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Jane Velez-Mitchell

Mother in Hot Car Death Speaks Out; Sandra Bullock Face to Face with Her Stalker; Young Woman Brutally Murdered in Philadelphia

Aired July 15, 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, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news tonight in the hot car death investigation. We`ve finally gotten a word from the side of the dead

boy`s mother. I`ve been begging, Leanna Harris, her attorneys, please come forward and give your side of the story, we want to hear it.

Good evening. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live. Just moments ago, we got this statement hot off the presses where Leanna`s attorney

sternly says he wants an end to his client being questioned like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get over it. We`re not going to bother you anymore.

LEANNA: We have no comments for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you support your husband still? Just tell me that.

LEANNA: We have no comments for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Leanna Harris`s defense attorney Lawrence Zimmerman has more complaints in this just released statement, scolding the news media

for the "constant speculation and innuendo. " Reporters have delved into Leanna`s upbringing, her employment, quizzed people for information about

her marriage and her sex life." Clearly he`s suggesting his client, who has not been charged with anything, is being treated unfairly. But others

suggest it`s her husband Ross Harris and the cops investigating him who have put this family in the national spotlight. Cops say Ross Harris is

the one sexting at least six women while their toddler was baking to death inside his sweltering SUV. The dad insists, oh, it was an accident.

Prosecutors say it was intentional. Ross` hearing put their whole life under a microscope. It was the detective who testified in open court,

nationally televised, that Leanna said they were having intimacy problems. That`s the phrase he used. Tonight Leanna`s attorney says his client has

not had time to grieve, hasn`t gone back to work, and we know she went to stay with her mother in Alabama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Leaving Cooper in a hot car for several hours.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve only been here about 15 minutes, it`s 108 degrees already.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Researching child car deaths on the Internet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone starts becoming a private eye and everything looks suspicious.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re only hearing one side of the story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The nicest guy that you`ve ever met.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you support your husband still? Just tell me that.

LEANNA: We have no comments for you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I would love to hear the attorney for this wife --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you`re honest with yourself then you realize that tragedies happen.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So, my question for viewers at home and on Facebook, do you think Leanna is being treated unfairly? I want to hear from you.

Well, take it to - 1-877-JVM SAYS, 1-877. 586-7297. Straight out to the lines, and we begin with HLN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks. You`ve

had a chance to study this just-released letter. What do you make of this attorney`s statements?

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Jane, as we know, she lawyered up just recently. As you and everyone else want to hear, what

does this lawyer have to say? Well, he has spoken in this statement and basically saying, leave my client alone to mourn in - with dignity. But he

goes on to say, dealing with her grief has become more difficult as days go on, however in large part because of constant speculation and innuendo in

the media, newspapers, television, and online media have fostered a poisonous atmosphere, in which Leanna`s every word, action and emotion - or

failure to cry in front of the crowd is scrutinized for supposed hidden meaning. And then he goes on to compare her, Leanna Harris, his client,

with Richard Jewell, who was supposedly hounded after the Olympic Park bombing because he didn`t behave in ways -- he thought he was - if you

remember - he was the security officer who actually found the bomb.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yeah.

BROOKS: . knocked people out of the way before it went off. But Jane, there was one person, one person who`s not mentioned in this statement that

I find very interesting. And that is Justin Ross Harris himself. And I`m wondering if maybe this is a move to distance herself and her party and her

attorney from her husband.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, interesting. Well, what do you make of that, Brian Claypool, defense attorney?

BRIAN CLAYPOOL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I don`t buy that at all. Leanna Harris has no incentive to distance herself from her husband Ross Harris. Hear me

out, here`s why. Because -- no, Ross Harris -- let me finish, Ross Harris is going to argue at trial it was either an accident or he had some kind of

diminished capacity and that negates the criminal intent. Now Leanna Harris, the best thing she could ever do is go to Alabama, sit tight. She

doesn`t have to barter any deals at all. Because the only way she could be held liable is if she had an agreement with Ross to kill her son. So

there`s no incentive for her to do that.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You just said there`s no incentive for her to distance herself from her husband, who at the very least was intentional or not,

according to cops, sexting six different women, including a teenager, at the time that their son is roasting to death in a hot car in a torturous

death. Dr. Gabe Grenshaw, do you agree?

