Return to Transcripts main page
Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Walker Drops Out Of Presidential Race; CNN Poll: Trump Lead Slides After Second GOP Debate; CNN Poll: Clinton Widens Lead Over Sanders; Court Martial?; Inside The Bergdahl Rescue Mission; Toddler's Killing; 700+ Young Victims Still Unidentified; New Details In Slain Officer Investigation. Aired 9-10p ET.
Aired September 21, 2015 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:27]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Good evening. Thanks for joining us 9:00 P.M. here in New York, 8:00 in Madison, Wisconsin where governor and presidential candidate, Scott Walker, is once again just Governor Walker. Late today he quit the race. With more, he called on others to do the same all in the name of taking on a candidate he all but named and clearly condemned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER, (R) WISCONSIN: Today, I believe that I'm being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top of the field. With this in mind, I will suspend my campaign immediately. I encourage other Republican Presidential Candidates to consider doing the same so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates that can offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current front runner. This is fundamentally important to the future of the party and more importantly to the future of our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, Governor Walker with a parting shot obviously there at Donald Trump unlike Mr. Trump he never really called the public eye. Our Chief National Correspondent John King joins us now with all the late details on that as well as new polling on the democratic side, a lot of ground to cover. Let's start off with Scott Walker. What happened?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Just remarkable, what happened? Now, look, he had bad debate performances. He was inconsistent in his answers. He didn't impress conservatives he really on but he might be their guy. There are a number of reasons but look at this. He actually peaked back in March in our polling 16 percent. You might say that's not a ton but in a crowd of Republican field this is the moment where he actually was a contender, not could have been a contender. He was a contender for a bit but look at the slide going right down this is what killed him Anderson.
After that CNN debate he went to an asterisk, ... COOPER: That's incredible.
KING: ... in March to barely registering in our poll and if you look at why again this is his peak in March when he was considered the alternative. This is pre-Trump. He was considered the alternative to Jeb Bush. He was leading in Iowa, nationally 20 percent among men, 1 percent now. 12 percent among Republican women, doesn't register anymore. 26 percent among the Tea Party, this is in March, doesn't register.
Conservatives thought he was his guy fighting in the unions of Wisconsin, he was a conservative hero, right, doesn't register anymore, literally fell through the floor in part because of Trump but it part also because of poor performance.
COOPER: Let's look at the rest of the GOP field.
KING: This is what's remarkable, it's not just Governor Walker. You heard him calling another candidate to get out. It would be interesting to see if that happen. Trump down after our debate, that's the biggest headline. He was 32 percent coming in, he's down to 24. Carly Fiorina barely registering before him, Anderson, up to 15 percent now. Dr. Carson down a bit, Marco Rubio up quite a bit, Jeb Bush a static line there.
It's really interesting to watch why did Donald Trump go down? He's being tested now. Any candidate gets tested. We'll see if he can handle adversity. He can drop among the Tea Party from 41 down to 29 this drop especially big among Republican women down from 33 to 21. Small declines among evangelicals and Republican men we'll see if he can recover from that.
The beneficiary of the Republican sight, Anderson, clearly Carly Fiorina taking support from Trump and from Carson and 3 percent to 14 percent among Republican men that's a big jump. You see similar Republican women Tea Party support white evangelicals. She went from nowhere to somewhere, her challenges to capitalize, Mr. Trump's challenge that was a deal with his first test of adversity.
COOPER: There's also a new CNN numbers on the Democratic side.
KING: And on national poll that shows Hillary Clinton stabilizing. Often, we've been talking about Hillary Clinton lengthy when we bring up polling. She's in trouble and she is still losing in Iowa and she's still losing in New Hampshire, so remember that. But nationally, this is a bit of a stabilizing poll from what you see with 42 percent now, not her August number 47 but she's moved up a bit there, Bernie Sanders down just a tick within the margin of error but Bernie Sanders down there, Joe Biden at 22. What gets interesting Martin O'Malley just barely registering he is now a little bit.
Look, what's interesting is if you take Joe Biden out of the race, Hillary Clinton jumps up to 57 percent, Sanders at 28 percent, Martin O'Malley at 2 percent. So there's no question. Biden not running would benefit Hillary Clinton but if you look more closely at it, look at this among Democratic women with Biden in the race, Hillary Clinton gets 50 percent, without Biden, she jumps up to 64 percent among non- white voters, blacks and Latinos here, with Biden 55 she jumps up to 72.
Now, Bernie Sanders also goes up among these groups without Joe Biden in the race but just barely. Hillary Clinton goes up quite a bit. And so Clinton is the presidential nominee without a doubt. If Biden doesn't run, she's stronger, just the caveat, this is the national polls. She still has issues in both Iowa and New Hampshire.
