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Deliberations Resumes in Michigan School Shooter Case; Deadly Storm Slams California; Festivities Kick Off in Las Vegas; Lawmakers to Grill FAA Administrator. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired February 06, 2024 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:30:00]
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Or a simple preoperative bloodwork that would precipitate a more intensive evaluation.
But you're right, the fact that he's already getting treatment speaks to the seriousness of his potential diagnosis.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, you know, a chest x-ray would be routine before going in for some kind of prostrate treatment.
REINER: Right.
BERMAN: That could reveal lung cancer. Bloodwork as well. Which is why some people are wondering leukemia or the like.
REINER: Right.
BERMAN: But right now it is just speculation in the absence of actual information.
Doctor Jonathan Reiner, thank you for your range of expertise on this subject.
Sara.
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, ahead, any moment a Michigan jury resumes deliberations for the verdict on the mother of the Oxford High School shooter in this unprecedented case. We'll take you there live outside the court, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:35:11]
SIDNER: All right, we're in day two of verdict watch in Michigan after meeting for more than six hours yesterday. Jury deliberations are expected to soon resume in Jennifer Crumbley's manslaughter trial.
In 2021, Crumbley's son, Ethan, shot and killed four students at Oxford High School. And now, in this first-of-a-kind trial, the jurors must reach a unanimous verdict on whether or not she, his mother, can be held responsible for that mass shooting as well as he has been. Joining us now, CNN's Jean Casarez is in Pontiac, Michigan, and with
me right here in New York, in the studio, defense attorney Misty Marris.
We're going to talk to both of you. I'm going to start with you, Jean.
Jean, what can you tell us about what the jury - the jury has only deliberated for six hours, but six hours is something. And now they're going into day two. What do you know?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can confirm with you right now, we just learned they are deliberating. So, this jury has started their second day of deliberations here at the Oakland County Circuit Courthouse.
And the questions yesterday, there were two of them, and they were really smart questions, Sara. I mean they -- they were going to the heart of the material, and they really wanted to understand the legalese of all of this.
You know, involuntary manslaughter is the only charge. There are no lesser includeds at all. But the prosecution has two theories of involuntary manslaughter. And jurors don't have to be unanimous on what theory they believe beyond a reasonable doubt warrants conviction, they just have to be unanimous that they all believe there should be a conviction here.
Well, the first theory is gross negligence. And the first element of gross negligence is that Jennifer Crumbley knew the danger that her son presented to another and did nothing about it. The second theory is a legal duty. And this comes from the state of Michigan, because in Michigan a parent has the legal duty to not allow their son, their child, minor child, to harm anyone. And if they are aware of any potentiality there, they must do something about it to stop it.
Now, both these theories have one thing in common, foreseeability. That the parent needs to be able to see, foreseeability, that their minor child could cause injury to another.
SIDNER: Those two questions means they are really paying attention to the evidence and the law, but there are also other questions. The judge's jury instructions also played a role in this. Can you give us some sense of what that says about the jury and what happens there?
MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely, Sara.
So, Jean laid out what the two alternate theories of liability for the prosecution. They have to prove one of them beyond a reasonable doubt in the jury's mind. The jury asked a question about the distinction between those two theories and whether or not they had to determine that both applied or one applied. So, they wanted to really understand how those alternative theories play out, which is a very, very nuanced question -
SIDNER: Yes.
MARRIS: And shows that they're really going through the elements of each in order to make that determination.
SIDNER: You also talked a little bit about something else that the jury had been asking about, which is the gun, how he got it, what her - the mother's responsibility, Jennifer Crumbley's responsibility was, when it comes to that.
