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Jane Velez-Mitchell

Wife Who Killed Mayor Claims Abuse; Former Child Star Resists Label `Gay`; Will "Campaign of Hate" Help Save Jodi`s Life?; Adopt Jack

Aired October 06, 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, breaking news. Scandal, dark secrets, sinister allegations erupting after a popular California mayor is shot dead

by his wife right inside their home. Now the wife is claiming she silently endured years of vicious domestic abuse by her politician husband, but the

dead man`s brother is now accusing that wife of murdering her husband in a jealous rage after finding about his alleged secret sexual affair with a

woman. So which version is the truth? Will she be charged with anything?

Good evening. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell, coming to you live.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The big question of why Crespo`s wife would allegedly shoot him brings an unflattering light on this seemingly perfect family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mayor of a Los Angeles suburb...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... was shot and killed by his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The son screaming for help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The wife got a gun and shot her husband several times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was our mayor, you know? And he did do a lot of things for us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She shot her husband four times.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her attorney told "The L.A. Times" tonight domestic violence is at the center of this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The cops say Mayor Daniel Crespo was shot and killed six days ago by his wife Levette. She has not been charged with anything.

Cops say they`re still investigating.

Cops say the couple was arguing when their 19-year-old son got between them. Father and son got into a physical brawl, and Mrs. Crespo allegedly

left the room, got a gun, and then came back and shot her husband four times, killing him.

The wife`s lawyer now claims Mayor Crespo abused his wife for years and that they have the photos to prove it. So they claim Levette gunned down

her husband in self-defense.

But the mayor`s family is now coming up with a totally different, very shocking story. They claim Mrs. Crespo had discovered her husband`s secret

sexual affair and flew into a jealous rage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On many occasions, Mr. Crespo told her that he didn`t want anything to do with her. That he, you know, that he was working -- he

was trying to patch things up with his wife.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So what do you think? Self-defense or revenge by a woman scorned? Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297. You can also join the

conversation by going to my Jane Velez-Mitchell Facebook page, or you can talk to me on Twitter, @JVM.

OK, straight out to KTLA, reporter Kimberly Chang.

Kimberly, our Lion`s Den panel is standing by, ready to debate. But our big question tonight: What are cops saying? What are they doing to figure

out whether this wife was acting in self-defense or whether she`s a woman who murdered her husband in cold blood and needs to be charged?

KIMBERLY CHANG, KTLA REPORTER (via phone): Well, Jane, she was very convincing, Levette, Crespo`s wife. Detectives interviewed her for several

hours. And after hearing her side of the story, and speaking to her son, who was there, the 19-year-old boy, they say she`s free to go. They say

this is now being handed over to the district attorney`s office, so she was obviously very convincing.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but did they know the whole back story, Kimberly? Did they know that he was allegedly having an affair with another woman,

and there are claims, not by an affiliate that we can confirm, but there are claims that this woman had at one point gotten pregnant and lost a

child. I mean, this is a major scandal. Did they know about that?

CHANG: Cops are being very tight lipped about what they know. But we`re hearing it from all kinds of sources. His brother, Crespo`s brother, told

us that Levette was a loving wife. She had been there for him since high school. They were high-school sweethearts.

And then, about a year ago, he met this other woman, this mistress. He took her on a trip. They all went on a trip -- his brother, Crespo, this

other woman -- to New York. His wife knew about it. And she was devastated, but she kind of looked the other way for all this time.

And his brother tells me he thinks he really thinks that that resentment built up. I mean, we`re talking about a woman who had been with him

through cancer. They have two children together. From the outside, they seemed like a really happy family.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Last question before we get to our panel. Was he planning on leaving her?

CHANG: That`s what`s unclear at this point. His brother tells me that he loved Levette. He did not want to leave her for the mistress, but that

mistress kept stalking him, kept calling him, wouldn`t leave him alone. She was even calling that day that they got into that final argument before

Levette fatally shot him. And she just would not leave him alone.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. But we have some alleged texts that show that he was saying to her, just several days before he was gunned down by his wife, he

was telling the mistress, "I`d love to be in your arms."

