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Garrido Linked to Other Crimes; Woman Freed After 18 Years; Sen. Kennedy's Civil Rights Legacy

Aired August 29, 2009 - 22:30   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon reporting tonight from Washington, D.C. America said farewell today to the liberal lion of the senate, Edward M. Kennedy. His burial this evening at Arlington Cemetery just as night fell marks the end of an era in the history of our country, and the apparent end of a political dynasty for one of the nation's most prominent families.

Under rainy skies in Boston and an evening sunset here in the nation's capital, family, friends, fellow senators and presidents gathered to say their final farewells. We'll bring you the sights and the sounds of this very memorable day throughout tonight's broadcast.

And for a complete coverage of Senator Kennedy's funeral, the stopover at the capitol building in Washington and the burial at Arlington Cemetery on our Web site, go to cnn.com for our special selection on the life -- our special section on the life and death of Senator Ted Kennedy.

Meantime, I want to go to a developing story out of Antioch, California tonight. The bizarre case of a little girl held for nearly two decades gets stranger at every turn. Here's what we know right now.

Jaycee Dugard was freed this week 18 years after she was abducted as a young girl in South Lake, Tahoe. During those 18 years of captivity she had two daughters allegedly fathered by her captive, Phillip Garrido. Garrido and his wife, Nancy, now face nearly 30 felony charges related to the abduction and rape of Jaycee Dugard.

Nevada officials say Garrido and his wife met while he was in federal prison for an earlier abduction. Now authorities are looking into the possibility that Garrido may be linked to a number of unsolved murders in the area.

Well, the living conditions of Jaycee Dugard and her daughters were deplorable by any reasonable standard. Even more frustrating is that neighbors tried to alert authorities years ago to the strange situation at the Garrido residence, but they say they got nowhere.

CNN's Ed Lavandera live in Antioch with the very latest, where the search continues at the house this hour.

Ed?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, here at the house in Antioch, California, authorities have returned. We're told that the search and the processing of what essentially is a crime scene here will continue throughout the weekend. Authorities have pulled up a trailer into the driveway. There's another trailer parked in front of the Garrido home, where authorities have been coming in and out throughout the day.

It's very difficult to get a vantage point, or to get any sense of exactly what they are taking out of the house, or what they are bringing in, or what exactly they're looking for. But that compound- like area in the very back of this property is kind of fortressed by trees and seems to be a very elaborate area that they're combing through. But we've been talking to neighbors who have properties that butt up against where the Garrido's property is to try to get some vantage point, and it is very difficult to get a sense of what the authorities are doing back there.

But it is clear that they are going through every little area of this property. And, also, as you mentioned, the new twist to this is that a nearby community of Pittsburgh, California, their police department has also been here throughout the day where we understand they are also looking into Phillip Garrido's possible connection into a string of murders that happened in that town back in the 1990s. So the case here seems to grow larger by the day.

LEMON: Yes, and as they continue to investigate that, there are other reports that are coming out about Jaycee being seen by some business associates of Garrido, and that she was actually not hidden away for 18 years.

LAVANDERA: Well, you know, that's the thing. When you talk about someone being held captive for 18 years, it kind of leaves the impression that perhaps Jaycee Dugard and her daughters were held captive, perhaps never left that back part of the property here at Garrido's home, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

We talked to several neighbors over the last few days who talk about seeing the girls, you know, essentially hidden in plain sight here, if you will. We've also spoken with other business associates of Phillip Garrido had run a printing business. He had been printing business cards for various people around the Antioch community. And we've been told by several people connected to those businesses, who had done business with Garrido, who said Jaycee Dugard was the creative force behind this business; that they had talked to her and dealt with her on many occasions. Of course, they knew her not as Jaycee Dugard, but as a young girl named Alyssa, but it didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary so no one ever thought twice about this young woman working with Phillip Garrido.

LEMON: And, Ed, we also heard from neighbors and we also heard from some of the police officers who spotted this young lady and Mr. Garrido and also her daughters, that there might have been some missed opportunities here to intervene.

