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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Witnesses Videotape Escape from Captivity; "You Already Got Your Monster"; O.J. Simpson Returns to Court; The Warrior Prince; Tiger Woods Wins Players Championship
Aired May 13, 2013 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: Dramatic cell phone video captures the moment a decade of horror ended for three kidnapped women in Cleveland.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking their silence. CNN's exclusive interview with the brothers of accused kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro.
SAMBOLIN: And O.J. Simpson is back in court. The Juice wants a new trial. We're going to take you live to Las Vegas for all the details there.
BERMAN: A lot going on this morning.
SAMBOLIN: A lot going on.
BERMAN: Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
SAMBOLIN: And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. Thirty minutes past the hour. Nice to have you with us.
So two young women who thought they were being pulled over by police wound up witnesses to history. They happened to be driving on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland last week when officers were about to storm suspected kidnapper Ariel Castro's home. So, they broke out a cell phone camera and began rolling on the final chapter of a 10-year horror story.
Susan Candiotti is live from Cleveland for us this morning.
And, Susan, these two young women have quite a story to tell.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. And imagine the timing of all this. Unfortunately, as they started to roll their cell phone, their battery died. So the video doesn't last very long but what they captured was fascinating. You get to see for the first time the police officers converging on the house, going inside to rescue the two victims who were still inside, Gina and Michelle, and this was just after the two women who arrived on the scene and drove up saw Amanda Berry standing outside holding her little girl.
Listen to what she had to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seen Amanda walking down the street with a cop, and right when the cop asked her, "Who are you?", she passed us and said Amanda Berry.
When she said Amanda Berry, I saw it in her eyes and I knew it was really her. And she had tears coming down her face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: And they'll always remember that moment. They have the special video, and they were there to see all of this happen -- to be there, to watch history unfold, as you said, Zoraida.
SAMBOLIN: Yes, to document it. However short that video is, they have documented history.
Ariel Castro, we know $8 million bond. He is sitting in jail right now. What is next for him?
CANDIOTTI: Well, the grand jury, of course, will be meeting to consider charges against him. Well, we're waiting to see whether the prosecutor, for example, will move forward with those aggravated murder charges involving what Michelle knight said happened to her, that she became pregnant five times, each time she said Ariel Castro starved her for at least a couple of weeks, and then punched her in the stomach to cause miscarriages.
And under Ohio law, he could be charged for murder because of that.
SAMBOLIN: It makes you sick to your stomach every time you hear that.
Susan Candiotti, live for us in Cleveland, thank you very much.
BERMAN: And now the interview you will only see on CNN. Pedro and Onil Castro breaking their silence about their brother Ariel and the unspeakable crimes he allegedly committed. You'll remember Pedro and Onil were both initially taken into custody along with their brother for the kidnapping of Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus.
In this CNN exclusive, they tell our Martin Savidge they are feeling very much like victims, too, now, even though they were quickly cleared by police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ONIL CASTRO, KIDNAPPING SUSPECT'S BROTIHER: I want this to be true. Like I said earlier, I want to wake up out of this nightmare.
PEDRO CASTRO, KIDNAPPING SUSPECT'S BROTHER: I want to say that I don't want to be hunted down like a dog for a crime that I did not commit. I don't want to be locked up in my house because somebody out there is going to do harm to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: See the entire exclusive interview with Pedro and Onil Castro this morning at 7:00 Eastern Time on "STARTIN POINT." Including the final words that Ariel Castro said to each of his brothers in jail last week, including just amazing details about what these two brothers saw in that house over the last 10 years. Do not miss this.
SAMBOLIN: I spoke with Victor Perez. He's a chief assistant prosecutor of Cleveland about that very specific thing, the fact that they released those two men. I said is there any possibility that you would take them back into custody? He said absolutely not, we have no evidence to suggest that they had anything to do with this.
Thirty-four minutes past the hour.
Massive house fire in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, claimed the lives of two adults, four children. Take a look at that fire. This was Sunday night.
A neighbor alerted police that people may be trapped inside that house but the fire had already engulfed the home. No word on what caused that fire.
And a developing story that we're following. A Good Samaritan is in extremely critical condition this morning after getting attacked by a group of teenagers while trying to break up a fight. Police in Huntington Beach, California, say between five and 10 teen agers used their skateboards as weapons, going after the 25-year-old man Saturday at a local skate park.