We`re going to sort it out. Let`s go straight out to the Lion`s Den. Lisa Bloom, legal analyst, Avvo.com. Are we talking about self-defense, or are

we talking about a woman who may have been very justifiably angry, but who nevertheless may have killed her husband, not in self-defense, but as an

act of revenge?

LISA BLOOM, LEGAL ANALYST, AVVO.COM: We know that when women kill, it tends to be in self-defense or in defense of another, but not always. Look

at Jodi Arias, for example, who came up with her crazy self-defense theory that went nowhere, and she was convicted.

What`s different here, Jane, is that we have a witness, the 19-year-old, an adult family member, who saw the whole thing, who presumably has spoken to

the cops, corroborated his mom`s story. It`s hard to believe that the mom took the gun in cold blood, brought it out and fired and killed dad right

in front of him, that he wouldn`t have told the cops. So so far, it sure looks like self-defense.

Mrs. Crespo was upset with her husband. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last night, she was getting -- she was kind of angry, driving fast. And he was the passenger. And I`m in the back. And she was

just driving really fast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The dead mayor`s brother also reportedly told KTLA the couple had been fighting over money. That dovetails with claims by the

alleged mistress that Mrs. Crespo had recently threatened her in text messages about the issue of money.

Our affiliate, KCAL, claims Mrs. Crespo texted the mistress, quote, "Expletive, if I find out you`re borrowing money from my husband, we`re

going to have a problem."

Casey Jordan, criminologist, if this back story is true -- and that`s a big "if" -- I have no idea that it is. Could that negate self-defense?

CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST: Not necessarily. Don`t forget. It`s not self-defense. It`s defense, as Lisa pointed out, of a third person. Their

19-year-old son, Daniel Jr., who I`ve read reports, had facial injuries.

So we have a really interesting thing here. It`s not necessarily a woman scorned versus a woman being attacked. It`s not a black-and-white issue.

They`re really knitted together.

Was she angry? She probably was. Was she humiliated and fighting what she thought was hers? Probably. But if the son got in the middle, and the

husband was attacking the son, the court could find her completely justified in getting a gun to protect her son. She`s got some problems:

there`s four shots. Did she really need to fire that gun four times in order to stop her husband?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Right. And get this. There are no reports that she ever filed, according to what we`ve been able to find, where she ever called 911

on her husband or she ever called Child Protective Services. There`s -- he has no criminal record, vis-a-vis abuse. He was a beloved mayor.

And I`ll throw that to Heather Hanson, criminal defense attorney.

HEATHER HANSEN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Jane, we know that people don`t always report this time of thing, so I don`t know that that`s going to play

as heavily.

What will play heavily, though, is the history in this family. If there`s been some type of -- not even just him beating up on her, but domestic

violence within the relationship. Because the law in California is such that, if there had been past threats, you can act more quickly and with

more force when you are faced with a situation where you have to act in self-defense.

So the testimony, as everyone has said tonight -- the testimony from the son, who was there and perhaps there for past interactions, will be very

important in determining whether it was the appropriate amount of self- defense here.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But here`s the problem. She hasn`t been arrested. She hasn`t been charged with anything. Lisa Bloom, is this the kind of thing

that should be fought out in a court of law as opposed to the police saying, "Nothing to see here"?

BLOOM: No. They can`t arrest her, Jane, if they don`t have probable cause. Look, you`ve been asking: Was he cheating on her or was he a

domestic violence perpetrator? You know, the answer could be both. They`re not mutually exclusive. Both could be true. But if the police

don`t have probable cause, they shouldn`t be arresting her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tasha, Florida, what do you have to say? Tasha, Florida.

Oh, she dropped. OK. Well, I got some interesting Facebook comments. Let me -- this is Tyasha (ph) on Facebook: "I believe there can be an impartial

jury, but it will take questioning them all" -- that`s about it.

Doug on Facebook, "Nobody has the right to murder another person. I don`t care if she was enraged."

I mean, where do you separate out, Casey Jordan, where jealously and a desire for revenge end and where defense of the son begins when they were

fighting the night before?

JORDAN: I don`t think you`re going to be able to do that. And I wouldn`t be surprised. I don`t know. Maybe Lisa and Heather think that the D.A.

may send this to a grand jury and let them decide so it doesn`t look like a political move in terms of not charging her. Is there or is there not

probable cause?