Talk to us about that.

LAVANDERA: Well, that's really has been the stunning question here. It's like how does someone -- how would someone held captive for 18 years, and it doesn't raise any red flags or brings -- or how exactly does this happen?

The sheriff's department here in Antioch had said that three years ago they received a 911 call from one of the neighbors describing Garrido as some with suspicious actions going on in the property, describing him as a sex addict and that they should come out and look at the situation. We were told by the sheriff's department here that, that officer who came to the scene simply knocked on the front door, didn't investigate any further, and in the words of the sheriff here, didn't ask enough questions, wasn't intuitive, inquisitive enough about what was going on to have pressed this situation and perhaps brought it to an end three years ago.

LEMON: CNN's Ed Lavandera.

Ed, thank you. Appreciate your reporting.

So now what for Jaycee Dugard and her daughters? A noted psychologist Jeffrey Gardere joins us in just a few minutes to share insights into this highly unusual case. We'll also hear a jailhouse interview.

Meantime happening right now, out west, hundreds of families forced from their homes, ranging wildfires just won't let up.

And in the east, tropical storm Danny causing headaches and dumping inches of rain and causing some travel delays. Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras sorts it all out for you.

Plus, breaking news tonight. Seven people found dead in a small Georgia town. What and who were behind the murders?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: First, some breaking news tonight out of the coastal town of Brunswick, Georgia. Police responding to a 911 call that found seven people dead inside a mobile home. Two other people are still alive, but in critical condition. Police have been tight-lipped about how the victims died. At a news conference, the chief of police would only say that the victims range in age from teens to the very old. And that it was the worst mass killing in recent memory in the town.

Thousands of acres scorched, hundreds of homes evacuated as wildfires rage in Southern California. A blaze that burned more than 7,000 acres in Los Angeles County caused residents to flee about 900 homes. More than 700 workers tried to quail the blaze as it tore right through the terrain near the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Another 22,000 acres in the San Bernardino National Forrest also burned today. Our Jacqui Jeras keeping a close eye on the fires out there.

Jacqui, we are hearing that there's going to be a press conference by officials there very soon. And we're paying close attention to that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Yes. It cause a lot of travel delays last night. I was stuck in that coming from New England here to Washington, D.C. I didn't get in until past midnight. I mean, very bumpy flight, quite frightening, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, I'm glad you made it safe.

LEMON: Yes, I know, and everybody else, too.

Thank you so much, Jacqui. We'll see you in a little bit.

Let's talk about four years ago. Hurricane Katrina bludgeoned the gulf coast, killing more than 1,400 people in New Orleans alone. Today, the city paused to remember.

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(BELL TOLLING)

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LEMON: Very somber moment. Ringing bells recalled the moment the first levee broke, letting loose a deadly flood that left most of the city underwater. Mayor Ray Nagin was at today's ceremony, thanking city residence for their resilience.

Since his arrest for kidnapping a young girl 18 years ago, Philip Garrido has had a lot to say. You can hear it for yourself just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Now back to the bizarre kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard, held for 18 years in California. Phillip Garrido was in custody only a short time before he granted a jailhouse interview to a local television reporter. In effect he said, you ain't seen nothing yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP GARRIDO, ACCUSED KIDNAPPER OF JAYCEE DUGARD (via telephone): Wait until you read that document. My life has been straightened out. Wait until you hear the story of what took place at this house. You're going to be absolutely impressed. It's disgusting thing that took place in the beginning, but I turned my life completely around. And in order to understand it, you have to start there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Dr. Jeff Gardere joins me live now from New York to help sort out Garrido's strange jailhouse interview and possibly what he might have been thinking here. Dr. Gardere is a noted psychologist. He has written several books and is a co-author of "Practical Parenting" and a talk show host of "Montel Williams."

Thank you so much for joining us tonight.

I got to ask you this --

DR. JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Pleasure.

LEMON: Held for so many years, but yet even she had we are hearing possibly had access to telephone, even a computer.

Why didn't she try to run or send some sort of signals?

Was she brainwashed?

