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Python Kills Two Canadian Two Boys; Amber Alert in San Diego

Aired August 07, 2013 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Same-sex marriage is illegal in Pennsylvania, but a clerk of court is issuing licenses anyway. Now the governor is taking action.

Plus, CNN tracks down a person of interest in the Benghazi attack, but the FBI can't. Why? Erin Burnett joins me live on her riveting investigation.

A new book suggests Marilyn Monroe called Jackie Kennedy to chat about the sex symbol's love affair with JFK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was a smart political wife and she feared Marilyn Monroe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And we continue on, hour two. Great to be with you. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Top of the hour.

I want to take you to Canada, to New Brunswick specifically, tragic story involving these two little boys. A police press conference actually just ended with more details about the deaths of these two boys, ages 5 and 7, who were apparently killed, strangled in their sleep by a 99-pound python.

These brothers were at a sleepover at a friend's apartment. It was above a pet store that the father owned. Police say autopsies are under way right now to determine the exact cause of death with these two little boys, but it appears the snake escaped from a glass enclosure, somehow slithered up the ventilation system and was so huge that it fell through the ceiling in the room where these two little boys were sleeping.

Police say it is too early to talk about possible criminal charges here. Another pet store owner says aggressive behavior is rare in pythons except when they are hungry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDRE TREMBLAY, REPTILE STORE OWNER: This snake was probably way underfed and badly housed. For a snake to be able to get out of that size it just has to be really hungry and not in good conditions because usually snakes are very easygoing, and I have been doing this for about 20 years myself and it's rare that snakes get out. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And we just heard from the uncle. This is one of the little boy's mother uncle just spoke at this press conference in Canada. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID ROSE, UNCLE OF VICTIMS: Yes, it's David Rose.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Debby (ph) is my sister.

ROSE: And the mother of the two children that passed.

On behalf of the family, we acknowledge the interests in this awful tragedy. We appreciate the outpour of sympathy that has been shown. Many inquiries that we have are mostly about Connor and Noah. I'm going to give you just a little resume, a day in the life of the two boys, their last day.

Connor was just shy of 7. In fact, his birthday was on -- will be on the 23rd of August, and Noah was 4.5 years old. Connor would have entered the second grade this year and Noah was extremely excited to join his big brother by starting kindergarten and both would have been in the same Lord Beaverbrook school.

They were two typical children. They enjoyed life to a maximum. Their last day was spent playing with their friends in the backyard. They had a little pool. Had a barbecue. And later in the afternoon Jean-Claude Savoie took all the children shopping. They each had their own little carts and they filled their carts with treats.

And after the shopping trip, the two family's, Jean-Claude's family went to Jean-Claude's family farm. There they played with llamas, goats, horses, and they played with dogs and cats in the hayloft and went for a ride in the farm tractor with Jean-Claude and he even let them steer the tractor. So, they had a super day.

And then after a long day, late into night, they got and home for the sleepover at Jean-Claude's house. The two families stayed together until midnight.

And that's the type of life they have and that's what we're going to remember. At this time, we ask that you please respect the family and their privacy as they grieve this awful tragedy. Funeral arrangements haven't yet been decided. We should know -- or it should be forthcoming shortly. But, as of now, we don't know. We are also aware of several people that started fund-raisers in memory of Noah and different vigils.

And we'd sincerely like to thank them for everything they have done so far. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So that was one of the family members speaking about these two little boys who, who according to police were strangled by this 99-pound snake, this python.

Tom Stalf is the president and CEO of the Columbus Zoo, incredibly well-respected zoo there in Ohio.

Tom, welcome. I see you're sitting -- I believe -- I have been told there is a snake somewhere next to you behind you so we can take a look at that in a minute. But first, when you hear this story of this snake slithering out of this cage, up this ventilation area and falling through the ceiling, is this python behavior? How does this happen?

TOM STALF, CEO, COLUMBUS ZOO: First of all, thank you, but our condolences to the family. What a tragedy.

