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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
New Message From American Al Qaeda; Priest Suspected in Cold Texas Murder Case
Aired May 29, 2007 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again, everyone.
It doesn't get much creepier or scarier. There is a new warning tonight from al Qaeda's favorite American, their California spokesman. He says, get ready for an attack that will make people forget Virginia Tech, Afghanistan, and 9/11.
Also tonight: a beauty queen murdered. A suspect quickly emerges, but no charges, and allegations of a cover-up. Why hasn't anyone been charged? 360 investigates.
Also tonight: that picture of Lindsay Lohan, her trip back into rehab, and what celebrities really need to do to get clean and sober.
Well, while Lindsay Lohan was behaving badly today, other young Americans were dying in Iraq. Today, we learned of 10 more fatalities. A chopper went down Diyala Province, killing two. Six were killed by an IED nearby, two more blown up south of Baghdad, 10 Americans in a single day, 114 for this month, the worst month this year, the third worst month in the entire war.
As for Iraqis, at least 42 died in a pair of car bomb attacks; 31 bodies were found today mutilated and dumped, making nearly 700 bodies dumped in Baghdad in May alone. The sectarian killings, which had been declining, are rising once again. Five Britons were kidnapped outside the Finance Ministry in broad daylight.
By any measure, it is getting uglier.
John Burns of "The New York Times" has been covering it all. We spoke earlier tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: John, this is now the deadliest month of the war for American troops this year, the third deadliest month of the entire war. Why is that? Is it part of -- just expected because of the new U.S. strategy, or is somehow insurgent strategy changing as well?
JOHN BURNS, BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Oh, I think it's both, Anderson.
The American commanders here warned early on that putting 30,000 more troops into this fight was bound to mean that there would be more casualties. And there have been, April and May, both of them, over 100 casualties, and, as you know, May, as you just said, heading to be the third worst month of the war.
COOPER: Are you seeing any progress being made on the political front?
BURNS: Very little.
Indeed, American commanders and diplomats have begun to lower the bar on that. They -- they set various benchmarks, some of them paralleled in the congressional legislation that renewed the funding for the troops here. But the only one that they expect the Iraqis to meet -- and that's only a maybe -- is the oil law, a law for the sharing of oil revenues and field allocations between the Sunnis, the Shiites, and -- and the Kurds.
COOPER: There -- there is certainly a sense of urgency in the United States from everyone who is watching very closely, no matter what side of the political aisle you're on. Is there that same sense of urgency among these -- these parliamentarians, these Iraqi politicians?
BURNS: Politicians here are looking beyond the American military presence, or at least well beyond the surge.
And they are simply going to drag their heels on these issues, because they think that all of this, the division of power, the division of spoils, that the spoils that are, if you will, in the gift of the state, like oil, is going to have to be settled by force of arms in the long run among the Iraqis themselves.
COOPER: And would that -- I mean, people here say, well, that -- that will be a bloodbath of epic proportions. Is there that same sense there, or do we know what that -- what would happen?
BURNS: Well, there is. Amongst ordinary Iraqis, there is a very widespread sense that there would be a -- a catastrophic level of violence, one by a multiple of several times, perhaps, worse than there present -- there presently is.
There are some American officials I have talked to in recent times who say that the American people should be prepared to see as many as a million Iraqis die in the aftermath of an American military drawdown.
COOPER: There were gunmen who abducted several Westerners today, including five Britons, from inside a ministry building. They were all wearing national police uniforms.
What does that say about the level of either collusion or just disorganization, that you can have a huge multi-vehicle convoy of guys dressed as police going into a government building and taking out Westerners, and -- and taking them hostage?
BURNS: Well, this was one of the grosser examples we have seen in recent weeks.
But American military commanders, at least field commanders that we have talked to in Baghdad, correspondents of "The New York Times" on embeds, have complained regularly and angrily about the connivance and compliance of Iraqi security forces in their areas with the sectarian death squads.
Indeed, sometimes they are the sectarian death squads. I mean, we have heard of Iraqi army soldier who supposedly are fighting alongside the Americans during the day taking off their uniforms and fighting against the Americans on their days off, or on their nights.
COOPER: John Burns, Baghdad bureau chief for "The New York Times" -- thank you, John.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, a new video from al Qaeda surfaced today, which isn't unusual. Making it different, though, and terrifying is the voice making the threat. And it's probably no accident.
The voice belongs to an American, Adam Gadahn, once a kid from California, now a man wanted for treason, a man who smirks when he talks about the deaths of Americans.
Here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's al Qaeda's latest message, delivered by California native turned Muslim convert Adam Gadahn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM GADAHN, AL QAEDA SPOKESPERSON: You're losing on all fronts, and losing big-time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Gadahn, known as Azzam the American, is an alleged mouthpiece for Osama bin Laden and top deputy Ayman al-Zawahri.