The victim trying to flee into a nearby Laundromat but the group followed him, and continued attacking him. Four juvenile suspects are under arrest, charged with attempted murder. Police say more arrests could be coming soon.
BERMAN: His playing career and criminal trials are both the stuff of legends. And in just a few hours O.J. Simpson will be back in court in Las Vegas, asking for a new trial. Simpson was sent to prison in 2008 for his part in the armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers. He claims he was improperly represented by his former attorney and he says now the conviction should be thrown out.
CNN's Paul Vercammen is following the story for us live this morning in Las Vegas. Good morning, Paul.
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
And when Simpson calls into court he's 65 years old now, almost 66. His lawyers said that he's a little slower in his movements and he's arthritic, and in this case, he is going to take the stand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERCAMMEN (voice-over): These are the last images of O.J. Simpson in public, being led out of a Las Vegas courtroom to prison in late 2008. Simpson was convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery for leading armed men into a hotel room to try to settle a dispute over sports memorabilia he wanted back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were just robbed at gunpoint by O.J. Simpson.
VERCAMMEN: Simpson was secretly recorded during the confrontation, which became part of the 2008 trial testimony.
O.J. SIMPSON: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you think you can steal my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and sell it? Don't let nobody out of here.
VERCAMMEN: Simpson's new lawyers will argue their client was so horribly represented in that kidnapping trial, he deserves a new trial and freedom.
PATRICIA PALMS, SIMPSON DEFENSE ATTORNEY: We firmly believe he did not get a fair trial. I think that's going to bear out during the hearing. We want the judge to take a fresh look at this, what should have been presented before, what wasn't presented, what was said, what wasn't said.
VERCAMMEN: Simpson is expected to take the witness stand this week, something he never did in the Las Vegas kidnapping trial or his sensational televised trial in 1995 -- where he was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.
Other witnesses expected this week are now retired prosecutors in the Las Vegas case and Yale Galanter. He was Simpson's lead attorney in the kidnap trial and a former ally.
(on-camera): Simpson's new lawyers will argue that Galanter had a conflict of interest in part because of his business dealings with the football star.
(voice-over): Simpson has been housed at the lovelock correctional center in Northern Nevada. His lawyers call him a model inmate.
PALMS: It's common in the prison for there to be different factions that don't get along with each other, and because of his status as a celebrity and his personality, he's sometimes mediates between different groups when they're having conflicts.
VERCAMMEN: Simpson is now hoping his new legal team will spring him from prison for good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERCAMMEN: And Simpson was sentenced from nine to 33 years. His lawyers will also argue that that sentence was rather excessive -- John.
BERMAN: It will be fascinating to see him in court, Paul, because as you said, 4 1/2 years since any of us had a glimpse of him.
What can you tell us about his new representation?
VERCAMMEN: This is interesting, because, as you know, O.J. has had just some absolutely over-the-top internationally known attorneys.
And his new lawyer, the lead Patricia Palm, is rather reserved. She's a judge pro temp. She's been a prosecutor and a defense attorney and you'll see that she has a rather understated style compared to some of the more bombastic things we've seen in the court in the past from O.J. Simpson's attorneys, John.
BERMAN: Different sort of lawyer for him.
All right. Paul Vercammen in Las Vegas this morning -- thanks, Paul. We appreciate it.
SAMBOLIN: Thirty-eight minutes past the hour.
Attorneys for James Holmes will ask a judge today to change their client's plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. The suspect in the Aurora movie theater massacre is facing possible death penalty. A mental evaluation could take weeks or even months. Holmes accused of opening fire in a crowded theater, killing 12 people, wounding 70 others.
BERMAN: All right, you've got to see this. This is new video just in to CNN. A building implosion goes terribly wrong. There's the blast right there.
But then, it just sort of stops. The original attempt in Red Bank, Australia, yesterday. They left the dynamite, the building ended up tipping and staying there and leaning like that. It is not supposed to happen like that, not the slow lean.
And ultimately, the process worked. It was --
SAMBOLIN: Everybody is OK. Nobody got injured.
BERMAN: The second set of explosion sent the building tumbling down. Just embarrassing, I think it's all it was. There it goes. Timber!
SAMBOLIN: Oh, my goodness. This is how you don't do this, right?
All right. The Powerball jackpot going up because no one picked the right numbers for Saturday's $270 million pot. Do you start dreaming? That means Wednesday night's jackpot will be worth a cool $350 million. It is the third largest Powerball jackpot in history.
