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E.R. Doctor Testifies At Castro Sentencing; Snowden Leaves Moscow Airport; Report: A-Rod and MLB May Strike Deal; 50,000 Pounds Of Beef Recalled; House Passes Student Loan Bill; Markets Soar To Record Heights; Forensic Scientist Testifies At Castro Hearing

Aired August 01, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thanks for joining me this morning. Of course, we're continuing to monitor what's happening in Cleveland, Ohio right now inside a courtroom. The sentencing phase is taking place for Ariel Castro, the man accused of holding three women hostage for more than a decade.

On the stand -- well, let me introduce our guest right now. With me now is Tanya Miller, former prosecutor, Paige Pate, a defense attorney, and Doug Berman. He is also a defense attorney and sentencing expert. He is live in Columbus, Ohio. Also Dr. Jeff Gardere, he is a psychologist, who can help us ferret through some of this very difficult testimony.

On the stand right now is Dr. Gerald Malony. He was the E.R. doctor at the Cleveland Hospital. Of course, these three victims were brought to that hospital for treatment after they were rescued from the house of horrors. Let's listen to his testimony.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

DR. GERALD MALONY, E.R. PHYSICIAN, EXAMINED VICTIMS: Yes, they had forensic exams done by sexual assault nurse examiner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And when you say "they", are you referring to all four patients?

MALONY: All three patients, minor child did not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would you say you observed, if anything, about their general demeanor? I know you explained Michelle Knight. What about the other two?

MALONY: The other two were also distraught. Again, they were distraught and also elation they were free now after years of captivity. They were distraught, they were cheerful and they were very much emotionally fragile at the time they arrived.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And were you given information about a period of prolonged activity. Was there any sort of documentation that you made of them, in addition to their gaunt appearance? That would lead to that, that they had been captive for such a period of time? MALONY: In addition to the gaunt appearance, and also again specifically Ms. Knight had several bruises, which indicated that she had undergone physical abuse as well. All three of them looked fairly gaunt. All three of them related that they had been allowed minimal time outside the house at all. All three were very pale. There was physical evidence to support their reported period of captivity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And do you recall the date and time you saw these patients?

MALONY: It was May 6, 2013.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Without getting into specific detail, were there narratives or documentation given to you with regard to what sort of sexual assault the women underwent?

MALONY: Yes. They related information regarding the sexual assaults to us and also to the sexual assault nurse examiner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And in a very general description, of what nature were those assaults?

MALONY: Forcible rape.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And were you able to get any more specific as far as what?

MALONY: All three of them were rain raped. All three of them were raped vaginally, that's what they reported. Multiple, repeated times, against their will, under threat of physical harm, is what they related.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your honor, the state would next present Detective Andrew of the Cleveland Sex Crimes Unit.

(END LIVE FEED)

COSTELLO: All right, I want to clue you into exactly what's going on and I have my panel of experts here to help me do that. And Page Pate, I'll start with you. So the prosecution is putting a series of witnesses on the stand to prove what?

PAGE PATE, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They're trying to lay out their case. This is almost like a mini trial. It's like they're going through the process of presenting the evidence that they would if the case had gone to trial. Now normally you would see if the case was going to trial the defense lawyer standing up and cross examining these witnesses. They're just sitting there and taking it. They know they have to get through this process. The state has a right to do it and at some point later in the day, we're going to hear from Mr. Castro.

COSTELLO: Exactly. He wants to stand up and apparently apologize for what he has done and to show another side of himself, which is really hard to digest, I must say. Dr. Jeff Gardere, I want to bring you in, because the defense has been arguing, this proceeding is -- will actually be harmful to the victims because they'll have to relive it. Is the defense right?

DR. JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: In some cases, it may harm the victims. However, the victims are prepared for this. We know that they have invested themselves into their recovery, and in some ways, this is something that they're waiting for. They're waiting for this monster to actually take full responsibility for what he did. They don't really care about the apology. They just want him to say that he did do this and own up to it.

And I have to point out, Carol, one other thing. Time has passed here, and people are starting to forget the monstrosity and the horror of this. And what the prosecution is doing is reminding these people that these women were tortured physically, sexually and emotionally, and this was one of the crimes of the century.

