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CNN Connie Chung Tonight

New Developments in Case of Missing Oregon Girls; Parents Reunite With Abducted Child

Aired August 15, 2002 - 20:00   ET

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

CONNIE CHUNG, HOST: Good evening. I'm Connie Chung.
Tonight, the missing girls in Oregon, one man says my father claims he killed them.

ANNOUNCER: A break in the case. Two Oregon girls missing for months. Police say they may have the suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI SLOAN, WARD WEAVER'S EX-WIFE: If he's capable of doing something like the brutal sexual attack to a family member, that he is capable of killing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Reunited, 24 hours after her chilling abduction, little Nancy Crystal Chavez is back in her mother's arms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was very sure that I was going to get my baby back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Tonight, her parents share their story with Connie.

The emotional plea from schoolmates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Think of how someone could even go through with this or anything like it for that matter. It's beyond my comprehension.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Their lives torn apart by this teen who came to school with guns blazing. They say he should pay for what he did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To this day, every day, I'm still going through physical pain. It chills my blood just to look at him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT. Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, Connie Chung.

CHUNG: Good evening.

Tonight, a dramatic development in a story we've been telling you about this week, the mysterious disappearance of two girls in Oregon. They went to the same school, were on the same dance team and lived in the same housing complex. The girls, Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis, vanished two months apart as each girl was on her way to school.

Today, a bizarre twist has a son accusing his father, Ward Weaver, of being the man behind the disappearances. CNN's James Hattori is on the story, joining us from outside Ward Weaver's house in Oregon City, Oregon.

Now, James, can you explain how this man, Ward Weaver, became the central figure in this case?

JAMES HATTORI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good evening, Connie. This story is a bit convoluted, not to mention strange. As you well know, let me try and lay it out for you. Ward Weaver is in jail tonight, being held on $1 million bond. He's accused of raping his son's 19-year-old girlfriend Tuesday night here in this house behind me.

Now, what's caused a stir is that according to a report in one of the local papers, "The Oregonian," Ward Weaver's son, Francis, called 911 that same night and told dispatchers that his father claims to have killed the two missing Oregon City girls, Miranda Gaddis and Ashley Pond. Now, police won't confirm the 911 report or its contents. But interestingly, investigators in that kidnapping case have seized the 911 tape. They've also, we've been told by a family member, that the FBI was to question Francis Weaver today as well, although we have not been able to reach Francis Weaver -- Connie.

CHUNG: All right. James, so, Weaver is being held in connection with the rape accusation. He's not being held in connection in any way with the disappearance of the two girls, correct?

HATTORI: That's correct. But, Weaver has been telling reporters for some time that police told him that they consider him to be a prime suspect in the kidnapping case. He also says he's innocent, that he didn't do it. He has been investigated. Authorities have searched his property. He lives on this corner here, which maybe you can see is just on the edge of the apartment complex where the two girls lived, where they were kidnapped.

His daughter knows the two girls. They're friends. They've both spent time overnight at his house from time to time. But is he a suspect? Tonight, officially, the FBI says there is no suspect. Are they interested in him? It sure seems like it, Connie.

CHUNG: All right. That's precisely what I wanted to have you help us clear up. He is not a suspect. Police are not labeling him a suspect and he's not formally charged with anything at this time, only held on the rape accusation, correct, James?

HATTORI: That's correct. He appeared in court yesterday. Formal charges are expected next week. They're going to convene a grand jury to bring those charges. As I mentioned, he's being held on $1 million bond because they consider him a flight risk. At some point previously, he's mentioned publicly that he might be moving to Mexico to get away from all of this. But they imposed that $1 million bond. He appeared in court and apparently had very little to say. He has no attorney representing him at this point. If he is a suspect in the kidnapping case or becomes one, at least investigators can take solace in the fact that he's already in custody -- Connie.

CHUNG: All right. Thank you, CNN's James Hattori.

