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Court: People Under Domestic Violence Restraining Orders Can Own Guns; 3 Former Snowboarders Sue Over Alleged Sexual Abuse; Son of Murdaugh's Late Housekeeper Testifies in Murder Trial. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired February 03, 2023 - 13:30   ET

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


[13:30:00]

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: According to the American Public Health Association, women are five times more likely to be killed by abusive partners who have access to guns.

CNN's Supreme Court reporter, Ariane De Vogue, joins us.

Ariane, good to see you.

What's the next step for the Justice Department?

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: It's worth noting this appeals court is one of the most conservative appeals courts in the country. And that's, in part, because of President Donald Trump's appointees.

But as you say, the court invalidated this federal law that says that a person who is under a restraining order for domestic violence is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm.

And what is critical about this appeals court decision, it was rooted in a Supreme Court landmark decision that came down last term.

In that decision, the justices changed the framework that lower courts across the country can use now when they are looking at or reviewing these gun laws.

Going forward now, they have to look at the gun law and see if it was rooted in American history or America's tradition. And basically, here, the appeals court looked at it and said the government didn't prove that. So they invalidated it.

It triggered a sharp response last night from Attorney General Merrick Garland.

He said, in part, "Nearly 30 years ago, congress determined that a person who is subject to a court order that restrains him or her from threatening an intimate partner or child cannot lawfully possess a firearm."

"Whether analyzed through the lens of the Supreme Court precedence or the text and history of the Second Amendment, that statute is constitutional."

Now he has a couple of options. Garland can appeal this to a bigger panel of judges on the Fifth Circuit. But that court is already so conservative, he might have better luck going straight to the Supreme Court.

That puts the justices in this interesting quandary. Because right now, as you said, not only are numbers for domestic violence skyrocketing across the country but also lower courts are really invalidating a lot of different kinds of gun restrictions because of that Supreme Court opinion.

So now, the justices, who usually like to have an issue percolate for years before they take it up again, this might force their hand to once again get involved and take up another Second Amendment case.

So it's a really interesting development.

HUNT: Sure is.

Ariane De Vogue, thanks very much for your reporting.

DE VOGUE: Thank you.

HUNT: We really appreciate it.

Three former U.S. snowboarders claim their coach sexually abused them and now they're taking legal action. They're suing the National Snowboarding Federation and the U.S. Olympic Committee, as well as their former coach, Peter Foley.

The suit accuses Foley of using his position of trust to, quote, "coerce sexual acts through force, manipulation, emotional abuse, intimidation and retaliation."

There's no response yet from Foley's attorneys.

CNN sports analyst, Christine Brennan, joins us. She's also a columnist for "USA Today."

Christine, it's always good to see you.

What more do we know about the allegations included in this lawsuit?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: What we know, Kasie, is that this is a story, unfortunately, we've become so familiar with, whether it be gymnastics, figure skating, soccer. Here we go again.

We're talking about athletes abused while they're competing, while they're representing the country.

In this case, these stories go back to the '90s. These three athletes all exemplary Americans, one being an Olympic medal. All three of them were competing in the '90s in the early part of this century.

These stories go back a long way. Their allegations incredibly troubling.

Peter Foley, the coach, is now gone. He denied all this. But is banned right now temporarily by the U.S. Center for Safe Sport, which is investigating.

All this came to light a year ago. ESPN's reporting, among others. It's one of those stories that happened a long time. People wonder, why didn't they speak out then?

The power dynamic, you're competing for your country, you don't want to say anything and risk losing your Olympic spot. Just like gymnastics.

Now we're hearing from these women. And now they're, of course, suing. And it's the next step in a very troubling story.

HUNT: Yes. Frankly, the atmosphere is a lot different now than in the 1990s.

The suit names two sports organizations, the National Snowboarding Organization and the U.S. Olympic Committee.

What are the allegations against them? What are they accused of doing or not doing?

BRENNAN: The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Federation, the national governing body for the sport, is accused of misleading and not taking this to Safe Sport, as they should have, and trying to have their own investigation.

Once something is going to Safe Sport, started in 2017, only recently, to deal with these issues, the U.S. Center for Safe Sport has to take control. You can't have officials from the national governing body meddling.

[13:35:05]

U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee is the organization overseeing all the national governing bodies. It would be logical in this case to sue them. Whether or not that ends up being found to be proven in a court of law, we will see.

The good news here is that the U.S. OPC has new leadership. There was a reckoning with USA Gymnastics, as you recall, the horrors of Larry Nassar, the hundreds of women abused in gymnastics.

And thankfully, the country is now starting to hear these stories. And the U.S. Center for Safe Sport is woefully underfunded but is doing its best to try to investigate them.

