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Manhunt Under Way for Suspect in Videotaped Child Rape; Phoenix Airport Death; High Court Cases
Aired October 01, 2007 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Police in Memphis are asking for the public's help on this one. They are looking for whoever shot and killed a University of Memphis football player last night near his dorm.
Twenty-one-year-old Taylor Bradford managed to get in his car and drive a short distance before he crashed into a tree. The university called off classes just to be safe, but authorities think someone was out to get Bradford specifically.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHIRLEY C. RAINES, UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS PRESIDENT: While we cannot release any information about the suspects at this time, the initial investigation indicates that this was an act directed specifically toward the victim, and it was not a random act of violence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Bradford was from Nashville. He was a defensive lineman on the Memphis football team. Their game with Marshall will go on tomorrow night in Memphis with a moment of silence for Bradford.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A 3-year-old girl raped on videotape, the suspect on the run right now. That crime happened four years ago, but time hasn't made it any less horrific nor police any less determined. An intense manhunt is under way right now for this man, 37-year-old Chester Stiles, about whom we're learning more all the time.
CNN's Dan Simon talked with a woman who actually dated Stiles for 10 years.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): CNN obtained this home video showing Chester Stiles in a far different light than what he's accused of -- acting as a fun, caring guy to his girlfriend and her children at a Las Vegas park.
TINA ALLEN, FMR. GIRLFRIEND: He can be very charming, beguiling.
SIMON: Tina Allen says she thought she knew Stiles better than anyone. She says she'd been in an on-and-off-again relationship with him for 10 years. Allen says she was excited when the athletic 6'2 man first asked her out.
(on camera): Describe how he was around your family.
ALLEN: He was good with my kids. Said he'd been in the Navy. And, you know, I was looking for a strong guy to represent to my sons what I thought they needed to be.
SIMON (voice over): The relationship blossomed. Stiles moved in with her. So it would have been very normal for Allen to take Stiles over to her son and daughter's crowded apartment.
ALLEN: He cultivated being Mr. Trustworthy. You know, "You can trust me with kids."
SIMON: Among those also living in the apartment, a family friend and her 3-year-old girl. A girl detectives say seen in this home video allegedly moles molested by Stiles.
(on camera): Is it Chester Stiles on that tape?
ALLEN: It's Chester Stiles on that tape. It is him.
SIMON: How is this weighing on you knowing that you're the one who brought him to this apartment?
ALLEN: I'm disgusted. I'm ashamed. I'm embarrassed. I'm mortified.
I regret every -- every step I ever took. I feel bad for the baby.
SIMON (voice over): Looking back, Allen says she completely missed the warning signs. Stiles had a lengthy rap sheet, had been accused of committing lewd acts on a child.
Stiles, she says, also had a violent streak. She says he once hit her, but she did not file a police report. And she says there were also some creepy comments about him wanting to have a daughter.
ALLEN: He would point out, "Oh, isn't she so cute? Look at her. She's so cute. I always wanted a little girl. I was so disappointed when my son was born."
SIMON: Now Allen blames herself for what police say happened to the little girl.
ALLEN: Why couldn't I have recognized something? You know, why are all these people going through this torture now because of me?
SIMON: A few months ago, Allen says she ended their relationship. She says it was just time to move on. Stiles is now a wanted man by police, but Allen says it won't be easy to catch him.
ALLEN: He will hide out in the mountains if that's what it takes. He'll hide out in a crowd. He'll find somebody who hasn't heard anything and stay there. He has skills. He knows how to hunt. He knows how to -- I mean, hunt with a gun, a knife, a bow.
SIMON: Chester Stiles, a one-time father figure, now accused of a most heinous crime against a child.
Dan Simon, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, they're out there, definitely somewhere, and police want your help finding then. Chester Stiles is not the only suspected child predator on the run. Take a look at this man.
This is Donald Edward Lynch. He's suspected of raping two young girls that he was baby-sitting.
Police also suspect him of molesting at least eight other girls. He's 66 years old and he was last seen in Kingsport, Tennessee, and may have a beard.
Also, take a look at this man, Jon Savarino Schillaci. He's on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. He served 10 years for molesting a young boy.