Powerball officials say there's a 1 in 175.2 million chance of anyone winning that grand prize. But it does happen. Remember back in March, a single winning ticket was good for a jackpot worth 338 million bucks. So there's a possibility.
BERMAN: That's right. And I hope not to see you Thursday morning. Let's just leave it at that.
SAMBOLIN: Because I'm going to win and I won't be here.
BERMAN: That's not what I meant. But that's OK, too. A scaly Mother's Day surprise for one family who woke up an eight-foot alligator on their front porch. At first, the mother thought it was some kind of elaborate Mother's Day prank.
SAMBOLIN: It's something you would attempt --
(CROSSTALK)
BERMAN: This was no joke. They called in the famous Gator Boys of TV to get the gator out. So, these guys, they bagged the gator, as you can see, it wasn't easy. They took him back to the Florida Everglades.
Coming up on "STARTING POINT", you're going to hear live from one of the Gator Boys, Paul Bedard. He is the man who captured that alligator. Giving him a little neck massage right there. Amazing, amazing stuff.
SAMBOLIN: See how he really is eight feet long. Good gracious.
BERMAN: Crazy.
SAMBOLIN: I want to hear from the woman, open --
BERMAN: All right. Straight ahead, we're going to talk about one of Zoraida's favorite topics, Prince Harry. How he spent his weekend.
SAMBOLIN: He is a doll.
BERMAN: All the games he played. Where he's going next. If you'll be close to Zoraida, we will have all the details, coming up. Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Sarah (ph). I love reading, I love writing stories.
REPORTER: Sarah is a natural storyteller, but the young woman with a Tinkerbelle back pack doesn't write fairy tales.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They opened the school in the village and the girl wanted to go to the school but her parents said only the boys are supposed to go.
REPORTER: It's the story of war-torn Sierra Leone, where poverty, forced marriage and violence have kept many women from getting an education. Women like her mother.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She can't read and she can't write. But I can read and I can write, so I think that makes a big difference between me and her.
REPORTER: Sarah went to live with her aunt, who's a teacher, so she could go to school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's educated, and she wants me to be like her.
REPORTER: She's part of a project calls girls making media.
Sarah is speaking up because she wants a different ending for herself and other girls.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I report on gender discrimination against girls in Sierra Leone. If you do that through the radio, I think people deep in the village will hear something about it.
My dream is to become a superstar of Sierra Leone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. Britain's Prince Harry or as Zoraida calls him, Mr. Adorable, on a whirlwind tour of the U.S.
SAMBOLIN: Coming up are stops in New York and New Jersey. But before that, the prince spent the weekend with wounded war vets. CNN's Max Foster is covering this royal visit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There we go, you're under way.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The American public have their first chance to get up close to Prince Harry at this weekend's warrior games.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's something different that we don't have here. We have celebrities that are in Hollywood, and they're the royal family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. It's definitely -- definitely unique, and you know, he has an accent which makes him automatically cooler than us.
(LAUGHTER)
FOSTER: And he's not married.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he's not married. That's a big part of it.
FOSTER: The closest Harry came to marriage, though, was kissing the winners.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A kiss from the prince.
FOSTER: The announcer suggesting that these women won't be washing their faces for a while. Prince Harry may be flattered by all the attention, but it's not something that he's looking for on this tour. His deep suspicion of the media makes him wary of the cameras. He's happy to have them on board for events that he wants to promote. PRINCE HARRY, GREAT BRITAIN: It's not always great having them around, but today, it's fantastic to get the message across to every other country.
FOSTER: And these games, for wounded war vets, is something that he does want people to hear about.
(on-camera) Prince Harry's probably talking to the cyclists. They're involved in the race here. This is the event that he wants to take around the world and throwing himself in, as usual.
PRINCE HARRY: It wasn't just fantastic. (INAUDIBLE). Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll tell you one why not, 300 days a year of sunshine here in our beautiful Colorado. Why don't you move here?
(CHEERING)
PRINCE HARRY: Because it's not always sunny.
FOSTER (voice-over): He would also have to get more used to football, American-style. Harry's a rugby fan but gave the U.S. version a go. Was he targeting the media pen, you wonder?
On the next leg of the tour, to New York, Harry takes on another iconic American sport, baseball. He's been given some tips on throwing the ball or pitching. Just as well, baseballs could be more dangerous than footballs. Media, beware. The prince will also meet up with Governor Chris Christie in New Jersey to see a neighborhood torn apart by hurricane Sandy.