As James just reported, Ward Weaver is the man at the center of the police investigation. Just a short while ago, I spoke with Kristi Sloan, his ex-wife. She's speaking to us for the first time since Francis Weaver, Ward's son, turned his father in to authorities for the alleged rape of his girlfriend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Francis told police that his father told him that he killed those two Oregon City girls. Is Ward capable of doing that?

SLOAN: I feel that he is capable. If he's capable of doing something like the brutal sexual attack to a family member, that he is capable of killing.

CHUNG: Did you ever suspect Ward of being connected to these two kidnappings?

SLOAN: When Ashley first came up missing, I did not suspect him having to do something with it. A lot of people at the time thought she was just a runaway. When Miranda came up missing...

CHUNG: That's the second girl.

SLOAN: Correct. That's the second Oregon City girl that came up missing, a day shy of three months of the first one, Ashley coming up missing, that's when we started -- I starting putting everything together, thinking that he had something to do with it. There was just too much coincidences on how the girls came up missing. They both went to the same school, as his youngest daughter. They were all on the same dance team. And they both came up missing on their way to school.

CHUNG: Now, both mothers of Miranda and Ashley told me that their daughters would never get into a car of a stranger. Do you believe that Ashley and Miranda might have gotten into the car, if indeed, Ward had driven by?

SLOAN: Yes, I do strongly believe what their mother said, that neither of those girls would have gotten into a car with somebody that they did not know. But Ward Weaver is not a man that was a stranger to them. And I believe that if he offered them a ride, that one of the girls would have taken it from him, just because he was somebody that they both knew.

CHUNG: Did you ever go to the police because of your suspicions that your ex-husband may have been involved in these kidnappings?

SLOAN: Yes, I have.

CHUNG: And what was the response?

SLOAN: I went to the FBI. The FBI had interviewed several people, including myself, further family members of Ward.

CHUNG: What did you tell the authorities?

SLOAN: I told them that I was the ex-wife of Ward Weaver and that I did not know for sure if he had any involvement in the disappearances of the two girls from Oregon City, but just to make me feel better and for me to be able to rest and my conscience, that, you know, I would like to talk with them. They came to my work, they talked with me. They got the information they wanted.

CHUNG: What did you tell the police about your ex-husband? Did you explain your suspicions?

SLOAN: I explained my suspicions, that I wasn't really suspicious when Ashley came up missing, but when both girls disappeared. I knew Miranda wouldn't have ever ran away. And once Miranda came up missing, that's when my suspicions really arised.

CHUNG: But why would you suspect of him actually kidnapping the girls?

SLOAN: It was too coincidental. He is a really aggressive person, and when things don't go right his way, he has to find another way to take them out.

CHUNG: Has Ward Weaver ever been violent to you or to your kids?

SLOAN: Yes. We don't have any kids together. But I was raising the four of his kids, which I call my kids. I still see them all of the time. We did have an incident back in 1995 where there was a police report filed with a restraining order, where I was taken to the hospital. I was violently attacked in the middle of the night by him with a cast-iron frying pan and hit over the head several times. And he told me that his intention was to kill me.

CHUNG: My gosh. After you went to the police, was Ward questioned by them?

SLOAN: Yes. Ward was questioned when the first girl came up missing, and then he was questioned by the FBI the day that the second girl, Miranda, came up missing. But he was interviewed by the police and the FBI right away.

CHUNG: As I understand it, he was even given a lie detector test, and according to some reports, he did not pass the lie detector test. SLOAN: Not only according to some reports, words out of his own mouth, he failed the lie detector test. And he says it's because it was inconclusive and because the way it was taken.

CHUNG: Why do you think his son, Francis, reported to police that indeed he allegedly killed those two Oregon City girls?

SLOAN: I was told that Ward told Francis that he killed the girls. Francis did not say anything right away because of fear. If he's capable of doing that, and because of problems we've had in the past with Ward Weaver, he was basically told to be quiet. Once his girlfriend was violently attacked by him, Francis knew that was something that would keep his dad in jail and he was not afraid to talk.