This year alone, al Qaeda has released some 47 video messages, averaging one every three days, according to Virginia's IntelCenter. In this one, Gadahn warns Americans, among other things, to get out of Muslim lands, and cites the consequences, even referencing the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech, where a student gunman opened fire, killing 32 classmates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GADAHN: You and your people will, Allah willing, will experience things which will make you forget all about the horrors of September 11, Afghanistan and Iraq, and Virginia Tech.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Though Gadahn doesn't go into any specifics about what kind of attack is threatened, a terror expert at Virginia's IntelCenter says, the tape is really a way for al Qaeda to make unreasonable demands, then justify any possible actions by claiming it gave the United States fair warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GADAHN: Bush, the dye has been cast, and the blood has been spilled, and there is no way to undo what you have done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Gadahn, who grew up on his goat farm listening to rock music, also makes mention of a recent University of Maryland poll.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GADAHN: Muslims continue to support and defend the goals, efforts, and sacrifices of their brothers and sisters, the mujahedeen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Clearly, Gadahn plays a vital role in bin Laden's -- at least the propaganda strategy.
FEYERICK: Oh, yes, there's no question about it.
He is an American. He's been embraced by al Qaeda's top leadership. The number two in Osama bin Laden's organization said this is exactly an example of what all Westerners should do. This is how they should follow and become part of the al Qaeda movement.
And, also, he's considered a translator, but he's also considered a video producer. He's the one behind all of these tapes. He's the one who is putting them all together. But he's also an interpreter. So, he can make the references that are very key in terms of winning hearts and minds of people out there who may be looking at what's going on in the world.
He's the one saying: I'm an American. I did this. You should do this, too.
COOPER: Those are some earlier tapes from Gadahn we were just showing.
Counterterrorism expert Laura Mansfield joins us also now by now from Greenville, South Carolina.
Thanks for being with us.
He comes off as a pompous bore, frankly, on the tape. I mean, he looks like someone and talks like someone you would not want to be sitting next to, certainly, across a table from you.
What surprised you most about this latest video? LAURA MANSFIELD, COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Well, for starters, he repeated quite a bit of the same information that he stated in his invitation to Islam back in the fall.
He also went on to make sure we know that he's totally up to date on current events. And he's basically setting unrealistic demands, that there's no way those demands can be met, basically, to justify an attack. Under Islamic law, they have to give have us a warning and they have to give have us the opportunity to convert before they can attack.
COOPER: And that's what he was doing in the previous tape, giving people an opportunity to convert, and now he's making the threats?
MANSFIELD: Sure.
And that's -- you know, that certainly doesn't mean that an attack is imminent or anything like that. It means that one could be or one could be, you know, coming down the road, you know, sixth months, a year from now. It's really hard to say.
Another reason they put these tapes out with this frequency is to remind us that they're there. They want to keep impacting U.S. public opinion. They want to impact our political process. And they can -- they do this by staying on top of the headlines.
COOPER: Deb, it's interesting. You know, seeing these tapes of Adam Gadahn over the course of time, as we're showing right now, he's obviously has physically changed. But he remains central to -- to their media manipulation.
FEYERICK: Absolutely. There's no question about it.
This is all about propaganda. And what he does is, by making these different references, especially to American culture, he's making it very, very clear that he's the eyes and ears inside of America. He knows exactly what is going on. He can tap into American tragedies.
The fact that he would say, oh, it will make Virginia Tech look as if that was nothing, the fact that he can also reference a poll, a poll that was done at the University of Maryland, all of this shows that he's definitely following what's going on inside of America. And, by doing this, again, he can spread that message. He can use America's tragedies, America's political situation as a recruiting tool to get others to join.
COOPER: He's been charged with -- with treason.
Laura, do we know where he fits into the al Qaeda organization? Does he actually have contact, or, in the past, did he have contact with bin Laden? What do we know about this guy?
MANSFIELD: There have been -- there's some indications that he did have contact with bin Laden a few years ago. Right now, he seems to be in some sort of contact with Zawahri. If you go through and analyze the translations put out by Sahab -- Sahab quite frequently puts out an English transcript of an Arabic tape -- you can see the translations that show Gadahn's influence in those tapes.
COOPER: How -- how do you mean?
MANSFIELD: Oh, word choices. Gadahn has a very specific kind of language that he uses. And you will see some of his favorite phrases will come through in some of the Zawahri's translations.
COOPER: Oh, that's interesting. So, you -- so, you think he's helping Zawahri -- Zawahri with -- with the translations?
MANSFIELD: I think he's probably doing some of the translations of the -- when they do the subtitles and -- and the -- and the transcripts, the English transcripts. I believe that he definitely has a role in some of the translations and, of course, in...
(CROSSTALK)
MANSFIELD: ... the video production.
(CROSSTALK)
MANSFIELD: ... one of al Qaeda's media committees.
COOPER: And that doesn't require physical proximity. That can be done, of course, obviously, later on, in wherever their computer facilities are.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Laura, how -- how significant -- Al-Sahab, I mean, that's -- that's the propaganda arm, the video arm of al Qaeda -- how -- how significant an operation is it? I mean, they seem, technologically, quite sophisticated.
MANSFIELD: Well, technologically, it's sophisticated.
But the bottom line is, with the current technology, it doesn't require a lot of really expensive hardware or software to produce documentary-quality videos. What it requires is somebody with really good skill at using that software.