DR. GABE GRENSHAW: No, I don`t. Actually, Brian, I love you, but I don`t agree at all, not with this. She`s got lots of reasons. I mean she`s -

right now she`s the grieving mother. She`s got a husband who allegedly there`s infidelity. And he`s been charged with the murder of their son.

We always look to, you know -- I`m not a lawyer, but usually, you know, when a death or a homicide happens, you tend to look to the next person, in

a marriage you look to the wife. If it`s wife, look to the husband. And so, I think she`s got lots of reasons.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But as the wife --

GRENSHAW: Because .

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Who was talking, Sierra or (INAUDIBLE)

SIERRA ELIZABETH, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: If the wife believes that her husband is innocent, why would she try to distance herself? This is what this

letter is saying.

GRENSHAW: That`s right. I trust my husband

ELIZABETH: Listen, I believe .

GRENSHAW: Well, maybe she`s ambivalent.

ELIZABETH: Let me mourn in the way that I choose to. And it`s great for the defense if she continues to keep silent. And when that time comes she

properly backs up her husband.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I don`t think she`s backing her husband up. I mean she`s not saying that her husband`s innocent.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m going to read it again. We just got it. But I don`t think she`s saying, you know, my husband`s unfairly accused. No, she`s

not. She`s not talking about her husband.

ELIZABETH: Because it`s not the time for that.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yeah.

ELIZABETH: It`s not the time for that at this moment.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, it could be it could be.

GRENSHAW: If they were going to have a united front, it`s a crisis in a family. Psychologically, you pull together. And there seems to me to be a

sort of distancing apart, there has to be reasons, we don`t know, I have not spoken to her, but they`re not pulling together.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Leanna -- let`s get back to Leanna`s attorney, Leanna Harris`s attorney complains that this woman, this woman who has lost her

toddler son is just being unfairly judged. Now, he says Leanna`s every word, every action, every emotion or failure to cry in front of a crowd is

being scrutinized for some supposed meaning. But it was the detective on the witness stand at her husband`s probable cause hearing who claimed

Leanna didn`t cry when she heard her son was dead. It was the detective who said it was Leanna`s own mother who was screaming at her over the phone

and wondering why Leanna was so calm. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She just started screaming. And she`s like what do you mean Cooper`s no longer here, what do you mean? And during this

conversation with all this emotion coming out, she asked Leanna ..

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The emotion coming out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The emotion`s coming from her mom, who she identified as her mom, and during that, she`s like, why aren`t you crying? Why aren`t

you reacting to this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what did Leanna say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She said, I must be in shock.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Back to the lion`s den. Loni Coombs, former prosecutor. If there`s anybody, Leanna`s attorney should be upset with, shouldn`t it be

the prosecutor and that cop who, in an open hearing that they knew was televised nationally and indeed, internationally, repeatedly honed in on

Leanna`s behavior even though her husband was the one in the defendant`s chair?

LONI COOMBS, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Absolutely. Look, Leanna was sitting there listening to that evidence like all the rest of us were. She knew

what that detective was doing. She knew what he was implying. And she has distanced herself, Brian. I apologize that she physically distanced

herself after that because she moved back with her parents, and then she got her own attorney. She didn`t just go sit there .

CLAYPOOL: She`s grieving.

COOMBS: She didn`t` go seek advice .

GRENSHAW: Interesting too, yeah.

COOMBS: and. counsel from her husband`s attorney.

(CROSSTALK)

COOMBS: She got her own attorney so she could get counsel and advice for herself. And let me tell you, Brian. You and I both know that when

there`s two possible, and I`m not saying suspects, I`m saying possible suspects, in any case, the prosecutor is looking at both of those parties

to see how much do they know.

BROOKS: Absolutely. And can we use them against each other? And there`s a reason why we`re not hearing from her or from her attorney, because there

might be, there might be conversations going back and forth between the prosecutors and Leanna to decide, is she a witness? Is she a possible

suspect? Can we use her against her husband? Those are all things that are going on. And there`s a benefit to Leanna to not come out and say anything

or her attorney because that keeps the options open for her.

CLAYPOOL: She doesn`t need .

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go ahead.

