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Victim's Mom Wants School Shelters; Tornado Claims Could Top 12 Billion; London on Edge After Soldier Killed; Arias: I'm Going to Deal With It

Aired May 23, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, from destruction to disbelief.

MIKKI DIXON DAVIS, VICTIM'S MOTHER: Of course, the closer I got to the school, the harder it was.

COSTELLO: In Oklahoma, parents now coping with unanswered questions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Living in Oklahoma, tornado shelters should be in every school.

COSTELLO: This morning, the now growing chorus of calls to put our children first.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you think had there been an underground shelter, these lives could have been saved?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. Most definitely.

COSTELLO: Also cleaver terror attack in London.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

COSTELLO: Police back at the scene this morning. A city on alert and on edge.

Plus, the hero mother. A Cub Scout leader who talked down one of the terrorists breaks her silence.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Were you not scared to be yourself and not --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Why not?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Better me than the child.

COSTELLO: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: And good morning. Thank you so much for being with us. I'm Carol Costello in Atlanta.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, I'm Brooke Baldwin in a very rainy and wet and stormy Moore, Oklahoma, this morning where the cruel and staggering scope of Monday's tornado coming now more fully into view. But first I don't know if you can quite hear the rain drops that have begun yet again here. Severe storm systems.

I'm tell you, my producer Vivian Kuo and I were driving in this morning. Blasts of, you know, thunder and lightning as we're driving south here on 35, just to get here to where we are to broadcast live for you, and keep in mind, these storms raises concerns that are twofold. First you have high winds that can turn the mountain of debris. I mean, imagine the debris all the boards with the nails into just absolute projectiles where families who are coming back through them, trying to find what they can of their lives.

And also lightning, a lot of lightning. Putting at risk the army of crews working in the tornado zone. So let's get a closer look at the challenges that lie ahead for us today with CNN meteorologist Indra Petersons in the weather center.

And Indra, the storms, they won't stop.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It's unbelievable. You were talking about these strong winds out there. In fact, just in Newcastle where that actual tornado really started in Newcastle. We reported a wind of 65 miles per hour. That is the equivalent of the winds o an EF-0 tornado. Now normally that wouldn't be problem if there wasn't already debris all over the ground.

So just imagine, you're dealing with these strong winds earlier, some heavy rain. We've already heard reports of one to three inches of rain. Even more rain still continues in the forecast.

Looks like it's letting up here just a little bit. You see a little cell around you currently. And for the next several hours, we're still going to see line after line of some cells moving throughout the area. The good news, and the most recent pattern, we're starting to very slowly see the shift a little bit farther to the east.

But notice all the lightning out there, of course that's a serious danger, the strong winds, the heavy rain, and the flooding threat. We're definitely talking about that flooding threat out there as well.

So what we really want to talk about is the moderate risk that is now out there today. Keep in mind this is new. Due to convergent. It's like a lid on the atmosphere. We're now seeing that we have more of a moderate threat in the Texas panhandle and even in through Oklahoma. Brand new news out there. We're looking for the threat of tornadoes enhanced from what we saw just earlier this morning.

So some tough situations out there. Please, everyone, stay aware of your surroundings. You're just outside of that slight risk area there in the Moore area. But either way you've seen activity this morning and you've seen also more importantly how quickly all this can happen. Please keep in mind also the flood warnings. Do not try to drive or try and walk through those flood areas -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: I know, you can just feel the beginnings of hydroplaning on interstates like I-35 and these people are hiding out. They're about to work this morning here in Oklahoma, are trying to get to their homes which are clearly what is left of this soak here.

In Moore, Oklahoma, numbers really tell only part of the story of Monday's disastrous tornado, but they are jaw-dropping nevertheless. Listen to this. Oklahoma City mayor says in just a matter of minutes, more than 12,000 area homes were damaged or destroyed. You see the aerial pictures, the wide swath of what happened.

At least 33,000 people are affected. And then there are the immeasurables of the human toll, a heartbroken town braces for the funerals of 24 neighbors, 10 of them children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICK CORNETT, OKLAHOMA CITY: This is going to be a tough weekend for us as we bury those children who died in the elementary school and the rest of our citizens who fought from the storm and just couldn't evade the terror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: One of the child victims, 8-year-old Kyle Davis. Kyle was inside the Plaza Towers Elementary School when that tornado ripped apart the building and its walls collapsed. His heartbroken mother is now questioning whether the school, children's death there, could have been prevented.

