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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield

Girl Abducted from Walmart, Killed; Boy Vanishes from Home, Stepmom Arrested; Inmates Escape Through Classroom. Aired 6-8p ET

Aired February 22, 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] JEAN CASAREZ, HOST, HLN: Good evening. I`m Jean Casarez in for Ashleigh Banfield. Thank you so much for joining us. This is Crime and

Justice.

Tonight in Northern Illinois, a missing trio has been found. The bodies of a 22-year-old woman and her boyfriend were pulled from a river early this

morning after her husband was spotted by police driving his car.

Hanson refused to pull over and seems to have actually shot himself in the head when he drove off the side of the road. Police had a warrant out for

him for two counts of kidnapping, but tonight all three are dead.

And also tonight, police in Michigan have released video of a man who charged at them in his pickup truck after attempting to evade arrest for

driving under the influence. They follow him to a rural road where warning things turned fatal very fast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shut the car off! Shut the car off! Shut the car off! He`s peeling out and he`s turning northbound and about ready to come at me.

He`s peeling backwards and he`s going southbound in Wilcox in reverse. And he`s coming at us. Shots fired! He hit my patrol car. He has been struck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK? Are you OK? Garner is down. Shots are fired. He`s peeling off into my car. He`s been hit. Are you OK? Come here. I got

you. He looks like he`s down. Are you OK, buddy? Did you get hit by your car?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His foot is on the gas and he is peeling into my patrol car. We are at Bonnie and Wilcox. He`s been hit and he`s down, but I think

his foot is still on the gas. And Garner is hurt. I think he got hit by a car. Why don`t you get behind me? Get behind this barricade here. Come

here. Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ll be all right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where did you get hit? His car is smoking, too, by the way. We will need fire. His truck is smoking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: A review of the incident supported the officer`s decision to fire at the 64-year-old man who had a blood alcohol content of .19 when he died.

And after five weeks without answers, there is finally an arrest in the case of the small town stay at home mother found case down and nearly naked

on the street outside of her home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN LEMLEY, CHIEF, CALERA POLICE DEPARTMENT: On January 13th around 0510 a.m., the Calera Police Department was dispatched to the 100 block of

Ringwood Circle on a partially nude female lying in the road. The victim, Kathleen West suffered from blunt force trauma to the head and pronounced

deceased at the scene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: She and her husband did date night without the kids the night before she died. Now you`re looking it right there. It was captured on

camera at the local liquor store in video we got from Inside Edition. And they seem like a very happy couple, but now it seems like something

happened after the Absinthe purchase.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMLEY: The Calera Police Department made an arrest in the Kathleen West murder investigation. Jeffry William, Jeffrey West, the victim`s husband

has been arrested and charged with the murder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Tonight Kathleen West`s husband, you are looking at him right there, he is behind bars. But we need to know what happened behind closed

doors. And whether it has anything to do with her side job which was moonlighting on an adult subscription web site.

[18:04:57] Joining us tonight, syndicated radio host Dave Mack. Dave, you have been on this case. First of all, when did the arrest happen and what

is the evidence that actually made them believe to be able to effectuate the arrest and that it was her husband?

DAVE MACK, SYNDICATED RADIO HOST: You know, actually the arrest was this morning about 8.30 Central Time. They had him for about 45 minutes with the

sheriff`s department before they took him to central booking and county jail.

He was a suspect from the very beginning, Jean. They always suspected him and what they were actually waiting for was for forensics to come back. The

forensic came back Tuesday night, by late Wednesday they had already gotten what they needed and prepared for the arrest this morning.

CASAREZ: So forensics came back and it`s been five weeks and they have tested a lot of evidence. So forensics came back Tuesday night you were

saying?

MACK: Yes, ma`am.

CASAREZ: Do we know what the forensics were?

MACK: No, ma`am. They have not been direct on this. Let me tell you what. The Calera Police Department is a very small police department. And they

knew that this had a huge national feel to it. They had a lot of news media coming in and covering it. So they were very, very careful. We got nothing

out of anybody within that department, including the mayor. They all kept it close to the vest. What they did say was that the forensics came back.

Jeff West the husband was always a suspect. His demeanor and behavior the morning the body was found all the way up through his arrest this morning.

Fairly consistent. No emotion.

(CROSSTALK)

CASAREZ: You know, Dave, let`s talk about no emotion. You`re exactly right. No emotion from the husband. That`s what witnesses have said. But I want --

take us back to that morning five weeks ago. There was a young woman that was driving to work and she actually found Kat in the street. Explain that.

MACK: Well, at 5.10 in the morning on a Saturday morning, a teenager was on her way to a part-time job in a fast foot restaurant and she was running

behind. But as she was leaving neighborhood she saw Kat West partially in the road and partially in the grass.

She knew immediately that she needed help. She went back petrified and got her father. Her father then came and felt the body to see if the body --

what was going on. There was no breathing. She was cold. They knew she was dead.

Well, about that time, Jeff West comes out. Because this happened right out in front of their house just across the road, OK. This is a subdivision.

Jeff comes out of the house and he said hey, what`s going on? That`s my wife. The man who wants to be anonymous by the way, he says, well, she`s

dead.

By then, Jeff West is standing in the street, he puts a cigarette butt out in the street and turn back and walks back in. Jeff West did not call 911.

I mean, if that was your spouse lying dead on the road, you would call 911 you think. Not Jeff West. He just turned around and walked away. A neighbor

actually had to call 911.

CASAREZ: And this of course is the rendition of the witness. Her husband, Jeff West is innocent until proven guilty. We have not heard his side on

that situation that conversation, but we have had the press conference today where the police and detectives are saying that they had him as a

suspect from the beginning. Let`s listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At what point did Jeff West become a suspect?

LEMLEY: He was a suspect from the very beginning.

(OFF-MIC)

LEMLEY: I don`t really know how to answer that. So it`s not that he has not been uncooperative, but, you know, I would say I guess somewhat.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you talked to him...

LEMLEY: I believe we talked with him twice, but I don`t have that specific number. I believe it was twice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His demeanor, I`m just curious his demeanor.

LEMLEY: You know, it didn`t seem to be the time that I`ve seen him. He didn`t seem to be very upset.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: So that`s about the same thing that the witness at the scene said in those early morning hours when he walked out of his house.

Joining us tonight, former NYPD detective and law enforcement consultant, Tom Verni joining us tonight. Thank you. I want to give you some more facts

and I want to get your assessment of this.

That morning at 5 a.m. when that young woman was driving to work and then her father came and they found the body, there was Kat`s cell phone at the

scene, always from the bodies, but with an alcohol bottle seemingly one of the two they bought the night before at the liquor store very properly

positioned on top of the cell. Your thoughts on all of that.

TOM VERNI, LAW ENFORCEMENT CONSULTANT: I mean, that could have been to throw people off. The fact that, you know, she was in close proximity to

her home, the fact that there was no one that seemed to have a grudge against her. I mean, all roads seem to point back to her husband almost

immediately according to what the chief was saying and the investigator seem to believed that as well.

And I had spoken to someone down there as well and that seems to be the recurring theme. That from the get go, he seemed to be the guy, the person

of interest immediately and there was not that they wouldn`t rule out anything, but you know, he was the go to guy.

[18:10:04] CASAREZ: You know, today`s surveillance video was everywhere. And outside of homes there were surveillance videos not only from their

home potentially, but neighbors.

VERNI: Yes.

CASAREZ: Why five weeks? Because if he dragged the body out and we don`t know if he did. Maybe she was able to stumble out.

VERNI: Possibly.

CASAREZ: But are you surprised that it took so long?

VERNI: Not really. I mean, you know, the big misconception with murder cases is that they think they can solve in 43 minutes like we see on TV.

CASAREZ: Right.

VERNI: And that`s just not how it goes.

CASAREZ: True.

VERNI: You know, these things take days, weeks, months, sometimes even years if you have a cold case. So I think they wanted to keep it close to

the vest. I think they wanted to make sure they had all their ducks in a row. Because this is something you don`t want to screw up. You want to make

sure you`ve got the right person with all the right evidence, you know, pointing to that, connecting to that person. Everything corroborates one

another. And to make sure that if this is the right guy or the right person, that we can, you know, make sure we have enough evidence to convict

him and put him in jail forever, hopefully.