Now listen, there were three people there. One of them is dead. If the son aligns with his mother and says he was being attacked and he was in

fear for his life, then all of the stuff about the affair, the pregnant mistress, the woman scorned, doesn`t matter. It`s just noise.

BLOOM: You don`t need a grand jury. If there`s no evidence, if there`s not even sufficient evidence. Let`s not tie up members of the community

for weeks or months. The evidence isn`t there. The prosecutor can make that decision right now. We don`t have the evidence. Let`s leave this

poor woman and her 19-year-old son alone.

HANSEN: A lot of it, Jane, is going to depend on the text messages. You know, we have only seen a fraction of what is out there. And the

communications between the wife and the husband and the mistress. And if that -- all that evidence develops a case for motive, then we may be facing

a very different case. Right now, it doesn`t look like the evidence there, but there`s a lot of investigation that has yet to be done.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you spoke of texts. Even though Mayor Crespo`s brother confirmed the affair, friends were shocked by the allegations.

Listen to this, and then we`re going to show you some texts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The new allegations coming out of a mistress and then the allegations of the abuse. And like I said, I`ve never seen any

evidence of either.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Our affiliate, KCL, says text messages between the alleged mistress and the mayor show that the affair was not over, as the

brother claimed.

Just days before this man was killed, the mayor, who the alleged mistress called the Puerto Rican prince -- that was her little love phrase for him -

- wrote, quote, "I`m so tired of running around. Wish I had you in my arms." That`s the mayor saying that.

The mistress replies, "Would be nice."

So let`s go back now. Lisa Bloom, does that change your attitude at all, when you know that now, even though the brother is saying, well, the affair

was over. He wanted to patch it up with his wife. The mistress was calling all the time. No, a few days before the mayor was texting the

mistress and referring to wanting to be in her arms.

BLOOM: Right. Yes, and if you`re still texting somebody how you want to be touching them, then the affair is not over. So I think we all need to

wake up to that.

Look, that could have started the fight. He could have then become violent, both with his wife and with his son, who tried to intervene, and

that`s what ultimately led to him being shot. That`s a very common scenario.

But if I`m representing her, show me the evidence. Show me the evidence that she killed him with prior intent, in cold blood. Or even negligently,

rather than to protect somebody.

VELEZ-MITCHEL: If the genders were reversed, would you be arguing that? If it was a guy who shot his wife...

BLOOM: If it were reverted, it would be a whole different scenario.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why?

BLOOM: Because women do generally kill in self-defense. Not always, but generally they do. Men are much more violent. Our prisons are filled:

about 90 percent of violent criminals are male. That`s just the way it goes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you`re right in the sense that the reason -- one of the main reasons the Jodi Arias case is such an obsessive case that has

captured the nation`s imagination is because it is an aberration for a woman to stab a guy 29 times. We`re going to get to Jodi Arias in a

second.

We`re also going to get to what social media is en fuego about. We`re talking about a former child star, Raven. She told something to Oprah last

night that has created a firestorm on social media. The actress is getting some major backlash. We`re going to tell you. You`re going to hear from

her what she said exactly on the other side. It`s Monday, a brand new start.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight`s "Naked Truth." Former Disney star Raven-Symone in hot, hot water after telling Oprah Winfrey she doesn`t want to be

labeled gay even though she`s openly dating, living with a woman. And she also does not want to be labeled as African-American either.

The 28-year-old star, who has been on "The Cosby Show" and Disney`s hit, "That`s So Raven," says she is just not comfortable being labeled by terms

our society uses. Raven said she would rather be called an American and a human being. Wait a second. Those are labels, too. Check this out, from

OWN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAVEN-SYMONE, FORMER CHILD ACTRESS: I don`t need language. I don`t need a categorizing statement for it. I think that`s one thing that...

OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: So you don`t want to be labeled gay.

RAVEN-SYMONE: I don`t want to be labeled gay. I want to be labeled a human who loves humans. I`m tired of being labeled. I`m an American. I`m

not an African-American. I`m an American.

WINFREY: Oh, girl, don`t set Twitter on fire.

RAVEN-SYMONE: I`m sorry.