CHUNG: Would Ward Weaver's son Francis have any reason, do you believe, to lie? Because you knew him and you know him very well.

SLOAN: Yes, I do. I do not believe that Francis would lie to either cover his dad or to put his dad in jail.

CHUNG: Do you have any idea when Ward Weaver reportedly told his son, Francis, that he did allegedly kill those two girls?

SLOAN: I think it's been within the last month.

CHUNG: Why do you think Francis kept quiet about it?

SLOAN: Because we fear his father. That's the same reason why prior to this interview, I have not talked to any of the news media. When I filed for divorce, I used my parents' address so he could not find me. He is a very violent person and he is not one to be trusted. And Francis was probably afraid that if he went forward, that if he killed those two girls, he would probably come after him, too.

CHUNG: Did you ever ask him if he did, indeed, kidnap those two girls?

SLOAN: I never came out directly and asked him. But three days after Miranda came up missing, which is the second girl, he had a hole dug in his backyard and cemented it to pour for a hot tub. And they dug and cemented in the middle of the winter and in the rain. And we had a hard time believing why he would do that. And I made the comment to him, Ward, that doesn't look good, considering how your father killed people and buried them in his backyard. And he said...

CHUNG: And the father -- that's true. His father is in prison now on death row?

SLOAN: Yes, his father is in San Quentin on death row for murdering people.

CHUNG: When you told him it didn't look good, what did he say?

SLOAN: He said, I don't care, let them dig up the backyard, they're not going to find anything. CHUNG: Did you tell police that you were concerned about that backyard and something might be back there?

SLOAN: Yes, I have. And the FBI has actually even searched back there, but they have not gotten any search warrants to dig the backyard.

CHUNG: Ward Weaver claims he's innocent of any involvement in the kidnappings of the two Oregon City girls. Do you believe him?

SLOAN: I tried to believe him as much as I could. But I also believe that he would not ever do anything to anybody in the family or to anybody human that he did on Tuesday night. And if he could do something like that to a family member, I feel he could do -- or kill anybody.

CHUNG: Kristi, thank you again so much.

SLOAN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHUNG: Again, Ward Weaver, is held on charges of first degree rape and first degree sexual abuse. At this time, he's not a suspect in the case of the missing teenage girls.

Two nights ago, we brought you an emotional appeal for information from the mothers of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis. A short time ago I spoke with Miranda's mother, Michelle Duffy, and Miranda's aunt, Sharonda Garrett, about today's developments. I began by asking Michelle if she had spoken to the police.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHELLE DUFFY, MIRANDA'S MOTHER: Yes, we knew about it before the media knew. They're investigating it. They just told us that his son made the accusations and they weren't going to investigate, and for me not to jump to the conclusion that it's true, because of what happened to his son's girlfriend. They wanted to make sure he wasn't angry, that he really was being serious.

CHUNG: Do you know Ward Weaver?

DUFFY: I know of him. I've met him a couple times. My youngest daughter is really close friends with his daughter.

CHUNG: His daughter Mallory (ph)?

DUFFY: Yes.

CHUNG: And wasn't -- isn't Miranda friendly with Mallory (ph) as well?

DUFFY: They were friends off and on. Mariah (ph) was with her a lot. Mariah spent the night up there quite a few times.

CHUNG: That's your youngest daughter, Mariah?

DUFFY: Yes. And I'd never had any problems with Ward and any reason for the girls not to -- or the girls never have said anything about him.

CHUNG: I see. Didn't Miranda do a sleepover with Mallory at Ward Weaver's house?

DUFFY: She had a couple of them. She -- Mallory had a birthday, I don't remember what day it was, and Miranda stayed up there with a few other girls, but Mariah has stayed up there quite a few times -- my other daughter.