COSTELLO: And, Jeff, I want to ask you too about Michelle Knight, one of the victims in this case. She may appear in person in the courtroom to give her say, to tell a little bit about what happened to her and how it affected her and her family. I find that unbelievably courageous, that a woman who has been through this hell -- and keep in mind, this man kept her in a darkened room for much of the time.

She was chained up, fed her once a day. She became pregnant, and -- just -- he made her go through these series of exercises in order to abort the baby. She has been through such horrible things. Yet she may be willing to appear in this courtroom full-face and face this man who tortured her.

GARDERE: That's right. The person who did these horrible things to her and to the other two captives now are able to step up. In this case, it will be Michelle knight who will say "I am not afraid of you and I will tell you exactly what you did to me, and the impact on my life now, tomorrow and forever. Except that I am able to move on." And that is powerful, it's courageous, and it shows the people who are watching this and especially for this sentencing that this is not just about second-person related events, but first-person. What she and the other two actually experienced and why this man needs to be put behind bars forever and ever.

COSTELLO: The other interesting thing that we saw inside the courtroom, Tanya, was a model of Ariel Castro's house and this is quite unusual at a sentencing hearing, isn't it?

TANYA MILLER, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, it is. I mean, and like Page was saying, this is really sort of a mini trial. And normally when prosecutors have these kinds of demonstrative exhibits, it's to illustrate for the jury and in this case the public, what actually happened. It just brings everything to light for the public.

COSTELLO: So defense attorneys, Page, are sitting there helplessly, listening, watching, and do they want their client to talk?

PATE: Usually not. Especially if you don't know what the sentence is going to be. Almost anything he can say at this point is not going to help him. It's going to hurt him. Normally when I'm listening to this type of evidence, it's the worst time to be a defense lawyer. You're shrinking down in your chair. You're saying let's at least get this over with. But they also have to present a case for Mr. Castro and I heard the lawyer say earlier mental illness. We know something is wrong with this man. So I expect when it's their turn we're going to hear more about that.

COSTELLO: OK. I've got to take another break. We'll be back with much more live from Cleveland. We'll also talk about Edward Snowden who finally left the Moscow airport. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Breaking news out of Moscow to tell you about, Edward Snowden has left the airport, that's according to the NSA leaker's Russian lawyer. He tells CNN that Snowden's application for political asylum has now been approved and that Snowden can now legally stay in Russia for a period of one year. A U.S. official says Washington is not surprised by this. The source telling CNN that Moscow had signalled its intentions to regard Snowden for some time.

CNN's Phil Black is in Moscow. Do we know where Snowden is right now?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, Carol, we do not. Snowden's lawyer has said that he will not divulge that at the moment, because he says Snowden's number-one priority at the moment is security. And so for security reasons, he will not appear publicly, although he has not ruled out that he will do so in the short-term. He says security and just getting used to living outside of an airport terminal are the two priorities.

And so that's what he's going to be focusing on in the short-term. We do not know where he is. We haven't had any official reaction from the Russian government, either, because their position on this all along has been that this is not a matter for the Russian government, for the Kremlin, for the president. This is decided, technically, by Russia's federal migration service.

And that is what president Putin's spokesman has said to us, once again today. We also asked him what he thinks this means for Russia's relations with the United States. He wasn't prepared to comment on that just yet -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, because the United States wanted Russia to expel Edward Snowden so that he could face espionage charges back here in the United States. So was this meant to be a slap in the face by President Putin?

BLACK: You get the feeling that Russia has been trying to avoid unnecessarily aggravating the United States on this, but at the same time, not going out of its way to place him. It's been a difficult, almost impossible line to walk, really. Russia insisted, we can't send him back because we don't have an extradition treaty, and there is a risk, according to Snowden, he to be tortured or executed, should he be sent back. That was the grounds for his application and Russia said under those grounds we can't send you back there. But at the same time, we heard from President Putin all along we don't want this to damage U.S. relations. Whatever the fallout from this is, it can't be good because we know that the United States has been applying great pressure to Russian officials at every level to avoid just this eventuality. They didn't want him to receive any sort of official asylum or protection.