CLAYPOOL: She has no - Jane, she has no voice. She`s been pummeled for the last week or two by everybody internationally. She had to hire a

lawyer to speak on her behalf, to say hey, leave my client alone. She needs to grieve. So, that`s why she hired a lawyer, number one. Number

two, the reason she went to Alabama is not because she`s distancing from her husband, it`s because she truly wants to sit down in peace and quiet

and grieve the loss of her son.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look, one of the reasons this case has sparked a national firestorm is because cops say Ross Harris, her husband, was sexting six

women. Six women. Sending photos of his erect penis to some of them while his son was dying inside his sweltering car.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was having up to six different conversations with different women, it appeared, from the message, from Kick mostly, which is

a messaging service.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of what nature were they?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The most common term would be sexting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were photos being sent back and forth between these women and the defendant during this day while the child`s out in the car?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, there were photos of his exposed penis, erect penis, being sent. There were also photos of women`s breasts being sent

back to him. She says something to the effect, do you have a conscience?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what was his response?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Mike Brooks, HLN law enforcement analysts, you`ve investigated cases. He`s the guy accused of murder. She is not charged

with anything. But when you start talking about sexting and the detective`s mentioning intimacy problems and the fact that they also said

that he had been cheating on her, that she was aware, they implied she was aware that he had cheated on her, they even implied that he was sexting at

home sometimes with the little boy in the room. It`s very hard. That becomes a mess. It`s very hard to say, we`re not going to talk about this

person whatsoever while we talk about this person, in a case that has captured the national interest. The nation`s interest.

BROOKS: Right, and the defense who was constantly objecting during the hearing, Jane. But the judge what - is allowing a little bit more, a

little bit more, and he basically said finally, one more time. Because he was also looking up the single life. So what does that tell you? Intimacy

problems, single life? Maybe he wanted out. There was a lot of other things going on too. Especially Leanna Harris said to her husband while

they were in the interview room, while detectives were listening in, "Did you say too much?"

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re going to talk more about that on the other side. Facebook lighting up. Lori says "This case has so many twists and turns

I`m curious if cops will uncover something more." Jill, "I think she had lots of contradictions in her statement at the funeral, glad he won`t

suffer, though, through life`s events but would have another child with him." That`s right. Leanna did say at the funeral she`d be willing to

have another child and defended her husband as a great daddy. But that was before the probable cause hearing where all the sexting came out. More on

the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would I bring him back? No. To bring him back into this broken world would be selfish. Am I angry with Ross? Absolutely not.

It has never crossed my mind.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have -- my daughter is a little over two years old now and I have a 9-week-old son. And, you know, when you look at both of

them, you think, you know, I would never do this. I would never, ever, in a million years, you know, put myself in this position. But if you`re

honest with yourself, then you realize that tragedies happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That is a friend of Ross Harris who is the husband of this woman whose attorney has just come out with this message. Leave her alone.

And there she is evading the media and going into her home. That`s - I believe it`s her mother. And there she is with her back to the camera.

And, you know, we`re trying to explain that, hey, we`ve been trying to get their side of the story. I asked for it all the time. And we would love

to have Leanna`s attorney on to talk at any time. But the other part of it is that the behavior of the husband is very enmeshed with the wife because

of the sexting angle. And her alleged mission to authorities that they were having intimacy problems. The fact that he`s sexting allegedly six

different women, one of them a teenager. Let`s go out to the phone lines. Judy in New Jersey, what you got to say, Judy in New Jersey?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, hi. I just wanted to say that, you know, watching the show, the mother`s body language, she reminds me of Susan

Smith except without the tears and the pleading for her child. I believe she`s calculating, organizing her thoughts, because whenever they`re in

court she does not know what`s going to be the turn of events, what`s going to be said, how he`s going to change his story. I think she`s counting on

-- she`s keeping on her toes and calculating and thinking and observing and intaking everything.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK, well, let me say, Judy in New Jersey, with all due respect that`s exactly the kind of speculation that Leanna`s attorney is

just really upset about and he says his client has been in total agony since little Cooper`s death. "Leanna Harris is living every parent`s

nightmare. The child she bore and loved every moment of his life has died. She will never again be able to tuck him into bed at night and return later

to check on him." So, you know. Some of Ross` friends, "OK, have also described him as a loving dad. Leanna`s attorney is really the first

person to come out and say something nice about her since Cooper died, officially. There`s been a whole lot of speculation.