COOPER: John stay with us because I to want to bring in the panel of pair seasoned observers and participant in the ups and downs of presidential campaign. CNN Political Commentator Anna Navarro and Paul Begala she's a Bush reporter and friend of Marco Rubio. He's a friend of the Clintons and co-chair of a pro Hillary Clinton super PAC.
Paul, I want to get your thoughts on the new polls but first, you reaction on the news that Governor Walker dropped out.
[21:05:01]
PAUL BEGALA, CO-CHAIR OF PRO-HILLARY SUPER PAC: Well I mean towards the kings of poll analysis is spot on. The guy had one out of four Tea Party supporters, which is probably the most exciting part of the Republican coalition. They turn out. They work hard and then he collapsed and boy, it is just for positive running for president is really hard. This is a guy who won 11 straight elections in Wisconsin which is not an easy state for Democrats, right. It's a consistent Democratic state in national elections for president.
He won 11 straight elections including a recall and also seemed to be from reports the favorite candidate of the Koch brothers, you know, the controversial billionaire who pledged, put almost $1 billion into this and yet, he has been steam rolled by Donald Trump. This is a (inaudible) and the second victim of that (inaudible) and first of course is my old governor from Texas Rick Perry and now Scott Walker joins the crowd. He will not be the last one Donald Trump pushes out this race.
COOPER: But Anna it's interesting now because he didn't just say he's dropping out he called another Republicans to drop out without naming names but he implied that in order for the party to get beyond Donald Trump, the field needs to consolidate.
ANNA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It was a, you know, last parting stroke to Donald Trump, all he had to say was "Hey, Donald I'm talking to you." It was very of obvious who he was referring to. He wants the field to whittle down so that the anti Trump field can consolidate and we can go back to an optimistic message. I think Scott Walker one of the terrific -- is a terrific governor of Wisconsin.
He was just out of his league on this one and had to face a financial reality running for president costs money. It is an expensive endeavor. You have to pay staff. You have to pay cost. He had to face a political reality. He did not have a path to the nomination and I also think there was a personal reality. It is tough to run for president when you're doing it for real. A lot of travel, a lot of time away from home, away from his state, away from his wife and his kids, away from his bed. You know, it's a tough reality. I think that between the finances not being there, the political path not being there, it just didn't make any sense for him and he's a pragmatic guy.
COOPER: Right.
NAVARRO: He's a governor, he didn't want to go into debt.
COOPER: Who -- John, who benefits on the Republican side for him dropping?
KING: It's a great question. Some people would say is that 1 percent on the polls are really registering on the poll so what is it matter but he has a very good organization in Iowa we'll see what happens there. We've seen so far in the early hours, Jeb Bush getting some people, Marco Rubio getting others so we'll watch. He does have a very talented group of activists. A very talented campaign team, I know he just dropped out people say...
NAVARRO: And some donors, John.
KING: And a lot of big donors in the party. He had a lot of big deep pocketed donors in the party. So there's a lot of money to be raised from the Scott Walker network. The other candidates are already calling. Again, Jeb Bush picking up some tonight, Marco Rubio picking up some, others will pick up others be very interesting to watch how the talent of spreads out because we have so many candidates in the race that you want the talent.
COOPER: Paul on the Democratic side when Hillary Clinton maintaining her lead nationally is a big variable, the first obviously for being Biden. We see how his entrance would affect both her and Bernie Sanders.
BEGALA: Yeah, I -- just before we went on the air I tweeted that I planed to overreact to this poll since this is the first good one Hillary had in several week. Let me actually tell the truth, which is it's, you know, it's good. I'd rather just see her up five points in a month than down five points in a month but we are so far away from the election. Here is what matter more to me is that she is maintaining her lead with core democratic subgroups that John looked at and also this is a subjective thing but she's performing better on the stump.
She's given more interviews now. She seems -- I think be more comfortable with that. She's, you know, campaigning I think more effectively. She's going to have bad days again. She'll have down polls and I just don't want to overreact to one poll just as a good for my gal but I do think it's a sign that she's also performing better. Voters are seeing, I think something out of her and they're seeing maybe a little grit that they like.
COOPER: Anna, when you hear Dr. Ben Carson saying a Muslim shouldn't be president and Donald Trump say there will some people think, you know, we maybe already have had a Muslim president or have a Muslim president, which is obviously a way for him to perpetuate the idea that, you know, President Obama is a Muslim, does it hurt, I mean among the Republican base, with (inaudible) was on in the last hour he said he thinks it's actually going to help Dr. Carson and Trump.
