Return to Transcripts main page
Jane Velez-Mitchell
Detectives Stage Hot Car Death Recreation
Aired July 09, 2014 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Tonight, did a dad`s deceptions lead to murder? We are pulling back the curtain on the multiple personas of jailed
dad Ross Harris, accused of murdering his toddler by intentionally letting the little boy bake to death while trapped inside a hot car all day, a
torturous death.
Good evening. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell, coming to you live. Thanks for joining me.
Will the real Ross Harris please stand up? On the meet-up site Skout.com (ph), Ross is caught in three lies. We`ve just uncovered this.
He calls himself R.J. and told other users, "Hey, message me, I`m harmless." He posted flattering photos, and he lied about his age. He
lied about where he lives. He lied to the half a dozen women he sexted, sending pictures of himself as his son was in the family SUV dying a
terrible death.
Tonight we`re asking, did he also lie to his wife? And could any lies explain her bizarre behavior in the wake of their son`s torturous death?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of a sudden she states, "Ross must have left him in the car."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On a sweltering hot day, for seven hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Images of faithful husband and loving father.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sext women on the day his son died. He told police they are happily married.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s got this whole second life that he`s living with alternate personalities.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Just looking to talk. Message me, I`m harmless."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Here`s new video from WAGA of investigators at the scene of the crime yesterday, recreating the horrific conditions that
caused little Cooper Harris`s death. They want to know exactly how long it took for this child to die, exactly how hot it got inside that SUV.
Experts estimate it reached at least 130 degrees. Can you imagine?
Was mom completely in the dark, or could she have known what was happening to her precious child that day? I`ve got some theories. What
are your theories? I want to hear from you: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. Call me: 1- 877-586-7297.
Straight out to the Lion`s Den. I want to start with Mo Ivory, attorney, radio personality, out of Atlanta. You`re right there where all
this is going down. What do you make of dad`s shady Skout profile?
MO IVORY, ATTORNEY/RADIO PERSONALITY: I mean, I think it`s just more evidence of the double or triple or quadruple life he was living.
Obviously, he was lying about his age, his name. He was doing all these things that to me is very important to the case as to what was going on in
his life at the time that he decided to, what I consider, a murder, for this to happen to his child.
So I mean, I think that we`re uncovering more and more every day about how, you know, this man was doing so many things that he shouldn`t have
been doing, everything except for taking care of his child.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Brian Claypool, criminal defense attorney.
BRIAN CLAYPOOL, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right, Jane, what Mo just said proves my point. From day one, I`ve been saying that this guy has
been distracted. He`s got an -- he`s got an addiction to sex. He`s got multiple personalities. This is a typical case for arguing a diminished
capacity. He`s not fit to be a parent. He`s worried about everything else in the world, lying to all these women. It`s not a calculated murder,
Jane. This is a reckless person.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, wait, wait.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You`re suggesting that because he was sexting he was actually distracted, and this was an accidental death?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s insane.
CLAYPOOL: He`s -- listen, if you`re a guy -- I`m a guy -- still a guy. I`m a single man. I will tell you, point-blank, Jane, that I`m a
single parent now, because six or seven years ago, I had some issues I personally was dealing with that parallel a little bit about what happened
here, without getting into too much detail.
I will tell you, that when you`re doing these things, you are distracted. Your mind is not focused on things that -- that normal parents
would be focused on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brian, did...
CLAYPOOL: You`re thinking about other things. You`re obsessed with other things.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well...
IVORY: Brian, did you forget your kid for seven hours?
CLAYPOOL: He didn`t forget his kid for seven hours. He was thinking about other things, yes, and he didn`t realize that his kid was in the car.
Listen, I -- there`s plenty of parents out there that have gone somewhere, and they`ve got a lot on their mind; and they forget that their
child is in the car.
IVORY: Jane, he was thinking about other...
CLAYPOOL: That doesn`t make them a first-degree murder.
IVORY: No, but that`s not the case in this instance. It wasn`t that he was so distracted that he forgot. He was so distracted that he didn`t
want to be a parent anymore. He was so distracted that he wanted to get rid of his child so he could focus his energy on those type of things.
CLAYPOOL: He`s not -- there was no prior history.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was clear that he wanted...