So, you know, how big is the Sahab? Nobody really knows. It could be a bunch of guys running around with camcorders, sitting out in the field, and, you know, taking digital -- digital films, and uploading them on the Internet to a central location. It's -- it's really hard to say.
There's probably not a lot of uploading at the very low level. They're probably passing stuff back and forth, you know, by couriers on (INAUDIBLE) and things like that. But...
COOPER: Laura Mansfield, we appreciate your expertise.
Deborah Feyerick, as well, thanks very much.
Adam Gadahn is the first American in more than 50 years to be charged with treason. Here's the "Raw Data."
The last American convicted of treason was Tomoya Kawakita, who was found guilty in 1952 for abusing American POWs during World War II.
Perhaps a more famous conviction happened just a year earlier, where Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty of treason. The husband and wife were charged with giving nuclear secrets to Russia. In 1953, the Rosenbergs were executed by electric chair.
For tonight's other headlines, Erica Hill joins us with a 360 bulletin -- Erica.
ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, first to Texas and a scene of horror -- police finding the bodies of a 25-year- old mom and her four daughters, all under the age of 5, hanging in a closet in their mobile home. Amazingly, the 8-month-old baby, though, was found alive. She's now recovering. While it does appear to be a murder-suicide, authorities stress, the investigation is not yet complete.
In Atlanta, an air passenger is now in quarantine, and concern other passengers were exposed to a deadly strain of tuberculosis. Health officials say the man flew on an Air France from Atlanta to Paris on May 12, and then, May 24, took a Czech Air Flight from Prague to Montreal, then ultimately drove back into the U.S. Federal health authorities tell anyone on those flights to get checked for T.B.
And mom-turned-war-protester Cindy Sheehan is calling it quits. She, of course, lost her son in Iraq, then ultimately pitched a tent outside President Bush's ranch in Texas, only to be ignored by the president. Now, though, she says she is exhausted, disillusioned, and she believes her son Casey died in Iraq -- quote -- "for nothing."
And, Anderson, on to this new segment, "What Were They Thinking?" This one seems to be having everybody talking today, not just in Europe, though, where there is a massive public outcry over a TV game show, really, here in the U.S., too.
A Dutch channel, though, says it's going ahead with plans to feature three patients who are competing for an organ transplant. The donor is a terminally ill woman. She is going to pick one of three people, who will get her kidney. The station's staff say the show brings attention to the country's shortage of organ donors. There have been complaints to the government, Anderson.
COOPER: Yikes.
HILL: And, apparently, they say, you know what? We're -- we're just not getting involved. But, oh... COOPER: Oy. You know, you -- we asked what were they thinking, but, in this case, they were thinking about -- I guess, about ratings. But, oy.
HILL: Well, yes. Uh. I don't know.
COOPER: All right. Erica, thanks.
Straight ahead tonight, see who's calling George W. Bush the second coming of Jimmy Carter, and Karl Rove a dummy. It's not a Democrat. It's a big-name Republican. The answer in "Raw Politics."
Also tonight, a beauty queen murdered, a priest suspected, and a cold case tonight becomes white-hot.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): She was beaten, raped and murdered. A suspect emerged early.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think you know who committed this murder?
JUAN TREVINO, MCALLEN POLICE DEPARTMENT: Yes.
TUCHMAN: Is there any doubt in your mind?
TREVINO: No.
COOPER: So, why nearly half-a-century later, has no one been charged? A cold case gets hot again tonight.
Also, she fell off the wagon, right on to the front page -- Lindsay Lohan, not even legal to drink, heading back to rehab. We will hear from Dr. Drew Pinsky on what celebrities really need to do to get clean -- ahead on 360.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Whoever is writing this stuff, between the Congress and the White House, is just totally out of -- they're living in a fantasy land.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: That was Newt Gingrich talking about the proposed immigration reform bill that President Bush supports. That's not all he has to say. We will have more on that in a moment.
"Raw Politics" tonight begins with the Democrats.
Here's CNN's Tom Foreman. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, Democratic presidential contenders are duking it out over health care, with Barack Obama the latest one rolling out a plan for making it all better.
The Illinois senator wants universal health care, largely paid for by the government and employers. He also wants to emphasize preventive health programs and break this stranglehold of drug and insurance companies.
Of course, Senator Hillary Clinton considers health care reform a cornerstone of her campaign. Hey, expect that wagon to get crowded. Forty-three percent of voters now say health care is an extremely important issue, equal to gas prices.
Newt Gingrich not even in the race, but running away with the headlines -- he has slammed the administration on the new immigration proposal.
GINGRICH: They're living in a fantasy land.
FOREMAN: Now he's telling "The New Yorker," Republicans haven't been so bad off since Nixon.
And Karl Rove, the guru of the White House, the Newtster calls him maniacally dumb. If Gingrich is not running for the White House, he may have to start running from it.
Hmm. Think about that. This could be his strategy if he gets into the race.
And, help. We have fallen among the candidates, and we can't get up. "The Washington Post" says, the Secret Service will have to guard so many contenders during the election, they will have to borrow officers from immigration and airport security screening details, that so all the candidates can safely tell us how much safer we will be when they quit campaigning and all those guys go back to work.