MARRIS: Yes, this is critical. So, one of those theories, the gross negligence theory, relates to, how did this gun get into the hands of - of the shooter. And is Jennifer Crumbley responsible? Did she fail to take action to allow this gun and these bullets to be accessible to her son? So, the question -- very astute question, Sara. The jury asked, can we draw an inference from evidence that was not shown in the trial? For instance, how did the shooter actually get access to the gun? There was no testimony relating to that, as we know. The shooter did not testify. And so they asked if they could draw an inference based on that area. So that tells me they are really analyzing that aspect, which we saw so much from the defense relating to Jennifer Crumbley's responsibilities with the gun versus her husband's.
SIDNER: Her Husband's.
MARRIS: So, they are really grappling with that. That's where that question leads us to believe the jury's really thinking this one through.
SIDNER: She laid a lot of the blame on her husband, who isn't on trial right now, but is expected to be on trial. The jurors do not have to think about that. They only have to think about her role.
Can you just, lastly, give us an idea of just how unprecedented this case actually is?
MARRIS: Oh, this case is the first time that we're seeing a parent being held responsible for the actual death in a school shooting. So, this has far-reaching consequences because this opens up the scope of who could be held responsible in a killing.
[09:40:02]
And here we're looking at it in the context of a mass shooter, but it could expand beyond that.
So, a lot of what we're seeing here in this case, this is trail blazer for a case, and it could have repercussions of the criminal law across the country, not just in Michigan.
SIDNER: And I know that Jean Casarez, who is outside of court, has been in I don't know how many cases she's seen, hundreds of cases, will be watching all the details of this unprecedented case. And we will have you back when and if this jury comes to a decision today or whenever it happens.
Thank you so much to both of you.
MARRIS: Thank you. SIDNER: All right, John.
BERMAN: All right, the biggest Super Bowl question of the day -- what Travis Kelce's teammates are saying about Taylor Swift.
And the devastating scenes in California as historic rains cause more than 100 mudslides.
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[09:45:15]
BERMAN: All right, this morning, millions still under alert from the powerful atmospheric river that slammed California for days. People had to be rescued from the rising floods, even off the tops of their cars.
CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has the latest from Los Angeles.
CHAD MYERS, AMS CERTIFIED METEOROLOGIST: John, it takes a lot of power to move all of this debris and push it under this car. Literally a football-sized rock that came down the mountain from somewhere. This is now just -- it rained again just a little bit ago. And the water came back up.
I mean we're on this side of the road here. There's just mud on this side. There's mud on that side. There are hillsides that go up north and south here. And this is the problem. Those hillsides are made of dirt. They're not granite boulders like you have in Colorado. This is the mud that's coming out of those mountains.
That mud up there is now becoming super saturated. These debris flows, these floods, these little mudslides may continue for days and days and days. This isn't over just because the rain is going to stop today. This could continue to slide as all of that weight, all of that mud wants to use its gravity and get down towards the bottom. And that's what we're seeing here. It's going to be a very rough day for the people here in southern California.
John.
BERMAN: All right, quite a mess. Chad Myers out in Los Angeles. Our thanks to Chad.
Sara.
SIDNER: All right, up ahead, how Meta is trying to make sure you know what's real and what was made by AI the next time you're on Facebook or Instagram. We'll explain.
And we are live in Las Vegas as the Chiefs and the 49ers get ready to rumble for the Super Bowl. Travis Kelce saying he's gotten some inspiration from, guess who, Taylor Swift's recent historic Grammy win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRAVIS KELCE, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS TIGHT END: She's -- she's unbelievable. She's - she's rewriting the history books herself. I told her I'll have to hold up my end of the bargain and come home with some hardware too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:51:04]
BERMAN: Today, Turkey and Syria mark the one-year anniversary of a devastating earthquake that claimed more than 50,000 lives. Turkey's president this morning said the pain, quote, "continues to burn." A group representing the families of victims in Turkey says 145 people are still missing, including 38 children.
This morning, actor Jonathan Majors has a sentencing hearing here in New York. Majors is facing up to a year in prison after he was found guilty late last year of assault and harassment of a former girlfriend. Majors has appealed the verdict.
Minutes from now, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be on Capitol Hill touting the avalanche of positive economic reports. We will watch that discussion closely.