HUNT: Yes. I mean, it's not just -- as you point out, it's not just snowboarding or Larry Nassar and the gymnastics. It's happened in figure skating. We've seen it in soccer.

What does this pattern say about the power dynamics at play here? BRENNAN: Well, that's it, Kasie, is that when you've got young people,

and parents are invested and they want their kids to be the winning lottery ticket, get the scholarship, go to the Olympics, at what cost? That's what we're starting to hear.

The good news, if there is good news in this horrible, appalling situation, we are hearing from the women now. They found their voice. We're with in the "Me Too" movement and that era is here.

We're looking back in time. They couldn't speak out then.

We want to make sure, in all cases, young men and women, the power dynamic being so difficult for them, that dream of an Olympic medal or making a team is so strong, that they're being told that they can speak out now and that they can get answers.

And we saw that with the U.S. soccer story, again, a few years ago. But those women are speaking out now.

Again and again, these sports that Americans cheer for, we're finding out about this netherworld, this deep underbelly that is just appalling. And it's the kids representing our country are the ones suffering the most.

HUNT: For sure.

All right. Christine Brennan, thanks very much for your reporting on this today. We appreciate it.

Coming up next, a horrific family tragedy. A Massachusetts mother charged with murdering her three young children. Why her husband is asking the public to try to forgive her.

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[13:41:48]

HUNT: More testimony today in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial. The son of Murdaugh's late housekeeper taking the stand.

Gloria Satterfield died at the family's Hunting lodge in 2018 in what was originally classified as a trip-and-fall accident. But the murders of Murdaugh's wife and son have raised questions about her death.

CNN's Randi Kaye is outside the courthouse for us.

Randi, good to see you.

What did Tony Satterfield have to say today?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kasie, what he's trying to do on the stand is help the prosecution make the case that these alleged financial schemes should be included.

The prosecution wants to include them, so he says that would help the jury connect the dots. The prosecution, as you know, is trying to show that Alex Murdaugh's

back was against the wall. Loans were coming due. They also had time running out, the alleged financial schemes were about to be exposed.

So Tony Satterfield got on the stand. His mom had fallen down the steps allegedly at the Murdaugh home. And after she passed away, Alex Murdaugh had arranged for the Satterfield family to sue him.

The trouble is -- I'll spare you all the details -- when that case settled, he kept the money and didn't give it to the Satterfield family. This has already played out in court.

Here's what Tony Satterfield said on the stand today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED PROSECUTOR: Did he tell you anything about whether or not you and your brother would get any money? After bills were paid?

TONY SATTERFIELD, SON OF GLORIA SATTERFIELD: Said he was hoping.

UNIDENTIFIED PROSECUTOR: Did he give you any idea of the amount?

SATTERFIELD: If I remember correctly one time, he tried to get each of you at least $100,000 apiece.

UNIDENTIFIED PROSECUTOR: Each of you, you and your brother?

SATTERFIELD: Yes. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED PROSECUTOR: Did he tell you they had gotten a settlement for $505,000?

SATTEFIELD: No.

UNIDENTIFIED PROSECUTOR: Did he tell you that they had already gotten a settlement for $3.8 million?

SATTERFIELD: No.

UNIDENTIFIED PROSECUTOR: Had he ever told you that there was a number on the policy for $5 million?

SATTERFIELD: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And after this was discovered, Kacie, Alex Murdaugh did eventually admit in court, and he did agree to pay Gloria Satterfield's family $4.3 million that he had stolen from them. And he apologized in court.

And now, one other turn in that case, by the way, her body is going to be exhumed because the state wants to reopen that case and take another look at how she died -- Kasie?

HUNT: Wow.

All right. Randi Kaye, thanks very much for that report.

We're going to turn to an absolutely horrific story out of Massachusetts where a mother faces murder charges in the deaths of her three children.

We're learning from the "Boston Globe" that Lindsay Clancy made posts on social media about her postpartum depression. And her husband is now trying to raise awareness and calling on people to show compassion.

According to the CDC, one in eight women experience postpartum depression symptoms.

Here's Miguel Marquez with more on this case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An act beyond comprehension.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got two pediatric arrests in the basement.

MARQUEZ: Plymouth County, Massachusetts, 32-year-old mother, Lindsay Clancy, accused of assault, strangulation and murder of her 5-year-old daughter, Cora, her 3-year-old son, Dawson, and her 8-month-old son, Callan.

[13:45:04]

DONNA JESSE, CLANCY FAMILY MEMBER: They were just beautiful, beautiful children. Well-cared for. They were just beautiful.

MARQUEZ: All three children found January 25th in the basement of their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home. "Unconscious," says the district attorney, exhibiting "obvious signs of severe trauma."

Two died that night. The third, the 8-month-old, died two days later.

Their mother attempted suicide. She survived.