NAVARRO: You know, Anderson, I don't know if it helps. I don't know if it hurts because as much I know, Barack Obama has been elected president twice overwhelmingly. He is about to start his last year in office. Folks, turn the page. It's time to let this topic die. You know, whether he is -- I believe he's an American. I believe he is a Christian. But this topic is over. He's -- his presidency is about to be over . For God's sakes let's talk about the issues that this nation cares about as Republicans we are losing focus by talking about this other things.
COOPER: Anna it's good to have you, Paul Begala as well as John King as well. Coming up next, will Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl face court marshal and possibly a long stretch in prison for leaving his post and falling into Taliban captivity? We'll tell you what the general lead in the investigation now has to say about that and whether he things Bergdahl sympathized with the enemy.
[21:10:02] Also exclusive details of the mission to rescue him and how one of the SEALs who took part in that mission is dealing with the physical and mental after effects is remarkable American who want to meet him just ahead his battle to heal when 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Sometimes perhaps very shortly, we'll know whether a court- martial awaits Amy Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. Tonight we know that the general in-charged of investigating his disappearance in nearly five years in Taliban captivity says that jail time would be wrong for him. His testimony, a preliminary hearing covered a lot of ground including whether Bergdahl was sympathetic to the Taliban and why he left his post.
As you know a swapping Guantanamo detainees for his freedom stirred up a hornet's nest in the unsuccessful mission to rescue him left deep scars, physical and otherwise among the SEAL team that tried it.
In a moment my conversation with a wounded member of that team. First, Martin Savidge joins me with the latest on the military justice developments. So, for the first time we heard about why Bergdahl left his post in 2009. What do we know about his plans that night?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. There was so much of this hearing, Anderson that was just off the charts as far as information up until now not released. So, the general says and this is the general who led the investigation into Bergdahl's disappearance, Kenneth Dahl Major General says that the reason Bergdahl to left was that he was under a delusion that his company, that his -- well, his entire battalion was being led by incompetent leaders, not true, but that's what he believed.
[21:15:01] So, he worked up this plan. He was going to leave his outpost, run 18 miles to enemy territory and the darkness, get to another base and meet with the General because he knew that his departure would trigger alarm bells. He could show up at the space and say, "Tada! here I am, I'm the soldier you are looking for, now let me talk to the General and tell you how badly our men are being led." Crazy it sounds, but that's what the army says was his plan. Of course, he got captured by the Taliban and never made it to the other base.
COOPER: And what did the General testified, what do you say about the possibility of Bergdahl actually serving time for desertion?
SAVIDGE: He sad the thorough investigation that they had done, giving his mental problems which he admitted existed and the other factors that they had looked at, he did not believe the jail time was appropriate here. And remember, this is a two-star general and he has highly respected and it was thought that his investigation was extremely well done.
COOPER: What happens now?
SAVIDGE: Well, next, these -- the hearing officer will write up a recommendation as to whether or not he believes the evidence wants a court-martial that'll be passed up and another general will eventually make this call, possibly in a couple of weeks and one other big thing that came out of this hearing that was understood, the army will go to incredible lengths and the men and women who served will try their very best to find one of their own that's missing. It was really, really amazing.
COOPER: And did Bergdahl say anything?
SAVIDGE: He did not other than he answered a few questions. His attorneys did speak and in fact, his own attorney thanked President Obama, but above all, thanked all of those soldiers who worked so hard to try to bring about the rescue of Bowe Bergdahl.
COOPER: Martin Savidge, appreciate all the details. Thank you.
Now, some searing details of the mission to rescue Sergeant Bergdahl is one of the missions I recently spent time with a really remarkable individual who nearly died in it, retired Navy SEAL Jimmy Hatch. He wants people to know the sacrifices that he and so many others made to get this one soldier home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: When was the first time you heard the name Bowe Bergdahl?
JIMMY HATCH, RET. NAVY SEAL: So we're sitting in the IntelCenter, and me and a few guys in my crew and this guy walks up with a piece of paper and that's basically information, you know, Bowe Bergdahl and kind of where he's from and his rank and that kind of stuff that the guy is talking to us and he's saying his guys are saying he just walked off. And I looked at the guy next to me and I said somebody is going to get killed looking for this kid, killed or hurt.
COOPER: Navy SEAL Jimmy Hatch had no idea just how right he was. A week and a half after Bowe Bergdahl disappeared he says his SEAL team received intelligence about where the young army private could be and who was holding him hostage.
HATCH: And we had to plan quick, hostage rescue stuff is really hard and you have to be, you know, fast. So we planned it out. Spun up and just I was in a little taskforce, there was every service was represented, air force guys with this, marines, army guys, got on these helicopters and took off, flew in and when we got close to the ground, it was on.