Police say while in prison he corresponded with a woman, persuaded her to let him move in with the family when he got out, and then allegedly molested her 5-year-old son. Schillaci was last seen in Manchester, New Hampshire. He's 35 years old and is believed to have two Masters degrees.
If you have any information on these cases, please call "America's Most Wanted," 1-800-CRIMETV, 1-800-274-6388. You can also log on to www.amw.com.
LEMON: We go to North Carolina now, new details now on what is a manhunt or was a manhunt there.
What do we have, T.J.?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we want to button this thing up for our viewers here. We've been following this since this morning, that indeed all the suspects are now in custody in a killing over the weekend that happened in North Carolina.
That's the fourth suspect that was on the run today and caused the lockdown of seven area schools in the Statesville, North Carolina, area. Here's some of the video from earlier where this manhunt was taking place. But four suspects involved, according to police, in this killing over the weekend. It happened in Mooresville, North Carolina.
Well, just north of Mooresville is Statesville, where earlier today police were looking for two of those four suspects. They caught one of them earlier in the morning but one was still on the run, and as a precaution they decided to lock down seven area schools. A couple of middle schools, three elementary schools and a high school involved in that lockdown.
Classes continued. No threats or any dangers to the students that they knew of. They just did this as a precaution while they looked for that fourth suspect. And, in fact, that gentleman you're seeing right there was in fact caught.
We believe now that the lockdown has been lifted at those schools. I believe we've gotten official word of that by now, but indeed that the fourth suspect is now in custody.
The lockdown is now over, but this is a story we were following all day during the morning this morning and sometime during the afternoon today, so we just want to wrap it up for our viewers and let you know that that situation appears to have been taken care of for now -- Don.
LEMON: All right. Thank you for doing that for us, T.J.
HOLMES: All right.
LEMON: A single shot in the head killed a track star for the University of Mississippi. Police in Oxford are trying to figure out who killed 20-year-old Rodney Lockhart (ph) in his off-campus apartment and why. Lockhart (ph) was on the U.S. relay team that won the gold last year in Beijing at the World Junior Championships.
PHILLIPS: A truly bizarre case of death and custody in Phoenix, Arizona, after alleged disorderly conduct in the Sky Harbor Airport terminal. This 45-year-old woman was arrested, handcuffed and put in a holding room. How did she wind up dead just minutes later?
CNN's Alina Cho has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An autopsy will be performed later today on the body of Carol Ann Gotbaum, but it could be up to 90 days before we get the results.
Now, it all started on Friday afternoon at Phoenix airport. Gotbaum was not allowed on her US Airways flight to Tucson because she apparently got to the gate too late.
Now, according to several witnesses, the 45-year-old then started yelling and screaming and running around the terminal. Witnesses told "The New York Daily News" she screamed, "I'm not a terrorist! I'm a sick mom!"
Now, police eventually arrested her for disorderly conduct, handcuffed her from behind, and put her inside a holding room alone. In a statement, police say it appears Gotbaum may have tried to escape from the handcuffs, got tangled in the process and accidentally strangled herself. Many people are asking, how is that possible?
SGT. ANY Hill, PHOENIX POLICE DEPT.: Any police officer will tell you that there are many people that are able to get handcuffs out from behind their back and get them up and around. That can happen, and how they got placed on the neck area, that will really be determined by what her condition was mentally, physiologically. And the mental examiner will have to make a determination if there was any substance involved.
CHO: We're also learning new details about the victim. Carol Ann Gotbaum lived in New York City, she was married and had three young children. She was also the stepdaughter-in-law of a New York elected official who gave a brief statement to reporters over the weekend.
BETSEY GOTBAUM, STEPMOTHER-IN-LAW: Carol was a wonderful, wonderful person. She was a wonderful mother. She was sweet and kind and loving.
At this moment we are awaiting the results of the investigation. We don't know any more than has been reported in the press.
CHO: That was Betsy Gotbaum, New York City's public advocate and a possible candidate for mayor. Her familiarly is now pleading for privacy.
Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Can the United Nations do anything about the crisis in Myanmar? Well, the secretive leader of Myanmar's military regime is fending off a meeting with U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari. But in other meetings, Gambari has been able to relay international outrage over last week's bloody violence against pro-democracy protesters. He also met with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Prize-winning democratic activist whose long been under house arrest there.
