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Investigation of Justin Ross Perris; American Teenager Beaten up in Jerusalem Stays under House Arrest; Donald Sterling Fighting His Estranged Wife Shelly's Decision to Sell L.A. Clippers; Children of Perpetrators and Victims Living Together in Iraq Orphanage

Aired July 07, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf Blitzer, thank you as always.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Great to be with you. As we begin our work week, and we have to begin with the story that everyone continues to talk about here. Today is the electronic and paper trail left behind by this Georgia father, Justin Ross Harris. You know the story. He is the father accused of purposefully leaving his toddler to die in a hot car. The court just released a batch of new search warrants in this investigation, and they reveal just how deeply police are digging into Harris' personal and financial life to find out why he may have intended to kill his 22-month-old son Cooper.

Now, these warrants targeted his cell phone, some computer drives, an SD card, a DVD, his medical records, his son's medical records and their condo in an Atlanta suburb. So, let's bring in CNN's Nick Valencia and criminal defense attorney Holly Hughes to have the sort of a bigger, overarching conversation on where we stand today. But first, Nick Valencia, to you. We learned through the probable cause bond hearing last week that during that lunch time, the day that little Cooper died, that we know that the father went back to the car to place light bulbs he had got on a lunch trip to Home Depot.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we know that he failed to tell investigators ...

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, he did.

VALENCIA: That he went back to that car. And we only found out after investigators saw surveillance video of him returning to that car to drop off light bulbs. Now in these new search warrants, we learn, Brooke that they're going back to check inside the house to see if there is any light bulbs missing, to see if his trip to the store was justified. If it was warranted purchase. We also learn during that probable cause and bond hearing that it came up, as well. Take a listen to this sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MADDOX KILGORE, FATHER'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You sent three detectives in there, and in fact, they reported back to you that sure enough, there were three light bulbs out in Leeann's vanity, right?

DET. PHIL STODDARD, COBB COUNTY, GEORGIA POLICE: That's correct.

KILGORE: And these weren't just regular light bulbs. These were these round globe vanity type bulbs, correct?

STODDARD: Yes, sir.

KILGORE: And that's exactly the kind of light bulbs that was sitting in the front seat of Ross's car, right?

STODDARD: They are very similar.

KILGORE: Just where you tossed them.

STODDARD: Yes, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK. So that's where -- so they fit the light bulbs there, there was a need.

VALENCIA: There was a need for that.

BALDWIN: For these light bulbs, Holly Hughes. But more significantly, perhaps in the end, the fact that he didn't - he was not open with investigators in saying that he went to his car in the middle of the day. Instead, they ultimately found out because of the surveillance cameras.

HUGHES: Exactly. And this is one of those situations where both sides are going to take the same piece of evidence and try and spin it to their advantage.

BALDWIN: How so?

HUGHES: The state is going to say -- the prosecutor is going to get up and say, "You know what, he lied to investigators, he omitted that fact because they would have said to him, why did you not get help for your son then? How could you possibly lean into the car, far enough to put the light bulbs in and not see?" Remember, the lead detective told us that baby's head was above the car seat.

BALDWIN: Not see, not smell.

HUGHES: Right. And not smell. We also heard testimony that - that baby probably would have been dead within about two hours. And that means, not to be too graphic, his bowels would have released. The decomp process would have started. When you open that car door in 93- degree weather, we know the smell would hit him in the face.

BALDWIN: What will the defense say?

HUGHES: The defense is going to try and spin it and say, obviously he would never have taken his friends to that car. His friends drove him to his car to put the light bulbs in, if he was trying to purposefully kill his son. He didn't lean in, he just tossed them in, he didn't put his head in the car, he didn't get a good - and he slammed the door. Why in the world would he take his two friends right behind that vehicle, they pulled up in that row, if that's a rear-facing car seat? Every chance in the world that those guys could have looked into the back of the van, the back of that SUV, and seen that baby?

BALDWIN: OK.

HUGHES: That's how they are going to ...

BALDWIN: So, that's one part of it. The other part, as we're mentioning, it's medical records, not only for this father, but for this toddler. What are they looking for?

