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Top Nine Crime Stories Of 2019; Homeowners Standing In The Way Of President Trump And His Wall Along The Southern Border; Britain Royal Family's Bumpy 2019. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired December 26, 2019 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:33:55]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Some new video just into the CNN NEWSROOM, an avalanche at ski resort in the Swiss Alps in a cell phone video, you can see the beginning of that avalanche on a ski slope. Six people were able to free themselves from the snow. Helicopters were brought in then to rescue two people with minor injuries.
Rescue teams still searching that area for more skiers. That ski resort is about 70 miles south of Zurich, Switzerland.
From the college admissions scandal to a high profile kidnapping and celebrities in court, CNN's Jean Casarez is counting down the top nine crime stories of 2019.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A celebrity hoax, a multimillionaire's suicide, a college admission's scandal and more gun violence -- all part of the top nine crime and misconduct stories of 2019.
Number nine: In the early hours of January 29th, "Empire" star, Jussie Smollett says he was called a homophobic slur and the N-word, then attacked by two men who put a noose around his neck.
[15:35:09]
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JUSSIE SMOLLETT, AMERICAN ACTOR: I see the attacker masked and he said, "This is MAGA country [bleep]." Punches me right in the face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: One problem, law enforcement determined it was a hoax.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why would anyone especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CASAREZ: He was charged with felony disorderly conduct for reporting
a fake assault. In another twist, the State's Attorney, Kim Foxx later dropped all of the charges against the "Empire" actor.
Number eight: A Mormon family massacred in a remote area of Mexico, ambushed by gunmen thought to be affiliated with a drug cartel. More than 200 rounds fired at the caravan killing three women and six children. Several children survived including 13-year-old, Devin Langford, who walked more than 14 miles to get help telling ABC News --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LANGFORD, AMBUSH SURVIVOR: It felt real scary and it felt like a lot of bullet.
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CASAREZ: His father says his surviving children are living miracles.
Number seven: A former Dallas police officer on trial for murder tearfully testified she thought she was in her own apartment when she shot and killed her neighbor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMBER GUYGER, FORMER DALLAS POLICE OFFICER: I was scared this person inside my apartment was going to hurt me.
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CASAREZ: That neighbor, a young black man named Botham Jean. Jean was sitting on his couch when Amber Guyger shot and killed him after mistakenly entering his apartment.
The jury didn't buy it.
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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: We have breaking news out of Dallas, Texas right now, a jury has just found a former Dallas police officer guilty on murder charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDT JEAN, BROTHER OF BOTHAM JEAN: Can I give her a hug, please?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: But Jean's brother showed the world strength and grace as he hugged Guyger during sentencing. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Number six: A 13-year-old girl in rural Wisconsin kidnapped by a man who had been stalking her for weeks. The assailant snatch Jayme Closs from her home in the middle of the night after murdering her parents. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suspect he had specific intentions to kidnap Jayme.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Eighty-eight days later, on January 10th, Jayme escaped, wearing only pajamas and her captor's shoes, she approached a neighbor walking her dog.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And when she told me who she was, I figured she must have left in a hurry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: The community rejoiced. Jayme was alive. Jake Patterson was convicted and sentenced to two life terms with the murder of Jayme's parents and 40 years for her kidnapping.
Number five: R&B artist, R. Kelly's world came tumbling down this year as criminal charges piled up. He is facing indictments in Illinois, New York and Minnesota on charges that include recruiting women for sex and buying back tapes that purport to show him having sex with underage girls.
Kelly has pleaded not guilty and passionately proclaimed his innocence to CBS's Gayle King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
R. KELLY, R&B ARTIST: I didn't do this stuff. This is not me. I'm fighting for my [bleep] life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Kelly's trials in Chicago and New York are set for next year.
Number four: From New York to California, hate Crimes hit a 16-year high according to the F.B.I.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: We are following breaking news. Reports of a shooting at a synagogue north of San Diego, California.
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CASAREZ: And it is being felt in communities like Poway where a synagogue was targeted by a white teenage gunman on the final day of Passover.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More shots came running right at me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Lori Kaye, a member of the congregation lost her life saving others.