IVORY: You don`t have to be a murderer to murder.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: One at a time, guys. Elizabeth Espinosa and Wendy. Elizabeth first, and then we`ll go to Wendy.
ELIZABETH ESPINOSA, CNN ESPANOL ANCHOR: Jane, I would just say this. Clearly, this is a man who did not want to be a parent. OK? There is no
such thing. I don`t care, personally, if he was sexting, if he was watching the World Cup, whatever he was doing.
The fact that he would go to work and forget his child in a car where his child was baking to death, as you well put it, that child was found
scratches on that baby`s face. God knows what that baby went through, screaming for daddy, for mommy. I mean, this is...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And let me bring in something new. And I`d like to get Dr. Wendy Walsh`s, psychologist, author of "The 30-Day Love Detox,"
your reaction to this.
OK. We all know parents vent about a baby who won`t sleep, no big deal. But we`ve uncovered this father`s tweet from last September. And
let me read you what it says, because it`s alarming. "New" -- quote, "New invention, snooze buttons on babies. I`m going to be a billionaire,
#shutupandtakemymoney." Are you kidding me?
You take that and you add on the fact that he spent time on child-free forums, OK, that he also researched how to survive in prison. That he
watched videos of suicides and other deaths in Iraq war, et cetera. I mean, are you -- are you seeing a pattern there, Dr. Wendy?
DR. WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, I`m seeing a thought process that many criminals use, which is, don`t do the crime if you can`t do the
time. So he`s already researching the penalties or his possible escape routes, even. This is so bad to him.
Jane, has anyone said this yet? In my mind, this is the male Casey Anthony that we`re looking at right here. This guy was happily married to
his wife for six years, doing all his kooky sex stuff. OK, yes, she has a baby.
But then when she [SIC] becomes a toddler, you know how hard it is. You know how hard it is once babies go from being little babies, where you
can safely keep them in a basket, to running around and whining and screaming all the time, that`s when the rubber hits the pavement and you
see the good parents. This guy was not a good parent. This guy was looking for a way out, Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to present you with a theory. OK. Let`s recap and review. Dad posted personal details on Skout, this meet-up
website and app, and you could say his profile has a lot more flattering photos of himself than the one we`ve seen in court. And we`re going to
show you some of those. He actually looks decent; he looks presentable. He doesn`t look like James Bond but a lot more like James Bond than he does
in court.
OK. He says his name is R.J., that he lives in Smyrna, Georgia, when he actually lives in Marietta. He listed his age as 27 when he`s actually
33. We know he lied several times to detectives, telling them he hadn`t spoken to anybody on the cell phone after little Cooper`s lying there on
the pavement, when it shows three calls, including a six-minute call with somebody in his son`s daycare classroom.
So my question to you is, could he have been feeding lies to his own life -- his own wife, rather? You know, could he have set it up where he`s
creating a scenario for her where he convinces her that somehow she`s doing her child a favor by allowing him to go to heaven so that he doesn`t have
to participate in this cruel world?
Let`s listen to her words at the funeral. And then we`re going to analyze it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Am I angry with Ross? Absolutely not. Would I bring him back? No. To bring him back into this broken world would be
selfish."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. I want to throw that to Dr. Wendy Walsh. Do you think that he might have created -- and let me add one other thing.
The detectives -- I`m holding a warrant here. They`re looking for evidence of the child`s health, medical conditions, growth development. So could he
have said something to her -- I`m throwing this out there. He has a hereditary illness; he has developmental issues. Your son would be better
off; our son would be better off dead?
WALSH: I think that that`s possible. I think she definitely was sort of colluding with him. Whether she was coerced or not is really a
question. But to not have rage -- a mother who should have this attachment and bond to her baby -- to not have absolutely deep-seated rage at her
husband for murdering her child, there`s something off with that, Jane. There`s something going on with her that we need to look at further.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to go -- I want to go to somebody we have on the phone, a very special guest, John Pearson, a former classmate of this
woman here, Leanna Harris.
John, are you there?