Loni Coombs, former prosecutor. Why not set the record straight in a more forthright fashion? I mean this poor woman is grieving and I do not want

to write a script for her. I don`t like to write scripts for anybody. I don`t like when people write scripts for me and said what you should have

said was. But is there something else that she could do proactively to distance herself from this story that involves her husband`s sexual

behavior, clearly?

COOMBS: I think the best thing she can do to distance herself is to stay quiet. Once this statement`s out there saying she`s grieving, just leave

it alone. Now, legally there`s strategy also to her staying quiet. And that is she doesn`t know yet what the prosecution`s going to do with this

case. She doesn`t want to put a statement out there that somehow might be turned against her, whether it`s rightfully so or whether it`s twisted

against her that can be held up and used against her. So she should say nothing at this point. I`m sure that`s exactly what her attorney is

telling her and that`s why her attorney is not talking about the actual case.

GRENSHAW: But you know what?

COOMBS: There`s no benefit about talking the actual case.

GRENSHAW: Dr. Gabe.

GRENSHAW: Yeah, but that`s just the issue right there. I mean even on college campuses, my graduate students at USC are saying that`s the whole

issue with seemingly she appears to be calculating. There are inconsistencies. So all of a sudden now -- I know it`s a murder case now,

but it wasn`t before. And this sense of being quiet, mothers all around the world are going, yeah, we grieve differently, and I know as a doctor we

grieve differently, but there are some consistencies.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Everybody jumping here and say what`s coming up on Facebook. Jeff, "She`s not being treated unfairly at all, with a young

baby dead the public deserves answers." And here`s Jim .

GRENSHAW: Exactly.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jay, "We are all upset about Cooper`s death, but we need to back off the mom, she did not leave the baby in the car." And that`s a

good point entirely. And I think - I got to go back to Mike Brooks, look. One of the main reasons that --

BROOKS: We don`t know that.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: People are asking questions about this woman is that the detective on the witness stand, in front of the world said that when she

got to the day care to pick up her son, and was told he hadn`t been dropped off, she said, and I`ll let you finish the sentence, it`s the most

controversial thing she said.

BROOKS: "He must have left him in the car." And my question all along, Jane, how did she make this quantum leap from the baby not being there to

he must have left him in the car?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yeah.

ELIZABETH: And Jane --

CLAYPOOL: I can answer that. I can answer that.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go ahead, Brian.

BROOKS: Please.

CLAYPOOL: This guy, I`m telling you, from day one, when I saw this guy Ross Harris, he looks like a character. He`s got an irresponsible

background. And it`s possible that there were other occasions --

(CROSSTALK)

CLAYPOOL: She`s like, whoa, it happened again.

GRENSHAW: I`m with you, Brian. I`m with you.

ELIZABETH: Jane --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I have to move on to one other subject. One of the six women Ross was allegedly sexting was only 16 years old when their

communications started. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now the 16-year-old girl, were these chats -- now 17, they started when she was 16.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did these -- were these sexually involved as well?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did she send him a picture that day?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She sent a picture of her exposed breasts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did he send any pictures to her?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did, he sent a picture of his exposed erect penis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Woodstock, Georgia, police are now looking into those messages as well. Another investigation. Mike Brooks, tell us about new

information you`ve uncovered.

BROOKS: Well, I`ve been looking into the - I looked at the child pornography possession statutes in all the states. And I`ve got Georgia.

And Georgia describes a minor as any person under the age of 18 years. And they talk about visual medium: i.e., pictures. This is video pictures -

mean any film, photograph, negative, slide, magazine, or other visual medium: is unlawful for any person knowingly to employ, use, persuade,

induce, entice, or coerce any minor to engage in or assist any other person to engage in any sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any

visual medium depicting such conduct.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sierra Elizabeth, attorney, quickly. Because of this married father`s sexting with not just women, but with a teenager,

allegedly, that makes the issue of their intimacy problems which she allegedly admitted to cops relevant, no?