GARDERE: Absolutely, she was brainwashed. She was traumatized. We can't forget that she was kidnapped at the age of 11 years old. This captor, Phillip Garrido, became a god to her. This man traumatized her, raped her, put her through all sorts of psychological abuse and so on. And so I think we're seeing here a learned helplessness, hopelessness, which is part of what we all know as the Stockholm Syndrome, where in fact any kind of favor he did for her or where he was less punitive because she was so unstable, because she was so dependent on this person for her life, she saw that as some sort of kindness and then was able bond with him in a very complex yet conflicted manner.

LEMON: And doctor, even when she had interaction with people, I mean, that's how she was found out handing out literature, she still didn't give any signal, you know, as to who she was or anything of that nature.

GARDERE: That's right. And we saw this with Elizabeth Smart. We saw a little bit of this with Josef Fritzl's daughter, Elisabeth Fritzl, that they become so enwrapped in that situation where they are just trying to survive, the brainwashing becomes so deep that it becomes again this learned helplessness, hopelessness where they feel that if they try to get away, they are convinced that their captor may not only try to kill them, but kill other members of the family.

LEMON: All right. So, listen, she is, you know, as a child with children. So what -- what then goes into rehabilitating her? How does she acclimate into getting back to normal, getting back to society, learning her family?

GARDERE: This is going to be a very tough road ahead for her and for her daughters. Maybe a little bit easier for the daughters in that they are younger, 15 and 11 years old. But for her being 29 years old, not really being part of society as she should have been, being traumatized in this way, she has to be debriefed as she is right now, be able to tell a story, be supported by psychologists but most importantly, be supported by her family. And they have to understand that she's going to have conflicted feelings about her abductor and about being back with her biological family. It is going to be very, very difficult therapy for the rest of her life and normalcy will never be something that she will be able to enjoy.

LEMON: And you hit on my next question when you talked about the family as well, because the family's also going to have to deal with this. But what about the two children as we understand at this, and it's early in the investigation. Those two children may not even know that they are her children? GARDERE: Yes. It is, it is possible they may not know that they are her children. They may be convinced that Garrido is their father. As a matter of fact, he seems to have a very strong hold even over the oldest daughter, who any time she made any kind of a move to try to walk across a room, she would check with Garrido. They are probably seeing her as an older sister, and we saw the same thing happen with Elizabeth Fritzl. So this is history repeating itself in this very bizarre manner yet again.

LEMON: Boy, we certainly wish her the very best, her children and as well as the family.

Thank you, Dr. Jeff Gardere. We appreciate it.

GARDERE: My pleasure. Thank you.

LEMON: The Kennedy family legacy and the civil rights era are forever linked. John, Bobby and Teddy all playing major roles in the fight for equality.

Up next -- another civil rights pioneer Julian Bond right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: America said farewell today to Senator Edward Kennedy. His burial tonight at Arlington Cemetery marks the end of an era in American politics. Three of the nation's four living former presidents joined President Barack Obama at the funeral mass. Mr. Obama praised Edward Kennedy for his dedication to principle and his ability to forge friendships across the political spectrum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can still hear his voice bellowing through the Senate chamber, face reddened, fist pounding the podium, in veritable force of nature in support of health care or workers' rights or civil rights. And yet as has been noted, while his causes became deeply personal, his disagreements never did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: In Washington, the Kennedy motorcade stopped in front of the Capitol building on the Senate side, where he served this nation for 47 years. The family took part in a brief ceremony for Kennedy staffers, friends and former colleagues. From there, they traveled a few miles to Senator Kennedy's final resting place in Arlington national cemetery. He was buried just after sunset next to his brother, Robert, and his brother, John, the former president.

Examining the impact of Senator Ted Kennedy on the civil rights movement, I spoke with an African-American couple earlier today about his lasting legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REGGIE STEPNEY: I think the whole Kennedy family did try to boost up the civil rights, health care, things like that, which is very prominent, very touch -- close to African-American's heart. So I think he did all that he could for African-Americans. So I think he stood for that.