JOHN PEARSON, FORMER CLASSMATE OF LEANNA HARRIS (via phone): Yes, ma`am, I am.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you`ve been listening to all of this. You knew Leanna in high school. Now, what I find interesting is that in the funeral
for her son, she says, "I am happy -- a list of things my son will skip. His first heartbreak. I won`t have to see that. Junior high and high
school -- I didn`t like it." The audience laughs. "Who to sit with at lunch in those awkward middle school years."
It sounds like she had a horrific time in high school. You went to high school with her. Did she?
PEARSON: The years that I was at high school with her, which was only for two, to be honest with you, I do not remember any of these moments, not
to say they didn`t happen. But at the same time, I don`t remember anything of that nature.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So why would she be so intent on saying that she wouldn`t bring her child back into this world, and the good news is that he
won`t have to suffer through high school, when you went to high school with her for two years and you`re saying you didn`t see her being bullied or
having a miserable time?
PEARSON: I`m not a professor by any means, but my way of thinking is, obviously, being in the military, I went through several, you know,
horrific things myself, being deployed, things of that nature. Now I face PTSD, anxiety and depression myself.
So my only thinking of this would be that maybe she did face these things before I transferred to, you know, the school that we went to.
Maybe she did have these issues with other classmates before I arrived there. And it was so horrific to her at that point that, you know, it
still affects her to this day.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: John, let me -- let me -- let me, John, jump in, John. And I appreciate you sharing that with us. And I know that takes
some courage. So I appreciate and I hope you`re doing good.
But look at her. A lot of people have commented she`s lost her son in a horrible death. Her husband is accused of murdering him. And there she
is in court chewing gum, and honestly, it`s a lack of affect that I think people are focusing in on, among other things, statements that she made
that are odd at best.
Did she have this lack of affect in high school? Do you remember her as being sort of a blank face, expressionless or -- how would you recall?
PEARSON: The Leanna I remember at times, you know, depending on the situation, yes, she could be happy, she could be sad. And she could have
had an emotionless face.
And I resort back to, you know, what I`ve been through only because of this situation specifically. I lost several good friends. You know, one
of my best friends died when I was in Afghanistan, `06-`07.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sorry.
PEARSON: And I remember myself, for instance, not crying at all. Like I went through it, and I did not cry probably for a good three to four
weeks until finally it just set in.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK, let me jump in. Because unfortunately, we`re tight on time. And I understand your point.
But here`s the thing. She praised her husband. She said she was not angry at him. It never crossed her mind. She also said, "Ross, I`m doing
this for you." As we`ve already mentioned, she said she wouldn`t bring her son back into this cruel world.
Now, when she`s with her husband and police reunite them, she says to her husband, "Did you say too much?" Here`s my bottom-line question to
you, John. I know you described her as shy. Do you think she`s a malleable person, that a strong personality like her husband, who she
referred to as a leader, her leader, her family`s leader, could control, control to the point where he could sort of arm-twist her into something
really unthinkable?
PEARSON: Realistically, I could not answer that for sure, to be honest with you. I don`t know if she is that heavily influenced at this
point. I haven`t talked to her in quite a few years...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: When you knew her, though, was she -- was she shy to the point of being a follower?
PEARSON: Not really. She stood out when she needed to stand out, and she made her own decisions. But she was never really a follower to the
point that, if somebody jumped off a bridge, she would jump off a bridge, too.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you think she was involved in her son`s death?
PEARSON: I cannot say that is the case, nor can I say it isn`t the case, honestly. And I`ve spoken with several friends back home.
My thoughts on it is, as a father, I pray and hope that is not the case. Looking at the evidence, obviously, you know, yes, for him -- her
husband, it does not look good.
But for her, there is nothing there on the surface or even deep down other than an emotionless face in the courtroom, chewing on the gum --
things of that nature, some words maybe that have either been taken out of context or maybe was the case, I don`t know. I`m not a judge nor jury.
But there`s nothing there concrete that could convince me, yes, at this point in time she`s had something to do with what could possibly be a
murder.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. John, you know, I hope you`re right. I want to stress she`s not being called a suspect. She hasn`t been charged with
anything. But my final question to you: how is she capable of saying when -- she goes to the day care -- you can answer it on the other side. Think
about it for a second. Our panel can think about it. Immediately jumping to the conclusion, "My husband must have left my son in the car," before
she`s told that.