ELIZABETH: Jane, it may make it relevant, you`re correct. But that`s why it`s even more important that she remain silent at this time. Could you

imagine seeing your significant other on TV being accused of sexting all these women, and what your emotions would be like at the time? That`s why

it`s in the defense`s best interests to keep her quiet and to talk about her grieving about her son. It may be relevant to his case that he was

sexting underage women and that`s unfortunate because I think he may actually be innocent if his wife sticks by his side and he continues to

tell his side of the story.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`ll debate that on the other side. He`s the one in the hot seat. He`s the one accused of murder. He`s the one that cops,

prosecutors, said did it intentionally. Although the charges have not been upgraded to that intentional murder yet. We`re going to talk about the

grand jury. What is going to happen next in this case on the other side? And we`re taking your calls and Facebook.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tragic accident or premeditated murder?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The father says he forgot to take the boy to daycare. Or something more sinister?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New search warrants just released this morning --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Up to six different conversations with different women.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Charged with murder and second-degree child cruelty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His exposed penis, erect penis being sent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he wanted to leave a child for life .

She asked him about cheating on his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Left for seven hours in his father`s car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tragedy and accident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or something much worse?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(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 FEMALE: - Of faithful husband and loving father.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He sexts women on the day his son died.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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: Defendant Ross Harris` wife Leanna`s attorney has just issued this statement saying, back off Leanna. And we want to stress she

has not been charged with anything, nor has she been named a suspect of the prosecution claims that it was her husband Ross who had been sexting other

women for at least a year before his son`s death. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he have chats regarding sexual activities with other women while his wife was sleeping and while his child was in the room

somewhere? This would have been back around 2013 leading up to 2014 when this happened. About two weeks before the child`s death, did he talk about

exposing himself while he`s chatting and messaging this girl?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And was he sending pictures?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he admits to her that he was not alone while he was doing it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were there sex and text messages talking about the fact that his wife knew he had cheated on her before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, there were.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Straight out to the lines. Dr. Gabe Grenshaw, psychologist. I mean, that is a really toxic scenario. He is sexting

women, his wife`s asleep, and there`s someone else in the room. The way I interpret it and I`m not the official, but it raised the insinuation that

his son, his little boy, was somewhere in the room. I mean, what kind of a creepy situation`s going on there?

GRENSHAW: You know, it`s of little consequence. It sounds like an irresponsible dad, it sounds like an irresponsible husband, someone not

taking their responsibilities seriously. And you know what, we`re getting more into his history. You know, Jane, I have to say, I did say this, when

the story first broke I said there`s a possibility that maybe that he`s finding that the kid is somewhat of an inconvenience. You`re online,

you`re looking at child free, you have these extracurricular activities, sexual activities going on. I`m wondering how much the wife knew. Women

oftentimes are the last to know, to be sure.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, but they said that she was aware. She was aware of his cheating. Loni Coombs, let me ask you this. As a former prosecutor

why on earth mention in this very widely watched hearing, they had to know the whole world was watching. Why keep on hearkening back to the wife?

That`s the only reason we`re talking about it. We didn`t do any -- none of the media did undercover investigation. It was mentioned in open court,

all these personal things.

COOMBS: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You just heard it right there.

COOMBS: Right.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why did they bring her into it?

COOMBS: Well, Jane, I`ll state two reasons. One is because they`re trying to put on a full picture for the judge to show exactly how involved this

is. But second of all, reading between the lines, sometimes prosecutors will put on their case, hinting to the evidence they have to apply

pressure. Do you think she felt pressure sitting there listening to all of this? They`re saying, look, we have a strong case against you, we want you

to come in and talk to us, to cooperate, to tell us what you know, what you don`t know. And that was a really good way to put some pressure on her in

a very public forum: to maybe cooperate with them in a way they don`t feel she`s doing right now.

VELEZ-MITCHELL And it`s possible that that pressure is applying not because she`s done anything wrong but because, since she lives inside the

house, she`s aware of his activities. She was aware allegedly of his cheating and she could testify to that. So it`s not just numbers, phone

numbers and forensics; it`s somebody saying, yes, he was doing this, and talking about the impact on their marriage and their life. I mean, that

would be a very, very important thing for the prosecution to have when this goes to trial.