WINFREY: What? Oh, Lord. What did you just say? Stop, stop, stop the tape right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oprah`s "Where Are They Now?" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on own. Out to my fired-up "Naked Truth" panel. We begin with Clay Cane,

entertainment editor, BET.com. So my question to you, and our panel -- let`s debate it -- is Raven just afraid of labels or is she afraid of who

she really is -- Clay?

CLAY CANE, ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR, BET.COM: I don`t think she`s afraid of labels. I think she`s afraid of somebody else labeling her, right?

Because like you said, "American" is a label.

I think for me, we shouldn`t avoid labels. We should avoid the bias that comes with the label, right? That`s where I kind of took a pause at.

I think Raven-Symone is a great talent. She`s a television icon. And she might be able to live in a world where not calling herself an African-

American or calling herself a gay or lesbian is OK.

But for me, as a journalist, as a writer, I think labels are important. And being African-American isn`t a negative thing. Being gay or lesbian

isn`t a negative thing. So I embrace the label. I`m OK saying, "I am black. I am a gay man," all these things. It doesn`t mean every walk of

my life I`m screaming "I`m black and I`m gay," but culture and identity and background, those things are important.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Lisa bloom, would she be afraid of the label woman? OK. You`re a woman. I`m a woman. That`s a label, too. And she said didn`t

say, "Hey, don`t call me woman." She said, "Don`t call me gay," even though she`s got a partner that`s a woman and she actually celebrated the

fact that gay marriage is slowly and surely many would say becoming the law of the land.

BLOOM: It is. It may be extending to 30 states very soon.

Listen, I`m going to show her some respect. I think each of us gets to define ourselves in the way that we like and put ourselves in the category

that we want to.

I also think that young people, as they get older tend to understand better the struggles of people who went before and are more likely to want to

embrace the labels.

I`ve talked to a lot of young gay people, for example, who said, "You know, I didn`t want to come out because I didn`t want to be the gay guy. I just

wanted to be Steve." And so I get that.

And I also appreciate the other perspective. Look, it`s the negativity around the labels that we`ve got to get rid of, not the labels themselves.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m gay, and it took me a long time to come out as gay. But the reason why it`s important to come out as gay is because it helps

other people who are still trapped in the closet. And it`s about...

BLOOM: But she has come out. She has come out. She`s admitted that she has a girlfriend.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: If you say you have a girlfriend, but I`m not gay...

BLOOM: Maybe she`s bisexual. We don`t know.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... you can`t have your cake and eat it, too.

CANE: You know, Jane...

BLOOM: Bisexual, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Go ahead.

HANSEN: I think that there`s -- this idea of categories is where the problem lies, because there is an array. There are grades of these

different things.

And I think especially for the younger generation, whether you`re talking about race or you`re talking about sexuality, as we have more interracial

relationships, there are going to be -- we truly are going to be what Oprah said to her, a melting pot, where we`re not going to identify with a

specific category, but rather just as a human being who has all these feelings and all of this background and all of these genetics and all of

these races. And it`s wonderful to see.

President Obama, when he talked about Trayvon Martin, talked about his daughters are much better with this than the older generation.

CANE: You know what? I`m sorry.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: A lot of people would like to, you know, completely have a color-blind society could also use that argument to basically end

affirmative action of people getting into school based on race. So, you know, be careful what you wish for. You could get it.

CANE: You know what? That`s a really important point. Here`s the thing. It`s not about not having any categories. I mean, let`s be honest here.

The construction of America`s economy was built on race. You know, I don`t think we should live in a world where we`re color blind. We have to be

able to see color and accept it.

And honestly, you know, when you think about Trayvon Martin, when you think about President Barack Obama, when you think about Jordan Davis, so many

people, so many black folks who have gotten all this media attention, it`s based on race. We can`t act like it doesn`t exist.

I will say for younger LGBT folks, someone like Frank Ocean, for example, the great R&B artist, he said he fell in love with a man, but he didn`t use

the term as being gay. That said, maybe someone like Raven-Symone and Frank Ocean...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I hate to say it, but if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it`s a duck, OK?

BLOOM: But it`s for people to define themselves.

(CROSSTALK)

BLOOM: You can`t tell people how to define themselves.