VALENCIA: It is a variety of things. They are looking for electronics, the hard drive, the SD card, the DVD-R, but they are also looking at medical records. They are looking if seeing if there is any developmental problems with baby Cooper. And also looking at Justin Ross' medical records. We heard in that probable cause and bond hearing that he's deaf in his right ear. That we did not know until we heard that in testimony there, during that probable cause and bond hearing. So, they are looking into both father and son.

BALDWIN: And finally, I mean, everyone is talking about this wife here.

VALENCIA: Leanna Harris.

BALDWIN: She has been talking to investigators, they have said, hey, don't talk to members of the media. She hasn't thus far.

HUGHES: Right.

BALDWIN: But there are questions.

HUGHES: There are huge questions. And, you know, what we've been hearing from a lot of our psychiatrists and psychologists, these people grieve differently. That's not what these investigators are focusing on, Brooke. They don't really care that, OK, maybe she didn't cry at the appropriate time. It is not her actions as much as her words.

BALDWIN: Yes.

HUGHES: -- that are really raising suspicion here. When she gets a text, and we heard the lead detective testify that at 3:16, Justin Ross Harris texted her and said, "When are you going to pick up my buddy?" So when she gets to the daycare and they say to her he's not here, she doesn't immediately go, well, he just texted me half an hour ago and said, when do you pick him up? He's got to be here.

BALDWIN: She says that --

HUGHES: She immediately goes, my husband must have left him in the car. And when they try and comfort her and go no, no, no, there's a million reasons, you know, maybe something else happened. She just very calmly says no, my husband left him in the car. When they're in that interrogation room, and he says to her, well, he looked peaceful, I dreaded how he would look.

VALENCIA: Past tense.

HUGHES: She doesn't say to him, what do you mean you dreaded? Are you kidding me? Did you think about this, did you plan it?

BALDWIN: Still a lot of questions.

HUGHES: It doesn't happen.

VALENCIA: Her behavior.

BALDWIN: Much is being made.

VALENCIA: The fact is, though, that she is not listed officially as a suspect.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

VALENCIA: She's not officially been charged. I just got off the phone with the Cobb County magistrate asking if there was anything that we can glean. Search warrants? Arrest warrants? Anything at all?

BALDWIN: What did they say?

VALENCIA: There's nothing on Leann Harris right now.

BALDWIN: Not yet, guys.

VALENCIA: She is part of the investigation, she's not under investigation.

BALDWIN: OK, keep that in mind. But -- right?

HUGHES: Absolutely. And he's innocent until proven guilty. Let's remember that, OK? But when Judge Cox closed out that hearing, he said this could be a death penalty case. If, in fact, this is going to be a death penalty case that is something they can use to turn him. They can say, hey, we will take death penalty off the table if you give us testimony and information that she was involved.

BALDWIN: A lot can happen in a week. It's just Monday afternoon. Nick Valencia and Holly Hughes, thank you both so much. Keep a close eye on this story out of Cobb County, Georgia.

Now to this. An American teenager from Tampa, Florida, his cousin just last week was burned alive in Jerusalem. Has been thrust even deeper into the trouble sweeping the Holy Land. These are photos of Tariq Khdair before and after his brutal beating by Israeli security forces. It was videotaped as it happened last Thursday as protests erupted over Tariq's cousin's murder. One uniformed man appeared to hold Tariq down here as another beat him right before they dragged him off. Tariq was held by the Israelis and was released just yesterday. He is being held under house arrest for allegedly attacking Israeli troops. CNN's senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman, is with us live now from Jerusalem. And Ben, what is the boy saying, Tariq Khdair, from Tampa, Florida.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But we get to that, Brooke, we do have some breaking news. Within the last hour, according to Hamas, they have fired more than 60 rockets from Gaza into Israel. From the Israeli army military spokesman we are hearing about dozens of rockets landing in southern Israel. We have word of one injury by shrapnel in the city of Ashdod, which is not far from Gaza. We are seeing rockets which have a range of about 25 miles, 40 kilometers, being fired. This is the first time in this latest outbreak of tensions where Hamas claims responsibility for these rocket barrages. So increased tensions and obvious escalation here after overnight Israeli air strikes killed eight Palestinians in various parts of the Gaza Strip.

