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Toddler Left in Hot Car; Missing 12-Year-Old Found in Parents' Basement; Interview with Joan Lunden; Plastic Surgery Gone Wrong

Aired June 28, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Randi Kaye, in for Don Lemon.

We begin with some breaking news. Breaking news here on CNN is the man accused of directing the deadly attack that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, has been formally charged and he has entered a plea. Ahmed Abu Khatalla has only been on U.S. soil for a few hours. His first stop in America, a federal courthouse near the U.S. capitol in Washington, D.C.

That is where our justice reporter, Evan Perez, is right now.

Evan, so you were inside that courtroom. Tell us what happened in there.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, it was a very surreal moment. Obviously, we've heard a lot about Ahmed Abu Khatalla in the last couple of years since the attack in Benghazi. And of course, we have known that the government was after him ever since last year when they indicted him.

Today, he walked in very slowly, very subdued. He had a very long beard and a very long hair that appeared matted in some parts. He was wearing a two-piece track suit type of outfit and sandals. He did not have handcuffs or any kind of shackles around his legs. He was very subdued and spoke very quietly in Arabic, with a translator who is relaying the information that the judge was reading to him.

Now, the judge read him the charged which shows, material support of a terrorist operation or terrorist attack. And this is just one count. We previously knew that the government had charged him with a criminal complaint with three counts. So it appears that the government is trying a bit of strategy here. In this way, they don't have to reveal all the information they have in the investigation that they have against Abu Khattala until a later day. We expect that that indictment will come later on with additional charges which could bring the death penalty here in D.C.

KAYE: And Evan, did he have any type of representation in court?

PEREZ: He did. He was assigned a public defender, who simply entered his not guilty plea when asked. He did apparently ask for counsel or representation. The Libyan embassy here in Washington will provide him a representative who will help take care of his rights to make sure that all of his rights are taken care of. In addition to the public defender that was assigned to him today, he also has a representative from the Libyan government who will be able to assist him with any issues he may have, Randi.

KAYE: You know, we see terror suspects come to the New York courthouse. Is it unique that he was brought to Washington, D.C.?

PEREZ: Well, it's not unique, but it's unusual. I mean most of these cases tend to got to New York, which has a great deal more experience here in Washington at the U.S. attorney's office. They do have a lot of national security experiences with cases dealing with spies, for instance, they have done some terror cases. This is by far the most high profile case of this type, that they're going to have - there was some criticism that we've seen in recent weeks of this, the U.S. government, the Justice Department says there's plenty of experience here. They also believe they have sufficient evidence to prove these charges that they have against Abu Khatallah. Randi.

KAYE: Evan Perez, thank you for your reporting there.

Now, to two horrifying stories about children unfolding at this hour. They raise very difficult questions about parenting and human nature. We begin in Georgia, with this man, Justin Ross Harris, charged with murder and second degree child cruelty, after leaving his son in a scorching car. Hours ago Harris made a jail house call to his son's funeral and mourned his son on speaker phone.

His wife defended her husband saying that he's a wonderful father. Police believed that this man intentionally left his 22-month-old boy in the sweltering car for seven hours. According to police, the father acknowledge doing research on child death in hot cars and says it was because he was actually fearful of those types of incidents.

Meanwhile, in Detroit, the other story, police found a missing 12- year-old boy in his parents' basement, and just hours ago, new allegations of physical abuse emerged. Earlier this week, HLN's Nancy Grace told the father on live television that his son was alive. Grace had one big question for the dad. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: Sir, did you check your basement?

CHARLIE BOTHUELL, MISSING SON FOUND ALIVE IN FAMILY BASEMENT: I checked my basement, the FBI checked my basement, the Detroit police checked my basement, my wife checked my basement, I've been down there several times. We've all been checking, how -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Court documents released today unveiled accusations of physical abuse. The document suggests the boy's father allegedly hit him with a pipe.

We're updating you now on both cases, with new details from our correspondent, national reporter Nick Valencia, he's covering Cooper Harris' funeral in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. And correspondent Alexandra Field has the latest on the Detroit police investigation on the missing boy found in his basement.

All right. Nick to you first, how did mourners react when Justin Ross Harris called in to his son's funeral from jail?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm not sure anyone was expecting him to call in, Randi. We weren't surely expecting him to call in. But when he spoke to the crowd, you could hear over the speaker phone his loud sobs as family members and friends stood up in front of a crowd of about 400 people there that turned out to pay their respects to 22-month-old Cooper Harris.