Here at the Columbus zoo we focus on wildlife and wild places. But unfortunately when we talk about a tragedy like this, it's very unusual. In the last 20 years, there have been 12 people that have lost their lives to snakes. If you compare that to just domestic dogs there's been in the last 20 years over 320 tragedies where there's been a loss of life.

So it is extremely rare but, irregardless, it's such a tragedy when we talk about exotic animals or large snakes like this. One thing that I did hear though in the last story is that the boys were playing with farm animals, llamas, and different animals. It is possible that as the snake was meandering through the house, if the boys didn't wash, snakes have an incredible sense of smell with their Jacobson's organ. They use their tongue. It's possible that the snake was heading towards the boys because they smelled like prey.

BALDWIN: Just I'm trying to understand the sheer power of a snake like this. I know according to reports it was like 11-to-15-feet long, 99 pounds. Can you just talk about the power, the sheer power of a python?

STALF: Well, pythons are extremely muscular and they are constrictors, so that means they do not have venom or poison. As they go for their prey, they squeeze, they squeeze their prey. Constrictors are very strong.

And, you know, when we talk about this specific animal, if it was 15- feet long and 99 pounds, that really is considered a slender snake. The snake that I have here behind the glass is a 15-foot python that's 150 pounds and is considered a large reticulated python. This was an African rock python so it's similar in size when they become adults.

BALDWIN: I know that here in the States, there are differing laws depending on the state. This was Canada. But go back to why would someone want a python as a pet? They're above a pet store. Why would someone want this in a home?

STALF: There's thousands of pet owners and there's thousands of snakes that are in private homes, and here at the Columbus Zoo we emphasize and educate our guests about the proper care for animals and when we talk about tragedy, two years ago in Zanesville, Ohio, we had someone release 56 large carnivores, lions and tigers, so we focused on educating Ohioans on the way that you properly care for animals.

You know, the bottom line is there are responsible pet owners and those that are considering owning a pet or an exotic animal that is dangerous, we want to emphasize the fact that we have to focus on public safety and animal welfare. Is in order for us to do that, it's all about educating people. Snakes live a long time.

It's expensive to care for them. When we talk about this tragedy, it's really unheard of to have a pet store that would own this size of a snake and somehow this animal escaped out of its primary enclosure and then meandered through the house.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: It is unbelievable. And I'm sure more details will eke out as the investigation progresses, but it's just a tragedy all the way around.

Tom Stalf at Columbus Zoo, Tom, thank you very much.

Also today, former President George W. Bush is recovering from heart surgery. The 67-year-old had a stent placed in an artery after a blockage was discovered during a physical, an annual physical exam. He is expected to leave his Dallas hospital, head on home tomorrow, but the surgery took everyone by surprise.

Doctors found the blockage in his artery just yesterday.

Cardiologist Habib Samady is here, and he's director of interventional cardiology at Emory University.

Nice to see you, Doctor. Welcome.

DR. HABIB SAMADY, THE EMORY CLINIC: Thank you.

BALDWIN: When I hear about first, the president goes in for an annual physical and all of a sudden like the next day he gets a stent put in, that seems pretty quick to me.

Yes, it certainly sounds very quick.

As you know, heart disease takes a couple of decades or three decades to evolve. Unfortunately, it remains -- it can remain silent until it becomes pretty severely blocked. That's one of the challenges with heart disease, is that certainly in the West, a lot of people are predisposed to it based on their diet. But it does appear sudden, but it's actually not uncommon and that's how it presents.

BALDWIN: You have performed these surgeries before. Tell me, what exactly is a stent and what is the procedure involved?

SAMADY: So the procedure, we don't really consider it surgery, per se. It's sort of minimally invasive or percutaneous procedures.

(CROSSTALK) SAMADY: And all that means is we go in through the skin, we access one of the blood vessels either at the wrist or at the groin, and through that we snake some little catheters up to the heart arteries.

We inject dye under X-ray guidance. And we identify the blockages and then that's where the stent comes in. The stent is like a slotted metallic tube that goes in over a rail and it is deployed at high atmospheric pressures, as you can see on your screen. That basically pushes the plaque against the wall and restores the lumen and, hence, the blood flow to the heart.

