Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Bulger Found Guilty; Investigation Turns To Hernandez Fiancee; Vanderbilt University Rape Investigation; Elon Musk Proposes "Hyperloop"; Kidnapping Victim Rescued; Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks; Bolt Wins Race

Aired August 12, 2013 - 15:30   ET

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

STEVEN DAVIS, BROTHER OF ALLEGED BULGER VICTIM: I don't believe in closure. But I believe that I deserve more than an N.F. And I'm disappointed. And I do want to say that I do not believe, I don't care who gets mad at me for what I believe and what I feel, because I went through the whole case from the beginning. I don't believe that he hands-on physically murdered her.

I believe he had no problem with talking about the 18 or 19 murders. But he -- I don't believe he murdered Deborah Hussey.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: But were you, Mr. Davis, were you inside the courtroom when the verdict was read? Were you in there with Whitey Bulger?

DAVIS: Yes, I was. And I had to leave for a minute, a couple of minutes, because of -- I had my wife pulling at my pants, you know, to keep me from standing.

I wanted to say something. And then I do want the chance and the opportunity to give an impact statement. And I don't want to lose the opportunity to do that.

So I had to really bite my tongue on speaking out. I know my sister isn't mad at me about that.

BALDWIN: If you could have spoken or if he was standing right next to you right now, what would you say to him?

DAVIS: Like I said to his attorney, Hank Brennan, I said if he didn't kill my sister, have him write me a letter as to why I should believe he had no part in killing her, conspiring to kill her, or anything.

And then I would respond to him with -- in the same fashion. But he never gave me that.

But I am giving him that much. In my heart is truth to saying I do not believe that he killed my sister, hands on.

I do believe in my heart that Steve Flemmi did that, but he was part of it on the conspiracy side.

BALDWIN: OK. Mr. Davis, I am so sorry. I feel your frustration. It is palpable. I don't believe in the word "closure" either. But at least maybe hopefully knowing that he will be going away for the rest of whatever is left of his 83-year-old life will give you some solace.

Steven Davis, thank you so much. I am so sorry for the loss of your sister, Debbie. I truly am. Thank you so much for joining me and sharing your story with me.

And I want to stay in Boston because we have the U.S. attorney Carmen Ortiz. Here she is. She's speaking.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

CARMEN ORTIZ, U.S. ATTORNEY: It was their tireless work during the fugitive investigation that led to the apprehension of James Bulger, and it provided us with an opportunity to bring him to justice.

Let me end where I began today, with the victims and their families. So many people's lives were so terribly harmed by the criminal actions of Bulger and his crew, and today's conviction does not alter that harm, and it doesn't lessen it.

However, we hope that they find some degree of comfort in the fact that today has come, and Bulger is being held accountable for his horrific crimes. I'd like to turn it over to the DEA. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Ms. Ortiz.

(END LIVE FEED)

BALDWIN: Carmen Ortiz using the word we've been hearing from other family members, not necessarily from the man we just heard from, but a sense of justice, justice for their family members, justice for the lives lost here.

Decades, this entire ordeal and story, that is James "Whitey" Bulger, guilty today, 31 of 32 counts against him.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The murder investigation involving former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez has taken a new and surprising twist.

CNN has obtained court documents that show investigators looking for the gun used to kill Hernandez's acquaintance by the name of Odin Lloyd now focusing on Aaron Hernandez's fiancee.

Susan Candiotti is working this one for us. What are you learning?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A new stack of search warrant documents and new revelations that show why investigators have also turned the spotlight on the fiancee of Aaron Hernandez.

These new court papers indicate the police got suspicious after learning some information from, of all people, the sister of Hernandez's fiancee. That sister is the girlfriend of Odin Lloyd, the man who was murdered.

The day after the body was found, the fiancee was at the Hernandez home with her sister and allegedly asked to borrow her car and told her sister that she had received a text message from Aaron Hernandez.

Now, authorities were now reading a cryptic message sent from Hernandez to his fiancee that reads in part, "Go in the back of the screen in the movie room. There is a box" -- He names his daughter's name -- "likes to play with it in the tub just in case you were looking for it."

Then he adds, "Wink, wink, love you, ttyl," which is shorthand for "talk to you later."

The fiancee later writes back, "Perfect TV. Love you."

Now. about an hour after that text message, documents state the fiancee is seen on home surveillance video leaving the house with a trash bag and allegedly inside of that bag was a ridged object the size of a gun lock box. That's what police say.