On the other side -- and by the way we`re going to stay on top of this hot car story -- but on the other side, a Hollywood superstar, one of my

favorites, Sandra Bullock, I love her, she comes face to face with a stalker inside her home in the dead of night. Terrifying. We just got the

court documents. You will not believe what this guy was saying to her and was writing to her. It`s sick. Next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bullock, a Hollywood icon for decades, who most recently starred in the blockbuster hit, "Gravity," was presented with a so-called

Decade of Hotness honor at last night`s Guys Choice Awards in Culver city. Police say they received a hot prowler call, which means a resident inside

saw someone on the property attempting to break in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sandra Bullock had a rude awakening according to the Los Angeles Police Department. An intruder broke into her home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s a shame that anybody would be subject to this kind of intrusion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say they received a hot prowler call which means a resident inside saw someone on the property attempting to break in.

Police say the suspect, 39-year-old Joshua Corbett of Glendale, actually gained entry into Bullock`s home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL Tonight, the terrifying details as a Hollywood A-lister, Sandra Bullock, comes face to face with the man accused of stalking her,

and it`s all in this search warrant return. Shocking stuff. And you can`t put it down. It`s just too crazy.

The actress is at home alone. At 1:00 in the morning she hears loud banging. She runs to her bedroom, locks the door to call 911. Cops say

this 6 foot, 222-pound man in dark clothes is lurking right on the other side of her bedroom door. When police got to her California estate, they

say this suspect, Josh Corbett, started screaming, "Sandy, I`m sorry, please don`t press charges."

The search warrant shows he was carrying a letter addressed to the superstar, a notebook with multiple entries written to her, a magazine

cutout with four photos of the superstar, and a gun permit. And if you think that`s cuckoo, the letter he writes her in which he mentions her 4-

year-old son Louie is even more chilling. It`s creepy. Here`s part of it read by an HLN producer.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will forever be thinking of you and Louie, my son, as you are my wife by law, the law of God. And you belong to me and me to

you. I forgive you for anything you may have done and only want the chance to love you as you have made me feel loved. Lover Lover, I will be waiting

by those gates and when you decide to open them to me, I will run to you and forever and always as love and love always. You are so hot and

intelligent. Always and love forever, your husband, Joshua James Corbett.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL Oh, god. His wife, his son? He forgives her? Straight out to the lines. Dana Ward, host of Clevver TV. This guy ain`t clever.

I think the fact that he says, "I forgive you, Sandy," shows that he thinks she`s at fault for something and that shows how potentially dangerous he

could be.

DANA WARD, HOST, CLEVVER TV: Oh gosh, this is creepy beyond creep. I mean, we should start calling him Creeper McCreeperson. I`ve been

researching this all morning. And let me just say, you just reviewing this right now, I`m still creeped out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh god, yes.

WARD: So I just want to make sure everyone knows exactly what happened. So she woke up, 1:00 a.m., she goes out, she hears a loud banging in her

house. Goes outside and she comes face to face with this alleged stalker. I mean, can you believe it? Put yourself in her shoes. You don`t want to

be there. Locks herself in her room, calls 911. And when the police finally arrive, this guy says, "Please, Sandy, please, please don`t press

charges." And he actually calls her Sandy, which is the name that most of her friends and family call her. So he really just thinks he was on the

inside with her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL Yes, and I`m going to read some more of this crazy letter and then we`re going to get everybody to jump in. It`s so creepy. I mean,

really, it gives me goosebumps. Here`s more from what cops say is Corbett`s terrifying letter to Sandy.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sandy, you could have had me today; however, you choose other people over me. I`ll be around, as you know. I love you. You are

very special to me, and without you in my life there`s only misery. I`ve waited and waited and you never come. Perhaps this is all supposed to

happen some other way. Perhaps Hawaii or a run on the street, who knows.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL Dr. Gabe Crenshaw, I don`t want to laugh, because it`s very, very serious. This guy`s got a rap sheet for DUI. We`re going to

talk about the weapons cops say they found on him. But he is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. Oh, maybe this was supposed to happen another way, maybe in

Hawaii or a run? It`s almost like he can`t keep the words together.

CRENSHAW: Yes. Yes, really. I mean, there could be -- there`s loose associations and the break with reality to be sure. However, there are

categories, Jane. He sounds really like the incompetent stalker. And I know this seems crazy, but we do have these categories. The intimacy

stalker, which is really what he is, where he feels like he loves her and he actually believes it`s reciprocated. Shania Twain had this in 2009.

The incompetent stalker is actually hoping for a close relationship, if they only do the right thing, if they say the right thing, it will happen.

Britney Spears had it I think in 2004. But this last bit -- what was you just read -- sounds like the revengeful stalker. And that`s dangerous.