In November, a Milwaukee man was charged with a hate crime after allegedly throwing acid on a Hispanic man following a traffic altercation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's that burning that's really bad.
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CASAREZ: Mahud Villalaz suffered burns and scarring. The suspect, Clifton Blackwell is facing 35 years in prison. He is accused of telling Villalaz, a US citizen born in Peru to go back to his country.
Number three --
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BOLDUAN: Power, money, sex and potentially dozens of underage victims.
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CASAREZ: Federal prosecutors say behind the scenes, multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein ran a sex trafficking enterprise paying underage girls to have sex with him and other powerful men.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The alleged behavior shocks the conscience.
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CASAREZ: After cutting a generous deal with Federal prosecutors back in 2008, the investment banker's luck ran out in July, arrested on federal charges, Epstein was held without bail.
[15:40:07]
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I brought him up to 75 girls from eighth grade to ninth grade at just school parties.
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CASAREZ: However, there will be no trial. Just weeks later, Epstein was found hanging in his jail cell. The medical examiner ruled it a suicide. A judge gave victims a chance to speak at a hearing after Epstein's death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He continued to rape me. I cried myself to sleep that night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Number two: A scam involving some of the country's most prestigious universities exploded into a national scandal after Federal prosecutors filed fraud and money laundering charges against 50 people, including actresses Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin and her husband.
The mastermind, William Singer, CEO of a college prep company. He coordinated with parents to either rig standardized test scores or bribe college coaches and officials to accept their children as elite athletes, even if they had never played that sport.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Between roughly 2011 and 2018, wealthy parents paid Singer about $25 million in total.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Some parents have pleaded guilty, including Hoffman, who served 11 days in prison. But 19 parents, including Lori Loughlin continue to fight the charges.
And the number one crime and misconduct story of 2019: Unprecedented gun violence.
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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: We begin with two American cities reeling today and a nation devastated, a pair of mass shootings.
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CASAREZ: From El Paso, Texas to Dayton, Ohio.
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WHITFIELD: The horrific bloodshed taking place in the span of just over 13 hours.
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CASAREZ: As El Paso's Walmart filled with shoppers in late August, a lone gunman opened fire with an assault style weapon. The 21-year-old suspect told police he was targeting Mexicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He shot eight more bullets. I counted them because I said one of these is going to be mine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Twenty two people were killed. And hours later in Dayton, Ohio, another mass shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired. (INAUDIBLE). Multiple shots fired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Crowds of people run from the shots. Police respond within seconds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was wearing body armor and he used .223- caliber high capacity magazine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Police said the gunman who later died was stopped. Despite their quick action, he was able to kill nine people. In the end, 31 dead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: Still ahead, one more thing standing in the way of President Trump and his wall along the southern border -- homeowners. Are they willing to give up their private land? I talk to a journalist who went to the border to find out.
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DEAN: It turns out Democrats are not the only barrier to Trump's border wall, some private landowners are also putting up major resistance. One of them told "The New York Times" this, quote, "Forget deplorable Americans, you're disposable Americans if you happen to be on the south side of the wall."
That landowner, Becky Jones was part of a new in-depth piece in "The Times" written by my next guest. Zolan Kanno-Youngs is "The Times" Homeland Security correspondent. Thanks so much for being with us. This is a great piece, Zolan, and as you write in your piece, access to private land may be the biggest barrier standing between the President and his wall. Tell us about the situation along the border and what you found in your reporting.
ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Well, the Trump administration is behind schedule. They have a deadline. President Trump has set a deadline to have 450 new miles of border wall constructed by 2021. Thus far, the administration has about 93 miles built. Most of that wall is in places where there was some type of barrier or
vehicle barriers which is different than border wall, but that was present before.
The other thing is, those 93 miles are on Federal land. So adding to the challenges that being a funding challenge, as you said, disagreement on the Hill, as well as investigations into the contractors actually doing the building, you have to look at the people who live on the border and who the administration needs to convince to either voluntarily offer their land or be taken to court.
DEAN: Yes, and there's a lot of those people who do live there, and in fact, you interviewed one man, I thought this was so interesting. He had lived on this beloved land with his family, but he sold it to the government because he figured that they were going to end up taking it anyway.