Meantime, Myanmar's plight is fueling demonstrations in other nations, including the U.S. You're seeing marchers in Houston, Texas, as well as India and Israel.
They're condemning reports of brutality against students, nuns and Buddhist monks. Myanmar has expelled international media, and reliable information is hard to come by. But one Norway-based dissident group says more than 100 protesters have been killed.
PHILLIPS: It's the first Monday in October and the start of a new term at the Supreme Court. We're going to preview some of the big cases straight ahead.
LEMON: Also this: lakes becoming ponds, ponds becoming puddles. State officials sound the alarm as Georgia dries up.
PHILLIPS: Plus, more than two decades of silver screen bondage. Today, 007 isn't the only one missing Miss Moneypenny.
Those stories straight ahead on CNN, the most trusted in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (NEWSBREAK)
LEMON: The first Monday in October by tradition, the start of a new term for the U.S. Supreme Court. This year it coincides with the release of Justice Clarence Thomas' new memoir, "My Grandfather's Son".
The book traces Thomas' life from childhood to his contentious confirmation hearings back in 1991. Those hearings will forever be remembered for Anita Hill's sexual harassment allegations against her former boss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've denied all of the allegations.
JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS, Supreme COURT: Oh, absolutely, from day one. It didn't happen. I mean, if somebody makes a broad allegation against you, what would you do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ask them to prove it, I guess.
THOMAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was the Anita Hill that testified on the Hill the Anita Hill that you knew at (INAUDIBLE)?
THOMAS: She was not the demure, religious, conservative person that they portrayed. That's not the person I knew.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is the person you knew?
THOMAS: She could defend herself. Let's just put it that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, Thomas and his colleagues have some big cases ahead of them, several dealing with crime and punishment. And our Brianna Keilar joins us now from the high court.
Brianna, what's on the docket?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, the first big issue before this court comes in a case that they are hearing tomorrow that deals with federal sentencing guidelines that treat the possession of just one gram of crack cocaine with the same severity as 100 grams of powder cocaine. This is a case with racial overtones because crack use tends to be a bigger problem in low-income communities versus powder cocaine, which is a bigger problem in affluent communities.
And then looking ahead into the future, other cases that the court is going to be hearing, the controversial election-related issue of voter I.D. cards. Supporters say they stop voter fraud, but opponents say it is thinly-veiled discrimination against low-income and minority groups who are less likely to have the necessary documents they need and who tend to lean Democrat -- Democratic, that is.
The court is also going to be taking up the issue of the rights of terrorism detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Keep in mind here, this court has not been too friendly with the Bush administration's anti-terrorism policies in past cases, in similar cases, and the court will also be looking at a pair of death penalty cases that ask the question, is it cruel and unusual to execute prisoners using the method of lethal injection?
This comes as at least 12 states have halted this method with concern that this causes severe pain to the person who is being executed. And if the court decides that lethal injection is unconstitutional, we're talking huge ramifications here because this is, by and large, the method that most states use for executions.
We're also waiting to see if the court will decide to hear a case that deals with a handgun ban right here in Washington, D.C. This is a hot-button gun control, gun rights issue. The city here saying that it helps reduce violent crime, but the court will have to decide if it also violates the constitutional right to keep and bear arms -- Don.
LEMON: OK. And I have to ask you this, Brianna. What about the health of Chief Justice John Roberts? How is he doing?
KEILAR: Well, in court today he looked to be his usual self, and sources close to the chief justice say that his doctors have given him a clean bill of health.
But, of course, they are also keeping an eye on him, Don, because as you know he suffered a seizure this summer, he suffered one before in the '90s. And the fact that he's had a couple seizures now does increase the chance that he could have more in the future. But right now he's looking good.
LEMON: Brianna Keilar, thank you.
PHILLIPS: An elementary school lecture on racism includes a mock lynching. The fallout is straight ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: And E. coli concerns prompt a huge recall of ground beef. We'll tell you what to avoid straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, check your freezer and the hamburger patties in it. They could make you sick. Almost 22 million pounds of potentially tainted patties are being recalled right now.