HANSEN: Well, and not only that but there are people, especially when it comes to sexuality, who for some period of time date someone of the same

sex and then for some period of time date someone of the opposite sex. And so do you want them to then change what they are...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: There are also people who say they`re not gay but who are secretly living gay lives and then who work against equal protection for

gays.

BLOOM: She`s not doing that.

HANSEN: Absolutely.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m not saying that, but what I`m saying is, look, I don`t care whether it`s for gay rights or whether it`s for your ethnicity or your

background, if you`ve achieved a certain level of success and you are essentially a role model, and you can help eradicate stereotypes, why not

present yourself as "this is who I am" to help those who need that kind of representation?

HANSEN: She may be doing that.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s like the gay pride parade.

CANE: It`s funny...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The gay pride parade used to be a very, very fringe thing. Now corporations are getting involved, and it`s become very mainstream.

And people are taking their kids there. If people say, "I don`t want to march in the gay pride parade because, well, it doesn`t represent me," I

say, "Well, march in the parade, and then it will represent you."

HANSEN: I think that she would still march in the parade. I think that she`s not stepping away from it. She`s just embracing it in a different

way and using different terms. You know, she tweeted when the Supreme Court found in favor of gay marriage. She tweeted in support of that.

So I think that she`s just using different terms, and there may be people that she is acting as a role model for.

CANE: Listen, I think we should not make somebody else conform to an identity that we want.

BLOOM: Right.

CANE: We shouldn`t do that. If she decides that is her identity, that is a beautiful thing. She has the right to do that.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re not making her do anything. We`re just talking about it.

BLOOM: Give her time; she`s young.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: When you`re in the public eye, people talk.

CANE: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And when you make a statement on -- to Oprah on camera, people are going to be reactions. I`m not condemning her. We`re just

discussing it, because that`s the beauty of being an American. We get to discuss things like this.

Look what`s happening in Hong Kong, OK, where people don`t have the right, where they`re trying to be -- repressed, where they`re trying to have the

right to express themselves as Americans. We can`t say, "Well, we don`t even have the right to debate this." Yes, we do have the right debate it.

That doesn`t mean we`re condemning her.

BLOOM: But we don`t have the right to judge her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I don`t think we`re judging her. I think we`re debating the subject. I don`t judge her at all. I never met the woman. I wish her

the best.

CANE: I think it is great this conversation is being sparked. Because listen, sexual orientation is very complex. Racial identity can be very

complex. I`m glad that

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Guess what? It`s not over. We`re going to -- we`re going to talk about the African-American comment on the other side. We`re also

going to go to our hash tag hub.

And later, Jodi Arias and her attorneys pulling out all the stops to get her off. Well, where she could be headed, Death Row. You will not believe

what they`re claiming now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUAN MARTINEZ, PROSECUTOR: She`s the one who did the stabbing. She`s the one that slit his throat, and she`s the one that shot him.

JODI ARIAS, CONVICTED MURDERER: I didn`t commit a murder. I didn`t hurt Travis. I would never hurt Travis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As to count one, first-degree murder, guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAVEN SYMONE, ACTOR: I don`t know where my roots go to. I don`t know how far back they go. I can`t go on, you now, I don`t know how far back. And

I don`t know what country in Africa I`m from. But I do know that my roots are in Louisiana. I`m an American and that`s a colorless person because we

are all people. I have lots of things running through my veins.

OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: I mean you`re going to get a lot of flak for saying you`re not African-American. You know that, right?

SYMONE: I don`t label myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST: Raven says she`s not African-American. She`s an American -- and it has exploded on social media.

First, out to the phones -- Tamiko, Ohio, what do you have to say?

TAMIKO, OHIO (via telephone): Well, as an African-American woman, I totally agree with Raven Symone and I applaud her for having the courage to

say it. I think that as an African-American woman, you know, with all the labels come preconceived notions and ideas of what we think that that label

should be and how that label should conduct itself. So I totally agree with Raven.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But you just said you`re an African-American woman.

TAMIKO: Absolutely.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You say you agree with her saying she`s not but you are identifying as that. You don`t have a problem with the label, but you`re

applauding her for not liking the label.