Some say it was a bizarre funeral service. Certainly not ordinary. It was clear to us, as we were in there, and other members of the media, that those that were speaking in front of us, in front of that crowd in the church behind me, they were speaking beyond those in attendance, they were aware of the media presence. They were aware of this attention and the negative tension that Justin Ross Harris has received in the media, and the accusations of murder that police have made against the 33-year-old.

He called in, it was sort of a surprise, a lot of tears, lots of crying, Leanna Harris addressed the crowd and she stood up there and started by saying, "I know some of you may wonder how I'm able to stand in front of you without crying, without completely crumbling." And she says as a God centered person she's able to draw strength from Jesus Christ, a lot of people that we spoke to here in this community say this is a family with strong moral fiber, Randi and that this is completely out of character for the man that they knew as a very charming, very likeable man. They just don't see how this all adds up.

At one point the crowd in that church gave Ross Harris a standing ovation, when Leanna defended him, saying she's absolutely not angry with her husband, she believes the truth she says will come out, and that there's a purpose to all of this. Randi?

KAYE: And Nick, let's talk about some of the evidence also coming out today, police released a report detailing how Harris told them that he researched hot car deaths on his computer, what do we know about that? What were the details of that?

VALENCIA: Well, we know that he told police he had researched child deaths in cars, because he said he was fearful that it one day would happen to him. Now, his friends I'm sure would like to believe this is sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy and fatal accident, police maintain otherwise, they say this is perhaps evidence of his intent to leave his child in that blistering Atlanta summer son for more than seven hours.

Also listed in those search warrants that we obtained earlier this morning was a time line that said Ross Harris left his child in the car at about 9:30 in the morning, only to find his child at about 4:20 in the afternoon, as he was on his way to visit with friends. What we still don't know is how or why Justin Ross Harris went to his car in the middle of the afternoon, and how he could have missed his 22- month-old son in the back of the car. Those are questions that not only people have at home, but his family friends here as well.

They do however though, they maintain Randi that a man that they knew, this god-centered man, they keep reemphasizing that, he wouldn't have done anything like this. Randi.

KAYE: Well, police certainly want to get to the bottom of it and find out. Nick, thank you. Let me turn to Alexandra Steele here. So we're talking about the Detroit case with you and the boy who was found in the basement after he'd been missing for days. Tell us about the new allegations that we're just getting today of physical abuse.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT; Sure, well, Randi, we're looking at these court documents. And basically they tell us that Charlie was checked out in a children's hospital. Doctors found that he had a half circular scar on his chest, and that Charlie told doctors he got that after his father hit him in the chest with a PVC pipe. The documents go on to tell us, that Charlie is saying that he was placed in the basement by his stepmother, that he was barricaded there and that he was told to stay there no matter what.

He says that he was sneaking out when people left the house in order to get food. But Randi, the context of these documents is really important. Here's what we need to point out. Charlie's father and his stepmother have not been criminally charged with anything. These documents are a child protective services petition. They were used in family court during proceedings in which Child Protective Services was working to have Charlie's two half siblings removed from the home. So these are documents from that family court hearing. They do give us insight though into what this 12-year-old boy is saying about this time he spent missing, 11 days, in what few are really scratching their heads and wondering what happened to him.

KAYE: And I mean, I'm quite surprised actually that he's even talking and giving such detail. In a case like this, if this was going on, you might think he would be afraid to do so. But what are the boy's parents saying. What's their reaction to all of this?

FIELD: At this point his father is saying that he has a lot he'd like to say, but he's leaving it at no comment. You know, I tried to speak with him at length yesterday over and over again, he's saying on the advice of his attorney no, comment. His mother was actually being held in custody on an unrelated charge, a violation of probation. She was just released today on bond.

They do have an attorney who is representing them. The attorney is saying unequivocally, that they have done nothing wrong. He goes as far to say that these are very loving, very caring people, parents. As for the petition itself, he points out that a Child Protective Services case, has a much lower standard of proof than a criminal case. He says that this is a bare bones petition. He says he hasn't seen any supporting documents, photographs, written statements, testimonies, those kind of things, things you might see in a criminal case.

He's really rejecting this, saying of course these allegations, these are serious things. But he's defending both of the parents. KAYE: All right. Alexandra Field, thank you very much for the update on that Detroit case. Nick Valencia, thank you.

All right. We're going very far from either these stories, HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell along with attorney Paul Callan standing by to weigh- in. Much more right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Before the break, we were discussing the case of a Georgia toddler who died after being left in a sweltering car for hours. And today powerful emotions at that boy's funeral. His father calling in from jail sobbing over the speaker phone, and his mom making it clear that she thinks her husband is innocent and a good father.

Joining me now to discuss, HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell and attorney Paul Callan. Good to see you both. Jane, let me start with you on this one. What do you make of that call from jail to his son's funeral and what the wife had to say as well? What his wife had to say?

