four sets of handcuffs and the gun, the bleach, and the trash bags. So it's pretty likely based on the nature of the crime he committed here combined with what we found on him, we believe so.

[11:45:00] BERMAN: So what contact have you had with other states, other locations, to find out if there could be cases there. And this guy was unusual, right? And I heard you saying no cash, no credit cards at the time, that maybe he had been stopped as many as 20 times over the last few years in other states for various kinds of violations.

COOPER: Yes. He has had a lot of contact with law enforcement. Generally it seems they're stopping to investigate some circumstance. We don't know all the details of that yet. We just know he's been stopped in numerous states across the country and the locations and the dates.

We're speaking with some of them now. We've been forwarding information to Las Vegas on the four missing escorts, missing and murdered escorts in Las Vegas. There was some dismemberment involved in those cases, and based on the nature of what we found in his vehicle and the handcuffs he had in his pockets, it's suspicious. Mr. Falls actually lived in that area at the time as well.

BOLDUAN: And that's also why I wonder what's the connection to West Virginia? What brought him to your state? He's from Oregon. Obviously there's a connection to Las Vegas. Why West Virginia?

COOPER: We really don't know that. He's had contact with a lot of law enforcement in areas that he didn't seem to have any roots or any connection. So he was a bit nomadic at times. He's been off the grid for several months or a year and we're still investigating trying to figure out where he was heading, where he was coming from, and of course, he had the list of women with their ages and phone number. We've been checking the well-being of most of those women and it seems they're all OK.

BERMAN: What about the devices in the car, the cuffs, the other parts of this kill kit found inside? Have you had a chance to analyze them to see if there's any DNA or any traces of any other possible victims there?

COOPER: They're at our lab right now. We've swabbed them. They're at the lab being tested. Again, he carried a large container of bleach with him and I'm concerned about that as far as any evidence being destroyed or damaged, but we're doing everything we can to test these items. We've also been in touch with the FBI and working with them. So just trying to sort through it and reach out to law enforcement across the country if they have any similar cases to contact us or the FBI and we've heard from a few states, Kentucky and Texas to name a couple.

BERMAN: Wow. So it could go even further than where we are right now and the number of states and the number of people missing cases that he could be involved in. Just terrifying. Lieutenant Cooper, thank you so much for your time. Good luck with your investigation.

Coming up for us now, two teens lost at sea for days, but their families, they are holding out hope. They remain optimistic. The items that could be keeping them alive. We'll talk about that next.

BERMAN: Plus, an off-duty detective caught on camera making some serious threats. Watch this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't know you were -- I didn't know you were a cop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll put a hole right through your head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK. OK.

[11:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Happening now, rescue crews have intensified their effort to find two missing 14-year-old boys lost at sea. This is the fifth day of the search and there's no sign of Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos.

BOLDUAN: The families of the boys are still holding out hope that the boys will be found alive. You see there, their capsized boat. The U.S. coast guard found it. The U.S. coast guard spoke with CNN this morning explaining how the boys could have been swept away from that boat.

CAPT. MARK FEDOR, U.S. COAST GUARD, 7TH DISTRICT: If you capsize in a squall, it's very easy to get separated from your boat if there's any type of weather and they sound easy, boat flips over, you can swim right to it. But if you're in rough seas; even temporary due to

a squall, it's very difficult to swim through that and find that boat.

BOLDUAN: Joining us now is someone who knows about being stranded at sea. Hugo Mantilla. He was stranded for more than 12 hours trying to sail from South Florida to North Carolina earlier this month. Hugo, thank you so much for coming on.

Obviously they're still searching for these young boys and it has been five days, as we were laying out. You never go out on the water expecting to be stranded or expecting to run into something like this, but talk to us how quickly for you which -- when you were out there it took a turn for the worse.