CNN's Jim Acosta is on top of the health alert.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Many supermarkets didn't start pulling these Topps frozen hamburgers from their shelves until this past weekend, but Topps may have known about the potential contamination of its products for weeks. (voice over): Samantha Safranek contracted E. coli and was hospitalized after eating a Topps frozen patty bought at this Wal-Mart a month and a half ago.
SAMANTHA SAFRANEK, SICKENED BY TAINTED BEEF: In the back of my mind I had that question if I was going to make it.
ANNA SAFRANEK, SAMANTHA'S MOTHER: It just wasn't fair that, you know, a kid eats a hamburger and ends up almost dying.
ACOSTA: After Samantha's mother contacted health officials in Florida, Wall-Mart pulled the patties on August 30th. But that was nearly a month before Topps issued its recall, then expanded it over the weekend. All the while, supermarkets were still selling potentially tainted products.
Samantha's family is now suing Wal-Mart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the food is not safe and the companies that are selling us, the consumers, the food know it's not safe, they need to tell us.
ACOSTA: Federal and state food safety investigators are now trying to pinpoint the contamination source, saying it could be anywhere from the slaughter house to the Topps processing plant. The USDA has ordered Topps to suspend operations, citing "inadequate raw ground process controls."
Public health advocates say the government needs more inspectors.
CAROL SMITH DEWAAL, CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST: There have been six recalls since April of contaminated ground beef. This is the worst summer we've had in a number of years for these outbreaks and recalls.
ACOSTA (on camera): In fact, the supermarket that we're standing in today actually had some of those frozen beef patties that were involved in this recall until we told the store manager about them, who then promptly pulled the product from his shelves. We should also note that Topps and Wal-Mart have both issued press releases saying they are doing all they can to protect the public.
Jim Acosta, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Jim.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
PHILLIPS: She was just a young girl but police say she was treated like a human punching bag right there in her own home. We're going to bring you her story straight ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.
He might be getting the lion's share of the attention now, but Chester Stiles isn't the only alleged child predator keeping a step ahead of the law.
PHILLIPS: Meet some others on that most wanted list right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Let's get straight to the newsroom first. T.J. Holmes working details on a developing story -- T.J.
HOLMES: Kyra, we're trying to get information here. This is out of Big Bear Lake in California, in southern California, where it appears that a vehicle has rolled over on to Highway 18 near Big Bear.
Now, this vehicle, we understand -- a live picture here, as you're seeing, being provided to us by KABC, our affiliate there. But the surrounding area here, this is some of the emergency vehicles who are working this thing.
We haven't been able to get a good eye on the vehicle itself, but what we're told is that it's actually a Forest Service vehicle that had six people in it, and it rolled over on to highway 18. That's one of the highways going into Big Bear Lake, one of the heavily traveled, getting in and out of Big Bear there, a lot of tourist travel. But it rolled over on to that highway and that highway is now closed.
We understand that they are treating people with injuries, at least multiple injuries is what we're told. We don't know the severity of those injuries, but right now six people injured or at least six people on this vehicle, multiple injuries on the Forest Service vehicle that rolled over on Highway 18.
We'll keep an eye on this, try to get more information about what was going on and the extent of those injuries, who these people were in the vehicle, and as we get them we'll pass them along to you.
PHILLIPS: We'll keep tracking it. Thanks, T.J.
A three-year-old girl raped on videotape, it happened four years ago. She's now been found safe, but time hasn't made this crime any less horrific. And it's only made police more determined to catch that suspect; 37-year-old Chester Stiles is who we're talking about. He's on the run right now. And CNN is hearing more about him from the woman who dated him for 10 years. Tina Allen says the girl assaulted on the tape is the daughter of a family friend. She also says that Chester Stiles fooled her and her family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TINA ALLEN, STILES FORMER GIRLFRIEND: He can be very charming, beguiling. He said he had been in the Navy. And, you know, I was looking for a strong guy to represent to my sons, what I thought they needed to be. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, police are focusing on another man in this case, Darrin Tuck. He says he found the videotape at the center of this case in the desert. Police are taking a very close look at his story, and they don't like what they see. John Leiberman of "America's Most Wanted" has exclusive tape of an interview with Darrin Tuck and he joins us now to tell us about it.