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST: Well, frankly, I was shocked. I was really shocked that he managed to call in from jail, where he's being held without bond and speak to the entire assembly on a speaker phone, and to me, it reflects on his character, perhaps his narcissism, his grandiosity. I mean, either way, whether you believe he did this as a terrible accidental or he did this intentionally, he is responsible for this child's death.

So to make the service all about him, I think, is extraordinary in a bad way. And then as for his wife, the mother of this deceased child, we have to have tremendous compassion for her. I mean she just lost her child, the worst thing imaginable. And on a psychological level, she may not want to lose her child and her husband. And you know, if you look at the five stages of grief outlined by Elisabeth Kubler- Ross, the first is denial.

And it's very interesting that she says, "I have no anger toward my husband," and indeed talked about the possibility of having more children with him. The second stage is anger. She may not have even reached the second stage of grief yet. It is all very fresh. But it is shocking, and I have to say one more thing, cops certainly don't feel this was a case of simple negligence. And they've said things like what we know about this case shocks our conscience. Well, the wife way not know what the authorities know. She may be operating with limited information about what her husband did.

KAYE: Right, right, and Paul, friends and family, we heard, you know, they were standing up and reacting to the wife's comments and also, they got up when the father had called in as well. I mean, does this type of support and emotional support coming from family and friends, could that help his case?

PAUL CALLAN, ATTORNEY: No, I don't think it will. This is such a horrific crime, that if there's evidence that he did this deliberately, the support of family and friends is not going to help. You know, there's a petition that was being circulated by moveon.org. I can't remember which organization was, which is withdrawn when some of the facts started to come out, and the police are adamant in saying, "this is not an accident, this is not a case of simple negligence," we'll have to see how that develops.

KAYE: Are you surprised he would call in?

CALLAN: I'm stunned that he would call in. Because - and I think Jane hits it right on the head. This is not a guy who's innocent and has nothing to do with the crime. He left his son in the back of that car and he literally was tortured to death. And for him now, to try to make himself the victim is absurd. I'm shocked that he would have the nerve to do it.

KAYE: And Jane, let me ask you about what we learned earlier, that Harris had actually researched how long it takes a child to die in a hot car. He's saying, in his defense, that he was just making sure that it didn't happen to his son, that he was worried about it possibly happening. Does that strike you as good parenting? Does that sound like an excuse or what?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: To me it sounds like, if the cops are right, and he did this intentionally, he knew what he was doing, that he's trying to cover his tracks. And he may realize, "oops, I did internet searches, let me be proactive and get ahead of the curve and admit to those internet searches and offer an explanation." But I think it's even more incriminating, because it makes his behavior even more incomprehensible. If indeed he had recently did research what temperatures it has to reach for a child to die inside a hot car, it would be even less inclination to leave his child in a hot car.

KAYE: He would be more aware, in other words.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: He would be more aware of the issue. So it's fascinating, these twin developments happening on the same day, around the same time. It's really bizarre.

KAYE: It certainly is. All right, Jane, Paul, stick around, because we have much more to discuss with you, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: A father goes on live TV to talk about his missing 12-year-old son. Hours before, police said the boy might be dead. Then he learned from HLN's Nancy Grace, that police just found his son alive in the family's basement. Here is the father's reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Charlie, we're getting reports that your son has been found in your basement. Sir? Are you -

BOTHUELL: What?

GRACE: Yes, we are getting reports that your son has been found alive in your basement.

BOTHUELL: What?

GRACE: Yes, that's what - if you could hand me that wire very quickly. Yes, we're getting that right now, from - how could your son be alive in your basement?

BOTHUELL: I have no idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Well, now, as you can imagine, there are a whole lot of questions. New court documents released today unveiled accusations of physical abuse, alleging the father hit the boy with a pipe.

Joining me to discuss the case CNN legal analyst Paul Callan and HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell. Jane, you saw that reaction there with Nancy Grace, do you believe the father's reaction on TV? I mean he did appear distraught?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, he appeared distraught and I have to say what's contained in these new court documents is absolutely shocking. Essentially this boy is saying, "Hey, my step mom is the one who put me in the basement and told me not to come out no matter what I hear, and also did not leave me with any food." And allegedly the child says that he snuck upstairs when everybody was out of the house and got food and went back down.