CASAREZ: And this is a small town they have about one homicide a year. So they want to make sure they do it right.

VERNI: Yes.

CASAREZ: With us tonight also is certified death investigator Joseph Scott Morgan. He is also a professor of forensics at Jacksonville State

University. Joseph, I want to have you listen to what police also said today about the challenges they had in all of this. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMLEY: Jeff is involved in this case is the victim`s location where she was located. She was outside of the home. Typically when you have

domestics, you know, it`s typically going to be inside the residence. This was outside of the home across the street. The fact that she was partially

nude is one of the challenges that bring in a lot of other questions involved in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Mr. Morgan, what we`ve learned, blunt force trauma as the actual cause of death and what the witness said was that there was so much blood

in her hair, he thought she was a red head. What type of an instrument would do something like that? Could do something like that?

JOSEPH SCOTT MORGAN, PROFESSOR OF APPLIED FORENSICS, JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY: Yes, let`s back up a little bit, Jean. Relative to this,

because remember she is laying in the street or adjacent to the curb. One of the things that law enforcement and medical examiner have to eliminate

here was this blunt force trauma sustained relative to the curve where her -- the bottle and the cell phone were found or was it some type of

instrumentality or homicidally applied.

That`s something that they are going to look like -- look for. The problem is they haven`t released a lot of information relative to the injuries. So

I don`t know how many strikes there were to the head, but we know they are calling this blunt force trauma and it is being classified as a homicide

which gives us an indication she was instruct -- she was struck by another individual.

Something else here with all of this blood evidence and wanting to know if she had originated out of the house, this sort of thing. One of the things

that the police will be looking for carefully are blood trails leading away from the house or in the middle of the street. Say, for instance, if she

was dumped out of a car and their particular bits of evidence that we would look for in that instance.

Also one more thing that is a huge piece to all of this is, what was her level of blood alcohol? We heard a lot of (Inaudible) the fact that she was

drinking Absinth. I`d be very curious to know how much alcohol she had on board and also when the police arrived, did the husband appear to be, I

don`t know, inebriated in any level, what was the condition of the interior of the house. These are still things that we don`t have answers to...

(CROSSTALK)

CASAREZ: Right. Really good point. Really good point and we don`t know if there was a blood trail at all coming from the house either.

Heather Hansen, defense attorney joining us tonight. I can see some defenses here that could be potentially strong. The elephant in the room

here is she had a web site that had a subscription service for presumably men to get on and it was videos of her that she shot in her home. Lots of

people knew her.

HEATHER HANSEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That`s right, Jean. A lot of people were fans of hers, but you know, I would assume that the husband knew that. You

see in those pictures that you`ve been showing in the show that someone took those pictures and he having lived with her probably was aware of

this.

There are going to be a lot of potential defenses. One of which I would think would be self defense. If they`re both drinking this Absinthe which

is known to cause hallucinations, or at least allegedly cause hallucinations perhaps she attacked him. However, he sort of had negated

that defense by not saying it when he came out and found her in the street and sort of acted nonchalant about it. So if you are his attorney, there is

a lot to be concerned about and a lot of your possibilities may be curtailed by his actions.

[18:15:04] CASAREZ: Yes. That`s the biggest challenge I think, no question. That`s why I`m wondering if the defense would have a counter to that from

that eyewitness. So, we`ll stay on with this just rested today but and obviously a big case.

Up next, life or death? The verdict for the monster found guilty of murdering 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle is in.

[18:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CASAREZ: Some people shoplift from places like Wal-Mart, but this man took a little girl, luring her away from her mother and her sisters with the

promise of McDonald`s, but taking her to his white van and then raping her and strangling her before stuffing her body under a log in the creek.

Donald Smith was convicted of kidnapping, rape, and murder. And even though he spent this week laughing in court and posing for the cameras before

breaking down today in tears, the jury couldn`t forget how he took Cherish Perrywinkle`s life and today that jury voted to take his.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALLORY COOPER, JUDGE: The jury unanimously found the defendant Donald James Smith should be sentenced to death. Yes. And so say we all this 22nd

day of February, 2018.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Donald Smith wasn`t the only one crying in court today. Because after five years, Cherish`s mother finally has some sense of justice.

And with us tonight, Aaron Keller, he`s the Law and Crime Network host. Thank you for joining us. OK. How long did they deliberate aggravating

factors are sent to the jury in Florida as many jurisdictions, what were they, and how many did they come back with?

AARON KELLER, HOST, LAW AND CRIME NETWORK: The Jury deliberated two hours and 10 minutes. The prosecution sought six aggravating factors. The jury

agreed with all six finding only two factors to try to mitigate it, but it wasn`t enough.

CASAREZ: Wow. That was amazing. Well, we have a little bit from the argument by the prosecutor before that verdict and the penalty phase was

reached. Let`s listen to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your verdict should not be based on sympathy, that you feel sorry for anyone. It`s not hard no feel sorry for Donny, Jr. I

understand that, you know, the decision you are making is recommendation as to the death penalty ultimately could mean Donny, would lose his father.

That`s not a pleasant thing, but your decision should not be based on sympathy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And of course you hear that in the arguments near the end of a penalty phase, but in this particular case, the prosecutor was directing it

for one thing, the son of Donald Smith spoke in his father`s behalf during the sentencing saying he`s my dad. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Smith, since your father has been institutionalized in the Duvall county jail, have you developed a

relationship with him?

DONALD SMITH, JR., DONALD SMITH`S SON: Yes. You know, no one can take the place of my dad because he is my blood and he is my real dad and I

definitely benefit from him. I talk to him at least once a week. Most of the time twice a week. And he gives me really good advice.

I mean, and just with everyday situations and the problems I made and went through. We don`t really talk about the past or anything. We just talk

about me and my life right now. And this was something that he wasn`t able to do before when he was out in the streets because he was chasing the

drug.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you look forward to talking to your father now that he is inside?

SMITH: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And now his father according to a jury should be put to death. With us tonight, retired Jacksonville sheriff`s officer Charlie Wilkie. He

actually arrested Donald Smith and shortly after found Cherish Perrywinkle`s body. Thank you for joining us tonight. Your reaction to this

penalty verdict.

CHARLIE WILKIE, FOUND CHERISH PERRYWINKLE`S BODY: I`m in total agreement with it. I don`t think you can come up with a different verdict than what

they came up with and I don`t think you can come up with a different penalty than what it`s for. This is not the essence of what deserves the

death penalty, then my God, what does? What does determine it?

CASAREZ: You know, I know you were a witness in this trial, but I want you to tell us, what was it like when you took on this case and you actually

found that little girl`s body?

WILKIE: It was very emotional. You know, it`s one of the cases that sticks with you forever. Quite honestly I have been in law enforcement for a long

time and a lot of my fellow officers have as well.

[18:25:02] I`ve been involved in shootings where I had to take people`s lives. I`ve been in cases where I`ve seen children literally die in front

of me from car wreck or drowning or burn up in a fire and nothing, nothing compares to this. Nothing compares to this. Because it was so heinous, so

premeditated, so thought out that he just took every step that he could to make sure that he completed the horrific crime that he set out to do. He

had no remorse.

CASAREZ: You know, you are so right, and I say this in a very heinous horrible way. The creativity that he figured out how to do this. To prey on

a family that was in need, to think that $150 gift certificate was going to come their way to Wal-Mart because they happened to see him in the dollar

store when the mother was trying to buy clothes for her daughter and they didn`t have the money and she was going out of town the next day and they

wanted her to have something.

I mean, it was probably like a movie, right? In the prosecutor`s press conference after this verdict today, the prosecutor talked about you, Mr.

Wilkie and I want everyone to hear what that prosecutor said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You saw the dress that was up there, the slap happy dress and any of you who had daughters probably had the same pattern.

Charlie Wilkie testified that his daughter had the dress and my daughter did as well. It impacted me personally. It was a child. It`s among the

worst that our community has seen and it mattered to our community.