Now to get back to Tariq Abu Khdair, that Tampa, Florida, 15-year old sophomore, who was beaten up by Israeli police, he is currently on house arrest. His family had to pay 3,000 shekel or about $900 bond. Now he told us that he remembers being beaten and then waking up in a hospital afterwards. Now, his parents insisted that he took part in the protests that occurred in the last few days in East Jerusalem, but did not throw stones. His parents say that they're going to take legal action against the Israeli police for so brutally beating their son. We understand that his family will be returning to the United States at the middle of the month, if he is not charged first by Israeli police. Brooke?

BALDWIN: Ben Wedeman, thank you so much. Just after 9:00 at night in Jerusalem with more of the back and forth and back and forth.

Also happening now, the stakes just got a lot higher in this saga of Donald and Shelly Sterling. They are battling it out in court right now. So the question is, can Sterling's estranged wife Shelly legally sell this team? Sell the Clippers? The judge could rule any minute. We're watching that for you.

And CNN goes inside an orphanage for an exclusive look at the youngest victims of Iraq's violence. Inside are the children of those killed living alongside those accused of the killing. Do not miss this report.

And Google Glass. Yeah, so it could be the device of the future. But the reports say hackers can use them to steal your passwords. How? Stay right there. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Can she sell, can she not sell? Los Angeles Clippers owner, Shelly Sterling and her estranged billionaire husband, Donald Sterling, are in probate court right now. Now, Shelly Sterling arrived at L.A. Superior Court this morning, surrounded by her attorneys. Here she was. She and her husband are battling it out over who has the right to sell the NBA franchise. Shelly Sterling has virtually inked this $2 billion deal to sell the Clippers to former's Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, but Donald Sterling, who, by the way, is not actually in this court today, is making a full-court press to stop the sale, claiming she never had the authority to sell the team in the first place. And now he is trying to get this case delayed, and moved to federal court. He says his rights were violated when his medical evaluations became public. Shelly Sterling's attorney calls that tactic a sham. But Donald Sterling's camp maintains this isn't a joke.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERT FIELDS, SHELLY STERLING'S ATTORNEY: There is no federal question, this is not a federal issue. It's just an absolute sham to avoid starting the trial. He hopes to get delay so that ultimately this judge won't have time to hear it in the next few days. He hopes somehow he'll get behind the NBA and somehow he'll deprive his family of this 2 billion bucks, which is what he wants to do. Why? Because of his ego.

MATT BLACKER, DONALD STERLING'S ATTORNEY: The truth of the matter, there's some serious issues about the disclosure of confidential medical information that nobody here has seemed to take an interest in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: As I mentioned, that hearing is under way as I speak. CNN's Sara Sidner has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald and Shelly Sterling are going one-on-one with $2 billion and an NBA team hanging in the balance. The fight is over whether she had the sole legal right to sell the L.A. Clippers. And it's gotten nasty. Especially after two doctors hired by his wife determined Donald was mentally unfit to run the trust that owns the Clippers. According to court documents filed by Shelly's attorneys, Donald lashed out against those doctors on voice mail.

DONALD STERLING: I'm not incompetent. You're [EXPLETIVE DELETED] incompetent, you stupid [EXPLETIVE DELETED] doctor.

SIDNER: Crucial to the case, this letter from Donald Sterling dated May 22nd. His wife Shelly claims it gives her the power to sell the team.

BOBBY SAMINI, DONALD STERLING'S LAWYER: In the May 22 letter, all it indicates is that Shelly has the right to discuss aspects of the sale with the NBA. It never references a third party buyer.

SIDNER: Three weeks later, on June 9th, Sterling changed his mind. That same day, Shelly and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, signed a binding, multibillion dollar contract, selling the L.A. Clippers. Shelly contends, she had every right to. Her attorneys entered this evidence into court. She says it shows Donald could no longer control the trust. Now, two board certified doctors actually examined Donald and they both determined he had the early stages of Alzheimer's and was mentally incapacitated. In the Sterling family trust it states that is enough to remove him as a trustee.

Donald's attorneys contend, he was tricked.

