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Florida Woman Charged with Attempted Murder; Crisis in Ukraine

Aired March 07, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Someone dies of an accidental prescription drug overdose every 19 minutes. That is the state of affairs now.

We talk about introducing a cannabis medication to help alleviate suffering from things like pain, M.S., epilepsy. And there has been overdose deaths that are virtually unheard of in this case. You may have something that works and doesn't cause nearly as much harm as what is being caused now. I think it's something that people need to hear and need to consider.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Tune in. Tune in. Tune in. Guys, put the graphic back up so we can once again show the people. That is "Weed 2: Cannabis Madness" Tuesday night 10:00 Eastern here on CNN.

Thanks, Sanjay.

GUPTA: You got it. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Hour two. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me on this Friday. Want to begin with Ukraine, specifically the Crimean Peninsula, an area roughly the size of Hawaii.

Look at the map. It's small. It's currently overrun with Russian troops. And CNN has just learned the Ukraine Defense Ministry has said 30,000 of them are involved in the small peninsula, although the U.S. believes the number is slightly less.

When the Ukraine's government crumbled and all those Russian troops swooped in, the world was shocked. Some even said Russia's top brass were caught off guard by President Vladimir Putin's decision. But here's the but today, new intelligence from the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency suggests, not only was this planned out, but that the United States knew about the Kremlin's takeover plans up to 10 days before this happened.

And then there is this today. America's war plans and weapon capabilities may now be in the hands of Vladimir Putin, a man considered at least unpredictable. The question is, how might he have them? Answer, the world's most infamous leaker of course here, Edward Snowden.

Here is Lieutenant General Michael Flynn on NPR.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) QUESTION: Now, defense capabilities, are we talking about U.S. war plans? Are we talking about intelligence gathering methods? What exactly is it?

LT. GEN. MICHAEL FLYNN, DIRECTOR, DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY: I think it's sort of an all of the above. It's intelligence capabilities. It's operational. It's technology. It's weapons systems.

QUESTION: Do you think that Russia has access to the kind of materials that we are talking about?

FLYNN: To the information that he got?

QUESTION: Yes.

FLYNN: You have to assume that, if they don't have access, you have to assume that they are going to try to get access to it.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joining me now, our correspondent at the Pentagon Barbara Starr.

And, Barbara, the new intelligence out there now suggests the CIA had specifically warned policy-makers that the military was indeed coming. So, what did the U.S. do with that information and was it enough?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don't know that there was specific warning time, date, and place when Russian troops would suddenly move to take the Crimea.

What there was, Brooke, is a number of agencies that looked at the indicators that they saw, the beginning of troops moving around, the shifting of Russian assets, watching on both sides of the border what was happening. And they came up with a number of their predictions of what Putin might do.

And, as General Flynn said, as the days went on, the seven to 10 days before the Russians made their move, he said that the U.S. intelligence community, the agencies warned policy-makers that there was a great likelihood that something was imminent, but, look, all of this was based on what was in Vladimir Putin's mind, which nobody can read.

BALDWIN: No.

STARR: And the Russians are -- they were right there anyhow. They could move with literally zero warning time.

That was something that CNN reported last week. This was all very tricky business. And it depended when Putin wanted to make his move.

BALDWIN: And also too the priority, the notion of spying on Russia has been very low priority since the end of the Cold War some 23 years ago. But now that we have this latest power grab by Vladimir Putin and fears what Russia may have gleaned now from Edward Snowden, do you think this might change U.S. intelligence priorities, Barbara?

STARR: Well, I was fascinated to hear what General Flynn was saying. I have known him for many years through the wartime years in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

This is probably one of this country's preeminent military intelligence experts. He's a guy who worries about everything, as his job requires him to. When he says he is worried about it, he's worried about it.

(CROSSTALK)

STARR: He's going to assume that if Snowden hasn't given the Russians everything, that the Russians are going to try to get it out of him, whether Snowden realizes it or not, war plans, techniques that the U.S. uses on the battlefield.