Officer Wilkie and i actually cried together during the pretrial. I mean, he was so -- he`s been a law enforcement officer in his entire career and

this case impacted him such that this many years later preparing for his testimony.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: When I hear this, I just get chills.

WILKIE: Yes.

CASAREZ: When did you realize that the little dress on this little girl was a dress that you recognized?

WILKIE: Immediately. As soon as I walked out towards the tree and looked down and I first saw the tree limbs and stuff that Donald Smith placed on

top of her to obscure her from view and then I could see the right shoulder of her dress and her right side of her face and immediately I saw that

pattern and her brown hair was floating in the water and I saw my little girl.

You know, I saw every other little girl that I`ve ever seen that looks that way that is just so innocent and to have something so horrific happen to

them because someone decided and put all these steps in place to make sure they complete this heinous crime. It was very, very emotional for me to be

there and stand by with her until I was relieved by other officers.

CASAREZ: My goodness. Heather Hansen, defense attorney, this will culminate in years of appeals for this man, however, Florida does execute. They still

have the death penalty. What`s in store for the future?

HANSEN: It`s about seven years between the time of the verdict and the time of the verdict and the time of the execution. And there are about 358 other

people also waiting to be executed in Florida. There has been a lot of legal wrangling there on executions.

However, I think everyone has covered this case, everyone who has watched this case agrees as the officer just said. If there was ever a case that

deserved the death penalty, this was it. The defense had nothing. They had nothing throughout the guilt part of the case and they had nothing through

the penalty part of the case except to bring up the son.

Not only was there this premeditation creative planning, but there was no remorse. He had a jail house snitch who had recorded and he was the jury

heard through his own words that this girl who was walking through the jail house reminded him of Cherish. I think that that was literally the nail in

the coffin.

CASAREZ: I think you`re right. We actually do have that recording. You got to hear this. This is an audio recording in the jail as he`s awaiting the

trial. And he`s talking about a school child that I guess it`s a field trip that they had in the jail that was able to come that close to him in his

cell. Listen to this. It`s unbelievable.

(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are young girls you hear me. They`re young. But man what you look at the girl`s ass, they`re like whoa, whoa, whoa. You

know how old they are? About 12. Twelve or 13. But this girl got an ass like Coco. You could sit a wine glass on her ass. You sure that she`s 12?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. That`s right up my alley right there. That`s my target area right there. That`s what I go after.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well you`ll have fun with that one. See, her papa should be ashamed, you hear?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Letting that girl look like that man with fake eyelashes, fake (muted) nails, fake hair, and fake (muted) probably.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I`d like to run her into a Wal-Mart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cherish have a butt on her?

[18:30:04] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. She had a lot for a white girl.

(END VOICE CLIP)

CASAREZ: Officer Wilkie, this is a separate issue completely, but do you think the local jail learned a very big lesson by this audio tape that now

is public and disseminated everywhere, that school children shouldn`t be close to the inmates in that local jail?

CHARLIE WILKIE, RETIRED JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF OFFICER, FOUND CHERISH PERRYWINKLE`S BODY: Absolutely. Absolutely. I agree 100 percent, and I

think that`s exactly where they based some changes to make sure that doesn`t happen again. I know that -- I was told that the other inmate was

even shaken by the comments made by Donald Smith, that he was so callus in the way he described her, and there were other comments that he made

describing Cherish and the things that he did to her.

He just relished in the fact. It was like this conquest of his that he thought everybody would delight in. It`s just absurd that the average

person who has a rational thought of mind, thought process, can think anybody can even say such a thing, much less carry it out.

CASAREZ: And it definitely shows his state of mind, what his state of mind was --

WILKIE: Absolutely.

CASAREZ: -- when he is facing the death penalty and charges of first-degree premeditated murder. And that`s his reaction.

WILKIE: Absolutely.

CASAREZ: You know, we got a lot more. Officer, I really want to talk with you about some of the emotions that we saw from this man in the courtroom,

because you are the one that arrested him. I want to hear about that, too, but more from this officer who found little Cherish`s body also, just

ahead.

[18:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CASAREZ: (INAUDIBLE) rest of his life in prison or the death penalty for Donald Smith, the 61-year-old man who some consider a monster for what he

did to an 8-year-old girl. Today, the same men and women who convicted him for kidnapping, rape, and murder voted to sentence Donald Smith to death

despite his tears in court.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we are happy that we were able to get justice for Cherish. It has been a long road. Over four and a half years and a long

process, but we are very pleased with the outcome today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): What was Smith seemed like, he shed a tear?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I prefer not to talk about him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Aaron Keller, law and crime network host. Retired Jacksonville sheriff`s officer, Charlie Wilkie. He arrested Donald Smith and found

Cherish Perrywinkle`s body. And defense attorney Heather Hansen. Thank you so much.

Aaron, I want to ask you. When the verdict was ringing out today, the penalty verdict, could you see his reaction at all?

AARON KELLER, HOST, LAW AND CRIME NETWORK: He was nodding. It was almost as if he anticipated it. I`m sure he did. And that he almost seemed to accept

the finality of it. From what I understand, he said leading up to the trial, that he expected this, that he almost wanted it. It was bizarre. It

was just very, very strange.

CASAREZ: I heard he cried a lot in court today though, especially when his attorney was arguing the childhood he had, he never got to accomplish

anything. Did you hear that?

HEATHER HANSEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, which is actually ridiculous. He had a privileged childhood by all account. His mother was well raised. He was

well raised, went to a private school, had a number of different stepfathers.

But there was no consistency to the defense. There was no one event that happened his childhood that would explain this. I mean, he really just

didn`t have anything to argue.

CASAREZ: But it is so true. They always cry when it`s all about them.

KELLER: It`s all about them.

CASAREZ: That`s right.

KELLER: And we were reacting to that.

CASAREZ: Yes. So interesting. Officer Charlie Wilkie, you are the person that arrested him. You found the body. I want to ask you though, in court,

during this trial, at one point, he posed for the cameras to take a picture of him. And I think we have a shot of when he posed.

He was posing right there. He wanted the cameras to take his picture. Look at that semi-smile on his face. What does that tell you about the person

that you arrested?

WILKIE: Oh, he has been that way the entire time. When I talked to some of the evidence technicians that took the physical evidence photos of him

after he had been arrested, they said he posed for them. He was very -- very flamboyant for lack of a better term.

He just didn`t care. He was very proud as they took pictures that any of the rest of us would have been maybe a little modest about or try to cover

ourselves up a little but. But he had no problem with it. He was quite, quite proud of what he set out to do and he accomplished what he wanted to

do.

CASAREZ: So, what was he like when you arrested him? That same demeanor?

WILKIE: Same demeanor. You know, a couple of things that came out in court and we talked about, when we asked him to put his hands out the window. A

normal person or I would say any other person, out of hundreds of felony traffic stops that I have been a part of, they just stick their hands

straight out the window, but he crossed his and kind of folded them over.

And then when we asked him to lift his shirt and drop the shirt back down, again his hands went all up over his head, just almost arrogant. Almost as

if you are saying, you know, you caught me, but you didn`t stop me from what I wanted to do. I had this planned and I saw it through and I

accomplished what I wanted to. Now, you`ve got me, but I`m content with what I have been able to do.

CASAREZ: I can picture it.

WILKIE: It does. It comes across like that. You know, we talked earlier today about the fact that here`s poor Cherish thinking she is going to go

get a cheeseburger, you know.

[18:40:00] She is going outside with a promise. I know that when I grew up. You know, we didn`t eat out a lot. My mom cooked a lot of home cooked

meals, but when we got to go get a cheeseburger, that was -- that was kind of a treat.

CASAREZ: Sure. Of course.

WILKIE: And I`m sure she left there thinking I`m going to get a cheeseburger. You know, she`s happy. You know, she`s trusting this man who

has been around them for a few hours. You know, her mom is trusting in him that he is going to buy these clothes. So it`s a good night for her. She is

thinking of getting a new clothes. We are going to fly see my dad tomorrow morning and we are going to go get cheeseburgers. It`s a pretty good night.