I imagine we'll start to get a sense of this pretty quickly, and I think very interesting it will be to determine or to see what this means for President Barack Obama's impending visit to Russia. He is due to come for the big G20 meeting in early September. There was even talk of a bilateral meeting with Putin in Moscow just before that. It will be interesting to see whether that trip or those trips do indeed go ahead -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Not to mention the Olympics taking place in Russia in 2016. Phil Black, thanks so much. Let's head to Washington now and Dan Lothian, you heard what Phil Black said, that the Russians decided to grant Edward Snowden temporary asylum, because they didn't want him to face execution in the United States. But the U.S. attorney general just sent Russian officials a letter saying that the United States wouldn't execute Snowden if he was found guilty.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's -- that is true. That came earlier this week and so clearly, this is not a decision that the White House had wanted. They had been putting pressure, U.S. officials, on Russian officials in talks over the last several weeks to have Snowden extradited back here to the United States to stand charges, face those charges against him.

White House officials not yet commenting, but my colleague, Barbara Starr, saying that a U.S. official telling her that they're not surprised by all of this, they're not shocked, because Russia had been signalling that they would be making this move and, in fact, this plan at least came up in some of the private conversations that U.S. officials had been having with their Russian counterparts.

The big question, though, as you have been talking with Phil about is what would this mean for the U.S./Russia relationship? It has been tense of late. The questions about whether or not President Obama will still go in September to the G20. White House Spokesman Jay Carney has been asked about that over the last several weeks. He has always maintained that it is the president's intention to still attend the G20 Summit.

In addition to that, as you pointed out, in 2014, we have the Winter Olympics, there have been called by some lawmakers and others for the U.S. to boycott the U.S. Olympics in 2014. Jay Carney is saying that that's something that is speculation at this point. It's a ways off. But clearly, the White House, which has not yet commented on this, certainly not happy by this decision today. We do expect that there will be some comment, if it doesn't come in the next couple hours, Jay Carney will be briefing reporters, and certainly the top of the agenda today. COSTELLO: I'm sure it will. Dan Lothian, many thanks to you. Let's head to London now, Atika Shubert because we're all wondering where Edward Snowden is and how he is able to live in Russia for a year financially, because he says he's running out of money. But we understand that he is in the company of somebody from Wikileaks, right?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. He's actually being accompanied by Sarah Harrison. She is a Wikileaks staffer and of course, Wikileaks is very familiar with this process of helping whistleblowers and seeking asylum. Of course, Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder, still in the Ecuador embassy now here in London for over a year. Ecuador has granted him asylum, but he has no way to get to Ecuador.

In the meantime, Wikileaks has put out a statement in support of Edward Snowden saying, quote, "We would like to thank the Russian people and all others who have helped to protect Mr. Snowden. We have won the battle, now the war." So Wikileaks says they will continue to help Snowden, but no word on whether he's going to remain in Russia or if he's going to try for asylum with a South American country like Ecuador or possibly Venezuela.

COSTELLO: But he can also -- I guess, his temporary asylum lasts for one year in Russia, but then he can reapply after that year, right?

SHUBERT: Yes. And in the end, it may, in fact, be safer for him to be in Russia, because you might remember, when they tried to -- the Bolivian president tried to leave and return to Bolivia, his plane was actually forced down, because he couldn't cross into European air space, because they thought Snowden might be aboard. So it may well be the case he's stuck in Russia.

COSTELLO: We'll see. Atika Shubert reporting live for us from London. Much more on this in the hours to come on CNN.

Up next in the NEWSROOM, though, the Dow is up more than 100 points, already this morning. We'll take you live to Wall Street and Christine Romans, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories at 21 minutes past the hour. There's a new twist in baseball's Biogenesis scandal, ESPN reporting that representatives for Alex Rodriguez are now negotiating a possible settlement with Major League Baseball. Under the proposed deal, A-Rod would receive a lengthy suspension, but avoid a lifetime ban from the game.

George Zimmerman re-emerged in Texas where he was pulled over by a police officer for speeding. Zimmerman then informed the officer that he had a firearm in the car. He was given a warning and released. Zimmerman's brother told CNN earlier that the Zimmerman family has received death threats since George Zimmerman's acquittal in the death of Trayvon Martin. That's why he has to carry a gun. Kansas company recalling more than 50,000 pounds of ground beef because of concerns it may be contaminated with E. Coli. The meat was sold under the name National Beef. This is the second recall for the company this summer. In June, some 22,000 pounds of beef were recalled due to similar fears.

Many college students breathing a sigh of relief, the House has finally approved a bill that reverses the recent doubling of federal student loan interest rates, lowering them to 3.8 percent for under grads in the coming school year. The measure ties interest rates on student loans to the financial markets, but there's a cap to ensure they don't go too high. The bill now heads to President Obama's desk. The president is expected to sign that bill.