COOPER: A night rescue as the two helicopters touched down, Hatch says the team came under heavy fire.
HATCH: Guys had to immediately deal with a pretty major gunfight.
COOPER: And at that point, what's the goal?
HATCH: The goal is to get that kid.
COOPER: To find Bowe Bergdahl?
HATCH: Yeah, fast and we were close because things started right away, you know, they had a, you know, they had a big belt fed machine gun and they were shooting AKs. And then later on as the search was going on, guys were hitting dudes with RPGs and it chaos, man.
COOPER: Hatch believed the intensity of the fight, the heavy weaponry of the enemy signaled they were closing in on Bergdahl.
BOWE BERGDAHL, ARMY SERGEANT HELD CAPTIVE BY TALIBAN: It is very unnerving to be a prisoner.
COOPER: Despite the murky details of how Bergdahl ended up a hostage, for Hatch, the mission's objective was crystal clear.
HATCH: He was an American and had a mom and I don't want his mom to see him get his head chopped off on YouTube, you know what I mean?
COOPER: So, that went through your mind?
HATCH: Yeah, for sure.
COOPER: In the middle of the firefight with every second counting, Hatch split-off from the team with two other men and a secret weapon, a dog named Remco.
HATCH: At some point, I got -- I could see a couple of guys, probably 400 meters or 500 meters away in flat field and they were moving and then they kind of disappeared. So I'm like we got to, you know, we got to get over there so we went. We went at them, put the dog in front of us because his body language will tell you if there is people close by for sure and we couldn't see these guys. So the dog was out probably 2 meters or 3 meters in front of us and we were moving pretty good. I saw his fur go up. I saw his ears go up and he started to pick-up speed and boom, boom, two rounds go into the dog and muzzle flashlights up with the guy who shot the dog.
COOPER: So, you could actually see the guy who shot the dog?
HATCH: With the muzzle flash, yeah, but I couldn't see him before that. So, I start shooting that guy, the other bad guy and he just started spraying wildly with his AK-47.
[21:20:04] He just -- so one of those bullets got lucky and hit me.
COOPER: Your leg officially just knocked from under you?
HATCH: Yeah. Just totally -- I just started to put on my weight on it and so I'm in the air and I'm like don't scream. That's what I'm thinking. Don't scream, don't scream.
COOPER: You didn't want to scream?
HATCH: No, those dudes were right there, you know, and I boom I land, he started screaming. I mean it was -- it hurt man.
COOPER: The bone was shattered.
HATCH: Oh yeah. Just to -- it sent that kind of the bone, the top part of my femur, hit me right above the knee and sent the bone that kind of out the back of my leg, so I was bleeding really bad.
COOPER: In a heart beat, Hatch's mission changed from rescuing Bowe Bergdahl to keeping himself alive.
HATCH: I was lying there, initially I thought now I'm dead because I'm so close and can't move and then I hear my buddies, I hear their guns and I hear going to work and then I hear the guy throw as grenade, you know, shrapnel is flying around and I'm like.
COOPER: You want to tell them got through?
HATCH: Yeah, anyway my buddies finished the job.
COOPER: The team finished off both Taliban fighters and applied a tourniquet to Hatch's leg. Even though the fighting still raged around him, the helicopters were called back to extract the now wounded seal.
HATCH: When I get hit, that changes the plan. So they have to take -- we have to kind of concentrate some resources on the screaming guy and get the helicopters in there to get him out and those dudes on the helicopters they came back men like there's a one who dropped us off and they didn't hesitate. They flew right back into that fire.
COOPER: Hatch was evacuated along with Remco, the fatally wounded dog. Hatch's leg bandaged and bleeding and a lollipop of putting pain killers in his mouth that would be hi last mission, the end of his war as a Navy SEAL.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Because you might imagine Jimmy Hatch has some complicated emotions in the aftermath of all the experience and all the witnessed.
Coming up next, he talks about the dark place that he ended up in and how he's getting through it now with the help of his family and dogs, like the one that was killed during the mission.
HATCH: Let's go get a ball.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:26:06]
COOPER: More now of my exclusive interview with retired Navy SEAL Jimmy Hatch about a mission that until now has been little spoken up. He attempt to rescue Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl who could shortly know whether he'll face court marshal and possibly life in prison if convicted of desertion. Jimmy Hatch is speaking publicly about it for the first time because he says people need to know the sacrifices that so many people made in that rescue mission. I asked if he thought of it as a failure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HATCH: To me it was in the sense that we didn't get him.
COOPER: Do you know if he was there in that area where you were?