Stay right there. More on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say his father, Justin Ross Harris, used a messaging site to sext women on the day his son died in a hot SUV outside
his office building. And on the flirting website and smartphone app Skout, under the name R.J., are three profile photos. All appear to be Harris.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 4:16 p.m., Justin leaves work with the windows up. He begins his drive toward the movie theater. About 4:20 p.m., Harris
stops his car less than two miles from work and discovers Cooper`s lifeless body in the rear child seat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The investigators appeared to use Cooper`s actual car seat in their crime scene investigation. You can see it here in this video
from WAGA. And there is a critical difference when we get to the car seat Cooper was in and the car seat he should have been sitting in for his age
and height. The Harrises chose not to use the front-facing toddler car seat like this one that they bought a few weeks before.
At some point they went back to the rear-facing car seat. OK? Rear- facing seats are typically used just from birth to one year. So why did they use a seat that cops said he was way too big for? His head peeked out
over the top. And why did they strap -- did the father strap him in as tight as possible with the settings for the smallest child?
Mark Harrell, former police officer, investigator, you`ve been listening to all this. What is your theory of the crime?
MARK HARRELL, FORMER POLICE OFFICER: Well, it`s a theory; it`s just a theory. But the fact that she made such a quick utterance about what must
have happened when there wasn`t much for her to go on at that point makes me think she may have known ahead of time. Again, it`s speculation.
But there does seem to be an element here where he is leading things. There`s other evidence we`ve talked about -- or haven`t talked about yet.
He controls the money; he sort of controls.
And the rationalization that she has about the fact that he`s going to miss a lot of life`s bad experiences may be something where she`s using as
a coping mechanism. But from everything I`ve seen, it`s also possible that that`s something that she was sort of fed by him to rationalize what he
wanted to do.
You asked earlier if he was a liar and could he have lied to his wife. My guess is he was lying to his wife all along about his other
personalities. The question is whether he lied to her about this.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK, Facebook blowing up. Sabrina, "His wife" -- Sabrina says, "His wife needs to wake up. She`s too worried about that
husband of hers and not thinking of her little son."
I want to go to Dr. Wendy Walsh, psychologist. You`ve heard all these descriptions. But the one that I heard recently that I thought matched it
best is brainwashed. This wife sounds brainwashed. She has a fierce loyalty to a man who has betrayed her in every way possible, in the worst
ways possible. What do you make of it?
WALSH: And I call it blind trust. It`s where they trust this person to lead, and whatever he says must be the right way.
And, Jane, I have to go back to that car seat, because that`s where we started here. There`s only one reason.
I`ve had three kids through car -- two kids, sorry, through car seats in lots of different car seats and change them around at different times
based on weight. You never go backwards to a smaller seat, ever, ever, ever. The only reason they did that is so that pedestrians passing the car
could not look in and see the baby, because when it`s facing backwards, you cannot see it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, and let me say this. A couple of weeks before - - they had purchased the car seat six weeks before this terrible death. But detectives said a few weeks -- let`s say a couple of weeks, because
they bought it six weeks prior -- they decided to put the old car seat back. Why did they do that?
Now I want to dovetail with this. Here`s the search warrant. And it says, "Harris stated he had recently started a new business with several
friends. He did not plan on resigning from his job. His intention was to make money on the side. When asked about the business, he said, `Well,
we`re just getting started and haven`t really established ourselves.`"
He also had $4,000 in credit card debt, outstanding student loans, car loans and he had just taken over finances for the family. Now we know they
had a life insurance policy on this child, two of them worth $27,000. Take all that and put it together, Elizabeth Espinosa, CNN Espanol anchor.
ESPINOSA: I hate to say it, but you know what? And again, we are going to give them and afford them due process. But you know, you do piece
together this puzzle, and it just spells guilty. I`m sorry.
I mean, on top of it, when you talked about mom, for example, in the courtroom, the woman looked absolutely unfazed. I lost my pet -- my pet,
not my child -- and I was crying for weeks. I could not be in a courtroom and just stand there and, you know, chew gum as if nothing were happening.
The fact, as you said -- you point out, as well, that when they were reunited, she said, "Did you say too much?" When she gets to the day care,
she actually says, "Oh, did he leave them in the car?" None of it makes sense. I mean, clearly, the guy is wacko, and I do believe there`s an
element of manipulation, of brainwashing of the wife, and she`s in it.