Let's head to New York now to talk about what's happening on Wall Street, because as you can see, the Dow is up 142 points. Christine Romans, why?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Why, because it's a wonderful way to start doldrums of August, isn't it? The stock market is up. The fed had a meeting yesterday. The Federal Reserve did not indicate any kind of pullback right now or any kind of quick pullback of stimulus to the economy. They like that.

We've got some car news today. Chrysler is reporting strong sales. Carol, when someone buys a car, it shows confidence in the economy. We're going to be looking for these car sales to continue to come in strong. That's a sign of strength among consumers.

We had jobless claims at a five and a half year low. That means layoffs are slowing, a five and a half year low for layoffs. That's a solid sign the mass firing is over in corporate America. What we really want to know, tomorrow from that big jobs report is, they're hiring coming in, strong hiring with good-paying jobs, still having a big debate about the quantity versus quality of jobs coming in this recovery.

A really important number to watch here, 1,700, we talk a lot about the Dow. The Dow is comprised of 30 stocks. The S&P 500 is 500 stocks. The stocks in your 401(k) most likely reflect what's happening in the S&P 500. The S&P 500 topped 1,700. The 1700 level this morning. It shows strength on the balance sheets of all kinds of different industries. It shows a stock market that continues to do well -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Unbelievable. The jobs report coming out tomorrow and it may be more positive than expected. Who knows? So --

ROMANS: Who knows? But my big advice, folks, rebalance your 401(k). Look at your retirement accounts. A lot of people just leave them for a long time, don't even know the law again, right, for your 401(k). This is a really good time to take a look at your balance of stocks, bonds, your -- take a look at what kind of fees you're paying in your 401(k). You've had a really great year of about 19 percent in stocks. Good as time as any to make sure your exposure is right for your age and your risk in stocks, bonds, cash and other investments. COSTELLO: Great advice as always. Christine Romans, thank you.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: She tells me all the time.

Coming up in the NEWSROOM, Ariel Castro in a Cleveland courtroom where any minute now he's expected to say he's sorry.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Back to a Cleveland courtroom right now. Ariel Castro set to be officially sentenced for crimes against these three women he held captive for a period of ten years or more. On the stand right now is Josh Bar. He is a forensic scientist with the prosecutor's office. He just showed the court a gun, a .357 magnum that Ariel Castro kept inside the house, and threatened those women with. He also talked about -- he's talking about the weight of the chains found in the house. Let's listen to a bit of his testimony now.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you estimate how many people worked on this case from your organization?

JOSHUA BAR, FORENSIC SCIENTIST: I can't give an exact estimate. I mean, there was -- basically, every section of the laboratory was involved. There was a huge amount of evidence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What other sections do you have in your laboratory?

BAR: We've got latent prints. We've got forensic biology, DNA, trace evidence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there were hundreds of pieces of evidence in this case, is that correct?

BAR: That's correct.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was it also your organization that determined the paternity of the minor child found in the home, is that correct?

BAR: Yes, to my knowledge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And to knowledge, the paternity was established that Ariel Castro was the father of the minor child found in the home?

BAR: Yes.

(END LIVE FEED)

COSTELLO: All right, we're going to step away because I think we have the picture of Ariel Castro's gun to show you. It looks like an old gun to me, .357 magnum. It's in that box that's sitting on the witness stand there. But we do have a picture of it. We're going to turn to that in a second. I want to go to Douglas Berman in Columbus, Ohio, an Ohio state law professor and expert on sentencing hearings. Douglas, this is a very detailed sentencing hearing, isn't it?

DOUGLAS BERMAN, PROFESSOR OF LAW, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: Absolutely. And my sense is the prosecutors recognize that because of the plea deal, this is their one opportunity to lay before the court and really the state and the nation and the world kind of all of the specifics of this just almost inconceivable crime.

And I think that's part of what they're trying to make sure gets done through this presentation, that the lasting image is not of just Ariel Castro apologizing or saying whatever he plans to say. But of showcasing to the world just, you know, how horrific this crime and all of its consequences were, which, you know, candidly, it's still hard for me to get my mind completely around.

COSTELLO: I'm sure a lot of people are with you, Douglas. I am.