The big question, did the father know about this? Now the step mom refused to take a polygraph. Now we know why. The father's polygraph was reportedly inconclusive. So I think the big question is, what did he know? How much did he know? But undeniably, if these allegations are true, that are contained in these new court documents, you're going to see more charges coming down, because what the authorities say is when they got this little boy, this 12-year-old child to the hospital, they examined him, he had a big scar that he said was from his dad hitting him with a PVC pipe, and he also had scars on his buttocks and he said the same thing "Dad hit me on the buttock with a PVC pipe." There was a PVC pipe found in the house. Now, if that's true, I think more charges, more will be revealed. This is just the beginning of this case.

KAYE: So the reaction though, on television, Paul, is he heard that his son was alive. I mean could something be like that be used in court if it went that far?

CALLAN: Oh, absolutely, we do this all the time when we're trying cases. We say the defendant didn't react appropriately. Now, I've seen that - the first time I saw that footage, I didn't think that much about it, now, having seen it so many times now, it looks like total fakery, he's going - hitting the chest, and then you got the big breath, and it doesn't ring true.

Now admittedly, human beings react in different ways to surprise information. But if that were offered in court, I don't think it would help him very much. Well, they would have to edit out Nancy Grace's reaction, by the way, because that would be hearsay.

KAYE: You think?

CALLAN: I'm afraid so, yes.

KAYE: Jane, what about the stepmother though. I mean, now, you know, this boy is talking and he's saying that she's the one who put him down there in the basement and told him not to say anything and not come out no matter what he hears. I mean that could be pretty damaging to her? Correct?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely, it's damaging. There are so many unanswered questions here. Authorities searched that basement several times. Where was this child, how was he removed from that area during the searches, but then ends up back there. Was she in collusion with him removing the child, and where did she take him during those times.

We know she has a relative who lives down, a couple of doors down, as part of this connected townhouse and there's a tunnel at the back of this basement. So were they using that tunnel to shuttle the boy back and forth in between the visits from authorities. It's really extraordinary, and this all boils down. The portrait that's emerging is of extreme discipline that cross the line allegedly into child abuse.

We already know that the dad was forcing his kid, this 12-year-old boy to march repeatedly thousands of steps on an elliptical. And when he disappeared he said he had to take a bathroom break. And that allegedly the stepmother texted the dad "hey he's not doing his chores," and that's when he disappeared. This is a case of a parent who really should have been exercising themselves, forcing this kid into a physical regiment that would tire the most fit adult.

KAYE: And Paul, I mean what about the fact that Detroit police have come in, they removed the two other children from the father's home that he had with the stepmother. I mean but we haven't seen any charges yet of anything. Is that the first step in a process like this?

CALLAN: It is the first step. But when you think about it, it's kind of difficult to put the case together, because if it's the stepmother who had him locked in the basement, how do you link the father? I mean, you would think he was in the house, he must know what's going on. But you actually need a witness to link him so the statement of the child as to the father's complicity would be very important.

KAYE: Right.

CALLAN: And we don't know and we're not seeing a lot of detail about what the kid says his father did.

KAYE: It's almost like two cases, one could be the abuse if that is true, that he said that he suffered at the hands of his father and the other one, his step mother is saying, you know, we're going to send you to the basement.

CALLAN: Well, and discipline also. You know, people discipline children in different ways. And I haven't looked at the law in Michigan.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But never with a PVC pipe.

CALLAN: You know -

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That if it's true is abuse plain and simple.

CALLAN: Yes, it is.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: There is no excuse for that.

CALLAN: Well, I agree with you, Jane, it would be. I don't know what the laws are on corporal punishment in Michigan. It's different from state to state. You're allowed to do corporal punishment in some states. So you have to look at that to see -

KAYE: You certainly do. All right. Paul Callan, Jane Velez-Mitchell, thank you both. Great discussion, appreciate it.

CALLAN: OK.

KAYE: We can't end our show on such a down note, right? So coming up next, stories that prove there are still a lot of people out there who do a real lot of good. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Now to uplifting stories of people making their mark to help others. We begin with a soldier who got a first class flight to L.A. compliments of actor Amy Adams. Adams was flying home from Detroit when witnesses say she approached the desk and asked to give the soldier her seat. She later met with the soldier in private. Adams tried to keep things quiet but her new seat mate in coach asked for this selfie. Adams' father served in the military. The actress told the reporter, she did it to bring attention to the troops.

And now, in Florida, 87-year-old Betty Wagner hospitalized with Alzheimer's had been wearing her diamond ring for 67 years, but a few days ago, someone snatched it from her finger. Can you believe that?

Police officer Lori Graber went to the hospital to file a theft report and saw the loving gazes between Betty and her husband. She bought a new ring for Betty and left it at the hospital with a note that read, "A promise kept for 67 years is worth something." How sweet is that?

CNN NEWSROOM continues at the hour. I'll be back then. Right now, keep it here for "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D."