And CNN's Kyung Lah actually sat down with the mother and has her plea. I mean, there were no storm shelters.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that's something that she is hoping to actually have a discussion about, Brooke. The reason why she wanted to talk to CNN is so that we could honor her son's memory. But also so this discussion happens, not just at the state level, but at a larger level, a community level, a national level, so that no other parent has to go through what she did.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVIS: I was running out the door, and I was like, I love you, babe. And he's like, I love you too, mom. And he was laying in my bed, watching TV and that's the last time I seen him.

LAH (voice-over): What followed a disaster few can fathom. A mother's nightmare that only the parents of the children at Plaza Towers Elementary can truly understand.

DAVIS: Of course, the closer I got to the school, the harder it was. Because of the houses were pretty much gone. And when I got to the school, I broke down really hard. LAH: Mikki Davis' other child, 11-year-old Kaley, survived by hiding in the girl's bathroom. She walked out, running into her mother's arms, but still missing, 8-year-old Kyle.

DAVIS: You don't know if he's safe, if he's - if he's still stuck under all that rubble? Is he -- you know, where is he? You don't -- being a mother, you know -- you have to know where your babies are.

LAH: Davis collapsed from the emotional strain at the school, rushed to the E.R. She spent the night curled up with this picture, praying until the morning.

DAVIS: And then I got confirmation that they had him, but he didn't make it. And, you know, you cry and cry and cry and then you feel like you are crying and there are no tears going, but you feel like they are going. And I just -- it was just something I never, ever thought in my life that we would have to go through.

LAH: Davis wanted to meet here, at the soccer field her son loved. He grew up on these fields. He loved being number 16 for the '04 Cosmos White team where they nicknamed him "the wall" for his size and ferocious defense. Holding his favorite ball and wearing the soccer trinkets her son adored, Davis who is divorced explained three generations of the family stopped by to meet us on the way to planning his funeral.

(On camera): Are you angry at all at anything? Or is it just the overwhelming sadness that you feel?

DAVIS: Well, I -- I am angry to an extent. I know the schools did what they thought they could do. But with us living in Oklahoma, tornado shelters should be in every school. It should be -- you know, there should be a place that if this ever happened again during school, that kids can get to a safe place. That we don't have to sit there and go through rubble and rubble and rubble. And may not ever find what we're looking for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: And next month, Brooke, was supposed to be such a happy month. Mikki is actually getting married again and it was Kyle's birthday.

BALDWIN: Kyle's birthday.

LAH: He was going to turn 9 years old. His family now instead going to be gathering for his funeral.

BALDWIN: Incredibly, incredibly devastating for the family and really for this community.

Kyung Lah, thank you so much.

And again, we are live in Moore, Oklahoma, where this tornado leveled so many neighborhoods, including the one I'm standing in. And just to give you a little bit of the lay of the land, yesterday we are coming to you live in front of the Moore Medical Center, and I was just about a mile and a half from where we are this morning, and you can see, the pictures, the utter devastation and the pouring rain, the severe storms.

So keep in mind, so many of us were walking around some of the leveled homes with families yesterday. And it's one thing to be walking through and trying to find those mementos, trying to find the high school yearbooks, the photos, the wedding rings, but it's quite another when it has been soaked in inches of rain and mud and muck.

Look at these people. Trying to come through. And it's incredibly important to mention. It's very dangerous to be in and around these boards. So many nails. I met a woman yesterday, she lost her home, and she stepped on a nail. So it's just -- the levels of difficult difficulty, the challenges here, and the costs, I mean the damage could top $2 billion in the Moore, Oklahoma, area.

John Doak is Oklahoma's insurance commissioner, and he's joining me now.

Good morning, sir. Nice to meet you.

JOHN DOAK, OKLAHOMA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER: Good morning. Nice to meet you.

BALDWIN: I hate the circumstances upon which I'm meeting you. But nevertheless when we talk first -- this is in terms of the sheer numbers, it's -- I'm here, I'm seeing somewhere between 12,000 to 13,000 homes damaged or destroyed.

DOAK: Those are the numbers that we're hearing as well. But yet to be totally confirmed by EMS, emergency management groups, Albert (INAUDIBLE)'s group. But we're seeing just yesterday alone, we know that at the Insurance Checkpoint Command center, that they processed open 4,000 claims yesterday alone.