He also said that construction was going to make his life a nightmare, but he supports the President. So it's a complicated issue for people who own this land, who may support the wall, who may support the President, but will also have to give up their land.
KANNO-YOUNGS: That's right. That's right. I mean, you're referring to Richard as well, right? Richard is somebody who told me over and over again that he supports border security.
[15:50:09]
KANNO-YOUNGS: That he supports the mission of Customs and Border Protection, and he supports President Trump. But for him, it was the idea that the actual border wall is not going to be built at the U.S.- Mexico border. It's actually built in some places a mile within the United States.
So for Richard, that means now having a wall divide his land, a land that his, you know, grandfather bought in the 1920s, that he built a house on, but also that he has a business on.
Now, there will be gates in that wall and he will be able to access it. But for him, he came to this decision now knowing that he will now have wall that is south of the border wall and to him, once you build a wall that becomes the border in essence.
DEAN: Right. And I thought it was really interesting because you interviewed -- you spoke with him and others about just how -- what a difference that makes where exactly they do put that border wall, because once they lay that marker down, kind of that's going to change very much kind of where they're living, and to your point how they do their business and how they get around.
KANNO-YOUNGS: One woman, Becky Jones mentioned, you know, we have a lot of workers on the south side of where the wall would go. What happens if there's an emergency? What happens if there's a fire?
Richard, who was a supporter of the -- is a supporter of the President said, look, I often hear, you know, politicians talk about the cartels and other individuals south of the border, would my land now be subjected to that?
And I should also mention that for each of these individuals, it very much was choosing the better between two evils if you will. They don't have many options.
DEAN: Right.
KANNO-YOUNGS: For them, it's, do I offer the land voluntarily and work with the government? And/or do I go to court and possibly litigate this for years?
DEAN: For years.
KANNO-YOUNGS: I mean, you still have landowners that have been fighting this since 2008.
DEAN: Remarkable. It's a great piece. Zolan Kanno-Youngs, thanks so much for being with us.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Oh, thank you for having me.
DEAN: Yes. Up next, it has been a year of scandal and missteps for Britain's Royal Family. We're going to take a look at the crown's bumpy 2019.
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[15:57:12]
DEAN: During her annual Christmas message, Queen Elizabeth took the extraordinary step of acknowledging 2019 has been quite bumpy for the Royal Family, some candid words there, but they only scratch the surface.
CNN Royal correspondent, Max Foster reports.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been a tumultuous and unsettling year for the British Royal Family with three senior members stepping back from public life.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did so voluntarily and only temporarily after a series of run-ins with the media.
In March, CNN revealed the Palace staff had to beef up their social media operation amid a rise in racist abuse targeting the Duchess.
Then in October, the couple revealed in a documentary with ITV how difficult they were finding life in the spotlight.
"I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought that it will be fair," the Duchess said. They also went on the offensive over what Harry described as a tabloid campaign against Meghan that mirrored the treatment meted out to his mother, Princess Diana. The Duchess sued "The Mail on Sunday," alleging that it illegally
published a private letter to her father. The Duke launched his own legal proceedings against "The Daily Mirror" and "The Sun" over alleged phone hacking. All the publications deny all the charges and have vowed to fight them vigorously.
The Queen's second son, Prince Andrew, also retreated from public life at the end of the year, but this may be longer term.
It followed an interview he did with the BBC and the media backlash that followed it, in which he talked about his association with the convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein had allegedly trafficked Virginia Giuffre when she was 17 years old and forced her to have sex with the Duke of York and others.
He said he had no recollection of ever meeting her, but failed to express sympathy to Epstein's victims in the interview or any regret that his relationship with the disgrace financier.
He only did so in a follow up statement, in which he said, "I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein. His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims and I deeply sympathize with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure."
CNN understands that Andrew decided to step back from his public roles after a meeting with his mother. The Queen remains firmly in charge of the family, we're told, and has no intention of stepping back from public life herself, despite heading into her 94th year.
Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: A programming note now as you make your New Year's Eve plans. Ring in 2020 with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, New Year's Eve Live begins at 8:00 p.m. right here on CNN.
Thanks so much for joining me this afternoon.
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