TAMIKO: I just said the label to let you know that I am another black woman who totally agrees with what Raven is saying.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right.

TAMIKO: Because with labels, there are preconceived notions.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I think, you know, there`s a general sense as we become a multiracial, multiethnic society that these four boxes that they make

everybody put themselves into don`t work. I`m Puerto Rican and Irish. I`m very happy to say I`m Hispanic, Latina -- not all I am. I`m a human being.

I`m three-dimensional. I`m also Irish, and I`m Puerto Rican. So, you know, it`s complicated as they say.

Let`s go out to the hashtag hub, our social media producer Luke Burke. I understand you`re getting a lot of response. Tell me.

LUKE BURKE, HLN SOCIAL MEDIA PRODUCER: You know, Oprah predicted it. She definitely set Twitter on fire. Social media was trending with

#RavenSymone all day today. There`s a few comments from our page I want to read to you.

The first one is from Claudia, "When we refer to white, we do not label their ancestors` country or continent, do we? So why would we criticize

her for making a valid point?"

There`s another comment from Terry that says, "We do not go around calling people heterosexual, so why do we go around calling people gay? It makes

no sense."

Sean says, "I`m a black man and I`m reminded of it everyday. Being an American as a label kind of missed on this one."

And Michael --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I love that. Lisa Bloom, I`m going to give you the last word. I do feel these labels are sometimes used punitively. My gosh

I was reading the "New York Times" this weekend and I was disheartened by - - well every time they did a statistic that referred to blacks and Hispanics, it was somehow that we were underperforming.

You know, maybe those statistics are somehow self-fulfilling prophesy. We need to get beyond that and embrace our humanity. So maybe Raven is on the

right track.

LISA BLOOM, ATTORNEY: Yes, my Twitter page was lighting up about this as well, too, Jane. And one of my followers said, "She was dismissing the

progress and struggle of African-Americans who came before her by rejecting her community." But was she? She`s not dissing history. She`s not

dissing people who came before. I think she`s more forward thinking saying, "Can`t we all just be people?"

Nobody calls me a Caucasian American, ever in my entire life. And I think she`s just trying to move on. So let`s give her a little credit and let`s

give her a little respect.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Raven -- you go, girl. You sparked some lively conversation right here. And we hope you say more controversial

things that we can debate in the coming days and years.

All right. We`re going on to Jodi Arias. Did somebody very close to the prosecution wage a campaign of hate against the most hated woman in America

-- Jodi Arias? We have breaking news -- stunning new claims from the Arias courtroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911, emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A friend of ours is dead in his bedroom --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: State of Arizona versus Jodi Ann Arias.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lots of blood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Count 1, first degree murder, premeditated murder.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jodi was Travis` dirty little secret.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has he been threatened by anyone recently?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he has.

JODI ARIAS, FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER OF TRAVIS ALEXANDER: I wouldn`t use obsession. It was a two-way street.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The past was a complete secret to everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Miss Arias was certainly an invited and willing guest in Mr. Alexander`s home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right after she found out that he had been killed. She was very upset and distraught, she was crying, sobbing.

She said that Travis was dead, that he`d been killed and that she couldn`t imagine why someone would do that to Travis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Arias defense team throws a Hail Mary Pass in the hopes of saving this killer`s life. Can bizarre social media posts allegedly made

by a lead detective`s wife keep Jodi off death row? All day today prospective jurors for her retrial have been grilled and discarded.

Meantime Jodi`s attorneys wait for a crucial ruling on their motion to dismiss the death penalty. You remember lead detective Esteban Flores.

Who could forget him? He interrogated Jodi. He was one of the prosecution`s star witnesses.

Well now, the defense claims his wife is waging a, quote, "campaign of hate against Jodi". The motion zeroes on a mock movie trailer about Jodi`s

first trial posted on YouTube. The defense claims the YouTube page belongs to the detective`s wife. We can`t confirm that. We don`t know, but here`s

the controversial video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Not your average prosecution team with some major players. This year two men and one family fight pure evil. The Justice League.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Straight out to our expert "Lion`s Den" panel. That`s one wacky video. Heather Hansen, criminal defense attorney -- is it enough to

get Jodi off of death row?