That's "Raw Politics" -- Anderson.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Thanks.
If you like "Raw Politics," you're going to love CNN's coverage of the presidential debates. We will be in New Hampshire this Sunday, June 3, for the Democrats, and a week from tonight, June 5, for the Republican debate.
Now here's Kiran Chetry with what is coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING" tomorrow."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KIRAN CHETRY, CO-HOST, "AMERICAN MORNING": Tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING": a way to track your every move, every purchase, every stop on your commute, with photos and satellite confirmation available live on the Internet as it's happening. We're going to meet a man who designed it. He says it's to protect himself.
We are going to show you tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING," beginning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern -- Anderson, back to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Thanks. Not sure why you would want that, but we will see.
Just ahead on 360: a cold case that, tonight, becomes white-hot, a former beauty queen and a former priest, and the crime that took one of their lives, and why no charges have been brought to this day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Nearly every police department has a cold case file, unsolved crimes that haunt detectives to this day.
Tonight, a cold case that could become white-hot, it involves a former beauty queen and a former priest, who may or may not have a very dark secret to hide. We know how the story begins. We don't know how it's going to end.
Here's our in-depth report from CNN's Gary Tuchman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): This is Feit. He's a retiree in Arizona, married, children, former Catholic priest, still involved in Catholic charities. By all accounts, he's done much to help the unfortunate.
(on camera): My name is Gary Tuchman with CNN. I wanted to ask you about Irene Garza.
JOHN FEIT, FORMER PRIEST: yes.
TUCHMAN: But it's Irene Garza who keeps making John Feit's life complicated, Irene Garza, who has been in a grave for 47 years.
LYNDA DE LA VINA, COUSIN OF IRENE GARZA: Irene was my first cousin. My mother and her mother were sisters.
TUCHMAN: Irene's parents have passed away, but Lynda De La Vina and Noemi Sigler are both cousins.
NOEMI SIGLER, COUSIN OF IRENE GARZA: She was kind. She was a loyal daughter to her parents. She was very involved with the church. She was a staunch Catholic.
DE LA VINA: She was Ms. South Texas. She was the first Hispanic drum majorette in McAllen High School. She was the Bronco Queen. She was somebody to look up to, because she went to college. She finished college. She was successful in many ways.
TUCHMAN: On the day before Easter 1960, Irene Garza disappeared. The apparent abduction of the 25-year-old schoolteacher frightened the community of McAllen, Texas.
Police still hold the evidence discovered during the search, which includes Irene's petticoat, her handbag. Five days after she disappeared, her body was found in a canal. Her death certificate declares, she had been raped, beaten on the head, and suffocated.
DE LA VINA: Everybody showed up from McAllen at the funeral. It was probably one of the hugest funerals I have ever seen.
TUCHMAN: Juan Trevino is with the McAllen Police Department's cold case squad.
(on camera): Do you think you know who committed this murder?
JUAN TREVINO, MCALLEN POLICE DEPARTMENT: Yes.
TUCHMAN: Who do you think committed this murder?
TREVINO: John Feit.
TUCHMAN: Is there any doubt in your mind?
TREVINO: No.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Officer Trevino has tried to interview Feit, but the former priest has refused to talk.
The opinion about Feit is shared by the Texas Rangers and also the victim's family.
(on camera): Who killed your cousin?
DE LA VINA: John Feit.
TUCHMAN: Of all the pieces of evidence in this case, this is one of the most key. This is a 1950s-era Kodak slide viewer. He was found near Irene's body. Police say this slide viewer. It was found near Irene Garza's body. Police say this slide viewer was owned by John Feit.
(voice-over): Sonny Miller was an investigator with the McAllen Police Department.
SONNY MILLER, RETIRED POLICE INVESTIGATOR: It could have been lying under her body in the car, and, when he pulled her out of the car to throw her in the canal, it just went with -- hung on her dress.
SIGLER: I believe there's a cover-up.
TUCHMAN: The family believes the district attorney back then and the one now protected Feit in order to protect the church.
Today's DA denies that.
RENE GUERRA, HIDALGO COUNTY, TEXAS, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I don't know why people don't want to let Irene Garza rest in peace, to be honest with you.
TUCHMAN: John Feit has always been considered the primary suspect by police. The night Irene Garza disappeared, she had come to this church in downtown McAllen.
In a statement to police shortly after the murder, Feit said he took her to one of the offices in the rectory. Feit said, "She discussed a personal problem of hers with me."
Police also talked with a different priest who worked with Feit. Father Joseph O'Brien said he noticed: "Father Feit's hands were injured. One hand had two or three scratches on it. The other was injured more seriously. One finger was swollen. And the rest of the hand had small cuts."
Interest in Feit intensified when police found out that, the month before, another woman had been attacked at another church in a nearby town. The 20-year-old college student told police she went into the empty church and knelt at the communion rail, and it was there she was attacked by a man with dark hair and horn-rimmed glasses.
She said she bit the man's fingers until she drew blood, and ran away. The next day, Tilly Sanchez, who was a secretary in the church, says she put a bandage on John Feit's finger.