CHUNG: And have Mariah or Miranda ever told you anything that you would you be concerned about regarding Ward Weaver?

DUFFY: No. Nothing at all. They think he's a great guy. He was nice. Mariah is really confused right now because of everything being said. But I have never heard anything before from them.

CHUNG: From either of them?

DUFFY: No.

CHUNG: I remember your telling me that Miranda would never get in the car of a stranger. Now, Ward Weaver's ex-wife says she believes that indeed, if Miranda had been going to her bus stop and if Ward Weaver had come up to her and said, do you want a ride, she would have gotten in. Do you agree with that?

DUFFY: Yes, she would. Ward gave them rides a lot with his daughter, so Miranda would have.

CHUNG: Tell me, have you ever suspected Ward Weaver of being involved in the abduction of your daughter?

DUFFY: I guess I think about it. It's not that I really suspect any certain person. I think about a lot of different people, when the police asked me questions about them. And he's one of the many.

CHUNG: Well, Kristi Sloan, who is the ex-wife of Ward Weaver, is really suspicious that her ex-husband was involved in some way. She believes he is capable of such an alleged kidnapping and whatever. Have you ever talked to her? Have you ever thought to yourself, that is a possibility?

DUFFY: I've never talked to her. I've never met her. It's always a possibility. We're, of course, praying to God it's not true. I want my daughter home OK. And -- but the other side is, we want to know, because the not knowing is the hardest thing. We can't even go on with our lives until we know where she is.

CHUNG: Michelle, are you OK?

DUFFY: No. We're not at all. We don't sleep much. I get a couple hours a night, sometimes four hours. We don't eat much. I have other kids I try to deal with, and I have a hard time, because I don't have time for my other kids, and then I feel like I'm not a good mom, but yet I need to be here for Miranda.

CHUNG: Sharonda, tell me how would you describe how your sister is through all of this?

SHARONDA GARRETT, MIRANDA'S AUNT: She's a really strong person. She fakes really well. We have to -- well, with all this going on and the news coming out today, they wanted us to take a break, and Michelle said no. I'm doing interviews, I got to keep my daughter's face out there. We've got to keep Ashley and Miranda in the news. So she's a lot stronger than she should be right now. But anything to keep Miranda and Ashley's face out there, she does it.

I don't mind being there because I have to keep her upbeat and keep her -- take good care of her, because sometimes she just doesn't do it herself.

CHUNG: Well, it's a good thing that you're there with her. We so appreciate it, Sharonda Garrett and Michelle Duffy. Thank you for being with us and we only wish you good news, Michelle.

DUFFY: Thank you.

GARRETT: Thank you.

CHUNG: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

We'll be right back.

ANNOUNCER: Next, the woman accused of kidnapping a 1-month-old baby faces the judge. Tonight, the infant's parents tell their story to Connie. CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT is coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: Month-old baby Nancy Chavez is safely back with her parents tonight after being abducted from a Wal-Mart parking lot this week. The reunion of mother and child yesterday provoked an outpouring of emotion and an expression of gratitude for the help provided by the authorities and the extraordinary gesture of one teenage boy who tried to stop the fleeing kidnapper.

Just a short while ago, I spoke with Salvador and Margarita Chavez about their ordeal. They brought Nancy with them, Margarita bearing the injuries she suffered when she desperately held on to the kidnapper's car as it drove away.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Margarita, how's the baby?

MARGARITA CHAVEZ, NANCY'S MOTHER: She's doing OK. She's sleeping well, seems like she misses her mama's arms and hugs. And I used to, you know, feed her during the night and put her back in the crib. But last night, I kept her with me.

CHUNG: I can understand why. Absolutely. She looks so pretty with the hair band. She's such a beautiful baby.

M. CHAVEZ: Thank you.

CHUNG: How are you? How are you, because I see the bandages on your arm and I see your face and you're walking very, very slowly.