SAMINI: We are going to argue that their examinations were not complete. That there was fraud in the examinations.

PIERCE O'DONNELL, SHELLY STERLING'S LAWYER: He issued public statements saying, "Way to go, Shelly, great deal." And then he changes his mind. You can't do that.

SIDNER: For months, the case has played out in the court of public opinion, but the ultimate decision will be made by a judge. Sara Sidner, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Now, Donald Sterling's attorney also said this morning that the 80-year-old is, quote, emotionally attached to his team, the Clippers and he doesn't want to let it go, not even for $2 billion. So, joining me now once again, criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor, Holly Hughes. So, the first obvious question, did Shelly Sterling, does she have the right, actually, to even have been negotiating with Steve Ballmer and to sell this team.

HUGHES: And that is the big issue that they're fighting about in court today. Her team says absolutely, because back in May, her husband, Donald Sterling, signed over --

BALDWIN: -- the trust.

HUGHES: You know, yeah. And said to her, absolutely, go negotiate. Get us the best money you can, honey. And then like her attorney pointed out, made a public statement, going, whew-hoo, great job. Now the back -- .

BALDWIN: He changed his mind.

HUGHES: Now, his team is saying, no, no, no. Because these evaluations that you submitted to the court claiming he's incompetent, one of them was done on the very day that he signed the letter giving her permission to go ahead and make the deal. So if he's incompetent, was he even competent to sign that part away of the trust and give her the permission to go ahead. They're also arguing that they did not take all the proper steps. They said if you wanted to have him examined, in the trust it says if one of the trustees is incompetent, becomes incompetent, legally speaking, you can remove him. But what they're saying is, there's also outlines and procedures in that trust saying what techniques have to be followed, what steps have to be taken. And she didn't do all of that.

BALDWIN: So all of this back and forth and back and forth.

HUGHES: Yes.

BALDWIN: I'm changing minds. Listen, ultimate it comes up to deadlines. There are dates that they would have to have this deal inked by.

HUGHES: Right.

BALDWIN: What happens if this back and forth continues?

HUGHES: Well, what happened was, Ballmer and Shelly made this deal. They're under a contract and they said, hey, July 15th is our drop dead date.

BALDWIN: Next Tuesday.

HUGHES: However, we're going to take a 30-day extension, if necessary. Meaning if there are still some things in contention. They can agree between themselves to extend that deadline. But I think probably what's going to happen is, his attorneys are also in there, saying, just freeze everything, judge. They're going to want an injunction to stop this sale, pending all of these other litigations. You know, they're saying, hey, you violated his federal rights under HIPPA. You released his medical records.

BALDWIN: That's why he wants it in federal court.

HUGHES: That's why he wants it moved, that's right.

BALDWIN: Holly Hughes. And the case continues. Thank you so much for joining me for that one.

Now to this, another big court case happening right now. Former New England Patriots star and alleged triple murderer, Aaron Hernandez, in court. The live picture you just saw him a second ago, pink tie, sitting there in that Boston courtroom. He says he's being mistreated, hoping to move to a new prison. But will we also find out the date for the start of his murder trial? We are awaiting the judge's decision. We'll check back on that momentarily.

Also, they are the children of monsters. CNN gets an inside look at an Iraqi orphanage and what we found will shock you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: These are incredibly tense times in Baghdad. The Iraqi capital on edge, waiting to see if ISIS militants will push into the city. Right now, the group's leader seems plenty confident. Video that appeared on ISIS websites showed a man thought to be the leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, giving a sermon in public at a mosque in Mosul. U.S. officials say they have no reason to doubt that this is their guy. Mosul was one of several cities seized by militants last month. But not everyone accepts this idea of a possible ultimate fate of Iraq that being divided. Many Iraqis still think their nation can rise above its sectarian differences. CNN's Nima Elbagir visited an orphanage in Baghdad, trying to do just that - one child at a time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Luay (ph) is seven. He has never been told how his father died. His mother thinks it's better that way. Wala'a (ph), six, has no memories of her father, only that there was a loud noise the night he died. Hagir's father was a policeman. She remembers him a little. He was gunned down on the street by their home seven years ago. At the Al Noor Children's center in Bagdad, a raw call of loss and fractured lives.