How did you and your producers find Darrin Tuck?
JOHN LEIBERMAN, "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED": I've got to tell you Don. We found Darrin Tuck and he had been in custody for a short time, already charged with promoting child pornography, and possessing it. And when he sat down with "America's Most Wanted," he said, "Look, I don't know the people on the tape. I don't know the little girl. I don't know who the alleged suspect is. All I did was pick up the tape from the middle of the desert and bring it right into police."
Well, immediately police came right back and said that is not the true story, according to them. Police believe that Mr. Tuck sat on this tape for more than five months, in fact, showed it around to friends, and associates, and only then came in and gave it to police.
LEMON: "America's Most Wanted" spoke with him. Let's take a look at this interview, and then we'll talk to you about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARREN TUCK, TURNED IN VIDEOTAPE: I'm not a child molester. All I am is the founder of a tape. And, you know, turned it over to the authorities, and now I'm getting railroaded for it, you know? And, yeah, you know, I've never molested anybody. I've never put my hands on any female who hadn't wanted it. I'm not that kind of person, you know? And they need to quit putting -- trying to put me in that light and, you know, focus more on Chester because that's -- you know, he's one on the tape, not me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: "America's Most Wanted" handles these kinds of situations all the time, and I can imagine you and your producer would get a feel for this person. Did your producers -- are police buying this story?
LEIBERMAN: Absolutely not, no. Police aren't saying that Mr. Tuck is involved at all in the making of this tape, or that he was the predator seen on the tape.
LEMON: The finding it in the desert, that's that whole thing I'm talking about.
LEIBERMAN: Exactly, exactly. Police aren't buying where he found the tape. The fact that he only had it for a few days and the fact that he hadn't shown it to anybody, which is what he told our correspondent there in that interview. Police believe he showed this around to many people. Police believe he had it for several months. And police are trying to find out where in fact he -- how he obtained the videotape. Was it in a burglary? Did he get it from there? Did he get it from an associate? Or is he involved in a kiddie porn ring? All of these questions are out there.
But, no, they are not buying his story and in fact, Don, Tuck actually failed a polygraph test right before he went on camera with us.
LEMON: I was going to ask you about that because I'm hearing that your producers asked him to take a polygraph test, or asked him about a polygraph test during that interview?
LEIBERMAN: Police actually gave him a polygraph test right before the interview was to take place. And according to his attorney he failed it, and it is interesting to note, right after the interview with "America's Most Wanted" Tuck allegedly went on the run. Police couldn't find him for the better part of the weekend.
LEMON: Tell us again, because it's a bit complicated. This Darrin Tuck was wanted on an outstanding charge, and that's the reason he turned himself in, correct?
LEIBERMAN: He was wanted for a probation violation, for not paying child support -- and he was on probation for some old drug charges. And so that's what they locked him up for. But right now police are really pressing him. This guy is charged with possessing child pornography and promoting child pornography. Can you face life in prison for that.
LEMON: Life in prison.
LEIBERMAN: That shows how seriously they are taking it.
LEMON: John, you guys have been doing a great job on this story. Thank you so much. And we -- as you guys profile, we are going to be profiling some folks as well who authorities are looking for. Thank you so much for joining us again.
LEIBERMAN: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: They are out there. As we just said, somewhere, and police want your help in finding them. Chester Stiles is not the only suspected child predator on the run.
There's Frederick "Rick" McLean, a former Jehovah's Witness Church ministerial servant; he's suspected of molesting young girls. Police believe he moved from one congregation to another keeping his crimes mostly hidden for almost 30 years. Mclean was last seen in Southern California near the Mexican border. He is 56 years old, may be clean-shaven now.
This is Paul Herman Clouston, he's a paroled cop killer, who was later accused of molesting young boys -- and girls. At least nine kids made allegations against him. Clouston is 72. And said to be in pretty good shape for his age. If you have any information on these cases please call "America's Most Wanted." Their number is 1-800-CRIMETV. Again, that's 1-800-274-6388. And you can also log on to AMW.com.