SANDRA STEPNEY: I do, too. I mean, you can tell from JFK to his other brother Bobby and even to Ted, you know, especially when he really came out for President Obama, that was very, very meaningful. And, you know, he was a strong supporter of President Obama. So, you know, I think they did a lot for the African-American community.

I'm joined now by NAACP chairman Julian Bond. He's actually on his phone because he wants to play a message from Senator Ted Kennedy that he received. And he was part of the struggle in the 1960s.

This is a voicemail, right?

Let me see. I can get it on for you.

This is a voicemail, right?

Is that it?

JULIAN BOND, NAACP CHAIRMAN: That was it.

LEMON: This is Ted Kennedy.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS (via telephone): Julian, this is Ted Kennedy, and I just wanted to congratulate you on the 100th anniversary of the NAACP, and to tell you how much I've admired your work over the years.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LEMON: That's really nice for him to do that. He said 100th anniversary, and he admired your work. You guys were good friends for a long, long time.

BOND: Not close friends. We weren't buddies. We didn't play golf together or sail together, but I knew him for a long, long time. He was always just a wonderful, wonderful person.

LEMON: Yes.

What did today mean to you when you watched the ceremony?

BOND: Sadness. I mean, you can't help but be sad, you know. I'm one of these people who cries easily. And I have been sobbing for a couple of days. So this is just terrible, terrible news for his family, but for the country, too. We've lost a guy who is irreplaceable. There will not be another like him.

LEMON: When you look back at the country, especially the civil rights movement, we may not be where we are in the country as far as civil rights goes, if it were not for the Kennedy brothers, especially. And especially Ted, because he was the one who actually got the legislation and survived long enough to see a change.

BOND: That's right. John Kennedy was a reluctant warrior in the civil rights movement, pushed into it by circumstances and I think by some feelings of his own. Robert Kennedy much more vigorous, much more aggressive than John. Teddy Kennedy, in for the long run, in for the fight. Fight, wins a little bit, goes on, goes on, goes on. And as I say, there won't be another one like him.

LEMON: What are you going to remember, because I know that you guys, you said you talked to each other and you weren't very close friends? You knew each other for a long time. But is there anything special -- everyone had their little moment that they remember.

BOND: Years and years ago, I went to speak in Hyannis to the NAACP. This president took me out to the compound where they are, and I'm walking around looking at things and here comes Teddy with his mother and he says, "Mother, this is Julian Bond." And she said, "Good to meet you." And I thought, gee, isn't this great. This is one of the most powerful -- not as much as he got to be later, one of the most powerful men in the United States is out here walking with his mother. And, you know, it was just great.

LEMON: One of the interesting things today as I was out there in the Capitol walking around the streets interviewing people, talking to people, and just, you know, listening to them, it didn't matter -- Republican, Democrat, it did not matter. They said that this man was an icon, especially his family. And they just wanted to be there today to pay tribute to him because of what he stood for.

BOND: I don't know. I thought about the enormous contrast between the people we saw on the sidewalk as the casket went from Hyannis to Boston. The people on the sidewalk here in Washington watching the casket come to the capital and then go out to Arlington. And these awful, awful town halls and the many people who occupied them, the contrast is just so remarkable. Here people are quiet, reverent, paying their respects and there's others who can say.

LEMON: You're going to save that message, I'm sure, for a long time.

BOND: I will.

LEMON: Thank you very much.

BOND: No, thank you very much.

LEMON: I appreciate you joining us here on CNN.

BOND: My pleasure.

LEMON: And we're back in a moment here on CNN with more on Ted Kennedy's funeral and the rest of the news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Senator Kennedy's death is a terrible loss, and watching the reaction today you get a real sense of how much he was loved and appreciated by his colleagues, his neighbors and many other people who didn't even know him.

Right now we are all going to get a unique look at Senator Edward Kennedy. The HBO documentary, "Teddy in His Own Words" has some remarkable moments you've never seen before. It was put together with home movies and photographs, as well as TV news videos and still photographs from the Kennedy -- Kennedy's long career. Here now is that documentary.