HEATHER HANSEN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Listen Jane. I mean there are those types of videos. That type of media happens any time that you have a

case in the public eye. And it is definitely not enough to take away the death penalty. Might it be that they just have an appeal going forward?

Perhaps, but I don`t think it`s going to be enough to totally take the death penalty off the table.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Lisa, you disagree?

BLOOM: I`ve never seen a video like that. That video is nutty. Listen, in every one of my cases in my law firm we check social media. If the

detective`s wife did this, I mean she is a complete idiot. How on earth did she think that was going to help the prosecution?

I think that`s a terrible video. It does tend to influence the jury pool. Of course, this is easily correctable though. You ask everyone. You

really grill them. Did they see it? Did they know anything about it? Over and over again. Make sure they haven`t seen it then I think we`re ok.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It is a nutty video. It is one nutty video, especially the happy music. This is a horrific, horrific crime. These people, the

family of Travis Alexander, suffered. I mean you can`t turn it into some kind of -- almost like whose that guy who pretends to be James Bond, but

isn`t? He`s the comedian. I don`t know if I could see any more of that. That`s just too crazy. You know what I`m talking about.

In their new motion, defense claims sealed information from the trial showed up in tweets from an account that appeared to belong to the

Detective Esteban Flores` wife. Detective Flores, again, not any witness - - he`s the key witness who helped get Jodi convicted. And of course, he is the one who grilled her for hours. Let`s look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIAS: I`m not a murder, but I guess if I were to do that, I would wear gloves or, you know, something. I just -- I don`t know.

ESTEBAN FLORES, LEAD DETECTIVE: I know you tried to get some of the blood off, tried to clean him up a little bit, but you`re even denying the

pictures of you being there. There`s pictures of you laying on the bed in pigtails.

ARIAS: Pigtails?

FLORES: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Casey Jordan, criminologist, you`ve seen many, many trials. If, indeed -- if, it`s a big if -- if the detective`s wife

did conduct this campaign of hate against Jodi, is that going to be what the defense can bring up when they`re grilling Detective Flores in this

retrial because Detective Flores is going to be the key witness for the prosecution?

CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST: Absolutely. But it isn`t Detective Flores. It`s his wife. And I`m one of those big advocates that he may -- you know,

could be separation of church and state -- he could have no knowledge of this, have nothing to do with it. And I agree with Lisa. It was poor

judgment. It`s a stupid video. It`s immature. It looks like it was made by a high school video production student.

But the question is does Detective Flores -- was he behind it at all? And the bottom line is that it really shows that they`re clutching at straws.

Jodi is in this mess because of what Jodi did. And Jodi has always said, you know, I would rather have the death penalty. I think that they`re

going to find jurors who at least feign neutrality enough to get that pool together and it will move forward.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jodi said death would be the ultimate freedom for five minutes and then she changed her mind.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: By the way, see that lady down there on the bottom right corner of your screen? She was observing jury selection today. She`s

going to give us a report on the other side. It is equally cuckoo for cocoa puffs what`s going on in the courtroom.

Now a great primer for the death penalty phase in the Jodi Arias trial -- my "New York Times" bestseller "Exposed: The secret life of Jodi Arias",

the definitive book on the case. I believe, in fact, the defense tried to have a xeroxed copy handed to Jodi and the jailers would not allow it in.

It`s now out in paperback. Details that never came out at trial about Jodi`s past.

Stay right there. A live report from court -- next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIAS: Pigtails?

FLORES: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jodi had a ponytail in, which makes her look very young. She was turned towards every one of those jurors walking through

the door and giving them a little bit of a smile.

FLORES: It`s obvious you guys are having sex.

ARIAS: I`m not a murderer, but I guess if I were to do that I would wear gloves or, you know, something.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are so many people that can`t be fair and have heard about the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: "Trial Diaries" reporter Jen Wood, what happened in Arizona court today?

JEN WOOD, REPORTER, "TRIAL DIARIES": Today we had quite a few dismissed based on the fact that their beliefs are so strong, whether they want to

give life or death. They can`t really be middle of the road. So a lot of jurors were excused today for that reason. But we have some interesting

ones that made it through, such as a psychologist, somebody that knows her sister-in-law knows Jodi Arias.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What?