We`re just getting started learning, really, what`s -- this is going to go on.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: On the other side of the break, we`re going to ask, what did Ross Harris mean when he allegedly says to his wife at the police
station, "I dreaded how he would look"? Stay right there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s easy for everyone to kind of sit back all of a sudden and be some psychiatrist or body language expert and convict
this woman because she didn`t know enough emotion, Jane. She didn`t cry. She was chewing gum during the hearing. They were literally tearing apart
every word that that she said at the eulogy of her son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As we`re watching their reunion, after he`s talking about how Cooper looked peaceful and his eyes were closed and just,
you know, looked like he was sleeping, he goes -- he goes, "I dreaded how he would look."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dreaded, past tense?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As in past tense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, how would -- or why would this man say to his wife upon being reunited after their child`s death, "I dreaded how he would
look," past tense? I want to know if anybody has a thought on that on our panel. So let`s go to the panel. We`ve got a very special guest that
we`re going to go to next. But does anybody have a thought, why would he say, "I dreaded how he would look," past tense, Mo?
IVORY: Jane, because I think that sometimes when you`re doing something and you`re trying to be so careful as to everything you say to
make your case, you just forget about certain things. You sort of can`t -- a criminal can`t keep up with every single thing that they need to do in
sort of setting forth their defense or their alibis or whatever.
So he used past tense because he wasn`t on guard when he got to say that certain statement. He`s making mistakes in this plan, and that`s why
he used past tense, because he told her that Cooper died and he looked very peaceful. But we all know that Cooper didn`t die a peaceful death at all.
And so that`s why he used past tense, because he knew that it would be a dreadful death.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Brian?
CLAYPOOL: Hey, Jane -- hey, Jane, there`s no playbook for how to react to trauma. It`s not like going to the bookstore and buying a book on
how to bake a cake, and you get the directions and go home to your kitchen and make a cake. There`s no such book for dealing with trauma.
We`re analyzing every single word that he`s using, every single lack of emotion that she has to come to some conclusion that they are
premeditated, collaborative murderers. And I want to remind everybody that we need evidence -- we need evidence.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Brian, he said the child`s eyes were closed. Detectives say the child`s eyes were opened. He said the child looked
peaceful. Detectives said the child`s tongue was sticking out and he was in the process of rigor mortis. Why those lies? Why those lies?
CLAYPOOL: Jane -- Jane, sometimes -- sometimes parents aren`t fit to be parents, and what they do is they have a negative view on the world.
And maybe they don`t want their kids to live in this world because of all the bad things happening in this world. And sometimes they may have
thoughts, what would it be like...
IVORY: And then sometimes they -- sometimes they commit murder. So when they have those thoughts and they go to the next step and then they
commit murder, which is what happened here.
So to say, like, we`re just looking at the emotions or -- all those things are going to be introduced at trial. A lot of these things are
going to matter as to their thought as to what was going on.
CLAYPOOL: Mo -- Mo -- Mo -- Mo, before you give your closing argument, before you give your closing argument, Mo, you need to gather --
father mental health information on Justin. Gather all the medical records on Cooper, and then let`s get together and let`s have another discussion.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Guys, I have to introduce Chris Wilkinson who can give us some insight into this defendant, Ross Harris` mental state. You
were a friend of Justin Ross Harris when he lived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. You`re in Alabama. You`ve been hearing all this.
There are two personas here, you know. Your friend, to you, looked like a doting dad. But now we`re learning, oh, he lied about his name, his
age, where he lives on a site that he was using to meet women. Chris Wilkinson?
CHRIS WILKINSON, FRIEND OF JUSTIN ROSS HARRIS (via telephone): Yes, again, not nearly as shocking as all that that came out in court last
Thursday and I guess the blow is a little dull because all that did come out. But it`s still surprising to hear.
But listening -- you know, I`ve had an interesting phenomenon go on because I`ve been riding back in a car with me (inaudible) as opposed to
how I usually participate in the interview, which is at home watching while I`m talking to you all.