Kyra.
PHILLIPS: A young girl, a short painful life. We want to warn you this story may be pretty difficult for you to hear, but child advocates in Chicago say it needs to be told for the sake of a child who just can't speak for herself. Here's CNN's Kelli Arena.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A 911 call, a child is not breathing, and worse, much worse.
SHERIFF THOMAS DART, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS: The level of violence involved was something you just don't see very often, thankfully.
ARENA: Inside this apartment complex a five-year-old child, a girl, badly beaten.
DART: The child had black eyes, broken nose.
ARENA: Melanie Beltran was taken to Lutheran General Hospital just a few blocks away and died within days. She never woke to tell doctors what happened. The marks on her tiny body spoke for her.
DART: The things that the doctors laid out, the things that the medical examiner laid out, were things that, you know, that really left somewhat speechless.
ARENA: The night before that 911 call, her mother, nine months pregnant with her eighth child, got angry and slammed Melanie's head into the wall face first, according to the sheriff. The mother, Mila Petrov, then allegedly beat Melanie more and finally force fed her Tabasco sauce, a regular punishment, investigators learned.
The next day Melanie was vomiting and was allegedly hit again and again, until according to state documents her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed. According to investigators, her mother's first instinct was to clean up before calling for help.
DART: We were informed that the mother had the kids, the other children clean up the house a bit before the police came so it looked more presentable when they arrived.
ARENA: Melanie's six brothers and sisters were at the house. State documents show that they bore no signs of physical abuse but all was not well. According to the state documents, one child told investigators there are secrets in the house. We don't tell. The children described how they, too, abused Melanie because she was a, quote, "bad girl". One of them said, "Everyone can hit Melanie when she touches our things." Experts say it is rare for one child to become the punching bag for the entire family, rare, but it does happen.
ROBERT HARRIS, COOK COUNTY PUBLIC GUARDIAN: We've had cases where the parents have directed siblings, other children in the family, to hold a child down while they beat the child, or we've had cases where parents has told on child to hit the other child. And that they can't hit the other kid back.
ARENA: Medical reports say ligature marks on Melanie's wrists and ankles show she was tied up. She had second and third-degree burns over large portions of her body, marks from being whipped with electrical cords. The doctor who examined her said it was one of the worst cases of abuse that he has seen.
(On camera): In her five short years on this Earth this may be the only place where little Melanie ever found any peace, in the children's section of the Mary Hills Cemetery. And this is where her story ends.
(Voice over): Her brothers and sisters now live with relatives. Her mother and father face at least 20 years in prison. The defense attorney representing Melanie's mother says she's grieving and should be considered innocent until proven guilty.
WENDY SCHILLING, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I do not represent guilty clients. I represent clients accused of crimes. The only time my client is guilty is when somebody tells me they are guilty, and that has to be a judge or a jury.
ARENA: We wish you we could show you what Melanie looked like but investigators say they couldn't find a single picture of her by herself. Apparently no one ever cared enough to ever take one.
At CNN's request the sheriff's department prepared this sketch of Melanie based on her hospital and autopsy photos, a face to a name, for a little girl no one seemed to know, until it was too late. Kelli Arena, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Goodness.
Innocent minds, harsh lessons, kindergarteners and first graders take part in a mock lynching in Louisiana. That's right, a mock lynching. President of Grambling State University is investigating what you see here at the university-run elementary school. These images show a young girl with a noose around her neck, and a boy with chains and while they were being taught about racism and symbolism.
Specifically the kids were discussing the Jena six case. Six black students in Jena faced charges for allegedly attacking a white classmate after nooses were hung from a tree on their campus.
We're getting more details on a vehicle that has rolled over the side of a road in California. We'll update you in just a moment. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to the NEWSROOM. T.J. Holmes has details on a developing story -- T.J.
HOLMES: We are keeping an eye still, here, Kyra, on the situation happening in Big Bear. We have more information being reported to us by our affiliates which is that there are seven fire fighters, actually, who are in this vehicle that went off an embankment in Big Bear. You're seeing the scene here, some of those emergency vehicles that are working the scene right now.