HATCH: You know, I was told that he for sure was in that area, that they found things on some of the dead guys that, you know, indicated that he was there.
COOPER: Does it matter to you? I mean, is that a component of that you were wounded on a mission which didn't succeed in what the objective was? Is that something that resonated with you?
HATCH: I took a lot of that on myself. I felt like, you know, maybe if I have done things a little differently, not gotten hurt, you know, the mission wouldn't have failed, you know, no way to know that. At the time I certainly, it was a failure to me and I was the cause of it.
COOPER: Hatch was awarded a purple heart and bronze star for his actions that night by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.
HATCH: Will not lose this war because that's deep. There's a lot of layers and we're all blessed.
COOPER: Hatch felt tremendous guilt for as he saw it failing on the Bergdahl mission and for leaving his brothers on the battle field to fight without him. That along with the wound to his leg that ended his 21-years as a SEAL, it all added up and sent him to a dark and dangerous place.
HATCH: Pain meds, you know, chasing them with vodka and I basically became, you know, just this pathetic human.
COOPER: Did you think about killing yourself?
HATCH: Yeah, yeah, I had a plan for sure.
COOPER: You actually have made out a plan?
HATCH: Yeah.
COOPER: Because that's when, you know, psychologists, whenever somebody goes to them and says, you know, I'm thinking about killing myself, that's the first question they ask is, have you actually taken the next step of making a plan. So you had?
HATCH: Yeah, for sure. It was a planner. So this incident happened where gun, gun in my mouth, crying, and...
COOPER: You put a gun in your mouth?
HATCH: Oh yeah, in front of my wife and my wife somehow, I don't know how she got the gun away from me.
COOPER: Hatch was sent to a psychiatric hospital for his own protection. It was another SEAL, the same one who got him to safety on that helicopter in Afghanistan who made sure he got there.
HATCH: He's going to, you know, drive me to this hospital and, you know, there are no medals for driving your buddy to a psychiatric hospital. So we get in the car and I looked at him and I said man I'm running. I'm not doing this. He's like listen, you got to fix yourself. You got to do it for yourself and for your family and you got to do it for us because you're the beginning. There's going to be more like you and it might be me and that just, you know, stunned me. The guy saved my life.
COOPER: With those words.
HATCH: Twice.
COOPER: Ever since Jimmy Hatch has been on a path of healing and today he continues to honor those who saved his life including the dog killed on the Bergdahl mission, Remco.
[21:30:01] Wow, she's fast.
HATCH: She's an athlete, man.
COOPER: He started an organization called Spikes K9 Fund to provide medical care and proper protection for police dogs, search and rescue dogs, dogs that can be hurt or killed in the line of duty.
HATCH: I'm not going to let her run really fast at you.
COOPER: No, I'm good. I'm ready for it.
A former naval dog handler himself, I asked Hatch to show me some of what his Dutch Sheppard Mina can do.
HATCH: Punish him.
COOPER: With incredible precision, Mina took me down again and again and again. I felt the full weight literally of Hatch's respect and love for these brave working dogs while Hatch has come so far from those dark days after the mission to rescue Bowe Bergdahl, the mission that ended life as he knew it, he's finally telling his story because he wants the man who put him and so many others in harm's way to be finally be held accountable.
HATCH: I want that kid to have his day in courts. He's an American and his got that coming. People say, you know, maybe he suffered enough because he was held captive well, that's kind of like saying if I go out and drink a bunch of vodka tonight and slam into a car with children in it and hurt them but I get paralyzed from the waist down but because I got paralyzed, you know, I've been punished enough.
No, I still need to be held accountable for the decisions I made and I think that's the case with Mr. Bergdahl. I feel pretty strongly about that. He needs to know, you know, how much was risked.
COOPER: That's important to you that he knows that?
HATCH: Yeah, it's important that Americans know that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: We hope now they do a word on the making of the story, we corroborated the details of Jimmy Hatch's story through two other military personnel who were within that night and through additional sources and intelligence community. We also asked the U.S. Navy to verify Hatch's story, while the navy confirmed his long and very distinguished career as a SEAL, they will not comment about this particular mission.
One other quick note, if you want more information on the nonprofit organization that Jimmy Hatch's founded or if you want to donate some money, you can go to spikesk9fund.org. It's one word, no apostrophe or anything. It's again its spikesk9fund.org. They are also in Tweeter @spikesk9fund, check it out he's just an amazing, amazing guy and was real privilege to meet him and his family.
Just ahead, new details tonight in the death of a 2-year-old Bella Bond, what the prosecutor says the mom and mother's boyfriend did to this little girl on the last day of her life.