(on camera): What did you say to him?
TILLY SANCHEZ, FORMER CHURCH SECRETARY: Who bit you? Who bite you, your hand? And, of course, he -- you know, he -- he said: No, nobody bite me.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Sanchez told police about what she saw, and later told them about a phone call she received.
(on camera): And who did you think it was?
SANCHEZ: Father Feit, Father John Feit.
TUCHMAN: And what did he say?
SANCHEZ: He said, you're next. You're next, honey.
TUCHMAN: You're next?
SANCHEZ: You're next.
And I said, what?
And he say, you are next.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Feit would fail lie-detector tests regarding the murder and the church assault.
In the polygraph report, Feit is quoted as saying, "Your machine is probably functioning correctly," but added: "I have a vague respiration and a bad heart. That's probably the explanation."
Feit ended up going to trial on the assault case, the jury voting 9-3 for conviction. But, because it wasn't unanimous, it was declared a mistrial. Rather than go through a second trial, Feit made a deal. He pleaded no contest, paid a $500 fine, and, while waiting to see if a murder charge might be filed, spent time with this man.
(on camera): So, you were a monk?
DALE TACHENY, FORMER MONK: I was a monk, yes, sir.
TUCHMAN: Dale Tacheny was living in this monastery in Ava, Missouri, a life of solitude and piety. The Assumption Abbey Monastery still exists in a new building, the monks waking up every day at 3:15 a.m., spending their day in solemn contemplation and prayer.
But not all the faithful have come here on their own. In 1963, the Dale Tacheny says, the head of the monastery took him aside and said:
TACHENY: I have a priest in the guest house who committed a murder of a woman.
TUCHMAN: That priest, he says, is the same person who put this signature in the monastery guest book, John Feit.
We caught up with Feit in Arizona.
(on camera): What do -- what do you know about her murder? Did you -- did you commit the murder of Irene Garza?
FEIT: Interesting question. The answer is no.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): But he did have more to say.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And we will tell you exactly what it was in part two of Gary's report. That's coming up next.
Also tonight, you-know-who back you-know-where.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): She fell off the wagon, right on to the front page -- Lindsay Lohan, not even legal to drink, heading back to rehab. We will hear from Dr. Drew Pinsky on what celebrities really need to do to get clean and sober.
Also tonight: a fatal bug, a man in quarantine, and all the airline passengers who might have been exposed. Tracking a killer form of tuberculosis and how unprepared we are for it -- 360 tonight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Before the break, we told you how a priest named John Feit became a suspect in the rape and murder of a former beauty queen in Texas. While the investigation of the crime was picking up steam, Feit was sent to a monastery far away, and it's there that he allegedly confessed his sins.
More on the story now from CNN's Gary Tuchman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The Assumption Abbey Monastery in Southern Missouri has been around for 57 years. When murder suspect John Feit was sent there in 1963, Monk Dale Tacheny says he was told to counsel him, because the church could deal with Feit better than the justice system.
(on camera) What did he say? Do you remember what he said to you at first?
DALE TACHENY, FORMER MONK: Well, I knew about the murder. So I asked him, and he would respond to questions I would ask him. I said, "Is it true?"
"Yes, it's true."
Well, what did he do? How did it come about? He heard the woman's confession in the priest house and, after the confession, he then subdued her and took part of her clothes off from the waist on up and then fondled her breasts.
TUCHMAN: The former monk says he didn't badger Feit about details, but says the priest told him he put something over the woman's head.
TACHENY: Before he left, he put Irene in the bathtub, and as he was closing the door of the bathroom, he heard her saying, "I can't breathe. I can't breathe." But he left any way.
TUCHMAN: During his say here in Missouri at the monastery, John Feit went on a mission of sorts. Dale Tacheny says Feit was sent on a most unusual field trip, to churches in other cities, to see if he could go out in society and not attack women.
Feit was apparently successful. And after about six months living with the monks, he was permitted to leave and go on with his life.
(voice-over) Eight years later, Feit left the priesthood. Former monk Tacheny says Feit was never remorseful or concerned.
TACHENY: I asked him one time, "Why are you here and not in prison?"
And he said, "I was protected by the church authorities and by the confessional secrecy."
TUCHMAN (voice-over): But Dale Tacheny didn't tell police any of this until just a few years ago, when he says the guilt became too much about what he was concealing.
TACHENY: I told the people down there that I was sorry, that I was part of the cover-up for all those years.
TUCHMAN: Around the same time, Father John O'Brien, who had told police four decades earlier Feit had that hand injury, also started feeling guilty. He, too, told police that John Feit killed Irene Garza. Irene's cousin tape recorded a phone conversation she had with Father O'Brien.
FATHER JOHN O'BRIEN, PRIEST: I think he took that cord and bound her with it.
NOEMI SIGLER, IRENE'S COUSIN: OK. Oh, my goodness. And when in the world did he ever tell you that he killed Irene? Do you know?
O'BRIEN: Well, I sort of tricked him to be honest with you.
SIGLER: At the church?
O'BRIEN: Yes, I told him, I said how can I help you if I don't know the truth? So he told me the truth, and that was that.