M. CHAVEZ: Yes, yes. I can walk by myself. Like yesterday, I still needed help to walk, you know. But today I feel better, you know.

CHUNG: Good. Good.

M. CHAVEZ: Some pain, but not like yesterday.

CHUNG: OK. Margarita, can you tell me, what happened at the Wal-Mart parking lot?

M. CHAVEZ: I started to put all the groceries in the van. And after that, I took the shopping cart to its place, right behind, across the van and when I turned around...

CHUNG: You were only gone -- you were only a couple seconds, right?

M. CHAVEZ: Yes, just a couple of seconds. And when I turned around, this lady was already taking my baby out of the van.

CHUNG: Did you scream at her?

M. CHAVEZ: Yes, I scream, that's my baby, don't take my baby, give me my baby. But she didn't say any word at all. And she ran fast to her car. Tried, like, you know, like pull her hair or something when she sat on her seat. Through the window, I tried to pull her hair or do something, you know.

CHUNG: Yes.

M. CHAVEZ: But she started to slide up the window, you know.

CHUNG: Yes.

M. CHAVEZ: And I just holded the window and then she -- I'm sorry, she started the car and I just kept holding on the window. And then she...

CHUNG: You were holding on and she dragged you?

M. CHAVEZ: Yes, I was holding on. Yes, and she dragged me, and then I couldn't hold on any more, so I fall down. And then this teenage boy, Robert, he saw me on the floor and he heard that I was still yelling at this woman, my baby, she's taking my baby. And then this boy ran fast and tried to break the window. Well, he did break the window, you know. Yes, I was very scared and my first thoughts was I was not going to see my baby again. And I said, "why did it happen to me, oh, God, why did this happen to me."

CHUNG: Salvador, how did you find out?

SALVADOR CHAVEZ, NANCY'S FATHER: I was at work.

CHUNG: What was your reaction?

S. CHAVEZ: Well, I almost fainted at that moment. It was a terrible thing. But then I got the strength because I believed that God would protect her, that God was going to be in control. God is always in control. So I started to pray right away, even though I was going to drive to the place where they were, where my wife was.

CHUNG: Salvador, many people would be angry. But at your news conference after the baby was back in your arms and your wife's arms, you said something that was just so amazing. You said this is a great country and you said God bless America.

S. CHAVEZ: I still think so. And this is a great country and there are only few, very seldom people who would do these things. I still believe that. And, yes, this the best country in the world.

CHUNG: Margarita, what was it like when you got your baby back in your arms? That moment, that moment that the -- the moment that the police told you she was safe and they put her back in your arms.

M. CHAVEZ: I just thought that it was a nightmare, you know, that it was over. And I felt so much happy holding her again.

CHUNG: Yes. Such a miracle, wasn't it?

M. CHAVEZ: Yes, it is. It is a miracle.

CHUNG: When someone asked you before about the woman who took your baby, you only said kind words about her. You were not angry.

M. CHAVEZ: Well, yes, because I think a person that do this kind of things must be mentally ill, you know, and I think that's her case. And that's why I don't just want -- God bless her, you know, so she cannot do that again. I'm sure she won't.

CHUNG: Yes. If she is convicted, she could spend 99 years in prison.

M. CHAVEZ: Yes. I don't wish that for her, you know, but there are laws. And if that is the law, you know, what can I do? I just going to pray for her.

CHUNG: Salvador, this woman, the suspect's family, Pamela Roach's family, says that they are so sorry. Do you have anything you would want to say to them?

S. CHAVEZ: We are not vindictive to her. I think we should be praying for her and these other things will be worked out later.

CHUNG: Thank you so much, Margarita and Salvador. We so appreciate your time and we hope that your life can get back to normal.