CASAREZ: Of course. It`s like a Cinderella dream.

WILKIE: Exactly. Exactly. And he just set back and preyed on them, knowing that they were needy, knowing that Rayne didn`t have the means of

purchasing all these clothes, and then he just capitalized on it and he had this whole plan set out and he took step by step to make sure he accomplish

what he wanted.

So horrific and so premeditated. Like we said earlier. I don`t know you can have a death penalty case. If this isn`t one, then what sets the bar?

CASAREZ: And I think that`s a common belief. I have heard many people say that.

WILKIE: Right.

CASAREZ: Thank you so much. Thank you to all of you. Up next, he has been missing for five days. And now the stepmother, now arrested for child

endangerment, but still no sign of 5-year-old Lucas Hernandez.

[18:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CASAREZ: It has been more than five days, but in Sedgwick County, Kansas, one little boy is still nowhere to be seen. Five-year-old Lucas Hernandez

disappeared from home on Saturday afternoon. His stepmother telling local reporters that she saw him in his bedroom just before she fell asleep.

And when she woke up, he was gone with the backdoor left wide open. Tonight, little Lucas is still missing. But it seems that maybe the

stepmother could have another story.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

GAVIN SEILER, DEPUTY POLICE, WICHITA POLICE DEPARTMENT: This case is now considered criminal investigation. Investigators have arrested a 26-year-

old female on two counts of child endangerment. The charges are related to new information gathered during this investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Joining us now, Stephanie Austin, news anchor at KQAM Radio. OK, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE AUSTIN, NEWS ANCHOR, KQAM RADIO (via telephone): Yes.

CASAREZ: I`m thinking about this, all right? She has now been charged with two counts of child endangerment. Do we know how she endangered her child?

What`s the theory for those charges?

AUSTIN (via telephone): Police will not speculate on that. They don`t want to jeopardize their case, so they will not say anything on how they came to

that determination.

CASAREZ: Yes.

AUSTIN (via telephone): We only know that it is two counts of child endangerment, one count being for Lucas and the other count we are assuming

would be another sibling in the home.

CASAREZ: Right, right. Very interesting. So, what are the facts as we know them at this point? Because she was arrested yesterday. When did Lucas go

missing and what are the circumstances around that?

AUSTIN (via telephone): OK. This started Saturday at 6:15 p.m. when police were called by Lucas`s stepmom, 26-year-old Emily Glass. And she told the

police that she had last seen Lucas around 3:00 p.m. in the home right before she went to take a shower and then she fell asleep. He was last seen

at 3:00 p.m. She called police around 6:15.

CASAREZ: Do we know at all, Stephanie, when Lucas was seen by somebody else during the course of that day, if at all?

AUSTIN (via telephone): Those details have not been given yet. There was a neighbor who said she saw Lucas about a week ago.

CASAREZ: A week ago?

AUSTIN (via telephone): Right. It has been very cold here and maybe the kids are not outside. There are reports that he missed school. They have

not released when someone else other than the stepmother actually saw him.

CASAREZ: Right. You know, Stephanie, that`s pivotal right there. Because Tom Verni, that is pivotal. You are a former NYPD detective. Because it`s

the mother who is saying, the last time I saw him was 3:00 p.m. We don`t know if that`s true.

TOM VERNI, FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE: No, not the all. Right now, the only person we are getting information from is her. You know, 5-year-old is not

all that resourceful. If this kid left the house especially with the weather being what it is, we are still in the middle of winter.

So, I`m really, really worried about this kid. Usually, we find these kids very quickly. If it`s past a certain amount of time, then unfortunately it

turns out to be a situation that we don`t want to think about. It has been five days.

CASAREZ: Very sad. It`s so sad. Tom, you talked about the weather. We got the weather. We got the weather. What it has been in Wichita, Kansas. I

think we can show everybody. Look at this. When Lucas was reported missing, the high was 60, OK, the low was 33. And as we go on for those five days

that he has been missing, the low was 14 yesterday. A little boy can`t survive in those conditions.

HANSEN: I think, Jean, your point is very well taken. Who knows when this boy truly went missing. If he hasn`t been at school

[18:50:00] which they just mentioned in that report, as you said, the stepmother is the only one right now. We got two counts of child

endangerment, those are only a year each. But if this turns into something bigger, this might turn into a much bigger case.

CASAREZ: Now, why do you think they arrested her for child endangerment?

HANSEN: It`s hard to speculate but I do have to think it has something do with the door open and she is sleeping in the middle of the afternoon when

she is supposed to be taking care of this kid. I also wonder where the father is. We know there was some domestic upset there. There has been

police out to the house before. So it`s interesting to see what his part of the story is going to be.

CASAREZ: And could that arrest just be of course they had probable cause, but it`s just sort of a ruse to get her in custody to try to get the truth

out, believing that there is something much more than child endangerment.

HANSEN: Or to get more information from the father. You know, perhaps play them against each other. All of these things. As you said, of course, there

is probable cause, but there are also ways that you can sort of and I am sure Tom knows more about this, but sort of lead the investigation by

bringing other people out to sort of turn on one another.

CASAREZ: You know, another interesting thing, Heather, is that normally this is a missing person investigation, but now they front and center are

saying this is a criminal investigation. I want you to listen to Deputy Chief Gavin Seiler of the Wichita Police Department.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

SEILER: Officers and investigators have been working on this case nonstop since 6:15 Saturday evening. We have collected information through

countless interviews, follow-ups on leads, and examining evidence. This incident has touched many in our community. I know that there are many more

questions that result in this.

This continues to be a criminal investigation and we cannot go into further details. The search for Lucas is ongoing and we are still asking the public

for assistance. We will continue to provide every resource that we have available to find Lucas. This is our priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Stephanie, do we know if -- and here are his statistics right here because this is a missing person investigation combined with a criminal

investigation. So, he is five years old, four feet tall. He had a gray shirt with a bear on it, black sweats, white socks.

Stephanie, do we know if the stepmother after being arrested yesterday afternoon, is she still in custody or has she been bailed out?

AUSTIN (via telephone): She does remain in jail --

CASAREZ: Really?

AUSTIN (via telephone): -- on (INAUDIBLE) dollars bond.

CASAREZ: Oh, that`s significant. That`s very significant. Heather, they want to find out where this little boy is.

HANSEN: Yes, for sure. And probably pressuring her in order to do so.

CASAREZ: Right.

HANSEN: It`s terrible. There was no amber alert. It doesn`t sound like they think there was an abduction. Really just a missing child who wandered away

or the stepmother knows more.

CASAREZ: And remember, she has not been deemed a suspect. She has not been charged --

HANSEN: Right.

CASAREZ: -- in his disappearance at all.

VERNI: One thing that is concerning to me is one of the reports I read is there was an aunt that had reported some abuse to the child. The were

markings on the child to Child Protective Services. When you start to connect the dots, it`s a lean towards something nefarious. I am hoping it`s

not the case. I hope that could turn up -- but again, we are talking about five days. That`s a long time.

CASAREZ: Child Protective Services had been called in, that`s right, because relatives were concerned about his welfare and safety. All right.

We will keep you up on this.

They say not to bite the hand that feeds you, but when three felons in Ohio got access to a classroom, it seems they couldn`t resist the urge to test

out their prison security. Next, how they made their escape.

[18:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CASAREZ: One more thing tonight. Three inmates take the opportunity to escape an Ohio prison. The whole thing is caught on surveillance video

which really makes you wonder how nobody caught them. At least not right away.

But according to local reports, the facility is investigating its security measures after three 20-something-year-old felons used a table to shatter

their classroom window and make a run for their freedom. And yes, I said classroom, because the jail staff thought these guys deserved the

opportunity to learn behind bars.

Tonight it seems what they learned is what it costs to escape from prison. The inmates were cornered in town and now they all face extra charges for

felony escape and vandalism, plus the price of fixing that broken window.