TUCHMAN: Father O'Brien then continued.
O'BRIEN: I kept hitting him with questions.
SIGLER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And he kept saying this prayer in his prayer book. Then finally he got tired of my questions and he come at me. And I said, "Oh, this is great."
I said, "One more step," I said, "Buddy, you're dead."
SIGLER: He came at you physically?
O'BRIEN: Yes. He knew he was going to lose so then he went back right to his prayer book.
TUCHMAN: After more than 40 years, the case was active again. Police had the testimony of two religious men. They were anxious for D.A. Rene Guerra to bring what they regarded as a powerfully persuasive case to the grand jury. The D.A. tells us he's a tough law and order man.
RENE GUERRA, HIDALGO COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I wanted the person who perpetrated the crime to be found and hung, because I believed in hanging back then. And I still believe in hanging, things that we can to do people that are guilty of capital murder.
TUCHMAN: But Guerra sees the evidence in this case much differently. Father O'Brien, he says, was not a credible witness.
GUERRA: I felt that Father O'Brien was in a delicate state of mind and physical health.
TUCHMAN: And he feels the former monk has been fed information.
GUERRA: I think that he was desperate to be a witness. He got all the information from the police, from the cause of death to the place, everything. He got it from the Texas Rangers.
TUCHMAN: Police vigorously defend their investigation.
(on camera) Do you think Dale Tacheny, the monk, the former monk, is a good witness?
CHIEF VICTOR RODRIGUEZ, MCALLEN POLICE DEPARTMENT: Yes.
TUCHMAN: And did you think Father O'Brien was a good witness?
RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely.
TUCHMAN: Strong witness?
RODRIGUEZ: Yes.
TUCHMAN: And remember that slide viewer that even the D.A. acknowledges was bought by John Feit?
GUERRA: That would be one piece of evidence that -- that the person that was connected to the death of Irene Garza was connected to the church. Now, who put it there?
TUCHMAN: The D.A. did not want to go to the grand jury.
GUERRA: From my view, the case was not try-able. But if I -- if I made that decision, I would still be crucified in the press. I would be crucified in the national media.
TUCHMAN: So the case did go to the grand jury, but Guerra decided it wasn't necessary for the former monk or Father O'Brien to testify in person. Instead, police tapes of interviews were played.
He also did not call John Feit to testify. As a matter of fact, the D.A. says he has not been interested in talking to Feit about the case at all.
GUERRA: If I make him a target, he's got the right to tell me to go to hell.
TUCHMAN: The grand jury did not indict John Feit, and just over one year later Father O'Brian died.
Irene Garza's family is angry with what they regard as a halfhearted prosecution effort.
LYNDA DE LA VINA, IRENE GARZA'S COUSIN: I still -- I believe fundamentally it's because it's a church issue.
GUERRA: There's not true. That's not true.
TUCHMAN: Police said John Feit said more to us than he has to them.
(on camera) Do you think the monk, Dale Tacheny, lied? Do you think the police are lying when they say you're the main suspect?
JOHN FEIT, FORMER PRIEST: I think I'm an investigative lead.
TUCHMAN: But can you stop for one second, sir?
FEIT: No, I can't.
TUCHMAN: OK. But do you think Dale Tacheny, the monk, is lying? Did you -- he says you told him you committed the murder.
FEIT: I think he's demented.
TUCHMAN: What about the priest, Father O'Brien. He says you committed the murder, too. He knew you very well, sir.
FEIT: (speaking Latin)
TUCHMAN: What does that mean, sir?
FEIT: Look it up.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): It was Latin, a reference to the late Father O'Brien. Feit said, "Only speak good of the dead."
They speak good of Feit at the Society of St. Vincent DePaul in Phoenix, where Feit helps the poor, the hungry and the sick. The administrators did not want to go on camera but in a statement told us, "His many years of tireless service to the neediest in our community are in direct contrast to how he is being portrayed in this story. Our heart and prayers go out to the family and friends of Irene Garza."
(on camera) Mr. Feit, can I ask you, why won't you talk to the police when they come? They said you wouldn't say anything to them.
FEIT: Bald faced lie.
TUCHMAN: Do you think everybody is lying: the police, the Texas Rangers, the former monk, the priest who you worked with for so long? That's a lot of liars. Why do you think there would be such a big conspiracy against you? Sir?
(voice-over) Feit did not answer that question.
Before we left the district attorney, we asked him if he thinks he'll ever bring a murderer to justice in this case.
GUERRA: I don't believe that this case will be solved unless you have a deathbed confession by a killer.
TUCHMAN: If that killer is John Feit, don't count on any confession from him.
(on camera) Sir, this family has suffered for almost five decades. Anything you want to say to them? Anything you want to say to the family, sir?
(voice-over) Because as the years have gone on, John Feit has been fairly masterful at keeping his mouth shut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: So fascinating. What does the church say about all this?
TUCHMAN: The church where John Feit worked is in diocese of Brownsville, Texas. And they've been very cordial and nice to us. They gave us access to the churches to shoot video.