BALDWIN: Are you a native Okie?

DOAK: I am. I am.

BALDWIN: You were a native Okie.

DOAK: Born and raised here in Oklahoma. And this is not the first time we've been through this.

BALDWIN: This is not the first time.

Help people understand who are not from Oklahoma, the process that these people, these families have to go through. Their homes are gone or destroyed and have to file these claims.

DOAK: Right, well, it's -- you know, it's a very a simple process, we've got it down to a science here.

BALDWIN: Do you?

DOAK: We've had -- in the last couple of years we've had the first ever National Tornado Summit here in Oklahoma City.

BALDWIN: Two months ago, right?

DOAK: Yes. Two months ago we partnered with Emergency Management, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners helped sponsored this. But it was -- it's continuous helped us learn best practices how to prepare for tornadoes and major catastrophes like this.

BALDWIN: So what about not even preparation, I mean, obviously look, where we're spping standing around the muck, the mud, and debris, so once someone loses their home, what is priority number one for them?

DOAK: Priority number one is take care of the person, make sure they're OK. Get medication, put them back together, you know the mind, spirit, body, make that they're OK. I lost a loved one. Priorities are first. Take care of the person.

Second is you can replace the homes and the cars, you can't replace children so you take care of the -- you know, the property exposure is secondary so the insurance industry is starting to step up, search and rescue looks to be over and now the insurance companies lined up that come in from all over the world, there's stations at Moore First Baptist Church.

And the first thing we want to do is make sure that Oklahomans are getting additional living experience checks, able to get a hotel room, clothes, start get their life back together and sit down, go through a claims process which is sometimes a very thoughtful process, to understand the contract language. But the insurance industry is here, they're stepping up and they're doing the right thing.

BALDWIN: SO let's just say I live in this neighborhood.

DOAK: Right.

BALDWIN: And my house is gone.

DOAK: Gone.

BALDWIN: And I have insurance.

DOAK: Correct.

BALDWIN: Are you going to rebuild my house, no cost to me?

DOAK: The options are solely to the consumer. They have the option to rebuild or potentially relocate. May want to go to another neighborhood. We think that most people will rebuild in this area.

BALDWIN: Everyone I've talked to wants to rebuild.

DOAK: They're very committed to the area. So yes, they're going to begin to select a contractor, work with the insurance company. Again, get those additional living expenses up front, right now, where they can get clothes, get their lives back in order. Kids in school and then they begin the process of rebuilding their home, because the insurance companies have all the data on their homes.

They don't have to show up with the policy. It's all in electronic databases,. So they're going to make -- trying to make it as easy as possible. But then they're going to walk through with the consumer with specific limits on their policies.

BALDWIN: Unfortunately, you guys have through this before but fortunately you guys have been through this before, and hopefully the good people of Moore, Oklahoma. Not just Moore, so many other towns affected will be able to rebuild -- John.

DOAK: Good to be with you. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Nice to meet you.

John Doak, Oklahoma's insurance commissioner.

And, Carol, I mean, just imagine, I don't know if you've been to Oklahoma, this is actually my first trip in just talking to so many people here. Who sort of live through the 0'99 tornado and then rebuilt then and here you go. You know losing your home but they do not want to leave because this is home --- Coral.

COSTELLO: I've been to Oklahoma City. And it's -- It's a terrific place to live and the surrounding suburbs are terrific too, because there is such a sense of family there. So I'm not surprised at all that people want to rebuild and state right where they are. Brooke, back to you in a second. Thanks so much.

We also have new details in the horrific story out of London where a British soldier was killed after two men attacked him with meat cleavers. The shocking scene unfolded in broad daylight on a southeast London street.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Witnesses say the suspects first hit him with a car, hacked him to death and dumped his body in the road. One of the attackers, with blood still on his hands, walked up to a man filming the scene and said this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. We -- I apologize that women had to witness this today, but in our lands, our women have to see the same.

COSTELLO: Witnesses say the second suspect went over to a bus, asking people to take photos of him as if he wanted to be on TV. Authorities are still investigating the exact motive for the attack, and why it took police 30 minutes to arrive at the scene. Both men are now in custody.

And little is known so far about the victim. But a member of the parliament says he was in the British army.