One of the things that General Flynn said that I thought was so interesting, he is worried that the Russians have information about one of the U.S.' most sensitive technologies, how they deal with roadside bombs with IEDs. These are the secrets of technology, of military technology, the advantages that the U.S. wants to keep its hands on, the kind of things that they are so worried Edward Snowden has given away, Brooke.

BALDWIN: In a word, frightening. Barbara Starr, thank you very much.

Right now, the U.S. military is on the move. In fact, look at video here we will play for you. This is shot by CNN. This is a U.S. warship, the guided missile destroyer USS Truxtun crossing into the Black Sea very, very close to the Crimean Peninsula.

And as tensions in neighboring Ukraine continue to simmer, this ship is taking part in previously planned exercises with Romania and Bulgaria.

And CNN senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is in the Bosphorus Strait. This is part of the waterway that divides Europe and Asia -- Ivan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Navy destroyer Truxtun has just sailed past us at full speed here through's Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait.

The U.S. Navy says this was a previously scheduled trip into the Black Sea to conduct joint naval maneuvers with the countries of Bulgaria and Romania. But there is nothing normal about the situation right now in the Crimea Peninsula which sticks out into the Black Sea, where the Russian military has effectively occupied Ukrainian territory and blockaded Ukrainian naval vessels from being able to move out of their ports.

At this time, it's a very delicate time for negotiations between Washington and Moscow. And movements by the militaries are seen as important symbols, signs of support for allied countries in the region, particularly in the Baltics, in Eastern Europe, very concerned about Russian military maneuvers into the Ukraine.

Ivan Watson, CNN, reporting from the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: What a shot. Ivan Watson, thank you so much.

And let me tell you coming up in just about 20 minutes from now, we will talk to a columnist who says this is a new Cold War -- this is how she is phrasing it -- and how we can learn five main lessons from Putin's actions. We will talk to her just about 25 minutes from now here on CNN.

Back here at home, new attempted first-degree murder charges for the Florida mother who drove her van into the ocean with her three little children strapped inside.

Police charge Ebony Wilkerson just a short time ago. And this is the video, absolutely horrifying to watch of this incident that played out near Daytona Beach earlier this week. Wilkerson's kids were heard screaming and crying, waving for help.

A bystander says Wilkerson kept saying, "We are OK, we are OK, "and continued into the water. So, those bystanders stepped in. They rescued those kids. Wilkerson, by the way, underwent mental evaluation Tuesday.

And just a short time ago, a sheriff told reporters, people, mothers are not supposed to be trying to kill their children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN JOHNSON, VOLUSIA COUNTY SHERIFF: No. It really doesn't surprise me when somebody does something like this. It disappoints me. But to see what people will do in general in crimes, even do to their own children or other children, it's a very disappointing thing, because you are supposed to protect your children at all cost. You are not supposed to be trying to kill your children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Good for that sheriff for saying that.

We have also learned about another incident in Florida that this same woman was involved in. So, back in 2007, Wilkerson was found guilty and cited for an improper lane change, and the passenger in the car she hit ended up dying.

So, CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin joining me now, legal analyst and mother.

I know you are fuming when you read this charging document, and you read about what these kids had said after their interview, saying mom was trying to kill us. But it also sounds like these kids were really trying to stop their mother.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: They sure were. When you read it, it's just unbelievable. It really I think tears at your heartstrings.

The bottom line is one of the kids even tried to steer the car away from the water. I have to agree with the sheriff. As mothers, as human beings, we are supposed to care for those and protect those that are incapable of caring for themselves.

BALDWIN: Yes.

HOSTIN: I think the charge is certainly appropriate if indeed she did this in a premeditated fashion.

I will tell you what does give me some pause -- and I also want to mention these types of cases where mothers kill their children are so rare, which is why we are so outraged when we hear about them. Remember Susan Smith. Remember Andrea Yates. Those are cases that we covered, Brooke. And of course people are outraged.

But both of those cases -- at least the Andrea Yates case -- had the element of mental illness. We also know that this mother, her family members had called the police and said she was talking about demons. We also know there allegations that she was an abused mother and she was pregnant, is pregnant at this time when this happened.