But they haven't said very much. And they said one of the reasons for that is the people who are there today weren't there 47 years ago. They have given us a statement, though. They say that John Feit should be given the same right that any American would get who is a suspect in a murder, and it's fair to say they're not saying he should get any special treatment.
COOPER: The question you asked him is the million-dollar question. Why would all these people be lying? Why would there be this conspiracy against him by a priest and a monk and all these other people?
TUCHMAN: The police are saying very clearly, they think he's the murder. They say they would press charges today if they could. They don't need a grand jury. But they say it would be futile to press charges because the district attorney...
COOPER: So what happens now?
TUCHMAN: What happens now is that, ultimately there may be another district attorney, which would change the tone of this case. Also, we asked the attorney general of Texas can you do anything about it, the boss of all the district attorneys. And the attorney general said, "We don't have the jurisdiction to do anything like that."
COOPER: Wow. Let's keep on it. Gary Tuchman, thanks, appreciate it.
Just ahead on 360, Lindsay Lohan's father says his daughter needs help. The question is, will she actually get it this time? To be young, beautiful and troubled in Hollywood. What celebrities really need to do to get clean and sober.
Also ahead, the Donald weighs in on "The View" controversy. And it's not just Rosie now he's going after.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Yes, quite a picture. From "it" girl to "out" girl, it's an apparently passed out Lindsay Lohan and one of a series of embarrassing photos shot on Memorial Day just a couple days after she crashed her Mercedes and was charged with DUI.
It almost goes without saying we're hearing that the 20-year-old star has checked into rehab. Her estranged father, Michael, says this all might turn out to be the wakeup call she needs.
He spent time in prison for fraud and drunk driving, we should point out, and he blames Lindsay's behavior on her mother and self- serving friends.
Addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky has treated a lot of celebrities in trouble. I spoke to him earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I guess the fact that Lindsay Lohan has reportedly checked herself into this Promises treatment center in California. After this weekend of partying, the car crash, the DUI charge. You know, police found a usable amount of cocaine, whatever exactly that means, somewhere in her car.
I guess it shouldn't come as any surprise, given she's 20 years old, and I feel like we've been watching her go in and out of clubs for years.
DR. DREW PINSKY, ADDITION SPECIALIST: Well, right. We've been watching her sort of act out her disease, quite frankly. And the reality is that it's -- in any case, it's very difficult to get a 20- year-old to engage in treatment, any 20-year-old, let alone a celebrity 20-year-old.
All they're concerned with, really, is having a good time and doing drugs. People ask me what's going on in their mind. Here's what's going on in their mind: "I want to have a good time. I want to do drugs." That's about it.
And the reality is, they tell themselves, because this disease affects their thinking, they tell themselves, "Well, I'll deal with this later. I know it's a problem. Things seem to be happening, but I can still kind of control it for now, and it will be OK." When in reality, very often they die before they ever get things under control.
COOPER: But I mean, is there really a disease for everybody? Can some people just be incredibly irresponsible?
PINSKY: It's a good point, which is how do we know whether we're looking at somebody who has other psychiatric conditions or merely acting out or whether they have true addiction? And one of the hints to that is if the family history. If there's a family history of addiction, we know that at least 60 percent of addiction is accounted for by genetics alone.
So if somebody has a family history of addiction, alcoholism, and we see the substances building momentum in their life, the probability is this is a genetically predisposed condition we call addiction.
COOPER: Any time I head that some celebrity has gone to a celebrity rehab like this place Promises, and I don't know, you know, anything about this place in particular, other than it costs an arm and a leg, and most people can't afford it. Do these things do any good? It seems -- it seems kind of like just pampering them even more.
PINSKY: Well, Promises is actually a very high quality program. I've had connections with them for many, many years.
And your concern, though, is appropriate, which is how is it that supporting their specialness is going to affect their recovery? When you look at evidence based treatments of addiction, there's no science that says you have to give people special considerations and equine therapy and massage therapy and special food. There's really no evidence that any of these things do anything, in fact.
So getting that kind of treatment doesn't necessarily do anything. But on the other hand, somebody who has special needs may not be willing to come to treatment unless there's sort of special considerations.
COOPER: Does someone like Lindsay Lohan, does she need to stop working?
PINSKY: Yes.
COOPER: Does she need to stop going to parties?
PINSKY: Oh, yes.
COOPER: Does she need to stop posing on red carpets? Does she need to, like...
PINSKY: At least six months -- at least six months of a focus on her treatment, of a humble program of just being a human being, trying to recover from a very serious medical season. At least six months.
COOPER: Dr. Drew Pinsky, appreciate your expertise. Thank you.
PINSKY: My pleasure.
COOPER: Well, now from celebrity rehab to celebrity warfare. A parting shot at Rosie O'Donnell as she exits "The View" comes from her arch nemesis, billionaire Donald Trump. Trump did not stop at Rosie. He managed to target most of the other women on "The View", as well.
Here are some of Donald's own words, as told to CNN's Larry King tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE MOGUL: The fact is Rosie will always have a downfall because that's Rosie. She's a very, very self- destructive person. She's got a lot of problems. They're very deep seated. And Rosie will sort of always have difficulty.