HUGO MANTILLA, SURVIVED 12 HOURS STRANDED AT SEA: Yes, Kate, thank you for inviting me. You know, when you're a boater, especially in South Florida, these thunderstorms just creep up. Our situation was quite fast. I'm a sailor not a motor boater. When you have motor boat you might be able to run away from these clear thunderstorms approaching. On a sailboat, you're going so slow you can't run away from them. So we got stranded close to South Carolina on our way to North Carolina and, you know, you never expect, like you said, you never expect particularly when the weather doesn't seem to be really anything that you should be worried about and then suddenly they just creep up. These thunderstorms in the summer are pretty bad.

BERMAN: So when that moment comes, when that moment comes, you know you're in trouble, what can you do to try to ultimately save your life?

MANTILLA: The difference between a sailboat and a motor boat, the sailboat is slow, you just have to face it and try to go against the wind and face the storm. Motor boaters have the benefit of being able to go around it. But you really -- all you have is once it happens you just want to try to stay into the waves as they come crashing, you don't want to be side ways to them because then you capsize, which it sounds like that might have happened to these boys. And that's all you can do. Just obviously prepare yourself. We had what we call lifelines, you have your life jackets, you prepare, put -- pretty much like the same. Batten down the hatches and prepare for big winds.

BOLDUAN: Yes. I mean, every circumstance is different, obviously. Your circumstance -- these boys, their boat did capsize, the coast guard found it there. Your boat did not capsize so you were able to stay on it. You were stranded there for 12 hours. It's now been five days and the families and even the U.S. coast guard are holding out hope that they are going to find these boys. You've been in these waters, what do you think?

MANTILLA: Well, you know, the gulf stream, this is a very strong body of water moving north quickly, it just moving whatever is lying there very quickly north. Some cases it can go up to four, five knots. So they're looking, obviously, the coast guard which, by the way, there isn't a better group of people trying to find anyone than the U.S. coast guard. They know roughly where it's going. If they have a flotation device, the water now, the temperature of the water is such that you can weather some time.

[11:55:00] So if they had life jackets, some flotation device, there's a good chance. I don't know how many more days, you know better than anyone how difficult it is to stay that long into the ocean. But the gulf scream is powerful and moves very quickly.

BOLDUAN: Amazing. Hugo, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story. We appreciate it.

MANTILLA: Thank you for having me.

BOLDUAN: Of course, coming up for us, an off duty detective threatens to blow a hole right through a driver's dead. It's all caught on tape. We'll show you what happened next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: A stunning video this morning of an off duty detective threatening a driver for allegedly going the wrong way at a traffic circle. You can see the detective gets out of his car and approaches the driver screaming. The driver says he was scared because the man wasn't in uniform and he didn't even realize he was with the law. The driver's own dashcam recorded the whole thing.

Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't know you were...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll blow a hole right through your head. I'll put a hole right through your head. Pull over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK. OK. I didn't know you were a cop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're lucky I'm a cop because I'd be beating the out of you right now. Give me your license.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I also want to let you know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me your license.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. I also have a dash camera.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was definitely nerve-wracking when someone is like hey I'm going to shoot you, digging for his gun, telling me he'll shoot me. That's a bit extreme, don't you think?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: I'll put a hole right through your head.

BERMAN: A bit extreme, don't you think?

BOLDUAN: That's extreme. That's one way to put it. It turns out the detective did not pull out a gun, he pulled out his badge in order to show him during that confrontation. Now that detective has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is being investigated.

BERMAN: The driver -- he was trying to tell the detective the whole time, he's like "don't be so threatening, I have a dash camera.

BOLDUAN: He said by law in Boston he needed to tell the police officer in Boston he was recording. I do not know the law in Boston. That's what he said. It continued from there. That was an encounter I hope to never have.

BERMAN: The camera worked.

BOLDUAN: It often does. The cameras often help. Thank you so much for joining us AT THIS HOUR.

BERMAN: "LEGAL VIEW" with Randi Kaye starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN's Breaking News.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Randi Kaye in for Ashleigh Banfield.