BALDWIN: So, quickly, just the takeaway, I know there are a lot of perfectly healthy people. We know President Bush loves to mountain bike, he's out and about, was just in Africa in July. What's the takeaway for people thinking I think I'm perfectly healthy? Do I need to be running to the doctor?

SAMADY: Well, I think you have got to watch for your health. It's known that if you have high cholesterol or diabetes or high blood pressure, either of these things probably the president had, you're certainly predisposed to heart disease.

And obviously if mom or dad or other members of the family have heart disease, then you're predisposed. So, certainly screening with your physician is a great idea. A healthy diet is way more important than we previously thought. We always thought it was important.

BALDWIN: It really, really is.

SAMADY: But it is extremely important.

BALDWIN: OK. Dr. Samady, Emory Clinic, thank you so much for coming in today. We appreciate it.

Coming up, manhunt under way, two children believed to be abducted. Police have issued an Amber Alert. Next, we will take you live to San Diego with more on the suspect on the run and the clues he's left behind.

Plus, a Pennsylvania man handing out marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Only problem is same-sex marriage isn't legal there. State leaders now stepping in with some strong words and threats of action.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Breaking today, you have an Amber Alert out West. It's a horrible situation. A raging fire just east of San Diego and then a woman and child found dead inside.

Now two other children are missing and police are looking for a man named DiMaggio Americans, James DiMaggio.

CNN's Miguel Marquez is joining me now from San Diego.

Miguel, tell me about these two missing kids and do police have a clue as to where they could be? MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They don't.

And a very wide area they are targeting at the moment, all the way from Mexico. The town where this all happened is Boulevard, California, about 65 miles southeast of San Diego, very close to the Mexican border all the way to the Canadian border as well. They're looking for a blue Nissan Versa that Mr. DiMaggio was in.

He is either with one of two kids, they say, Hannah Anderson, who is 16 years old, and/or Ethan Anderson, who is 8 years old. In the house that was burned, it belonged to Mr. DiMaggio, was the body of Christina Anderson, a 40-year-old woman, and another's child body.

Police are trying to still sort out who all these bodies are.

BALDWIN: Miguel Marquez...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GLENN GIANNANTONIO, SAN DIEGO COUNTY HOMICIDE: We are currently missing two children, the two Anderson children. We did find the remains of a child in the rubble of the burned-out house. We don't know if that is one of the Anderson children or if it's a third missing child.

Right now we don't have any missing children reports that would link to any recent ones in the area. That doesn't mean that it's not a different child. At this point, we just don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Investigators stressing that time is of the essence here. The sooner and the more information they can get out there, the sooner they can get a bead on them, the more likely it is to bring this to as happy of a resolution as it can. But at the moment, they're following up on several leads. Several search warrants have been served and they hope to make positive identification on all of those bodies in the next 24 hours -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK, Miguel, thank you.

Coming up next, gay marriage isn't legal in Pennsylvania. But that doesn't matter to this guy. He is in charge of handing out marriage licenses. He has approved dozens of licenses for same-sex couples. Some say his actions could end up changing state law.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let me be crystal clear here. Same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania is not legal. But that has not stopped one county official near Philadelphia from handing out marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

Now he's in deep trouble with the state.

Sara Ganim the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some people say he's gone rogue, but what Bruce Hanes has essentially done is made Pennsylvania the 14th state to legalize same-sex marriage.

BRUCE HANES, REGISTER OF WILLS, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA: I believe I'm compelled to do it.

GANIM: Hanes is the register of wills of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. About three weeks ago, he was asked to give a marriage license to a lesbian couple even though the state has a ban on same- sex marriage. Instead of immediately saying no, Hanes and his solicitor went to the state's Constitution.

HANES: Article 1, Section One, which is a sort of preamble but it does state that we're all entitled to individual liberties and freedoms and happiness.

GANIM: And 78 couples and counting have come to this suburban county from all across the state. Hanes says the reaction of people has been mostly positive.

HANES: "Thank you for standing up for human rights."