And I keep hearing about, he dreaded how Cooper would look. While I don`t want to speculate, well, you were there, Ross, when they took him out
of the car. I`m having a hard time with that statement, not just in the past tense but you know how he looked. Why did you make that statement?
You were there when they took him out of the car.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, the obvious implication is, "I dreaded how he would look", it sounds like he might be anticipating what was going to
happen because he knew it was going to happen allegedly --
WILKINSON: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- and therefore he was dreading how his child would look once the child was dead. Correct me if I`m wrong, panel, but that`s
the implication, is it not, Mo Ivory?
MO IVORY, RADIO HOST: Absolutely, that`s the implication. He was saying to his wife that when we did this, when this happened, the one thing
on my mind was I was dreading what he was going to look like. When he saw him, it was way worse than he probably thought it was going to be. This
child was fighting for his life --
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dr. Wendy, we only have a couple of seconds before our break. We`ll continue this but --
WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST: I have to say one thing.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- why would he say the --
WALSH: The most important word there -- Jane the most important word there wasn`t "dreaded". It is "I". It was all about him here.
IVORY: Yes.
WALSH: What he had to endure by seeing that roasted baby. That`s narcissism. A mother would say, "Oh, my God, it was so awful how he must
have suffered."
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I would love to know what her reaction to that comment was. If somebody said to me about someone who had just died, "I
dreaded how they would look", I mean I would say what the hell are you talking about, you dreaded --
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- how would you even have -- why would you even be able to think that if this was an accident?
IVORY: Why would you even say that?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Exactly.
BRIAN CLAYPOOL, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Maybe because he was in shock, Jane.
IVORY: Oh, please, that`s garbage.
ELIZABETH ESPINOSA, CNN ESPANOL: That is not shock. That is not shock.
IVORY: Come on.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Facebook blowing up. We`ll be back in a moment. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This came as a total shock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The motive basically in this case involves drugs and alcohol.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Megan Huntsman is now officially an accused serial killer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police discovered seven dead infants in the garage, babies police say 39-year-old Megan Huntsman gave birth to, charged
with killing at least six of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She suffocated or strangled six of the children immediately after they were born.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would never in a million years think that something like this could happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Breaking news tonight, a woman who masqueraded as just your average neighbor and friend, well, her secret double life has
been uncovered. Cops already knew that this Utah woman, Megan Huntsman, hid at least seven pregnancies from friends and neighbors, giving birth to
the babies and then strangling or suffocating at least six of them.
But tonight, we`re learning the reason. It wasn`t Megan`s only toxic secret. Investigators say once they got her in cuffs, she confessed to
murdering her innocent newborns because she was a drug addict.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The motive basically in this case involves drugs and alcohol. She -- Megan has stated during her interview that during that
time frame she was heavily into methamphetamine and after that period also there was a period of alcohol abuse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The 39-year-old woman -- she was hauled into jail a few months ago after her estranged husband who was just released from jail
after serving eight years on drug charges found -- he stumbled upon the body of one of the newborns in a box in the family`s garage. That was the
tip of the iceberg. Investigators then proceeded to find half a dozen more infants.
Want to go out to Scott McCain, reporter KSTU, I think the big shocker here, we`re going to talk in a second to a neighbor who had no idea
despite being her neighbor for 14 years that this woman was pregnant at all? That this woman was a drug addict at all? Scott, how on earth did
this woman hide all this?
SCOTT MCCAIN, REPORTER KSTU (via telephone): Yes, it does sound pretty incredible. I mean it was really a shock to everyone here. But I
think as far as the drug use goes that was kind of reporters talking in the courtroom. That seemed to be the odds-on favorite for the reason why.
But how in terms of how she hid not one, now two but seven pregnancies, not only from her neighbors but apparently from her husband
still is a head-scratcher and one of the most amazing, unbelievable stories I`ve covered here in two decades.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you don`t know people. I mean we`re learning that with the previous story and now with this story.
I want to go to Sandee Wall. You`ve lived next door to this woman, this accused baby killer, for 14 years. I want to thank you for joining us
from Pleasant Grove, Utah. You`re telling me that in all this time she acted like a normal neighbor. You didn`t have any idea she was ever
pregnant and you had no idea she had a meth problem?