The next hour of "Crime and Justice" starts right now.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Tonight, it seems date night --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): It was a night without kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): -- may have turned deadly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Female in the roadway, naked.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Weeks after a mother is found face down on the street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Female not breathing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Her husband is arrested

[19:00:00] for murder.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything is normal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Yesterday he truckled. Today it was tears. Will they save him from the death penalty?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your verdict should not be based upon sympathy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After what he did to an 8-year-old girl.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No matter what your verdict today, it doesn`t bring Cherish back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tonight the jury has a verdict.

A 5-year-old boy missing for five days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want him to come home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His stepmother said she fell asleep and woke up to find him gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We last had seen Lucas in his bedroom at approximately 3:00 p.m.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, she has been arrested.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This case is now consider a criminal investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But Lucas is nowhere to be found.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hold out. We don`t know where he is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, HLN HOST: I`m Jean Casarez in for Ashleigh Banfield. Thank you so much for joining us. This is the second hour of CRIME AND JUSTICE.

It has been nearly weeks since a girl in a small town neighborhood made a very gruesome discovery that would shattered the community. A deceased

woman face down on the street reportedly wearing nothing but a sports bra.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF SEAN LEMLY, CALERA POLICE DEPARTMENT: On January 13th at 05:10 a.m., the Calera police department was dispatched to 100 block of greenwood

circle on a partially nude female lying in the road. The victim Kathleen West suffered from blunt force trauma to the head and was pronounced

deceased at the scene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: For nearly six weeks, the only clue in the death of at Kathleen West was the green liquor bottle placed by her head, the one she could have

bought the night before with her husband on a trip to the liquor store where this video was captured by "Inside Edition." That night, everything

seemed fine, but tonight it seems date night turned deadly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMLY: The Calera police department has made an arrest in the Kathleen West murder investigation. Jeffrey William West, the victim`s husband, has been

arrest and charged with the murder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: With Kathleen`s husband behind bars, the West`s daughter just lost both of her parents because Kathleen may have moonlighted as a model on an

adult subscription Web site where she went by the name Kitty Cat West but she was also a stay at home mom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMLEY: Actually, it is a tragedy and no question about it for all family involved, but especially for the daughter, you know. She is having to deal

with the fact that she lost a parent and now that, you know, this arrest has been made. This is definitely a tragedy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And joining us now, Carol Robinson. She is a public safety reporter at al.com.

Carol, thank you for joining us. You are an expert on the case. You have been covering it from the beginning. At first want to know a little bit

about Kathleen Dawn West because that is her name right there. And she seemed to lead -- I don`t want to say a double life, but sort of a double

life. But her husband fully knew what she was doing within their home, right?

CAROL ROBINSON, PUBLIC SAFETY REPORTER, AL.COM (on the phone): Absolutely. I don`t think there is any doubt he not only knew what she was doing, but

you know, participated in taking the pictures and benefiting for it financially.

CASAREZ: Right. So, she is a stay at home mom and then she has this subscription service on the side, an adult subscription service. Btu it

appears as though she was a very loving mother, a very good wife and her husband is actually in law enforcement, right?

ROBINSON: Correct. He is a campus security officer. So he is not actually, you know, a certified police officer in the state of Alabama, but he was a

campus security officer for, you know, a private upscale college in town.

CASAREZ: So when was he arrested?

ROBINSON: He was arrested I would say about 8:00 this morning at his home, you know, at his home where he lived with Kat. No resistance. No trouble.

Taken into custody, taken to police headquarters, questioned there for about 45 minutes and then booked with the county jail.

CASAREZ: All right. And they have said and they did say that he has been a suspect for a while. It has been five weeks now. Let`s listen to Chief Sean

LEMLEY from the Calera police department in today`s press conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When did Jeff West become a suspect?

LEMLEY: He was a suspect in the very beginning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

LEMLEY: I don`t know how to answer that. It`s not that he has not been uncooperative, but I would say I guess somewhat.

[19:05:08] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And how many times did you speak with him over the course?

LEMLEY: I believe we talked to him twice, but I don`t have the specific number. I believe twice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

LEMLEY: You know, it didn`t seem to be the times that I have seen him, he didn`t seem to be very upset.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: All right, Carol. I really want you to go with us through the timeline of when she was found outside of the home really across the

street. And who found her and what happened after that?

ROBINSON: Correct. And I spoke with the girl today that found her and this was the first time she has spoken out. That she was supposed to be at work

at 4:30, 19-year-old, was actually running late. So it was shortly before 5:00 a.m. on that Saturday morning. Driving just for, you know, four houses

away and said she knew immediately that it was a body. She freaked out, went back home and got her dad and together they went back up the street.

Her dad shined his headlights on what we know now was Kat West and checked to see if she was alive. He said he touched her back. While at that point

according to both the father and the daughter, Jeff West walked out of the house and said what`s going? That`s my wife. They said she`s dead. And he -

he just looked at him. He put his cigarette out in the street and turned around and walked back inside. And they called 911.

CASAREZ: You know, that is such a pivotal evidence right there. So close in time presumably to her death. Law enforcement was not at the scene yet,

right? It was just this man and his daughter.

ROBINSON: Correct. It was those two that called 911.

CASAREZ: Right. But they hadn`t arrived yet?

ROBINSON: Correct.

CASAREZ: What else did they tell you about his demeanor? I mean, did he seem drunk? Did they smell alcohol on him?

LEMLEY: Both of them described it as odd. They said it was odd behavior. There was no emotion. No tears. Odd. That`s the best way they could say it.

CASAREZ: Yes. That`s really something. And he is going to be that witness and his daughter, they will be the star witnesses of a prosecution

presumably if this goes to trial.

ROBINSON: Absolutely.

CASAREZ: Now, we got some video from "Inside Edition" here. Because the night before she was found, so just hours before and I think it was about -

Carol, what was it? About 8:40 at night?

ROBINSON: Yes. 8:40 to 9:00, right around there.

CASAREZ: They are having date night. We see the video right here. And they appear as though a very happy couple. And they buy two bottles of alcohol,

right.

Carols, tell us what alcohol they bought.

ROBINSON: God. They bought the Absent, the Lucid Absent and then another bottle and can`t remember what it was, actually. I think it was whiskey.

CASAREZ: And isn`t it not true, Carol, that presumably one of those bottles was found outside near Kat`s body?

ROBINSON: Right. That has never been confirmed that it was the lucid Absent bottle. The witness told me that it was a green alcohol bottle that had

been strategically placed on top of the cell phone near the body. And as you seen from pictures and know the lucid Absent bottle is green. Nobody

said it was that bottle.

CASAREZ: Right. Right. Exactly. Well, if not, pretty much of a coincidence, right, same color.

Tom Verni, former NYPD detective. The alcohol involve in this, do you think that`s an important piece of evidence?

TOM VERNI, FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE: That are corroborates that they bought the alcohol the night before. I mean, just hours before. This isn`t a log

time between the time that they bought the alcohol and they got it home and they find this woman`s body in the street the very next morning. So - and

the fact that it was not deduced that she was not beaten with the alcohol bottle, even though she sustained blunt force trauma, that the alcohol

bottle was intact (INAUDIBLE). But clearly she was beaten with an instrument of some kind. They didn`t say she died as a result of hitting

the curb. So that`s the whole key part of this as well.

What I would be interested in is as to where this blunt force trauma took place. Did it take place out in the street? Did it take place or inside the

house and she stumbled in the street or did he drag her?

CASAREZ: It`s an important piece of the puzzle.

Carol, let me ask you, is it true that her hair was saturated with blood?

ROBINSON: According to the witness who spoke to me, yes. His quote was I thought she had red hair. And he didn`t know she was blond.

CASAREZ: Absolutely amazing.

Joseph Scott Morgan, you are a certified death investigator. When you hear that that someone died with blunt force trauma and her hair is so saturated

in blood, this blond woman appeared to have red hair. What does that tell you?

[19:10:16] JOSEPH SCOTT MORGAN, CERTIFIED DEATH INVESTIGATOR: Well, more than likely it`s rather massive injury, Jean, that she sustained. I will be

very curious to find out when the medical examiner issues the report if it was multiple strikes or a single strike. You know, I think for me as a

forensics guy, one of the things that draws my attention to this case is that we are hearing that she was nude with the exception of a sports bra.