The bag was covered with clothing. The fiancee is said to drive away and return a half hour later without the rigid object.

Now, the fiancee's sister allegedly told police as well that her uncle allegedly was told by that fiancee that Mr. Hernandez wanted guns taken out of the home and that they were thrown away in the woods.

Brooke, some interesting new information.

BALDWIN: Definitely with regard to this fiancee here and the focus there on her as well.

Susan Candiotti, thank you so much for that.

Also today, disturbing allegations against Vanderbilt football players, an alleged sexual assault in a dorm room and police are signaling others could be involved. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Disturbing accusations against four Vanderbilt University athletes have put the school and its football program in a very uncomfortable spotlight.

You have these four players. They are Brandon Vandenberg, Brandon Banks, JaBorian McKenzie and Cory Batey, charged with five counts each of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery.

This alleged attack happened in this dorm. This happened back in June. The alleged victim, a female Vanderbilt student who police say was unconscious at the time of the assault.

Nashville police are signaling, too, that others could be involved. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON AARON, NASHVILLE POLICE SPOKESMAN: We are not ruling out the possibility of additional charges as we, in part, examine what role other persons may have had in this incident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Want to bring in Brian Haas, crime and court reporter for "The Tennessean" newspaper. Brian, welcome to you.

When it comes to the status of these four guys, these four players, are they still on the team? Are they in police custody? Where are they?

BRIAN HAAS, CRIME AND COURT REPORTER, "THE TENNESSEEAN": All four players were quickly kicked off the team and banned from campus once details started to trickle out. This was before the arrest.

Since the arrest, all four have been arrested. Three of them are still in jail as of at least about an hour ago. One of them, JaBorian McKenzie, bonded out yesterday. He was bonded out on a $50,000 bond.

BALDWIN: What about the comments? We just heard from the police comments that other people could be charged here. What do you know about that?

HAAS: Police have been really tightlipped about this and prosecutors as well. That's the best indication that we've gotten from them.

Essentially they're saying they're not ruling out additional charges. They're hinting. The only other indications we have are in the indictment itself of the four players. It did list other players as potential witnesses.

It didn't say suspects. It didn't indicate anything like that. Included among those witnesses is the Vanderbilt's starting quarterback in addition to four other athletes.

We're not exactly sure what roles any of those people played. We don't have any potential names at this point. They're keeping a tight lid on this one.

BALDWIN: Then the university, Vanderbilt, we know they've released a statement. They're offering sympathy and support for this alleged victim here.

This is also what they're saying. Promising it is, quote, "focused on doing everything we can to prevent any future incidents like this on our campus."

What are Vanderbilt folks telling you?

HAAS: They're not saying much either at this point. They've been very limited in their statements. They've always made sure to express sympathy for the victim as well. They have said that they want to hold their athletes to high standards. That they'll hold them accountable, but they're not wanting to say too much at this point, either.

BALDWIN: OK. We're going to follow it along right with you with "The Tennessean," Brian Haas. Thank you for coming on. We appreciate it.

HAAS: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up, New York to L.A. in 45 minutes? It could happen. We will tell you about this billionaire who's working on a "Hyperloop" tube. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: How about this idea? Getting from New York to Los Angeles in less than an hour? I know it sounds like science fiction, but it's actually the latest dream invention by entrepreneur Elon Musk, co- founded PayPal, Tesla Motors.

In theory, vacuum-sealed tubes would whisk pods across the country. He claims it can be built for a quarter of what a highway might cost.

The idea is actually decades old and was discussed in a 1972 Rand Corporation paper. Will it actually materialize? We will wait and see.

If you take the "Hyperloop" to New York, you will soon see a radical change in the city's skyline. Here is CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta with "The Next List."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This week, we talk to two remarkable innovators.

Bjarke Ingels is a Danish architect who's bringing his unique design to the skyline of Manhattan.

BJARKE INGELS, DANISH ARCHITECT: This is the West 57th Street Project. It tilts from being horizontal to being almost vertical, opening up the entire corridor for the sun.

And the bottom, the southwest corner, is 42 inches, so it's really the height of a handrail.

And here you have like 430 feet, so you have this sort of incredible (inaudible) from the human scale to the city scale in one single building.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the kind of idea that when you see it, you say, how come nobody's thought of it before?

GUPTA: And nobody thought a 19-year-old could come up with an anti- terror device or new technology to fight cancer. That is until Taylor Wilson came along.