VELEZ-MITCHELL Well, this is scary stalker because of one word, guns. OK, you`re talking about the most talented actress in Hollywood, in my opinion.

I mean, I just love this woman. I`ve seen all her movies. I`m a huge fan. Especially "Miss Confidentiality (sic)", that`s one of my favorite movies.

But she got an award, an Academy Award, for her leading role in "The Blind Side." Check this out then we`ll talk about the weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDRA BULLOCK, ACTRESS: Do you have any place to stay tonight? Don`t you dare lie to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is mine?

BULLOCK: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never had one before.

BULLOCK: What, a room to yourself?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bed.

BULLOCK: Michael was here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell him to sleep with one eye open.

BULLOCK: You threaten my son, you threaten me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL All right, now we`re very happy to say that this little boy, said her son, was not at home at the time. But this guy is charged

with burglary, stalking and possessing what the D.A. calls an arsenal of weapons, including, are you sitting down? Half a dozen machine guns. Half

a dozen machine guns. He`s got 19 felony weapons counts against him.

So, I mean, Loni Coombs, as a former prosecutor, what do they have to do to prosecute this guy to make sure that Sandra Bullock is not terrified for

the rest of her life that this guy could be let out and come back?

COOMBS: Well, Jane, it`s clear, they have to put him away for as long as they can just to keep her safe. Look, I prosecuted a guy who was stalking

Meg Ryan. It was same thing; he thought he was married to her, he was in love with her. And at some point, that was going to turn to anger and

revenge when he`s looking at her and realizing she`s not spending time with me.

Then you add in the guns and all I have to say is two words: Rebecca Schaefer. Do you remember that tragedy?

VELEZ-MITCHELL Yes, of course, it was a tragedy. I mean, listen, you can`t, Mike Brooks, even if you have an estate, even if you have security

guards, if you`re living in a house with yard and with windows, there`s a million ways to get at that house. How do any of these celebrities stay

safe? It`s terrifying.

(CROSSTALK)

CRENSHAW: It`s predatory.

WARD: No, but here`s the thing, this happens all the time, every day.

BROOKS: Look, the LAPD --

WARD: It happens every day.

VELEZ-MITCHELL To have people to get past the security guards, it`s so scary.

CRENSHAW: That`s really the concern, that`s really the concern because he`s moving to a predator sort of stalker and the resentful stalker like

the attorney was saying. So, as a result of that, he can actually inflict harm. Because he`s upset because it`s not being reciprocated, so he`s now

upset and sexually -- believe it -- sexually and then physically he will assault Sandra Bullock, and this could be extremely --

VELEZ-MITCHELL Well, let`s hope not.

CRENSHAW: The repercussions are horrible.

VELEZ-MITCHELL Listen, I want to give Dana the last word because you came in just for this story. What is the last word that you have to say on

Sandra Bullock? I mean, she`s such a friendly star too. She never gets into trouble. Oh, yes, she had that guy once, you know who I`m talking

about. Jesse James I think was his name. I think that was her ex, right?

(CROSSTALK)

WARD: There was actually an alleged --

VELEZ-MITCHELL She`s such a nice person.

WARD: Oh, she is a sweetheart. And there was actually an alleged stalk history tried to run over her ex-husband back in the day. Maybe that

person was on her side? I don`t know. But I think something we really need to point out is that this happens every day to ordinary people and at

least Sandra has the resources to get the protection that she needs.

VELEZ-MITCHELL Well, yes, but it`s no fun living behind barbed wire. Kind of takes the fun out of being a superstar.

Up next we`re going to get Mike Brooks, HLN law enforcement analyst, to give us the latest on this chilling mystery. Police find the body of a

beautiful young woman bound and stuffed into a duffel bag. What on earth happened to this poor woman? We`re going to solve the mystery next, we

hope

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was very special. Her main goal in life were related to religion and to help things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dastardly, heinous. Why? Why, why, why?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL Tonight, breaking news in a very disgusting, vile crime. Outrage in Philadelphia tonight as a gruesome, mysterious murder stuns the

City of Brotherly Love. Cops say this beautiful woman, 23-year-old Laura Araju, seen here in her LinkedIn picture, was found brutally and I mean

brutally murdered. Beaten, strangled, put in a trash bag, then wrapped in a blanket, and then shoved in a duffel bag and she was bound and left in an

abandoned lot. Investigators say her body was found Monday morning about 5:30 in the morning. Cops believe her body had been laying there four to

eight hours.