Plus, more than 700 other cases remain unsolved tonight. Imagine that, 700 cases remain unsolved. Children who die but haven't been identified, what's being done to track down their names?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:36:56]
COOPER: In Boston today the man accused of killing 2-year-old Bella Bond was arraigned along with his girlfriend, the toddler's mother. Michael McCarthy is his name is denied Bond. The judge did set bail for Rachelle Bond at $1 million. Now, Bella Bond's body was found in a trash bag along with the Boston Harbor shoreline for nearly three months. She was known as baby Doe until a tipster called authorities with some crucial information. Well prosecutors revealed that today's hearing was incredibly disturbing. Randi Kaye was in the courtroom, she joins me now. So tell me what was revealed here.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, first of all prosecutors made it clear that Bella Bond was actually murdered back in May. It all happened one night very late when apparently the assistant judicial attorney said that she was just unwilling to go to bed and so Michael McCarthy the man accused of murdering her went to the backroom, apparently tried to calm her and when Rachelle Bond her mother heard that things got quiet back there, she went to check on them and she told police that she found Michael McCarthy striking and punching Bella Bond in the stomach killing her and when she asked him what he had done, she told police that he said to her that Bella was possessed with demons and that it was her turn to die, Anderson.
COOPER: And I mean I know authorities have been trying to identify her body for three months now. How did the case finally come together?
KAYE: It all came together with this long-time friend of Michael McCarthy. He had been living with McCarthy and Rachelle Bond and Bella for some time earlier this year and then one day he noticed Bella was no longer there. So he started asking some questions apparently and Michael McCarthy, he told police had told him that Bella had been taken away by the Department of Children and Families just like two other children had been removed from the home but then just last Wednesday, Anderson, he asked Rachelle Bond when they might be getting Bella back and he told authorities that Rachelle told him that Michael McCarthy had killed Bella punching her in the stomach.
So it was stunning for him. He immediately called his sister and told authorities who then showed him the computer images that we've been seeing of that image where they were trying to identify the girl who washed up on shore there in Boston and then he also saw that investigators had released that picture of that zebra blanket and that was key for him because he remembered seeing a zebra blanket in Bella's stroller when he was living with McCarthy and Rachelle Bond and that family.
So that was key, he called the authorities right away, so did his sister and that when they made the arrest charging McCarthy with murder and Rachelle Bond as being accomplished after the fact and accessory after the fact.
COOPER: And you talked to Bella's biological father are in court, right?
KAYE: I did. He was very emotional. He can only imagine, he had never even met his daughter but he did talked to her on the phone, he had pictures of her, he had her favorite beads with him she used to sleep with all the time and he was right there able to see the man now suspected of killing his child and then he also was able to see Rachelle Bond, as well, and he was almost thrown out of court, Anderson, because he was making his gestures with Rachelle Bond trying to show her the beads.
[21:40:05] He got up at one point and yelled at Michael McCarthy that he'll last one day in prison and another woman, Anderson also got up in court and screamed that Michael McCarthy saying that he should brought in hell and using the F-word. So, it was a very, very dramatic day in court.
COOPER: It's just still so unbelievable. Randi, appreciate the reporting.
For nearly three months before authorities learned Bella Bond's name, this is all they had to go on, that composite image created by an artist at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. That image turned out to be remarkably accurate and led to the break in the case.
Now, we wish we could say that Bella is a rarity, but the horrible reality is that hundreds of kids are found dead every year with very few clues about who they are. Jason Carroll reports tonight on the efforts to solve these hundreds of mysteries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They come from all over the country, from every race, ethnicity and background, but they all share the same last name, Doe. Their real name is a mystery. These are the faces of 715 children in the United States whose deaths remain unsolved.
CAROL SCHWEITZER, SENIOR FORENSIC CASE SPECIALIST, NCMEC: Sometimes with these cases, I mean, these children remain unidentified for a ton of reasons.
CARROLL: Their cases are investigated here at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.
SCHWEITZER: All the faces of our unidentified children...
CARROLL: Carole Schweitzer is the Senior Forensic Care Specialist.
SCHWEITZER: We will never give up hope. We will never stop looking to identify these kids and give them a name and find justice for them.
CARROLL: This has been a key facility for law enforcement looking to solve cases involving children since 1984. Here forensic imaging specialists use computer programs to create faces of the unidentified. Before Bella Bond's name was discovered, she was known as Baby Doe and this is where a specialist created that image of her that went viral.
JOE MULLINS, FORENSIC IMAGING SPECIALIST, NCMEC: That may be something that helps, you know, spark recognition with somebody.
CARROLL: Joe Mullins has worked on hundreds of cases. This is one from a teenage girl whose remains were found in Marion, Ohio in 2007. This is actually a picture of her skull.