In the voices of first responders, anxiety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Received. Go to the basement cap! Go down. Go to the basement!

MARQUEZ: Debbie Heath's son, a firefighter, responded that night.

DEBBIE HEATH, SON WAS FIRST RESPONDER: It's still bothering him today. And you know, yesterday, when -- when it's quiet, that's when you start. You're alone with your thoughts. And, you know, he said he's had a little breakdown here and there.

MARQUEZ: Lindsay Clancy, who worked as a labor and delivery nurse, wrote in private Facebook posts viewed by the "Boston Globe." Just weeks, after her third child was born, she wrote that she had

struggled with postpartum depression in the past but was now feeling dialed-in and had been focusing on exercise, nutrition and mindset.

JESSE: You just can't explain. It's just we're still understanding (ph).

MARQUEZ: Patrick Clancy, husband to Lindsay, father to their now- deceased three kids, has asked the public to forgive his wife.

"Our marriage was wonderful and diametrically grew stronger as her condition rapidly worsened. I took as much pride in being her husband as I did in being a father and felt persistently lucky to have her in my life."

"She loved being a nurse. But nothing matched her intense love for our kids and dedication to being a mother. It was all she ever wanted. Her passion taught me how to be a better father."

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Patrick Clancy to pay for funerals, medical bills, and an unknowable period of no work, no income and, as he wrote, discovering his purpose.

Writing, on the GoFundMe page, Patrick Clancy, concluded, "Cora, Dawson, and Callan, you gave me so much in your short time here. I don't know if the pain will ever go away, but I'll do my best to carry on in your honor. Dada loves you so much and will always remember you."

Miguel Marquez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNT: And just moments ago, we learned that Lindsay Clancy will be arraigned on Tuesday. We're told Clancy will appear via Zoom from the hospital.

We'll be right back.

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[13:52:17]

HUNT: A mob boss on the run for 16 years turned out to be hiding basically in plain sight. Edgardo Greco was arrested while working as a pizza maker in France.

Greco was convicted of murdering two brothers from a rival mafia clan back in the 1990s.

He adopted a new identity but wasn't exactly keeping a low profile. According to media reports he was even featured in a magazine article as a, quote, unquote, "authentic Italian pizza maker."

Greco was arrested yesterday and will likely be extradited to Italy. And talk about a shocking surprise. An Alzheimer's facility in Iowa is

now being fined after a woman they pronounced dead was later found alive.

We're showing you video of the care facility where she was living.

But it was the funeral director who eventually found her gasping for air inside a body bag. That the terrifying. It is unclear how long she had been zipped up inside after a nurse mistakenly pronounced her dead.

The facility was fined $10,000. It seems light, if you ask me.

New developments in the monkey mystery at the Dallas Zoo. Police arrested a man in connection with two tamarin monkeys who were taken from their habitat. Authorities recovered the animals on Tuesday at an abandoned house.

CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us from inside the Dallas Zoo.

Ed, was the suspect connected to the zoo? And can he be linked to any of the other mysterious happenings going on? There have been a few.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is the question so many people here at the Dallas Zoo have.

The suspect, 24-year-old Davion Irvin, was found at the Dallas aquarium several miles away in downtown Dallas yesterday.

Aquarium officials spotted him. His picture had been released to the public as a possible person of interest, someone that investigators wanted to talk to. And that is how they were able to track him down.

So far, he's been charged with six counts of animal cruelty in connection with the tamarin monkeys, two tamarin monkeys taken found in an abandoned home several miles south of the Dallas Zoo.

But this is where this mystery all started coming to light. This is the habitat for the Clouded Leopard. She will not show up for us in the middle of this live shot in the cold in the middle of day.

But that's what she would look like. Nova is that leopard. And this is the enclosure where, back on January 13th, right down here on the ground, to the left, this wire mesh was cut. And at some point, Nova, that leopard, was able to walk out.

[13:55:06]

And initially, you know, everybody heard leopard, they feared the worse. The Dallas SWAT team, Kasie, showed up that morning briefly thinking the worse. This is actually a rather small leopard, about the size of bobcat.

And actually, we're told that the cat didn't make it very far. She stood in this area. In fact, they found her just down here, later that day, just behind that fence over there. So that's where she had been hiding throughout the day. They found her.

This really kind of triggered the mystery of what has been happening here. This happened on January 13th. Another enclosure was also cut. A rare vulture was killed several weeks after that. Then the tamarin monkeys disappeared earlier.

So investigators are trying to piece together if this one suspect is behind all of this or something bigger at play -- Kasie?

HUNT: All right. Ed Lavandera, thanks very much for that. I do hope to see that leopard in your next live shot. So thank you very much.

That's going to do it for us this hour. Thank you for spending your week with us. Happy Friday.

Don't go anywhere just yet though. There is much more news coming up right after this.

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