SANDEE WALL, NEIGHBOR (via telephone): You know, absolutely not. She was very quiet and pretty much stayed to herself. She stayed in the house.
I saw her walking up the driveway a few times but couldn`t hardly ever get her to wave. She`s just a very quiet person. I never would have ever
thought she was on drugs or pregnant.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you have any theories how she hid it?
WALL: I don`t, except after talking to the family -- and this was out of the news (inaudible) but the first two girls that she had, no one knew
she was even pregnant until someone said, we need to go to the hospital, Megan`s in the hospital having a baby. And that was the only thing I can
ever think of.
It`s hard to imagine 10 pregnancies because she does have three daughters. But 10 and never showing -- it just seems impossible to me --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Sandee wait, are you saying that people did know -- that some people did know she got pregnant and delivered because if
that were true, where did the tracking system go off the wall?
WALL: Yes, there`s only one that they had a baby shower for. That was her last daughter that`s 14. Her sister-in-law told me that -- she had
also another sister-in-law that was pregnant so she decided to do the whole, you know, game and look pregnant and have a baby shower. But all
the rest of them she obviously never looked pregnant.
I don`t know how Darren didn`t know. But even the family didn`t know about the first two until the day of delivery when the baby was born.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And Sandee, I`m looking at her eyes. I mean these are cray-cray eyes. Looks like somebody on drugs but yet, I guess she
stayed far away enough that you couldn`t really study her expression to realize she was on meth?
WALL: No. I never would have -- I had talked to her before. I helped her mow her lawn a few times, helped her with the lawn mower. I
never had a clue. And that were the days when she would have killed the babies. And I never even dreamed that she was on meth.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We have to leave it right there, Sandee. And I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to us. You don`t know your
neighbors. You think you know them. I`m sure dressed up on the front lawn mowing she looks like just another average American. But, wow, a serial
baby killer and a meth head.
All right. Moving on, he was the star of one of the hottest shows on TV. I`m obsessed with this show. But everything`s come crashing down.
And now the actor who played a fixer on "Scandal" is dealing with his own scandals and he`s finally sitting down and talking about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had no right to bring another woman into his wife`s house. He knew that would probably set her off. That`s a trigger
for her, especially if she thought he was cheating anyway. And so the wife, in her own home, handled business with someone who was not welcome in
her home.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ex-"Scandal" star, Columbus Short.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know he played Harrison Wright. Well, he`s not going to be returning to the show.
COLUMBUS SHORT, ACTOR: I wasn`t as innocent back then as you think.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grabbed a knife from the kitchen, choked her and held the knife to her neck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, one of Olivia Pope`s fixers breaks his silence about his real-life scandal, former "Scandal" star Columbus Short
has had his share of run-ins with the law. We`re talking countless arrests, restraining orders and just this past Fourth of July weekend, he
was charged with public intoxication in Dallas. Something happened in a bar.
Now he`s trying to set the record straight on "Access Hollywood". Listen to this
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHORT: I haven`t been perfect. I have not been perfect. But I have not been all the things that`s in the press.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok, a couple of months ago, the "Scandal" star announced he would not be returning to ABC`s hit show. Something a lot of
people expected when his character, Harrison, ended up with a gun pointed at his face on the season finale. Remember this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHORT: I asked you a question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think you can take me because I`m old and injured. You can`t take command, son. No one can take command. Right,
Tom?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a shame, really, a waste of such a great talent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, to be young, gifted and black.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I love this show. I am totally hooked. Jasmine Simpkins, entertainment reporter Columbus Short claims that his departure
from the show is not connected to all of his bad behavior, do you buy it?
JASMINE SIMPKINS, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: I don`t, Jane. And I think that -- I actually think it`s a good thing though for him.
And let me just say, I know Columbus. We went to the same church growing up as a kid. So, I know his family. So hearing these things and
seeing what`s happening and what`s unraveling in his life is just very disheartening. This is not the guy I used to know and I really hope he
gets some help.
But I think what has happened, that his family, his family at "Scandal", they have all rallied behind him and said, listen you`ve got to
take a departure and you`ve really got to get yourself together and really, really deal with the problems and the demons that you have.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, my gosh, the list: 2008, arrested for drunk driving; 2010, accused of sucker-punching another player during a
basketball game, he pleaded no contest. Three months ago, he allegedly hit his wife. Another occasion allegedly shoved her -- arrested both those
times. Allegedly punched a guy this past spring at a bar, charged with battery. His wife says he threatened her with a knife.