And I have to tell you that is very, very provocative. I`m sure that t autopsy they performed a rape kit.

And another thing I would be curious about is, Jean, in this particular case is what we refer to as PMI, Post-Mortem Interval. Exactly, how long

had she been down? How long was it since she stopped breathing? We look at things like post mortem mobility, rigor mortis and body temperature. So

that is going to be a key. I hope that they followed occupy this at the scene and really paid close attention. And if she generated this much blood

from the head injury, it would stands to reason that there is some locale that is going to have also a copious amount of blood as well.

CASAREZ: You know, that`s interesting. There were two alcohol bottles. One at the scene presumably that was not broken at all but there is another

alcohol bottle. Could an alcohol bottle at the hands of someone done that much damage or would it have to be a stronger instrument?

MORGAN: No, not necessarily. Some of the alcohol bottles themselves are very, very thick. And you can sustain this kind of injury from that. What`s

going to be curious though is to find out in report if they found any glass shards with an injury itself. If there is a shattered bottle or what the

nature of the injury would look like. Generated by the leading edge for instance of a bottle as opposed to a baseball bat as supposed to a hammer

or a rock.

CASAREZ: Right. And her husband, William Jeffrey West just arrested today at the press conference which was hours ago. They talked about the

challenges in this investigation which actually took five weeks. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMLEY: The difference involved in this case is the victim`s location where she was located. She was outside of the home. Typically when you have

domestic, you know, it`s typically going to be inside the residence. This was outside the home across the street. In fact, she was partially nude, is

one, you know, one of the challenges that brings in a lot of other questions involved in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Heather Hansen, defense attorney, a lot we don`t know here. What would you want to know as a defense attorney?

HEATHER HANSEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: All of the DNA evidence, the forensic evidence, that your other expert has been talking about. I mean, you want

to know, is his DNA on her? Was there a rape kit done? What did that show? Was there - and we don`t know anything about what went on in the house,

Jean. If there is evidence, if there is an item that could have been the weapon other than the alcohol bottle near her body. It seems as though that

alcohol body was placed there on purpose. So it will be interesting to see what went on in the house and if there is blood in the house? Whose blood

is it?

You know, we have talked to a lot of his demeanor. Well, that is not real evidence. That is supposed to be one of the elements of the crime. It`s

certainly that something the jury will consider. But the important stuff is what the DNA will show, what the blood markings will show, what the weapon

show, and whether his DNA and fingerprints are all over that stuff.

CASAREZ: And what about a blood trail from the house?

HANSEN: You mentioned that. I mean, how was she taken from the house to this place unless she was killed there as Tom pointed out? You know, all

that was is -- I think that`s why it took so long. Because that type of investigation does take time. The investigation of the body, the things

they have to do, all of that was can`t be done very quickly. And I`m sure it sounds as though (INAUDIBLE) pain staking about making sure they have

all the evidence this (INAUDIBLE).

CASAREZ: And what about stuff marks? Maybe she was carried from the house, but maybe she wasn`t.

VERNI: Yes. Well, again, they are going to look at that as well. If there was some sort of a dispute which turned violent in the house and she had to

defend herself, they are also looking going to be looking for some sort of defensive wounds, perhaps. Maybe on her arms to block a potential

instruments from hitting her.

So you know, the fact that again, like your other guest mention there, you know, does the bottle was seen to her, does have blood on it or it was just

a bottle placed there with her cellphone just throw the authorities off. That seems to be the case. We are working with very little information

here. There are a lot of whole things that we have to find out, which again, it seems like they are painstakingly looking going through the

process as they should. Because murders here are not solved. And 43 minutes, (INAUDIBLE), may take a long time to get it wrap up.

[19:15:08] CASAREZ: In this small town in Alabama, they have about one homicide a year. So obviously, this is extraordinary for their department

to work on.

Up next, Life or death. The verdict is in for the monster found guilty ever murdering 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:20:13] CASAREZ: Some people shoplift from places like Walmart, but this man, he took a little girl, luring her away from her mother and her sisters

with the promise of McDonald`s. But taking her instead to his white van and then raping her and strangling her before stuffing her body under a log in

a creek.

Donald Smith was convicted of kidnapping, rape, and murder. And even though he spent this week percent laughing in court and posing for the cameras

before breaking down today in tears, the jury couldn`t forget how he took Cherish Perrywinkle`s life and today that jury voted to take his.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The jury unanimously finds the defendant Donald James Smith should be sentenced to death. Yes. And so say we all this 22nd day of

February, 2018.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Donald Smith was not the only one crying in court because after five years, Cherish`s mother finally has a sense of justice.

And with us tonight, Aaron Keller. He is law and crime network host. Thank you for joining us.

OK. How long did they deliberate, aggravating factors are sent to the jury in Florida as many jurisdictions. What were they and how many did they come

back with?

AARON KELLER, HOST, LAW AND CRIME NETWORK; The jury deliberated two hours and 10 minutes. The prosecution sought six aggravating factors. The jury

agreed with all six, finding only two factors to try to mitigate it, but it still wasn`t enough.

CASAREZ: Wow. That`s amazing. But we have a little bit from the argument by the prosecutor before that verdict in the penalty phase was reached. Let`s

listen to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your verdict should not be based on sympathy that you feel sorry for anyone. It`s hard not to feel sorry for Donny, Jr. I

understand that the decision you are making, the recommendation as to the death penalty ultimately will mean Donny Jr. will lose his father. That`s

hard to think about, but your decision should not be based on sympathy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And of course, you hear that in the arguments near the end of a penalty phase, but in this particular case, the prosecutor was directing it

for one thing. The son of Donald Smith spoke in his father`s behalf during the sentencing phase saying he is my dad. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Smith, since your father has been institutionalized in the Duval County Jail, have you developed a

relationship with him?

DONALD SMITH JR., DONAL SMITH SR.`S SON: Yes. You know, it is like no one can take the place of my dad because he is my blood and he is my real dad.

And I definitely benefit from him. I talk to him at least once a week. (INAUDIBLE) and he gives me a really good advice and everyday situations

and problems. We don`t really talk about the past or anything. We just talk about me and my life right now. And this is something he was not able to do

before when he was out in the streets because he was chasing the drug.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you look forward to talking to your father now that he is inside?

SMITH: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And now his father according to a jury should be put to death.

With us tonight, retired Jacksonville sheriff`s officer Charlie Wilkie. He actually arrested Donald Smith and shortly after he found Cherish

Perrywinkle`s body.

Thank you for joining us tonight. Your reaction to this penalty verdict?

CHARLIE WILKIE, FOUND CHERISH PERRYWINKLE`S BODY: I`m in total agreement with it. I don`t think you can come up with a different verdict in what

they came up with. And I don`t think you can come up with a different penalty than what it`s for. This is not the essence of what deserves the

death penalty, then my God, what does? What does determine it?

CASAREZ: You know, I know you were a witness this this trial, but I want you to tell us, what was it like when you took on this case and you

actually found that little girl`s body?

WILKIE: Well, it was very emotional. You know, it`s one of the cases that sticks with you forever. Quite honestly I have been in law enforcement for

a long time. A lot of my fellow officers have been as well. I have been involved in shootings where I had to take people`s lives. I have been in

cases where I have seen children literally die in front of me from car wrecks or drawnings or burn up in a fire and nothing, nothing compares to

this. Nothing compares to this. Because it was so heinous and so premeditated, so thought out that he just took every step that he could to

make sure that he completed the horrific crime he set out to do. He had no remorse.

[19:25:23] CASAREZ: You know, you are so right and I say this in a very heinous horrible way. The creativity that he figured out of how to do this,

to prey on a family that was in need, to think a $150 gift certificate was going to come their way to Walmart because they happened to see him in the

dollar store when the mother was trying to buy some clothes for her daughter. They didn`t have the money. And she was going out of town the

next day and they wanted her to have something. I mean, it was probably like a movie, right?

In the prosecutors` press conference after this verdict today, the prosecutor talked about you, Mr. Wilkie. And I want everyone to hear what

that prosecutor said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

He saw the dress that was up there, the slap happy dress, and any of you had daughters and probably had the same pattern. Charlie Wilkie testified

that his daughter had the same dress. My daughter did as well. It impacted me personally. It was a child. It is among the worse that our community has

seen. And it mattered to our community.