An even stranger twist, cops say Laura was in the process of moving and she had loaded all her belongings into her car. But cops say the attacker

tossed everything she owned around her body and then drove the car about six miles in order to set it on fire.

Straight out to the lion`s den. HLN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks has been studying this case. What do we know about a possible motive and why

somebody would do something like this to this very accomplished woman?

BROOKS: They don`t know for sure right now, Jane. But they believe that she was strangulated and she died of blunt-force trauma. It was a

homicide. And, as you said, her 2011 RAV-4 was found six miles south in South Philly set on fire. But all her other belongings were found there in

that vacant lot. All her jewelry, clothes, shoes, all the different plastic trash can bags, because she was in the process of moving. And she

was looking for another apartment after going to the Art Institute of Philadelphia.

But right now, they don`t have any suspects. But hopefully they`ll be able to get something of evidentiary value from there on the scene, because she

was found about 5:30 a.m. Monday morning, Jane. Just thrown out like trash in that vacant lot.

VELEZ-MITCHELL You know, what occurs to me, Dr. Gabe Crenshaw, psychologist -- first of all, having been a young woman who moved from

place to place and sometimes asked people, would you help me if I didn`t have a lot when I was much earlier. I also worked for a year and a half in

Philadelphia as a reporter and anchor many years ago. And I know there can be very dangerous areas there, and that you don`t want to be roaming around

in the dead of night. But could it be somebody that she had asked to help her move? Because it wasn`t a robbery. There were things left right

there.

CRENSHAW: Yes. You know what, it`s a big mystery right now, Jane. And it could be, it could be someone who she asked to help her. It could be

someone she knows. It could be a perfect stranger. It could be some sort of serial. I mean, we just don`t know. What concerns me more than

anything is the level of violence and I believe there`s implication she was sexually assaulted as well.

BROOKS: No, she was not.

COOMBS: No.

CRENSHAW: So there`s a lot more.

VELEZ-MITCHELL So she was not -- ?

BROOKS: She was not, no.

VELEZ-MITCHELL No, she was not sexually assaulted.

CRENSHAW: OK, I`m sorry, I thought -- they don`t believe she was, OK. I had read that she was.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL But, still, this was a very violent crime. I mean, she -- who would bound the hands of somebody, bound (sic) them, and then stick

them in a garbage bag, and then stick them in a duffel bag -- that is the ultimate hate and rage.

And Sierra Elizabeth, your turn.

ELIZABETH: I think the amount of time it took that criminal to bound (sic) her and strangle her and put her in a bag means this crime was

probably personal, not someone who helped her on the street but someone who had a vendetta against her and that she had come across earlier in her

life.

VELEZ-MITCHELL Well, this young woman --

CRENSHAW: Because of the strangulation?

BROOKS: And the binding.

CRENSHAW: You`re saying because of the strangulation?

ELIZABETH: Yes absolutely.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL We`ve got more theories on the other side. Got to take a break. We`ll be right back. We`ve got your calls.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Medical examiner`s office conducted an autopsy and has ruled this a homicide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL Laura had just moved out of an apartment in Philadelphia she shared with friends. Investigators say they aren`t sure her new

residence is supposed to be. But Laura did post on Facebook last year, "I just want you guys to know that I broke into my apartment with a plastic

bag this morning." And that`s odd, that you can get into your own apartment with a plastic bag. So maybe this area -- I don`t know.

Susan, Illinois, what is your theory?

CALLER: I don`t know. 12 years ago, I was raped and beaten within an inch of my life by a 2 x 4 and by the grace of God I did survive but they never

got my attacker. And this is heartbreaking for me because I hope they catch this person and prosecute him three ways from Sunday.

VELEZ-MITCHELL Well, Susan, I want to applaud you for your courage in speaking about that, and I`m glad you survived and that you are OK. And I

hope you continue to watch us and we`re going to stay on top of this story. We want to solve this. This was a young woman who just graduated from art

institute; she had her life ahead of her. And this is vile and disgusting and we want to catch the monster responsible.

"NANCY GRACE" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END