S. CHAVEZ: Thank you.

M. CHAVEZ: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHUNG: When we come back, the second part of this story, the woman who is charged with this kidnapping. What's going to happen to her? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: A few minutes ago we saw and heard the happy family, little Nancy Crystal Chavez with her mom and dad, all together, safe and sound. Meanwhile, the woman who is charged with snatching the month-old baby from her mother's minivan appeared in a Texas court today. Twenty-four-year-old Paula Lynn Roach answered the charge of aggravated kidnapping. Roach, who is a former prison guard, asked the judge to downgrade the charge so she could make bail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for aggravated kidnapping. Your bond is $200,000.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is the charge. That will be up to the district attorney's office. Do you understand your rights?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHUNG: For more on Paula Roach and the legal road ahead of her, we're now joined from Abilene by her attorney John Young. Thank you, Mr. Young, for being with us.

Your client told police that she wanted to fill a void in her life. What did she tell you?

JOHN YOUNG, ROACH'S ATTORNEY: Well, Connie, as you're aware, I'm not able to discuss confidential or direct attorney/client communications. What I can tell you, however, the reports of Paula's brother, Terry (ph), of the miscarriage that he reports Paula suffered back in December, that has created a normal and a natural void and a very difficult time for her. Clearly, that's not an excuse for conduct such as alleged here, but perhaps it helps us understand the human being and the person behind that conduct.

CHUNG: When you talked with her, was she remorseful? YOUNG: Absolutely. More than any other theme in my brief conversation with her this afternoon -- I was only able to speak with her for about an hour -- remorse, remorse for what she is accused of doing, remorse for the pain that she caused the Chavez family. And let me say, parenthetically, what a graceful family the Chavez family has been. Their faith in God has given them a strength and a foundation that I just can't say enough about how graceful those folks have been...

CHUNG: I couldn't agree with you more.

YOUNG: ... both in your segment and in other segments. But she's very remorseful, to answer your question. She's quite remorseful and realizes the significant pain and heartache that she's caused.

CHUNG: Did she tell you what she did with the baby after she left the Wal-Mart parking lot?

YOUNG: Again, without getting into specific communications, and forgive me for being somewhat evasive, I don't mean to be. I can't get into those specific communications. But I can tell you that it's clear from the police reports, from the evidence that has been gathered, that Paula Roach was treating this child not like the abductors and the rash of heinous crimes that we've seen where people are tuning up dead.

She was treating this child, loving this child, as if it were her own. This is not a case about an animalistic monster who is trying to harm another human being. This is about a woman who was taking a baby, albeit not her own child, but taking a baby to the nursing home at which her mother was an administrator and trying to pass the baby off as her own to her own mother and friends. This was a young woman who very clearly...

BEGALA: But, Mr. Young, she was apparently telling people that she had been pregnant for a year. So, doesn't that sound as if her actions were premeditated?

YOUNG: I don't know. You know, telling folks that you're pregnant for a year seems to me to perhaps raise other issues than premeditation, Connie. I think that that perhaps raises some issues of a young woman who has some serious needs and some serious emotional needs that either weren't being met or weren't being addressed. And clearly, she is accused of a making a very, very bad choice. And, fortunately, she has cooperated with authorities from the very beginning of her arrest through today. She's been quite cooperative and again expresses an enormous remorse for the Chavez family.

CHUNG: Does she have a previous criminal record?

YOUNG: Connie, as far as I can tell, she has no prior criminal history, no prior criminal convictions. She, as you mentioned earlier in your segment, was a guard at a Texas state prison for approximately 18 months. She's been employed regularly. This is a circumstance that is clearly outside the conduct that her friends, her family and those that love her and care about her would ever have expected from Paula. And I think it's just a very sad circumstance.

CHUNG: It certainly is. John Young, thank you so much for being with us.

YOUNG: Thank you, Connie.

CHUNG: We appreciate it. We'll be right back.

ANNOUNCER: Next, 50 years to life, and if it's up to his schoolmates, he'll serve every day of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never in my life had I felt so lost and empty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT is coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: An extraordinary scene today in a California courtroom, 16-year-old Charles Andy Williams was sentenced for opening fire last year at his school in Santee, California. He killed two students. Thirteen other people were injured. Although he later complained about bullies at the school, Williams never offered a reason for the shooting.