Officer Wilkie and I actually cried together during the pre-trial. I mean, he was so --he has been a law enforcement officer his entire career and

this case impacted him such that this many years later preparing for his testimony.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Officer Wilkie, when I hear this, I just get chills. When did you realize that the middle dress on this little girl was a dress that you

recognized?

WILKIE: Immediately. As soon as I walked out towards the tree and looked down. At first I saw the tree limbs and stuff that Donald Smith placed on

top of her to obscure her from view. And I could see the right shoulder of her dress and her right side of her face and immediately I saw that

pattern. And her brown hair was floating in the water and I saw my little girl, you know. I saw every other little girl that I have ever seen that

looks that way. They just so innocent. And to have something so horrific happen to her because someone decide and put all the steps in place to make

sure that they completed this heinous crime. It`s very, very emotional for me to be there and stand by with her until I was relieved by the other

officers.

CASAREZ: My goodness.

Heather Hansen, defense attorney. This will now culminate in years of appeals for this man, however Florida does execute. They still have the

death penalty. What`s in store for the future.

HANSEN: It`s about seven years, Jean, usually between the time of the verdict and the time of the execution. And there are about 358 other people

also waiting to be executed in Florida. There has been a whole lot of legal wrangling there on executions.

However, I think everyone who has covered this case, everyone who has watched this case agrees as the officer just said. If there was ever a case

that deserved the death penalty, this was it. The defense had nothing throughout the guilt part of the case and they nothing through the penalty

part of the case except to bring up the son? Not only the premeditation creative planning, but there is no remorse. He had a jail house snitch who

had recorded. And he was saying the jury heard through his own word that is the girl who was walking through the jail house reminded him of Cherish. I

think that that was literally the nail in the coffin.

CASAREZ: No, I think you are right.

We actually do have that recording. You have got to hear this. This is an audio recording in the jail as he is awaiting the trial and talking about a

school child that I guess it`s a field trip they had in the jail that was able to come that close to him in his cell. Listen to this. It`s

unbelievable.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: these are young girls you hear me? They are young. But man, when you look at this girl`s ass, it`s like whoa, whoa, whoa. You know

how old they are? About 12 or 13. But this girl got an ass like Coco. You could sit a drink on he ass.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you sure these 12?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s right my alley right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s my target area right there. That`s what I go after.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well you have fun with that one. See her papa should be ashamed you hear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Letting that girl look like that man with fake eyelashes, fake (bleep) nails, fake hair, fake (bleep)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: probably. Yes, I would like to run into her at Walmart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cherish have a butt on her?

[19:30:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. She has a lot for a white girl.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: Officer Wilkie, this is a separate issue completely but do you think the local jail learned a very big lesson by this audio tape that now

is public and disseminated everywhere. That school children shouldn`t be close to the inmates in that local jail?

CHARLIE WILKIE, RETIRED JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF`S OFFICER: Absolutely, absolutely. I agree 100 percent and I think that`s exactly where it face

some changes to make sure that doesn`t happen again. I know that it -- I was told that the other inmate was even shaken by the comments made by

Donald Smith and he was so callus in the way he described her and there were other comments that he made describing cherish and the things he did

to her. He just relished in the fact, I mean, it was just like this big conquest of his that he thought everybody would delight in. It`s just

absurd for the average person who has a rational thought of mind, thought process to think anybody could even say such a thing, much less carry it

out.

CASAREZ: And it definitely shows his state of mind when his state of mind was when he`s facing death -- the death penalty and charges of first degree

premeditated murder and that`s his reaction just day to day. You know, we got a lot more. And Officer, I really want to talk with you about some of

the emotions that we saw from this man in the courtroom because you are the one that arrested him. I want to hear about that too. But more from this

officer who found little Cherish`s body also just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:36:17] CASAREZ: It was the rest of his life in prison or the death penalty for Donald Smith. The 61-year-old man who some consider a monster

for what he did to an eight-year-old girl. Today, the same men and women who convicted him for kidnapping, rape, and murder voted to sentence Donald

Smith to death, despite his tears in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we`re happy that we were able to get justice for Cherish. It`s been a long road, over 4-1/2 years and a long process, but

we`re very pleased with the outcome today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At one point, Mr. Smith seem like he shed a tear?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prefer not to talk about him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Aaron Keller, Law and Crime Network Host, retired Jacksonville Sheriff`s Officer, Charlie Wilkie. He arrested Donald Smith and found

Cherish Perrywinkle`s body and defense attorney, Heather Hansen. Thank you so much. Aaron, I want to you ask you. When that verdict was ringing out

today, that penalty verdict, could you see his reaction at all?

AARON KELLER, HOST, LAW AND CRIME NETWORK: He was nodding. It was almost as if he anticipated it. I`m sure he did and that he almost seemed to accept

the finality of it. From what I understand, he said leading up to the trial that he expected this, that he almost wanted it. It was bizarre. It was

just very, very strange.

CASAREZ: I heard he cried a lot in court today though especially when his attorney was arguing the childhood he had, he never got to accomplish

anything. Did you hear that?

HEATHER HANSEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes. And which is absolutely ridiculous. He had a privileged childhood by all accounts. He was -- his mother was

well-raised. He was well-raised, went to a private school. Had a number of different stepfathers, but there was no consistency to the defense, there

was no one event that happened in his childhood that would explain this. I mean, he really just didn`t have anything to argue.

CASAREZ: But it`s so true, they always cry when it`s all about them.

KELLER: About them.

CASAREZ: That`s right.

KELLER: And we were reacting to that.

CASAREZ: Yes, yes. So interesting. Officer Charlie Wilkie, you are the person that arrested him. You found the body. I want to ask you though, in

court, during this trial, at one point, he posed for the cameras to take a picture of him. I think we have a shot of when he posed. He was posing. He

wanted the cameras to take his picture. Look at that semi-smile on his face. What does that tell you about the person that you arrested?

WILKIE: Oh, he`s been that way the entire time. When I talk to some of the evidence technicians that took the physical evidence and photos of him

after he had been arrested, they said he posed for them. He was very, very flamboyant, for lack of a better term. And he just didn`t care. He was

proud as they took pictures that any rest of us would have been maybe a little modest about or try to cover ourselves up a little bit but he had no

problem with it. He was quite, quite proud I think what he set out to do and accomplished what he wanted to do.

CASAREZ: So, what was he like when you arrested him? That same demeanor?

WILKIE: Same demeanor, you know, a couple of things that came out in court and when talked about when we asked him to put his hands out the window. A

normal person I say any other person out of hundreds of felony traffic stops that I have been a part of, they just stick their hands out the

window, but he crossed his and kind of folded them over. And then when he asked him to lift his shirt, a drop -- then drop his shirt back down, again

his hands went all up over his head just almost arrogant, almost as if you`re saying, you know, you caught me but you didn`t stop me from what I

wanted to do. I had this plan and I saw it through and I accomplished what I wanted to do. So now, you got me, but I`m content with what I have been

able to do.

CASAREZ: I can picture it.

WILKIE: It does. It comes across like that. You know, we talked earlier today about the fact that here`s poor Cherish thinking she is going to go

get a cheeseburger, you know, she is going outside with the premise. Because I know when I grew up, you know, we didn`t eat out a lot.

[19:40:00] My mom cooked a lot of home cook meals but when we got to go get a cheeseburger, that was -- that was kind of a treat.

CASAREZ: Sure. Of course.

WILKIE: And I`m sure she left there thinking I`m going to get a cheeseburger. You know, she`s happy, you know, she is trusting this man

who`s been around her for a few hours, you know, her mom is trusting in him that he`s going to buy this clothes. So it`s a good night for her. She`s

thinking, I`m getting new clothes, I`m going to fly and see my dad tomorrow morning and we`re going to go get cheeseburgers. It`s a pretty good night.

CASAREZ: Of course. It`s like a Cinderella dream. Of course.