MULLINS: Next, a digital scan of the skull is created. Your skull is just as unique as your face.
CARROLL: A computer program gives Mullins the brush strokes needed to recreate a face filling in features ripped away by time.
MULLINS: When we go home at night and we close our eyes, we have like a flash of all the faces that we saw during that day and it's -- it can't help, but get emotionally attached and you want to give this new girl her name back.
CARROLL: Back at Carol Schweitzer's desk, a picture of Bella Bond hangs next to her computer.
SCHWEITZER: I have a daughter that's around her age and I think it was just really hard for me to conceptualize the lack of care and how she was disposed of and found. I think that was probably the hardest.
CARROLL: There are other pictures close to Schweitzer, this little girl whose body was found in Los Angeles in 1985. She is still waiting for her name.
SCHWEITZER: The medical examiner was also able to determine that she was malnourished.
CARROLL: And this face from a young girl found near a corn field that was seen in Wisconsin in 1999. Their most recent case, a toddler's remains discovered three weeks ago on Chicago's Near West Side. Sadly, soon, his face will be added to the list.
SCHWEITZER: Somebody knows these children. There is somebody out there that knows every single one of these children. We just have to find them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And Jason Carroll joins us now. I mean it's so incredible to think there's, you know, are 700 kids that'd been found and just not identified. Somebody watching this right now, what can they do to help find the names for all these unidentified kids?
CARROLL: Yes, and you're right, Anderson, it is a sobering number. And there is one simple thing that anyone can do who's watching this. You simply have to go to the Facebook page at the Center for Missing & Exploited Children has set up. It's titled Help I.D. Me, again, Help I.D. Me, Anderson. You can go to that Facebook page, log on by state if you're living in California or in Texas.
You can see who is missing in Texas. You can see who they've found in California and you can see some of this imaging, some of these faces, see if there is anyone that you recognized from talking to so many of the people there. Anderson, they say that they can look at cases going back to the 1950s based on the new technology that they have and they are not going to give up until all of these children are identified. COOPER: I mean, for the people who work there, this has got to be just haunting to see these kids, images kind of calling out to them every single day.
CARROLL: Yeah. And when we got into a little bit of that with one of the forensic imaging specialist that we spoke to there, he said when he goes at home at night, Anderson he said I dream about these children. I cannot impress enough how dedicated these people are who work there and they say what drives them, what gets them through those dreams is hoping that one day they cannot only put a name to a face, but also get these children the justice that they deserve.
[21:45:02]
COOPER: Yeah. Jason, appreciate that reporting, thank you. Powerful story.
Just ahead tonight, breaking news in the killing of Illinois Police Officer Joseph Gliniewicz, investigators now have results from gunshot residue and ballistic test, what that means in the investigation plus I'll talk to the officer's son.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Breaking news tonight in the killing of Illinois Police Lieutenant Joe Gliniewicz, he was found dead from a fatal gunshot wound three weeks ago shortly after telling to the dispatcher that he was pursuing three suspicious men on foot. This killing, you may recall sparked a major manhunt in a resort community north of Chicago.
Short time ago officials said they've received results on two-key tests, gun residue and ballistics. They also talked about DNA evidence found at the scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS COVEILI, LAKE COUNTRY TASK FORCE SPOKESMAN: Those reports, gunshot residue and ballistic tests do not support or exclude any specific theory in this investigation. All theories are diligently being investigated and being looked at. There was unknown source DNA located at several locations at the scene, more than just one. One of the samples we've collected at this time is at Coda's quality and is currently being worked through the Coda system meaning its being run against the entire Coda's database.
[21:50:01]
COOPER: The taskforce spokesman said the case is still being investigated as a homicide with authorities pursuing more than 300 leads right now. Last week officials said for the first time that they were considering both homicide, suicide, and any other possible scenarios.
Joining me is D.J. Gliniewicz, Lieutenant Gliniewicz's son. D.J., as I told you during the break, you know, I'm so sorry for your loss and I appreciate you speaking with us tonight. First of all, tell us about your dad, what kind of a guy was he because I talked to one young man who was in the scout program, the mentorship program that your father did and who just said so many incredible things about your dad.
D.J. GLINIEWICZ, SONE OF LT. JOE GLINIEWICZ: My Father, you know, he loved everybody and he loved his job especially, but more than that just his friends and his job, he loved his family most importantly. He was -- had a really huge sense of family fundamentals and everything like that and he was just always a happy guy, you know, always smiling, always saying hey to everyone and, you know, he's a all around just a man's man and just a great guy.
COOPER: And I know you consider him not just a dad and mentor, but your best friend?