Sara.
SIDNER: All right, even before kickoff, this year's Super Bowl has an MVP, most valuable pop star. You know who I'm talking about. Last night at opening night the stars of Sunday's big game had nothing but love for Taylor Swift.
CNN's Coy Wire joins us now in Las Vegas, where I'm sure you're not getting into any trouble.
You spoke with some of the Chiefs and 9ers about the Taylor effect. I think actually you did get into trouble judging from the giggling that's going on there. But did -- what an incredible group of people to add Taylor Swift into that, it must have been a lot of fun having that chat.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Oh, my goodness, a lot of fun. And, yes, no trouble yet. The week is young, Sara. Get back to me later in the week.
But last night, opening night, it's a really cool event. It's like the supersized faceoff before a heavyweight boxing title fight, right? In this first ever Vegas opening night was unlike any I've ever seen. Nearly 24,000 fans. That would pack and sell out most NBA arenas. And there was this new palpable hype, yes, because of the star-studded teams involved in this, but that adding star power of someone named Taylor Swift. And, yes, we did ask the players about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRAVIS KELCE, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS TIGHT END: She's a part of Chiefs kingdom right now. It's - it's fun seeing her enjoy the game of football, knowing that it's kind of new to her life.
BROCK PURDY, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS QUARTERBACK: We're not trying to get wrapped up in us against Taylor Swift or anything like that.
PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS QUARTERBACK: I mean the "Anti- Hero" song, I mean that - that one's pretty sweet. So, I would say that. But I do love "Love Story." I mean it gets me every single time.
CHARVARIUS WARD, SAN FRANSISCO 49ERS CORNERBACK: It might bring the NFL money. I'm pretty sure it do if they show her on TV as much as they do. They show her more than the players sometimes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Was that a little Taylor Swift shade?
SIDNER: Yes.
WIRE: A little Ta Ta slander, Sara?
Listen, the players are fully aware of what's going on.
There are more than 6,000 credential media from more than 20 countries here this week for 49ers and Chiefs. And, Sara, last year, 97 of the top 100 most watched TV programs were football related. And now we're just five days away from what will be this year's biggest show of them all. And thanks to the Swifties, I think it's safe to say there will be some new NFL fans tuning in this year.
SIDNER: Yes, her words to the song, it's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me. That -- any team can say that it was her problem if they lose. So, this could - this could be interesting as this goes down. But I know a lot of people excited. The 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs going at it again. But this time in Vegas.
Coy Wire, try to be good. Thank you.
John.
BERMAN: The players probably love this. This media week they normally hate. It's got ridiculous questions. At least this time they have something to talk about.
SIDNER: Yes, exactly.
BERMAN: Love. Love.
SIDNER: Love. Thanks, John.
BERMAN: All right, the FAA under the microscope. Pointed new questions after that door plug blew out of the Alaska Airlines flight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [09:58:50]
BERMAN: The FAA feeling the heat. New questions about the door plug that blew off an Alaska Airlines flight, and questions about much, much more.
SIDNER: Remembering a country music icon. Toby Keith has died from cancer at just 62 years old. The tributes are pouring in this morning.
BERMAN: Why Buckingham Palace will not release details about the cancer diagnosis for King Charles, the U.K. head of state. This as we're getting new information about a surprising list of new visitors.
Kate is out today. I'm John Berman, with Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
All right, happening now, the head of the FAA is on Capitol Hill, set to face a grilling soon about his oversight of Boeing after a near disaster last month, the door plug on an Alaska Airlines jet blew out midair on its way from Oregon to California. One hundred and seventy- seven people were on board that flight.
CNN's Pete Muntean is with us now.
Pete, what do you expect to hear today?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're now going to hear about the NTSB's preliminary report today. And we're hearing that it will come out at noon today.
[10:00:00]
It's significant because preliminary reports usually just the facts of an incident, but NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told me before this that she hopes to make some news. A lot of intrigue.