Before his sentencing, victims and some of the victims' survivors were given a chance to tell the court about the shooting's impact on them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: March 5, 2001, our normal lives came to us -- came to an abrupt halt. The lives of 1,900 people were thrust into a terrifying reality that was in fact a living nightmare. Virtually unthinkable happened. A student opened fire on our campus, shooting 13 and killing two others.

It was something so unbelievable that even now, over a year since it happened, I still find myself struggling to come to grips with the whole thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bullet is still in me. It's in my back now. It entered from the front, missed my heart by one inch -- one inch from my heart, hit my lung, and now it's stuck in my back. My life was decided by one inch. I could have died that day, and I didn't. But in a way I did. I lost my best friend. I was scared to go back to school. The only thing that kept me alive was friends, family, the community. I'm hear right now to say 50 years is not enough.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When Melissa (ph) was released from the hospital, she didn't have any use of her arm from the elbow down. She went through several months of physical therapy, and I vividly remember each night I had to stretch out her fingers, and even though Melissa would cry from the pain, I knew I had to continue.

I was willing to do whatever it took for her to get back the use of her arm. But I remember the anger I felt each night after leaving her room, knowing that Andy laughed as he intentionally did this to her.

During the months that followed, my priorities shifted fully to Melissa her recovery, and both my marriage and my job suffered tremendously. My husband Doug and I rarely discussed the shooting or the financial hardship that we were now facing. Eventually, our ability to communicate diminished, we grew apart, which led to our separation and filing of divorce.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ask one question to Andy, and it would be, was it worth it all? Was whatever was bothering you -- excuse me -- was whatever bothering you worth all this trouble? As for me -- excuse me -- as for me, I will move on and close this chapter of my life. I will start a new one. I'll go on to be a better person, get married, have kids. And I'll be known as a Santana survivor, not a victim.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am unable to understand why Charles Andrew Williams shot and killed my son. He did not know Randy (ph) and he had no reason to hurt him, to hurt so many people, and so many people were hurt that day. I just don't understand the devastation he caused.

I do not understand what happened that day. I brought the picture because of this young man, Charles Andrew Williams, this where I go to honor Randy. The cemetery is where we visit him. Every weekend I go to a place that makes me remember how I could not save my son.

I think of how I betrayed him by not protecting him, and I think about everything he's missed in life. I know in my heart that no matter what happens today, it will not bring my son Randy back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHUNG: Wow. Then Williams himself was allowed to make a statement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES ANDREW WILLIAMS: For what it's worth, I want everybody to know that I'm sorry, that I feel horrible about what happened. I'm sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHUNG: Prosecutors asked for the maximum 425 years to life. The judge gave him 50 years to life, the minimum sentence. The earliest Williams will get out is the year 2052, and he will be 66 years old.

Joining me now to talk about the impact of those emotional statements is CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Oh, my gosh. JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It was rough stuff. God awful.

CHUNG: Oh, my gosh. I tell you, I was shocked that he got 50 years to life. I really...

TOOBIN: You thought how little he got?

CHUNG: Yes.

TOOBIN: Well, you know, what's interesting is that only a few years ago, a 16-year-old could only have gotten five or 10 years. They were treated as juveniles. So, we've gone through a complete revolution in our thinking. I mean, the courts have just gotten much tougher on young people. And the fact he got 50 years is much, much longer than he would have gotten at another time. But it wasn't the maximum, and I think it's an acknowledgement that he may have some life to live outside prison when he's very much older than he is now. But I think it's fair to say, it's a lot more than a slap on the wrist.

CHUNG: Did it surprise you?