GLINIEWICZ: Yes, most certainly, you know, it's -- due this tragic loss, you know, people have heard me say it many times, I didn't just lose a father, I didn't lose just a coach, I didn't lose a trainer or mentor, you know, most importantly my father was my best friend. He's always been there for me since day one, you know, whether I needed advice or I need some help in a situation or I just was having a bad day in general, you know, he was always there.
He was always a phone call or a text message away and, you know, the situation was vice versa, you know, whenever he had difficulties with something or he just had a bad day at work, he would call me and we'd be able to talk things out. And it was always great having somebody there and actually, legitimately mean saying that he was always there.
COOPER: Obviously, the investigations got to be incredibly frustrating for you. You know how these things work, what do you make of what you're hearing from police so far?
GLINIEWICZ: Well, so far with the information that they have distributed to the public and everything like that, obviously, with being an explorer for such a long time and my father being in the law enforcement for so long, I understand how these investigations work.
This isn't something that you get a DNA sample or you get gunshot residue, that's not something you get back in an hour. I mean, you're talking week, two week's time where you're going get that analyzed and get the information back.
And I prefer that major crimes task force is taking the thorough (inaudible) taking because I know that they're working around the clock and that they ensure that this is done properly and 100 percent correct regardless of how long that may take.
COOPER: There are obviously a lot of potential theories that they are looking at. Have you ruled anything out in your mind? Are you concerned that they are looking at things so broadly?
GLINIEWICZ: Obviously, every investigation that the law enforcement takes in that perspective is you have to look at it as either a homicide, accidental cause of death or suicide. With that in mind I know my father. My family knows my father and his closest friends know him as well. He was not someone whoever contemplated suicide.
He never had suicidal tendencies or anything like that. I mean that's just a rumor and that's that. It is a rumor. It was something that somebody made up because they wanted to interpret the story on their own.
I full heartedly disagree with that statement although I can't change, you know, that person or that individual's mind of creating, you know, that thing.
COOPER: Well, obviously, let's hope this gets resolved as quickly as possible. D.J., I appreciate you so much talking with us and again our condolences to your family. We'll continue to stay on this. Thank you.
GLINIEWICZ: Thank you so much for having me on the show.
COOPER: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:58:00]
COOPER: Time now for the RidicuList. And tonight, we have a story from Berkeley, California where a gentleman named Mike (ph) recently planned on having a very chill day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE: So I ordered some pizza. I thought I had the day off and I was going to sit home and just enjoy my relaxation.
COOPER: Doesn't get much better than that, does it? A little Mike time, if you will, well, Mike time, kind of a day for him. He deserves it.
Like I got some Domino's delivered, ate one slice of pizza and put the rest in the fridge and then it turned out he had to go to work which, hey, look, that's also not a bad feeling knowing when you get home from work, you're going to have some Domino's Pizza and some sweet, sweet chicken wings waiting for you and in Mike's case, there was a big surprise, as well.
MIKE: At about 5:00 A.M., I got home from work and looked in my refrigerator and pulled out what I thought was wings and turned out to be $1300.
We got $666 here and $632 here for about $1,300 total. I wanted to keep it, believe me, but I can't -- I can't do it.
COOPER: See, what a nice guy. Apparently the delivery driver was on his way to the bank and had put the cash in a wings box for safekeeping which sounds like a solid plan, but then he promptly handed the wrong box over when delivered to Mike. Luckily, Mike is a stand up guy, returned the money and got his karmic reward in 30 minutes or less. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, thank you so much. Do you know...
MIKE: No problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... honest people are really, really hard to find these days. Thank you. We're going to offer you free pizza for a whole year.
COOPER: Say what? Free pizza for a whole year? See, if you're going to have a problem with your pizza delivery, this is the kind of problem you want to have unlike here in New York City where you constantly have to be on guard because at any time a rat could steal your slice haul it to the near subway station and almost make it all the way down the steps before giving up.
Somebody posted this on YouTube today by the way. I forget miracle on 34th Street in Manhattan and breakfast at Tiffany's. This is the most New York scene ever.
I have another theory about the Domino's thing that maybe and we can only hope it's a harbinger of the return of the Noid, the most inexplicably, the popular mascot in advertising in history. Do you remember the Noid? In case you blocked out the 1980s, take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Noid hates hot quality pizza.
[22:00:00] He loves to make your hot pizza ice cold. Call Domino's Pizza and avoid the Noid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: I think it's the only explanation. The Noid is back only now he's turning hot pizza into cold, cold hard cash. At least on the "Ridiculist."
That does it for us. We'll see you again at 11 p.m. Eastern for another edition of 360. CNN Tonight with Don Lemon Starts right now.