GANIM: With one obvious exception. The State Department of Health filed a petition demanding he stop. It says Hanes is acting in direct defiance, that Pennsylvania defines marriage between one man and one woman and that what Hanes is doing risks causing serious and limitless harm to the public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's plenty of things the governor should be doing and focusing on eliminating our marriage is just not one of them.

GANIM: Pennsylvania has long been considered among the more conservative states when it comes to same-sex marriage.

DANNY CEVALLOS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Bigger picture, the issue is going to be simply this, whether or not a reading of the Constitution, a Pennsylvania Constitution, which is pretty broadly written, whether that can be read to override the state law ban on marriage.

GANIM: Prominent Pennsylvania attorney Danny Cevallos says Hanes could end up changing state law.

CEVALLOS: The state Supreme Court in Pennsylvania could review this and strike down the state law that it finds inconsistent with the Constitution. Laws are -- quote -- "created this way" every day.

GANIM: Hanes says he knows the significance of what he's done.

HANES: In the ordinary course of business, two people are coming into my office, sitting on a bench waiting to get a marriage license and they're getting those marriages license regardless of their gender. GANIM: But, he says, he doesn't see himself as a crusader.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Wow.

Sara Ganim joins me live. This could have all kinds of repercussions, as we were talking during the piece.

But the first question is hearing Danny say the state Supreme Court could take it up, could review it, could change the law, what do lawmakers in Pennsylvania...

(CROSSTALK)

GANIM: This is a conservative state. Clearly not everyone is on board with this. The question will be, will this state law hold up in court? Will the court decide that the state law is constitutional or not?

One state lawmaker has said he believes -- quote -- "It's outrageous to see a locally elected official believing he has the ability to set policy like this from a local county office. If it wasn't so wrong, it would be laughable."

That's a quote from Representative Daryl Metcalfe in Pennsylvania. Clearly not everyone is on board with it, Brooke.

BALDWIN: He's being sued -- obviously not -- he's being sued by Pennsylvania. Why is he doing this?

GANIM: That's a great question. I asked him that. I said, you know, when this couple, the first couple, when they came to you, you could have said, I'm sorry, no.

BALDWIN: It's against the law.

GANIM: In all of the other counties in the state, no one has ever said yes. And he said, I could have. Yes, that's right. I could have said no. But he went to the books. He looked at the Constitution. He made a decision. He said not only do I believe the law is on my side, he said I also believe I'm on the right side of history.

That gives you a little bit of background of what's going to his head.

BALDWIN: Stay on it and see what Pennsylvania does for us. Sara Ganim, thank you very much.

GANIM: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, the United States taking more precautions with fears of a terror attack looming. The U.S. ordered some citizens to leave Yemen. This is new video of an Air Force plane arriving in Yemen. It will fly those diplomats to safety. Next, new information we learned today about a potential attack. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let me throw up a live picture and just show you what you're looking at.

We're waiting to hear from this alleged victim, alleged victim number 11 with allegations of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment against the mayor of San Diego, Mayor Bob Filner, who is now in day two of intensive -- to quote him from a couple weeks ago -- intensive behavioral therapy here before he goes back officially on the job. As soon as we hear from this nurse speaking, we will take that live in San Diego.

Meantime, we have gotten pictures of the Air Force passenger jet that left Yemen after dawn. An unknown number of Americans were on that flight to Germany arranged by the U.S. State Department which insisted today it's not an evacuation, even though it certainly looks like one. Security is very tight in Yemen's capital.

And today we got word of a drone strike, perhaps two, that killed a handful of militants. We have also gotten word of an unknown number of bad guys filtering into Yemen from elsewhere. This is all connected to the terrorists threat that surfaced late last week. You see all the places on the map here.

These are the 19 U.S. embassies across the Middle East and much of Africa remain closed for the rest of this week. Tomorrow, by the way, is the 15th anniversary of those deadly embassy bombings in both Kenya and Tanzania. Those were the work of al Qaeda. You had simultaneous truck bombs killing hundreds of people at those U.S. compounds in Africa, again, tomorrow 15 years ago.