NICK RAYNSFORD, BRITISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: My understanding is that he is a serving soldier and had been on duty in central London and was returning to barracks and appears to be the victim of a completely unprovoked attack.

COSTELLO: The attack has left the people who live in Woolwich concerned.

LAUREN COLLINS, WITNESSED LONDON MACHETE ATTACK: Afterwards, it became very tense and people were obviously speechless that this happened in their local community.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And we have confirmed the victim was indeed a serving soldier. His family does not want his name released as of yet. And also I said, it took police 30 minutes to get to the scene, so a cub scout leader, a woman, she took charge. She actually approached these vicious killers and asked them to stop.

Zain Verjee is in London with that side of the story.

I can't even imagine walking up to a man with blood on his hands holding a machete.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Imagine that. It was totally brave. And she said she wasn't scared at all, because she said it was better here if anything happens than a child, because there were a few children around at the time.

But the guy's hands were full of blood. They had just killed the guy, dragged the soldier into the street and ranting and making their political statements.

She said that she was -- she was in a bus and she thought this was the aftermath of a car accident and that those guys were trying to resuscitate the man when she got off, she realized what happened and one of the guys said hey, lady, I killed him, don't touch. And she said, listen, why are you doing this? Give me your gun, give me your weapons.

And she was -- seemed as cool as a cucumber in the way she described it. She said she wasn't scared. And this was -- and the exchange that they also had was that he said one of them, we want to start a war in London and she said, well, it's only you against a lot of people and so you are going to lose.

Just listen to what else she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Were you not scared for yourself in that situation?

INGRID LOYAU-KENNETT, CONFRONTED LONDON MACHETE ATTACKERS: No.

REPORTER: Why not?

LOYAU-KENNETT: Better me than a child, because, unfortunately, there were mothers with children stopping around. And more important that I talk to him and then ask him what he wanted. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: She was amazingly brave, Carol. A couple of other women too on the scene confronting these guys as well.

But this woman, her name is Ingrid Loyau-Kennett. And she actually used to be a school teacher, turned cub scout leader, turned confronting the terrorist on the spot that have just murdered a man and have his warm blood on their hands -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, the other unbelievable part of the story is the passer who was filming this whole thing unfold with his cell phone camera and he's shooting a picture of this guy talking with blood on his hands. I don't -- I don't know if I would have, you know, the courage to stand there and continue filming this guy talking into my phone camera, or the woman right behind him.

VERJEE: I mean, I talked to a lot of eyewitnesses here this morning and they didn't really know what was happening. A lot of them thought this was some kind of an accident and there were kids coming out from school, people going shopping, people going to get groceries.

So, it was such a normal scene to happen and happened like right there. Where that bunch of trees are, and as far as the guy who was shooting on the amateur camera, I mean, he was in a total state of shock that this was even happening, but realized that this guy has done something terrible, this is a major moment to capture, his political statements.

But otherwise, these two guys, Carol, were just totally at ease, they knew what was going to happen. And, in fact, they told passers by, why don't you guys call 999? And that's the equivalent of 911 here. And so, everyone dialed 999.

And then the police came. First, the police came, they weren't armed. OK? Because in this country, not everybody is armed. And then the armed police came a few minute later.

So, this whole big deal, why did it take the police so long? And the Met Police, as they're known, say they're going to investigate.

But it was a crazy scene like totally out of some kind of horror movie, because these guys were stabbing away and reportedly trying to behead this soldier.

COSTELLO: Just so unbelievable.

Zain, we're going to talk more about this next hour of NEWSROOM: Thank you so much.

And we're also going to meet that guy who shot the film of the killer making his political statement.

Thank you, Zain Verjee, reporting live for us from London.

Also ahead in THE NEWSROOM, convicted killer Jodi Arias speaking out. Find out why she says the jury betrayed her and why she will not give the victim's family the closure they need.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Another bizarre twist in the Jodi Arias death trial. And I'm not talking about her latest jailhouse interview. I'm talking about the jury. It's deadlocked.

Jurors will meet again this morning after telling the judge they are struggling to reach a unanimous decision over whether Arias should live or die.

In the meantime, Arias gave yet another jailhouse interview. This time, she talked to ABC News about the death penalty and about how she feels about the jurors who are deciding her fate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JODI ARIAS, CONVICTED OF FIRST DEGREE MURDER: I feel a little betrayed by them. I don't dislike them. I just was really hoping that they would see things for what they are, and I don't think they did.