Barbara again is in a position where she's trying to make it look as good as possible. Obviously, it doesn't look very good. It was very surprising to me to see Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who is not the brightest bulb on the planet, seeing her beat Rosie so easily in the debate.
But as I've told you, Rosie is not a bright person. She is a very, very tough, disturbed person, but she's not a bright person.
And I think Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who's not particularly bright either, really showed Rosie something. I mean, I was a little bit surprised to see how easily Rosie was beaten by Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
And I watched Joy Behar. She has absolutely no talent, the most aggravating voice. The whole deal with her 25-year relationship with this one guy. I mean, if they have people like her, this thing won't last for a week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So Joy, Elisabeth, Rosie and Barbara, I think we pretty much got them all. You can see Larry's entire interview with Donald Trump at midnight Easter. And don't miss today's headlines on the new 360 daily podcast. Whoosh, zoom. Whoosh, whoosh. You can download it at CNN.com/360 -- no, CNN.com/AC360podcast. Or get it from the iTunes store, where it is a top download.
Still ahead on the program tonight, Princess Diana and the photos of her death that the royal family does not want you to see. We're not going to show them to you, but the story is ahead.
Plus, danger at Disney World. Problems with one ride hurt a number of visitors. That story when 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Coming up, "The Shot of the Day", yikes. Yes, the pageant walk that didn't quite go as planned. We'll have that ahead. But first, Erica Hill from Headline News has our "360 News and Business Bulletin" -- Erica.
ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Anderson, President Bush has chosen a new man to run the World Bank. A senior administration official tells CNN that Bush wants Robert Zoellick to succeed Paul Wolfowitz, who is stepping down next month amid findings he broke bank rules. Zoellick is the former deputy secretary of state and a one- time U.S. trade representative.
In China, fast food causing deaths, as in the death penalty. The Chinese government has sentenced the former head of its drug and food agency to death as the country deals with the global fallout from a wave of health safety scandals. The officials was convicted of taking bribes and dereliction of duties. His harsh sentence could be reduced, though, on appeal.
In Florida, a water ride malfunctioned at Disney World has left five visitors injured, as well as one employee. Disney has closed the Kali River Rapids ride to investigate the cause of that malfunction. It is unclear. A spokeswoman said none of the injuries were life threatening.
And an update for you on those wayward whales we've been telling you about. The humpback whales have been lost in the Sacramento River now for more than two weeks. Officials involved in the rescue, though, said today they are showing signs of progress in their journey back out to the Pacific.
Outside of a brief change of course last week, they have now been moving steadily toward the San Francisco Bay and ultimately, Anderson, back to the Pacific.
COOPER: Well, that's really good news right there.
HILL: So free Willie and baby Willie on the way.
COOPER: There you go. Time for "The Shot of the Day". I'm sure you already saw this, Erica. The slip at the Miss Universe contest.
HILL: Hard to miss it. Poor woman.
COOPER: Yes.
HILL: I mean, replayed constantly.
COOPER: It's a rough walk for Miss USA Rachel Smith. It was during the evening gown phase. She slipped and fell right on her -- "hey, lady."
HILL: Her patootie?
COOPER: I guess so. The trip -- she ended up in fifth place anyway. The crown went to Miss Japan. And the audience just booed her, outright booed her.
HILL: She had a really rough night.
COOPER: Yes. They were brutal to her. Donald Trump said later on he thought it was just because of U.S. policies. It wasn't really anything against Miss USA in particular.
HILL: Maybe they were booing his hair. That's just a thought.
COOPER: Let's not go there.
I don't know if you saw this pageant. A far less controversial pageant. It's the top dog.
HILL: Wow. Now, that's some hair right there. COOPER: That's right. It's a Japanese-born French poodle named Smash, crowned best in show yesterday at the world dog show competition in Mexico City.
HILL: How about that?
COOPER: Yes, 5,000 competitors this dog beat. They went through a lot of primping. Take a look at some of these pictures we got of some of the various primping that was going on there.
HILL: That -- that's what my dog looks like in the morning. Yes.
COOPER: That dog does not look happy right there.
HILL: No.
COOPER: This one -- what is that hanging from it's...?
HILL: What's going on?
COOPER: Yes.
HILL: I love a dog show, but I have to tell you, really, I'm a mutt kind of gal.
COOPER: Yes?
HILL: Yes.
COOPER: And yes.
So we want you to send us your "Shot" ideas. If you see some amazing videos, or some elaborately made up dogs, tell us about it: CNN.com/3460. We'll put some of your best clips on the air.
Well, coming up in the next hour, the race to find the people who may have been exposed to a deadly and often incurable infection. They may have shared a flight with a man who's in federal quarantine tonight.
Also, an illegal immigrant beaten to death and the police officers under investigation. That and more, starting the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: You're watching the only live newscast on cable right now.
Tonight, a disease from the past making a modern comeback. People can spread it, and drugs can't catch it. A man is in quarantine tonight, and he's already been halfway around the world, carrying a deadly strain of tuberculosis.
Also tonight, he once helped Warren Jeffs while the polygamist leader was on the lam. That was before they took his wife and child. Now, he's fighting to get them back and talking about Jeffs.
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