We don`t have time for it all, Elizabeth Espinosa, what do you make of it?
ESPINOSA: I know. You know what; listen I appreciated him coming out and finally breaking his silence. Good publicity, you know what I`m
saying. Get yourself out there. You need to get a new job. You`re not going to be on one of the highest-rated TV shows after.
But listen, it`s clear that this man has a problem. Let`s look at the list you just read off. What`s the common denominator -- Jane?
Alcohol. Columbus Short. It`s him -- there`s a problem with this guy.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I was thinking public intoxication. Possibly that he has an alcohol problem. I don`t know. I did once and I`ll tell you,
there`s something called sobriety that`s the cure for that. I mean it`s no cure -- it`s a daily reprieve. But I`d say that if it looks like a duck
and quacks like a duck -- I know because I`ve been there and I`m 19 years sober -- it`s a duck.
And so you`ve got to wonder -- he`s a great actor. I`m a huge fan. I`m a huge fan. I love the show. I wish he was still on it. He was a big
part of it. It`s a shame. But maybe this is an opportunity for him to deal with his issues and fix it. Get it handled.
More on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHORT: They did not throw me to the curb like trash. That`s my family. They knew that I was going through a tough season and rallied
around me. It was very classy. It was very tough day for both sides.
As hard as it was to hear, it was as hard for ABC and for Shonda to pass that information on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: He`s talking about Shonda Rhimes, the visionary that is behind -- there she is, the lady in the white dress there -- behind
"Scandal".
Jasmine Simpkins, entertainment reporter, here`s a couple of Facebook comments. Gisele, "I love him no matter what. We all have our struggles."
Sharon, "What does it matter what actors do in their personal life?"
Do you think he was overwhelmed by becoming a celebrity he just couldn`t handle it?
SIMPKINS: You know what -- I don`t think that. I think that there`s something he`s openly admitted. He even said it on "Access Hollywood"
that, you know, he has a problem with alcohol and I think it`s just getting the best of him. And he`s definitely going to have to enroll himself in
some type of rehab program. I think that`s going to be the best way for him to really take back his life, take back his career and put this behind
him.
But I think he`s going to be able --
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you think that`s why his marriage kind of went south? Well, it definitely went south. She`s got a restraining order
against him.
SIMPKINS: I definitely do. I think if you look at when these things started to happen and the things that are being reported about their
marriage -- you know, they`ve been married eight years. You are just now hearing about things that are going on in their household and I think it`s
because something is going on with him and he`s definitely not handling it in the best way and he`s taking to the bottle unfortunately.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well look --
ESPINOSA: And it sounds like he`s in denial too.
(CROSSTALK)
ESPINOSA: I just think -- I think like he`s a little bit in denial as well. Yes, he talked about this. But I mean if anybody, Jane, you`re an
expert. You know what this is. And as you said, it`s a disease, it`s an addiction. You have to work on it every day.
He`s got to want to do that. He`s got to be a part of that solution. Sure Stanley can step in all day long but he`s got to want to do something
to save his life.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: On the other side of the break, I have a message as a recovering alcoholic for Columbus Short.
Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We have got some wonderful breaking news for you. Hallelujah, I`m so happy. It`s not every day that we get to report happy
endings on this show.
And so when I heard that this woman who we covered last night, this 17-year-old who had disappeared three weeks ago from her home in Washington
State had been found safe and sound just moments ago, it makes me so happy. We interviewed live her mother last night from Washington State. The woman
was devastated, fearing the worst, absolutely shaken. And all I can say is I`m so happy for this young lady and for her family.
She disappeared about three weeks ago and she said in her journal, "if you read this I`m either missing or dead" so people were terrified.
They thought she might have been swept up into some kind of sex trafficking. And again, often when those kinds of stories occur, there`s
only unhappy endings and tragic endings.
But this young lady has been found alive. She`s safe. I say, yes, I`m so happy and I`m happy for her family. That makes me feel good.
Nancy is next.
END