Lyaba, Zahra, their other brother and their sister were found playing around the bodies of their parents after both their mother and father were killed in a terrorist attack here in Sadr City. Zahra has just turned one year old, and she's being looked after here at the orphanage.

As the violence in Iraq begins to spiral again, more and more children are being brought to Al Noor. But it's not just the children of the victims that Al Noor opens its doors. Some, like 11-year-old Bandir (ph) have parents suspected of perpetrating attacks. The center director Liqaa Al Aboudi believes the only way Iraqis can build a future together is if the children of both murderer and victim learn to coexist. "They are all orphans to us," she told me. Most of the staff here are unpaid. They like Al Aboudi give their time for free. They want the world to see, they say, that the children of monsters are still children. And there is hope for them. And for the country.

Al Aboudi's husband was killed in a terror attack. She says it made her want to do something with her life.

LIQAA AL ABOUDI (speaking Arabic)

ELBAGIR: The orphanage houses some children and supports the aunts, grandmas, cousins and neighbors that have stepped in to help raise the rest. And the number of Iraq's dead swell, this is becoming an all- too-familiar story.

(on camera): (speaking Arabic)

AL ABOUDI: (speaking Arabic)

ELBAGIR (voice over): Al Aboudi hopes Al Noor will always be a refuge from the horror that lies outside its doors. But nothing in Iraq is for certain. Even if one day she herself falls victim to the violence, she says she believes her children, as she calls them, will carry on her work. They know how important it is, she says, to build unity, whatever the cost.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Wow. Nima Elbagir joins me live in London. And Nima, just - I wrote down something from your piece. She said the children of both murderer and victim must learn to coexist. And when we talk about violence in this country and these children, how insulated are they from it?

ELBAGIR: Unfortunately, not at all, Brooke. Just streets away from that orphanage, a suicide bomb was detonated a few days before we visited. I'm sure they will continue to explode across the city there. There is no way to insulate anyone, man, woman or child. But it is just extraordinarily difficult when you think of the trauma that is being inflicted on these children. A lot of those kids, they still don't know how their fathers died. I mean that is the most their families can do to try and protect them, is to insulate them to some degree from some of the horrible details.

But they know that their fathers aren't around. They know that violence is so widespread. And they know that people disappear, because it's not just losing one parent or two or even both parents or even a grandparent or cousin. It is losing so many people across their immediate family and the broader family and the communities. And that's all that these children have known. And you see it. And sometimes though you do see some glimmer of the child. You do see that they have been successful in protecting some innocence in them, one of the children we spoke to, we said to him, what would make your life better? What would make a difference for you? And, you know, it was like the answer that you would hear anywhere around the world. He said to me, "pizza."

(LAUGHTER)

ELBAGIR: Pizza would make it better. And it was what any kid would say. And for a moment, you were kind of transported out of this horrible situation to something just a little lighter. And so many of them have made little friendships. And I think that helps a lot. Helps them feel not so alone, and not so different, as well. And that's the sad thing, is that they're not that different with a lot of their classmates. Most of their classmates will have lost someone. And the orphanage helps remind them that there is something beyond that. But she is just such an extraordinary woman, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Absolutely phenomenal. And it's so important that in these times of trauma and crisis that we remember the children. Nima Elbagir, thank you so much to you and your crew for spotlighting them for us in Iraq. Thank you.

And more than 1 million Iraqis have fled their homes in Iraq, as you think of those children, as this ISIS armed siege continues. You can help. We have provided a website. All you have to do is go to CNN.com/impact, and it will link you to charities like UNICEF and Save the Children. Again, it's CNN.com/impact.

Just ahead, football star turned alleged killer, Aaron Hernandez, in the courtroom right now. We are - now he's trying to change prisons. What else? Here he is. Live pictures. What else are his attorneys hoping to accomplish? We'll take you there for a live report in Massachusetts.

Also, a New York newspaper, big trouble here after calling President Obama the "n" word in the headline, and the kicker, this is actually a pro-Obama op-ed. What? We'll discuss this. Coming up.