TOOBIN: You know, it did, actually. I thought it would be the equivalent of a life sentence. I think there is -- sometimes actually prison officials like it better when they have some leverage on a prisoner, when they can say, look, we want to control you or else we won't let you out. In a life sentence, there's no discipline. Life without parole, which is what sentence is called in California, prison officials don't necessarily like because they have no way -- no leverage over prisoners.

CHUNG: Those statements were so unbelievably powerful. But it seems as if they had no impact.

TOOBIN: Not today. Not today.

CHUNG: That's shocking, isn't it?

TOOBIN: Well, you know, I think a judge has to factor in a lot. They don't necessarily have to, you know, accept what victims suggest. Again, another thing that is no new is these victim impact statements. When I was a prosecutor in the early '90s, they didn't have them, by and large. It was only in 1991 that the Supreme Court approved impact statements in death penalty cases. It's a really new part of the law. I think it's a very much widely popular part of the law because, I mean, people are acknowledging that victims have an important part to play in the legal system. But it doesn't mean that because they get to speak that the judge has to follow their recommendations.

CHUNG: All right. Jeffrey, I want to us to bring up one more subject. It's different story, but it's really quite incredible. Relatives of some 3,000 people who were killed on 9/11 have filed a 15-count, $116 trillion lawsuit against a host of people.

TOOBIN: All of whom are connected in one way or another with Saudi Arabia. There are some Saudi princes. There's the bin Laden construction company, Osama's family company. That's the theme of all the defendants. There are many, many defendants. And, you know, again, this is another new area of the law. This kind of thing was never done until about 10 years ago. One of the lawyers involved, Alan Gerson (ph), was involved in the Libya case, where the people in the Pan Am 103, the victims there, actually got $2.7 billion from Libya. So, there is some prospect for success.

CHUNG: They never got the payment though, did they?

TOOBIN: I think they did. I think it was part of a settlement because it was against the government. And in order to get involved in the international currency markets, they had to settle this lawsuit and they wound up giving a lot of money.

CHUNG: Is this the same lawyer who did the tobacco case?

TOOBIN: Some of the -- there are many tobacco lawyers. Some of the same lawyers are involved.

CHUNG: I see. So, isn't this going to take an eternity?

TOOBIN: It will take an eternity and it will be very difficult to prove because remember, when you're a lawyer, what do you to gather evidence is you subpoena witnesses, you take depositions. These are all Saudis. They are, you know, people in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere. They can't just say we'll show up for a deposition in Washington.

CHUNG: Well, but can't they trace the money trail?

TOOBIN: They can try. It's easier said that done. Many of the defendants in this lawsuit have also been designated as terrorist organizations by the government and -- our government. And we have frozen some of their assets in the United States. It is possible that they may be able to get their hands on some of those frozen assets. But this is going to be a very long process, even if it succeeds at all.

CHUNG: And I can see national security being called in, what has the government found out and can it be revealed?

TOOBIN: I mean, CIA information, they're not going to want to turn that over. Also, there are foreign policy issues because they are charging people very close to the Saudi government. The Saudi government are our allies. We have important negotiations with them. We were trying to help get their help to fight against Iraq. They are not going to want to push the Saudis too hard on cooperating with this lawsuit. There are a lot of problems here. But, you know, it's just an example of how the legal system is being used in ever more international ways.

CHUNG: But nonetheless quite justified.

TOOBIN: If they can get $116 trillion, it wouldn't pay the families back, but it would be certainly something.

CHUNG: All right. Thank you, Jeffrey Toobin.

TOOBIN: It's good to see you, Connie.

CHUNG: We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUNG: Tomorrow, he was about to get married, so he and his buddies went sailing, and disappeared. Feels so good to smile. Tomorrow, we'll tell you what happened next.

And coming up, "LARRY KING LIVE." If we knew she was coming, we would have baked her a cake, a birthday cake, that is for Julia Child, who is 90 years young today. How about that?

Thank you for joining us. And for all of us at CNN, good night and see you tomorrow.

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