And so I think we do have to perhaps take a moment and think about the fact that this may be someone suffering from mental illness.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I was curious. I was talking to Jane Velez-Mitchell about this last hour because I kept thinking, my goodness, if she was evaluated on Tuesday and what is today, Friday, in a couple of days, right, investigators -- and I'm sure they were doing their due diligence, but to determine that she did act with premeditated design is their phrase to kill those kids.

HOSTIN: Officers and law enforcement officers, I don't know are necessarily the best people to determine whether or not someone is in their right state of mind. I think that's something that you leave for medical professionals.

Again, these allegations that she was talking about demons happened before this incident, but on the same day. And so again I think we do have to observe judgment in a sense, because there is no question in my mind, Brooke, that we are going to hear an insanity defense coming.

And so I think the right thing to do is certainly to charge someone with this kind of behavior. My goodness, not only are you pregnant. You have got three kids in the car you are driving into the ocean.

BALDWIN: Absolutely.

HOSTIN: But there may certainly be a defense here. Our law just hasn't caught up with the mental health issues. We saw that in the Britney Spears case and we saw it in Andrea Yates and I think we may be seeing it again in this case.

BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin. And, by the way, congratulations because we we're all going to be watching you and your new show. It's called "MAKING THE CASE" with you and your pal, sort of.

HOSTIN: My pal, yes.

BALDWIN: Mark Geragos.

HOSTIN: Yes, Mark Geragos.

BALDWIN: It debuts Monday 10:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN. We will be tuning in. Sunny Hostin, thank you so much.

HOSTIN: Thank you. Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: You got it.

Coming up next, this community absolutely in shock after they learned this woman's body was found inside the garage and apparently she had been there for six years. And no one noticed. Her bills were paid through automatic bill pay. A neighbor cut the grass.

Coming up next, what eventually led to the gruesome discovery and what the heck the neighbors are saying today.

Plus, it's a stunning crash caught on video, and, amazingly, no one was hurt. We will show the moment of impact next.

You are watching CNN.

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(NEWS BREAK)

BALDWIN: And in a quiet Michigan neighbor, a woman's mummified body sat in the back seat of her car years after she died. Authorities believe the woman died at least six years ago, her body sitting in the car parked in the garage of her home. In fact, we are told the key was halfway in the ignition.

Correspondent Alexandra Field watching this for us today.

I mean, the obvious question, how the heck did no one notice? Six years?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Frankly, Brooke, it's hard to believe that no one noticed, because back in 2007, a neighbor actually called police after not seeing Pia Farrenkopf for a while. And the officers did a welfare check, but according to the Oakland County undersheriff, they found nothing wrong at the time.

It turns out now that a neighbor had been cutting her grass all those years, and that her bills were being paid through an auto-pay account. When that account finally ran dry, some $54,000 later, the house went into foreclosure. This week, the bank sent a contractor to the house and that's when Farrenkopf's mummified body was finally discovered inside her garage. Neighbors say it's possible no one had noticed she had been missing all those years because she had often traveled, taking frequent trips to Germany.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLYN TALBOT, NEIGHBOR: She was probably there for a couple days. Then she would leave for a week. Then she would come back. Then she would leave for a month. Then she would come back. And she didn't really talk to anyone. I'm sure she was a nice lady, but she just really kept to herself. We never really heard anything from her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody came over there to check on the lady? It is weird. It's actually scary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: A lot of people in that community now just frankly stunned that they had no idea who was inside that house all those year.

And, Brooke, Farrenkopf would have now been 49 years old.

BALDWIN: Do we know six years later how she died?

FIELD: Still a mystery at this point. The medical examiner says it will take a couple of weeks to have a conclusive cause of death. That's because they are waiting for the toxicology reports and no sign of any trauma we're told at this time, but certainly a mystery as to the cause of death and the mystery that this could have gone on just for so long, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Check on your neighbors, folks.

Alexandra Field, thank you so much for that.