But we understand there are some injuries. We do not know the extent of those injuries right now, but seven fire fighters were in a four-service vehicle when it went down about 150 feet, ended up in a ravine. And at least one or maybe more people right now still being rescued possibly from this van. Again, it was a U.S. Forest Service van, seven people, and we understand from our affiliates that these are fire fighters.
They don't know exactly how this vehicle lost control, but you're seeing some of the pictures here now, live pictures, several helicopters in the area now covering this story. But several of them are being taken to the hospital. Again, multiple injuries but we don't know the extent of those injuries. And we understand someone is still having to be rescued from that vehicle right now.
So the word also is that no one has been killed, no fatalities in this accident right now. We're trying to work the details about exactly what was going on and what was happening with them? Where they might have been going? What they were doing and exactly how this vehicle lost control, but seven fire fighters injured and still possible rescue being taking place. At least one person still trapped in that van so we're keeping an eye on this thing for you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK, appreciate it, T.J. Thanks.
LEMON: A lot of lakes and streams are setting records this year, especially here in Georgia, but it's not anything to cheer about, Chad Myers, and I hear people are having to take their boats out of the lake and all that stuff.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. That's the least of the problem. The fact that some towns and cities may be in peril for drinking water in the winter if we don't get some real rainfall here, and obviously here's the rainfall on the map today. There's nothing in Atlanta, in Birmingham, on up into Knoxville and Nashville, parts of Kentucky. Some very, very dry areas, extreme drought across the Southeast.
I'm going to take you to a map here, a little hard to see because it is so bright, but all of these areas in this dark, dark maroon red. These are the areas that have been so hard hit with extreme drought conditions. I'm going to take some pictures now, not that far from Atlanta, but this is basically the area up to the Northeast. This would be the drinking water for the northeastern sections of Atlanta, all the way down into Atlanta proper.
This is Lake Lanier. Now those little sheds, those boat launches they are supposed to be all the way floating way high. Bu they're not. The lake now is 13 feet where it should be for full pool, 13 feet. So if you think about driving your boat up to that dock, no, that isn't going to happen. There are little services that keep pushing the dock out for you if you're not there to keep your dock in the water. But this is ridiculous.
A deficit here since January 1st in Georgia of 15.88 inches, and this is what the streams now are looking like. Altoona, Lake Altoona around Atlanta, this would be the Dekalb County drinking water, and so on, up towards Woodstock; 14 feet below normal.
Carter's Lake 18 feet below normal. Blue Ridge, a perfect -- you want to talk about Shangri-La, Blue Ridge 19 feet below normal. So if you have a $1 million cottage you no longer have water anywhere near your dock.
And the Southeastern part of the country really needs water. We do know that many of the wells now from Tennessee, parts of Kentucky down through the Carolinas into Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia, some of the water wells that people have been using for 100 years are running dry, wells that have never been dry before. That's how bad the drought is this year -- Don.
LEMON: Chad, that is terrible.
MYERS: Yeah.
LEMON: All right. Thank you, sir.
PHILLIPS: Passport required. A previously delayed security rule takes effect today. Will it change the way you travel? We'll explain.
A.J. HAMMER, CNN ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: I'm A.J. Hammer in New York. Celebrities everywhere called him the Sultan of Sleaze, but now David Hahn Schmidt is dead. I'll have the bizarre details when the NEWSROOM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: And fans of the James Bond movie franchise woke up to some somber news this morning. Entertainment Correspondent A.J. Hammer joins now. Let me tell you what, it was pretty fun looking back at the old clips.
HAMMER: It's great looking back at the old clips. I think this is sad news though, because this was a beloved character in the Bonds series here.
PHILLIPS: And she was in there for a number of years, all the way up until, what was the last one, I'm trying to remember. She was in her '70s right, when she made her last appearance?
HAMMER: Yes, yes. She definitely held that role for a long time as you're about to learn as I fill you in on the life of Lois Maxwell, who of course was known to an entire generation of Bond fans as the very talented and somewhat sly Miss Moneypenny and she has died at age of 80. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOIS MAXWELL, ACTRESS: He'll see you in a minute.
SEAN CONNERY, ACTOR: Moneypenny, what gives?