WILKIE: Exactly, exactly. And he just sat back and preyed on them, knowing that they were needy, knowing that rain didn`t have the means of purchasing

all these clothes and then he just capitalized on it and had this whole plan set out and he and took step by step to make sure he accomplished what

he wanted to. You know, so horrific. So premeditated, you know, that like we said earlier, I don`t know you can have a death penalty case. If this

isn`t one, then what sets the bar?

(CROSSTALK)

CASAREZ: And I think that`s common belief. I`ve heard many people say that. Thank you so much. Thank you to all of you. Up next, he`s been missing for

five days and the stepmother now arrested for child endangerment, but still no sign of five-year-old Lucas Hernandez.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:46:04] CASAREZ: It has been more than five days but in Sedgwick County, Kansas, one little boy is still nowhere to be seen. Five-year-old Lucas

Hernandez disappeared from home on Saturday afternoon. His stepmother telling local reporters that she saw him in his bedroom just before she

fell asleep and when she woke up, he was gone. With the backdoor left wide open. Tonight little Lucas is still missing, but it seems that maybe the

stepmother could have another story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GAVIN SEILER, DEPUTY CHIEF, WICHITA POLICE DEPARTMENT: This case is now considered criminal investigation. Investigators have arrested a 26-year-

old female on two counts of child endangerment. Charges are related to new information gathered during this investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Hmm. Joining us now, Stephanie Austin, news anchor of KQAM Radio. OK. Stephanie?

STEPHANIE AUSTIN, NEWS ANCHOR, KQAM RADIO (via telephone): Yes.

CASAREZ: I`m thinking about this, all right? She is now being charged with two counts of child endangerment. One count being for Lucas and the other

count we`re assuming would be another simply in the home.

CASAREZ: Right, right. Very interesting. So what are the facts as we know them at this point? Because she was arrested yesterday. When did Lucas go

missing and what are the circumstances around that?

AUSTIN: OK. This started Saturday at 6:15 p.m. when police were called by Lucas`s stepmom, this is 26-year-old Emily Glass. And she told the police

that she had last seen Lucas around 3:00 p.m. in the home right before she went to take a shower and then fell asleep. So this was -- he was last seen

at 3:00 p.m., and called police around 6:15.

CASAREZ: Do we know at all, Stephanie, when Lucas was seen by somebody else during the course of that day, if at all?

AUSTIN: That -- those details have not been given yet. There was neighbor who said she saw Lucas about a week ago.

CASAREZ: A week ago?

AUSTIN: Right. It`s been very cold here. Maybe the kids aren`t outside. There are reports that he has missed school. So, they have not released

when someone else other than the stepmother actually saw him.

CASAREZ: Right. You know, Stephanie, that`s pivotal because Tom Verni, that is pivotal, you are a former NYPD Detective. Because it`s the mother that`s

saying the last time I saw him was 3:00 p.m. We don`t know if that`s true.

TOM VERNIE, No. Not at all. I mean, right now we`re -- the only threshold we (INAUDIBLE) information from is her. And, you know, five-year-old is not

all that resourceful. You know, if this kid left the house especially with the weather being what it is, we`re still in the middle of winter. So I`m

really, really worried about this kid. Usually we find these kids very quickly. If it`s past a certain amount of time, then unfortunately it turns

out to be a situation that we don`t want to think about and it`s been five days. So --

(CROSSTALK)

CASAREZ: Very sad. It`s so sad. Tom, you talk about the weather. We`ve got the weather. We`ve got the weather, what it has been in Wichita, Kansas.

And I think we can show everybody. Look at this. When Lucas was reported missing, the high was 60, OK, the low was 33. And as we go on for those

five days that he`s been missing, the low was 14 yesterday. A little boy can`t survive in those conditions.

HANSEN: No. And I think, Jean, your point is very well-taken. Who knows when this boy truly went missing? If he hasn`t been at school which they

just mentioned in the report, as you said, the stepmother is the only one.

[19:50:01] Right now we got two counts of child endangerment. Those are only a year each. But if this turns into something bigger that might turn

into a much bigger case.

CASAREZ: Now, why do you think they arrested her for child endangerment?

HANSEN: It`s hard to speculate. But I do have to think it has something to do with the door open and she`s sleeping in the middle of the afternoon

when she`s supposed to be taking care of the kids. I also wonder where the father is. We know there was been domestic upsets there. There has been

police out to the house before. So it`s interesting to see what his part of the story is going to be.

CASAREZ: And could that arrest just be, of course, they have probable cause but it`s just sort of a ruse to get her in custody to try to get the truth

out believing that there`s something much more than child endangerment?

HANSEN: Or to get more information from the father. You know, perhaps play them against each other. All of these things. But as you said, of course,

there`s probable cause, but there`s ways that you can sort of and I`m sure Tom knows more about this, but sort of lead the investigation by bringing

other people out to sort of turn on one another.

CASAREZ: You know, another interesting thing, Heather, is that normally this is a missing person`s investigation, but now they front and center are

saying this is a criminal investigation. I want you to listen to Deputy Chief Gavin Seiler of the Wichita Police Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEILER: Officers and investigators have been working on this case nonstop since 6:15 Saturday evening. We have collected information through

countless interviews, follow-ups on leads and examining evidence. This evidence -- or I`m sorry, this incident has touched many in our community.

I know that there are many more questions that have resulted from this. This continues to be a criminal investigation. And we cannot go into

further details. The search for Lucas is ongoing. And we are still asking the public for assistance. We continue to provide every resource. We have

available to find Lucas. This is our priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Stephanie, do we know if -- and here are his statistics right here because this is a missing person investigation combined with a criminal

investigation. So he is five years old, four feet tall. He had a gray shirt with a bear on it, black sweats, white socks. Stephanie, do we know if the

stepmother after being arrested yesterday afternoon, is she still in custody or has she been bailed out?

AUSTIN: She does remain in jail.

CASAREZ: Really?

AUSTIN : (INAUDIBLE)

CASAREZ: Oh, that`s significant. That`s very significant. Heather, they want to find out where this little boy is.

HANSEN: Yes. For sure. And are probably pressuring her in order to do so.

CASAREZ: That`s right.

HANSEN: But it`s terrible that -- and there was no amber alert. So, it doesn`t sound like they think that there was an abduction. It`s really just

a missing child who, you know, wandered away or the stepmother knows more.

CASAREZ: And remember, she has not been deemed a suspect. She has not been charged in his disappearance at all.

VERNI: The one thing that`s concerning to me is that one of the reports I read was that there`s an aunt that had reported some abuse to the child,

there`s some markings on the child to Child Protective Services. So when you start to connect the dots here, you know, it starts to lean towards

something nefarious. I`m hoping that`s not the case. I hope that this kid turns up. But again, we`re talking about five days. That`s a long time.

CASAREZ: Child Protective Services had been called in, that`s right, because relatives were concerned about his welfare and safety. All right.

We will keep you up on this. They say not to bite the hand that feeds you. But when three felons in Ohio got access to a classroom, it seems they

couldn`t resist the urge to test out their prison security. Next, how they made their escape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:58:49] CASAREZ: One more thing tonight. Three inmates take the opportunity to escape an Ohio prison. The whole thing is caught on

surveillance video which makes you wonder how nobody caught them, at least not right away. But according to local reports the facility is

investigating its security measures after three 20-something-year-old felons used a table to shatter their classroom window and make a run for

their freedom. And yes, I said classroom because the jail staff thought these guys deserve the opportunity to learn behind bars. Tonight it seems

what they learned is what it costs to escape from prison.

The inmates were cornered in town and now face extra charges for felony escape and vandalism plus the price of fixing that broken window. Thank you

so much for watching tonight. We`re going to see you back here Monday night at 6:00 Eastern. Up next, James Duncan. He maintains his innocence even

after a judge has sentenced him to 70 years in prison for abusing his newborn son. Now that son who is in his 20s fights for his father`s

release. I have covered many cases in my career and I urge you this is my hour. Don`t miss this show.

[20:00:00] It is "CNN SPECIAL REPORT", broken bones, shattered dreams and it begins right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The following is a CNN Special Report.