And now this. Three murders, 11 years, one suspect. Police now say bullets used in a murder last month do indeed match two other unsolved cases in the same area. Officers telling people to be on guard as fears of a serial killer rise.

Is there a pattern? What can we learn from the location of the murders and the victims? We will talk live to a criminologist next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Right now, a possible serial killer may be at large in the metro Washington, D.C., area.

Take a good long look at this possible suspect, the sketch here. Police in Alexandria, Virginia, say three killings may be connected. Let me show you this. The woman in this photo here on the left, she is a beloved music teacher shot and killed last month in broad daylight at her home. And the Alexandria police chief told "The Washington Post" that the teacher's murder may be linked to the November killing of a city transportation planner and the 2003 murder of a popular real estate agent.

All three killings happened right around noon, broad daylight in homes less than two miles from one another. And the markings on the bullet fragments, we're told, may be the link.

Let's begin there with criminologist Casey Jordan, who joins me now from New York.

Casey, I want to get to the timeline in just a minute, but when you talk about the forensic research on the bullets, tell me what investigators are looking at and how they may be linking all of these.

CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST: Well, they are matching the lands and grooves from these bullet fragments.

And the problem is, the more fragmented the bullet is, especially if it struck bone or a hard surface, the harder it's going to be to match. They are not saying whether they got bullet casings. But they are confident enough. They know the bullets all came from the same type of gun and they believe they are so alike that they are going to treat these three homicides as linked.

They have enough confidence to believe that the homicide of the sheriff's wife from 10 years ago is linked to these two homicides that we have had in the last four months.

BALDWIN: The fact though that it was 10 years ago, isn't that odd? Isn't that not normally the M.O. of a serial killer to take such a long break in between killings, if this is a serial killer?

JORDAN: If indeed this is the work of the same person, it's extremely unusual that you see a 10-year gap between killings.

We see it occasionally. BTK took some time off. We have seen serial killers take maybe a year off, maybe -- but 10 years, there is probably an explanation for that if indeed it's the same man. And it could very likely be that he was in prison at the time for a decade, a mental institution or maybe he was traveling around.

If he is transient or homeless, he could be in other locations over the past decade and perhaps even responsible for other homicides that we haven't linked him to yet.

BALDWIN: But so if he was gone for these 10 years, wherever this individual may have been, and given the ballistics findings that this could all be linked to the same gun, he must have held on to that gun somehow or another, right?

JORDAN: Right.

And that is what is really baffling here, because usually somebody who was that organized to hang on to the same gun won't be disorganized enough to shoot someone in front of witnesses. As we know, the murder of the music teacher one month ago happened in front of a home health care giver who was able to describe him enough to get that sketch together. And we have no vehicle. Apparently, these houses are right on residential streets. You have got sidewalks. It would look like this killer walked up to the door, rang the doorbell, and literally walked off the sidewalk and then kept walking down the sidewalk. No vehicle has been identified.

So, this really is a very unusual thing to have something that looks like literally ring the doorbell, shoot the person who answers, no sign whatsoever of any forced entry, all of them killed in broad daylight.

BALDWIN: Broad daylight.

JORDAN: This is very -- this is unusual. We don't see cases like this that don't seem to be motivated by burglary or a personal vendetta. All the victims appear to be random, and that what is has the police so concerned in this particular case.

BALDWIN: Totally odd. Casey Jordan, we will stay on it. Thank you so much.

JORDAN: Great to be here.

BALDWIN: And just a reminder to all of you. Please take a look at our new CNN series. It's called "DEATH ROW STORIES." It premieres Sunday night at 9:00 Eastern.

Coming up, this is something that has a lot of you talking, this freshman student at Duke University admitting to being a porn star to pay for that Duke tuition. So, now she has gone public. CNN talked to her. She showed her face. What does she look like? How is she now responding to those critics? And how much money does she really make? We have all those answers for you. We're going to have a chat about that.

Plus, is Russia's movement of troops into Crimea reminiscent of the Cold War? Our next guest says this is the beginning of a new Cold War. And she believes there are several lessons we can already learn. That's next.

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