MAXWELL: Me, giving an ounce of encouragement. You never take me to dinner looking like this, James. You never take me to dinner, period.
CONNERY: I would, you know, only M would have me court-martialed for illegal use of government property.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Known to many as Miss Moneypenny, the Canadian-born actress started her Bond tour all the way back in 1962 alongside Sean Connery in the very first of the films that was "Doctor No." Ultimately, she appeared in 14 Bond movies as the secretary M, who of course, was the head of the secret service in the films.
Her career highlights included a Golden Globe for the 1947 Shirley Temple comedy "That Hagen Girl" and a role in Stanley Kubrick's "Lolita".
Maxwell died at Fremantle Hospital near her home in Perth, Australia. Kyra, she was reportedly suffering from cancer. And as I said, she will be sorely missed. Because, wow, what a great character and a great part of legacy of films, the Bond films.
PHILLIPS: What a career.
HAMMER: Yeah.
PHILLIPS: Here's an interesting story, very controversial guest that you had on your show several times turned up dead over the weekend. What can you tell us about the so-called Sultan of Sleaze.
HAMMER: Yeah, Kyra, this is one is just the latest bizarre twist in what is really an already a very crazy story. The guy's real name is David Hans Schmidt, but he is better known as the Sultan of Sleaze. And he was found dead in his Phoenix home from an apparent suicide. Now, Schmidt got his nickname for peddling celebrity sex tapes, including those of Paris Hilton and Tonya Harding.
Most recently allegedly tried to extort more than $1 million from actor Tom Cruise for stolen wedding photos from his Italian marriage to actress Katie Holmes. Now Schmidt was arrested for that incident back in July and he was expected to plead guilty in a hearing scheduled for October 11. If he was convicted there, he faced up to two years in prison.
However, in an interviews Schmidt's attorney said that her client seemed optimistic about the trial, and was hopeful that they would only get probation. David Han Schmidt, the Sultan of Sleaze was 47 years old. Shifting gears now to some music news. It appears that fans of Beyonce, who had planned to see her perform next month in Kuala Lumpur will have to shift gears themselves. The 26-year-old superstar has scrapped plans for a tour stop in Malaysia. That would have been her first time performing in that country. The November 1st concert will take place two hours away in Jakarta, Indonesia.
A statement from the singer only cites scheduling conflicts as the reason for the change but concert promoters have said Western performers face mounting pressures in Malaysia to keep skimpy clothes and steamy dance moves off the stage, which probably wouldn't work for Beyonce, who is know for those types of things in her shows.
In fact, last month Gwen Stefani had agreed to change her costumes so she could perform there. Pussycat Dolls, however, were charged nearly $3,000 by the Muslim nation for violating decency laws.
Now coming up tonight on "Showbiz Tonight" we'll have the very latest on the shocking and sudden death of the man accused of trying to exhort Tom Cruise and selling those Paris Hilton sex photos. What really happened to the so-called Sultan of Sleaze? The dramatic story tonight on TV most provocative entertainment news show, it's "Showbiz Tonight". We'll see you at 11 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on "Headline Prime" -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, A.J., thanks.
Remote-controlled toys are a new security concern at American airports. Coming up in the NEWSROOM we're going to tell you why security screeners are taking a much closer look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, if you're flying to Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean, don't forget your passport. As of today you'll need it. Tighter rules are back on after a nine-month suspension prompted by a huge back log of passport applications. Now some applicants had to wait months for their little blue book, as they call it.
State Department says it's finally caught up and the wait time is back to normal, six to eight weeks for a standard applications. Look out, though, next summer the rules tighten further. Americans driving back into the country will also have to have passports.
Here's a place you don't need a passport.
PHILLIPS: CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Next hour starts right now.
PHILLIPS: And it's free.
It's shocking, brutal, and tragic, a promising young athlete gunned down outside a college dorm. What it is not, say police in Memphis, is random. Somebody wanted Taylor Bradford dead. LEMON: And lethal injections. Cruel and unusual? Is crack cocaine that much worse than powder? Law and order tops the docket in the new term of the Supreme Court. But the buzz is all about Clarence Thomas' new memoir. Our Jeffrey Toobin joins us in the CNN NEWSROOM to talk about all of it.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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