REPORTER: To a lot of people, they think this switch from "I want to die" to now, "I want to live" is just another lie from Jodi Arias.

ARIAS: Well, I don't know what that means. Was I lying when I said I want to die or was I lying when I say, please, spare my life, you know? Whatever happens, I'm just going to take it and deal with it.

REPORTER: You said today, you want to give Travis' family closure. You know they want you dead. So why don't you give them that closure?

ARIAS: Well, what do you mean by that? Why don't I kill myself, is that what you are asking?

REPORTER: No, why don't you accept the fate of the death penalty if that's what they want, if you truly care about their closure?

ARIAS: Well, I've caused them a lot of pain, I've caused my family a lot of pain, and I think that by asking for death, I'm only going to cause more pain to my family.

REPORTER: If you were on that jury and you heard what they have heard, would you kill you?

ARIAS: I don't believe in capital punishment, so the answer would be no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ted Rowlands is live in Phoenix right now.

Just so strange. So, Ted, if the jury cannot decide if it deadlocks, what happens?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at that point, Carol, according to Arizona law, they bring in a new jury to retry just the penalty phase. But that is going to extend this trail even longer. It's been nearly five months so far, and cost millions of dollars.

So, that is really something that people here are hoping doesn't happen. However, at this point, the jury sure to seem like it's having trouble deciding what to do with Jodi Arias.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS (voice-over): Travis Alexander's family broke down in tears Wednesday when jurors announced they were having trouble deciding if Jodi Arias should live or die.

JUDGE: Ladies and gentlemen, I have received your note indicating you are unable to come to a unanimous decision.

ROWLANDS: Jurors have been deliberating for less than three hours when they sent a note asking what they should if they couldn't agree. The judge told them to go back and keep trying.

JUDGE: I'm merely trying to be responsive to your apparent need for help.

ROWLANDS: If jurors can't agree on what to do, Arizona law dictates that a new jury would be brought in which could extend the almost five months-long televised trial that has been ratings gold for networks and stations across the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was Jodi Arias a battered woman?

ROWLANDS: The media's obsession with Jodi Arias has been fueled in part by Arias herself, starting five years ago when she held this news conference from jail proclaiming her innocence.

ARIAS: I have nothing to do with it.

ROWLANDS: Since then, Arias has continued to do interviews. And while her story has changed over the years, her willingness to talk about hasn't, which she was asked this week by Phoenix television station KSAZ.

ARIAS: Why are you talking to me?

REPORTER: We're interested in what you have to say.

ARIAS: What I've decided to do at this point is to utilize the mouthpiece that I have to speak to bring awareness to domestic violence.

ROWLANDS: Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has come under fire for allowing Arias to talk so freely from jail. He tweeted this response saying, "Some of you are mad about the Jodi Arias interviews. Please understand, we can't step on her First Amendment rights. We allowed them and now no more."

He also added, "We did not buy Jodi makeup. We wouldn't do that. The media provided it to her."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: And, Carol, after the judge talked to the jury and told them to go back and try, they spent the entire day yesterday deliberating, not coming to a conclusion. They'll back at it at 10:00 local time here to see if they can figure it out. But, clearly, they were having a difficult time figuring out what to do.

COSTELLO: OK. So, the media provided her makeup?

ROWLANDS: Apparently, she wouldn't do an interview with CNN. So we didn't provide the makeup.

But apparently, according to the sheriff's office, the media provided her makeup and that was one of her conditions, that she would only do the interviews unless she had makeup and if the cameras wouldn't show her jailhouse pants. She was able to wear a regular blouse, but she didn't want the cameras to show her pants or her shackles on her feet.

So, apparently, the media brought some powder and a camera.

COSTELLO: It's mind boggling. You know, I'm facing the death penalty, I'm worried about looking pretty for the cameras?

ROWLANDS: Well, just the fact that basically somebody is holding court from a jail cell on a nightly basis, it is extraordinary. The access, and her willingness to talk about everything, even though her story is changing every few years, she'll talk about it.

And it's just a very bizarre case from top to bottom.

COSTELLO: Wow. Ted Rowlands, thank you.

Still ahead in THE NEWSROOM: terrifying sounds from inside Moore, Oklahoma's Briarwood Elementary School.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

COSTELLO: We'll hear from a teacher who recorded what it sounded like as the tornado destroyed her school.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)