The governor said he was grateful to the prince for putting the rebuilding effort back on the news agenda according to someone close to Harry on the tour.
Max Foster, CNN, Colorado Springs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Our thanks to Max for that.
SAMBOLIN: Forty-eight minutes past the hour. Coming up, Tiger's big win, and his opponent, big meltdown. Plus, Woods' unlikely helper coming up next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're ultimately putting students into hard situations, students that watched babies die in hospitals and done wonderful things to keep other babies alive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty million low birth weight and premature babies are born every year around the world. Challenge to us was build a baby incubator that cost less than one percent the cost of a traditional incubator which is $20,000 in the U.S. So, what the embrace team came up with in the class is this product. It's an infant warmer. It looks like a little sleeping bag for the baby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, turns out there's about one out of every four people in the world that doesn't have access to reliable electricity. These are solar powered lanterns. Basically, you charge them in the sun during the day, turn them on at night and you get light.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think to see their designs and their products coming to life before their eyes induces the stimulus to pour their heart and soul into it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAMBOLIN: Welcome back. Fifty-one minutes past the hour. Tiger Woods won his second career players championship yesterday, and it came with a little help from his not so friendly rival, Sergio Garcia.
BERMAN: Yes. Not friendly at all. Jared Greenberg has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report." Hey. Jared.
JARED GREENBERG, "BLEACHER REPORT": Hey, Zoraida and John. You know, that guy in red looking like the Tiger Woods of 13 years ago, and if Sergio Garcia didn't like Woods, coming in to Sunday, saying he wasn't the quote/unquote "nicest guy on the tour," he's really not going to like Woods now.
Check this out going to the highlights. Did Woods win the players championship or did Garcia hand it to him? And one of the all-time great joke (ph) jobs on 17, anyone thirsty? It doesn't take a golf expert to know that when a hole is a par three and you pencil in a seven, that's not very good. Garcia lost six shots on his final two holes.
Oh, and Lindsey Vonn's man went old school. Garcia left the door wide open going from tied to first to eight, and Woods walked right through, giving Lindsey something to cheer about. Career win number 78, four shy of the all-time record, also his fourth victory of the year. Reserve your seat on the couch for Father's Day for the U.S. Open.
Seth Curry is one of the NBA's brightest young stars, but chronic ankle injury couldn't keep him out of Sunday's playoff game against the Spurs. Warriors rallied from eight down and under five minutes to play. Clayton Thompson hitting the shot that forces overtime and the extra session. Curry and the Warriors outscored the Spurs 13-3. Despite the bad ankle, Curry still managed to score 22 points. Golden State ties the best of seven series at two games apiece.
If you had a bad weekend, probably wasn't as bad as this guy's. And it comes in at number four on today's BleacherReport.com lineup. Speaking of lineups, former NFL wide receiver, Titus Young, was arrested on Friday, marking the third time he found himself in handcuffs. This past week, young allegedly broke into a home tried to outrun the cops, then got into an altercation with the police. This comes on the heels of suspicion of driving under the influence and attempting to steal his car out of the tow yard when it was impounded.
From the department of when billionaires get bored, Richard Branson played the part of a female flight attendant after losing a bet. The owner of Virgin Airlines had to get all decked out and serve the owner of Air Asia after the two bet on whose Formula One racing team would have a better season.
Branson admitted maybe this isn't his best look and he's probably suited for his regular gig. During that eight-hour flight, Branson happened to accidentally drop a tray of drinks in the lap of Tony Fernandez who owns Asia Airlines -- Air Asia.
SAMBOLIN: Just happened to.
GREENBERG: Yes. This is when you don't want to bet billionaires because stuff like this happens.
BERMAN: Yes -- dress up like that. No one wins in that scenario.
(LAUGHTER)
GREENBERG: No.
BERMAN: Jared Greenberg, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
GREENBERG: You got it.
SAMBOLIN: EARLY START back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
SAMBOLIN: You like it? This is historic. This is ground control to Commander Chris. That is Canadian astronaut, Commander Chris Hadfield, doing his best cover of a David Bowie classic, "Space Oddity," before heading back to Earth from the International Space Station. It is being called the first music video ever recorded in space. That's a treat for you.
That is EARLY START. I'm Zoraida Sambolin. "STARTING POINT" starts right now.