TAYLOR WILSON: I've always been really passionate about solving problems and really passionate about changing the human condition.

You know, I want to change lives and I want to save lives, and I think my technologies can do that.

GUPTA: Join us this Saturday, 2:30, "THE NEXT LIST."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Happening in just about an hour and a half from now, we will be hearing from the father of Hannah Anderson. He'll be speaking at 5:30, Eastern time, so, of course, stay with CNN for that.

But her rescue has the nation praising the Amber Alert system and those four horseback riders. You had two couples from Idaho. They're used to nature, used to the terrain, the backwoods of Idaho.

They picked up when they saw them on the trail just how unnatural, their word, "unnatural," a man and teenaged girl seemed when they came across the pair on this mountain trail.

And it was the chance meeting that led to Hannah Anderson's rescue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER WILLIS, KIDNAPPING VICTIM'S GREAT AUNT: Our baby girl. Oh, my God. I'm so glad she's safety.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Me, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: One of the riders said that the girl looked so unsettled that she nearly approached her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTA JOHN, HORSEBACK RIDER WHO SPOTTED KIDNAPPED GIRL: As we rode down into the lake and they followed us on foot and she was sitting there and I just felt like I should go over there and kind of just see if she need help.

And Mark says, you know, maybe he had a feeling being in law enforcement for all those years and in the military, he had a feeling I shouldn't maybe do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And the man, who allegedly kidnapped her, James DiMaggio, he was shot to death Saturday. The FBI says he fired at officers at least once.

San Diego County authorities say DiMaggio took Hannah on August 3rd after he murdered her brother and mother.

And CNN has now confirmed Hannah did not know she had lost her family members when she was out there with him in Idaho.

It is one of the most spectacular sights in the sky. A meteor shower reaches its peak tonight. We will tell you the best way to take this in. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: High above the Earth, a heavenly show, right now our planet is passing through the dust of the comet's trail. It is a meteor shower that happens about this time every year.

Chad Myers, I was just talking to some gals up working the 3:00, 4:00 a.m. shift, saying they saw it, loved it, beautiful.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Seventy-five per hour last night in the darkness, obviously, not right now.

But it's peaking at this hour somewhere on the other side of the globe where it's dark. About a two-week window where Perseids can come through.

Think about Pig Pen, you know, in "Peanuts," he would walk through and as he'd walk, he'd leave a cloud of dust.

This comet leaves a cloud of dust and we're about to fly through Pig Pen's dust. And these little specs, these little grains of sand are going to fly through our atmosphere, 133,000 miles per hour. That's moving along. That's clipping pretty good.

BALDWIN: So it looks like a shooting star, but it's not.

MYERS: It's a shooting star.

BALDWIN: It is a shooting star.

MYERS: It is a shooting star.

BALDWIN: OK.

MYERS: So they say, where to look? Look kind of to the east or to the northeast, and then low in the horizon around 10:00, 11:00, after sunset and then higher in the sky around midnight, almost directly above us about 3:00 in the morning.

Coming through one per hour, but there can be three per hour and then a three-minute lull. That one per hour is an average, right? There could be clusters of these coming through.

This could last for another week, too, but today should be the biggest night of the event, if you have clear skies.

BALDWIN: So I guess that was the answer to my question because if you're -- you know, depending if you're in like Seattle or Miami or New York, is a certain part of the country geographically a better to see it or it's just about the clear skies?

MYERS: The best part of the country to see a meteor shower is the country.

BALDWIN: The country? AKA anywhere?

MYERS: If you see -- if you're in a city like you live, you're not going to see too many.

You live in the country like I do, there's not as many city lights out there. I'm going to see more than the city.

So if you want to take a little drive out to the country, take a blanket, take a lawn chair and look to the northeast tonight.

BALDWIN: I love it. Meteor showers, tonight is the night.

Chad Myers, thank you very much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: Appreciate it.

And speaking of meteors, quickly here, how about a bolt? Check out Usain Bolt, win the 100-meter dash final, World Athletic Championships in Moscow, Bolt cruising to the win.

Watch it with me. Actually, this was a pretty wet track, we're told. You've seen this before, but quickly, you have to see the lightning bolt.

Guys, look at this. Lightning bolt, Usain Bolt, coinky-dink? Who knows?

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks so much for being with me. Jake Tapper takes it from here with "THE LEAD."