WOOD: And somebody else who saw Jodi Arias doing a headstand in that famous video.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, ok. She saw the headstand and she says she could be objective and that that didn`t influence her one way or another?

WOOD: Correct.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, wow. All right. Listen, thank you for that update. I`m sure Jodi Arias was staring very intently at all the perspective jurors

and smiling as she has been for the last several days.

We`re getting ready for the retrial.

Now, on the other side, Foxy is here with a cause.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Want to go green? Well, guess what? There`s an app for that. I drafted HLN`s app wiz, Andy Cohen to find the top three eco apps.

ANDY COHEN, HLN: This is Andy Picks Apps -- green apps. The GoodGuide App is made so that you can rate basically everything you use every day, be it

cleaning supplies, food supplies or personal care items on how sustainable they are. It even has a UPC bar code scanning portion so you can actually

check items in the store. 5.2 -- pretty sustainable.

So you bought some sustainable stuff, but when you`re done with it, you can`t just throw it in the lake. You need iRecycle. This app helps you

recycle nearly everything, literally 350 types of products. You find where your material best fits and it will show you the closest location to

recycle it.

What about your biggest polluter? Your ride -- you need to get the green meter. This helps to reduce CO2 emissions whenever you drive your car. It

gauges how fast you`re going to find out if you`re emitting more toxins than you need to, so you can save a little bit of money and help the earth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First day out of jail, huh? You look happy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What a beauty. Hey, my little Foxy is filling in for Rico tonight. Foxy, the sweet dog you saw is looking for a home. It`s adopt-a-

shelter month, and Jack along with many, many other dogs desperately needs a home. Straight out to my dear friend, animal advocate, Jane Garrison

who`s got the star of the moment, Jack. Tell us about jack.

JANE GARRISON, ANIMAL ADVOCATE: Jane, I am getting a bath.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh.

GARRISON: This is Jack. Jack is a 60 pound love bug, as you can see, who all he wants to do is be someone`s best buddy. But the problem is Jack is

part of a very high kill shelter and he has one week to find a home. Otherwise this sweet, lovable boy is going to be killed. So this is --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh my gosh.

Garrison: -- is probably one of the most urgent dogs, yes, we brought on. He`s such a good boy. He loves to give kisses. He`s -- he`s completely

house trained. He`s great with people. The only mean thing about him is that tail that never stops whipping around. He`s good on a leash. He`s

good in a car. He`s actually very low energy. He likes to chill out in your house.

He needs a home. He is on death watch unfortunately. So we need to get this boy a home by the 15th of the month.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Let me say, go to adoptjack@yahoo.com. If you are interested in adopting Jack, and he`s in California, but I think you

can get him to any part of the country, right, if you`ve got the appropriate family? Obviously they prefer California. Yes, but

adoptjack@yahoo.com if you`re interested. And, of course, you should always go to adoptapet.com to see the many, many thousands of dogs who are

homeless and who are desperately looking for homes and you can just put your zip code in. And, you know, I have people all the time say, well, of

course I`d like to adopt a dog, but you know, I`m looking for -- then they`ll mention something. I say, just put your zip code in to

adoptapet.com and hundreds of dogs that match every possible desire in terms of breed or mix breed or size will pop up. Right?

GARRISON: That`s exactly right. And these dogs need a home so badly. Jack right now needs one the most. He`s great with small dogs, he`s great

with people. He`s great all-around dog. So please, if you can provide him a home, please e-mail us at adoptjack@yahoo.com. He has one week. The

clock is ticking. Let`s find a place. Look at that peace-loving face.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look at that face. I thing we got some video of him, too. I understand he`s staying in a foster home right now while he fights to

stay alive. And that he`s getting along great with a little dog that`s no bigger than little Foxy here.

GARRISON: That`s right. Exactly. He loves little dogs. He`s afraid of big dogs. So, but he`s a good boy.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, I found my little Foxy who I`m holding here on a street in Fresno literally wandering the streets. These dogs that are from

supposedly the street or who are strays, they are really the most intelligent dogs around because they`ve survived on the street.

This little one, any time I stop, she makes a little nest right on the street wherever I am with leaves. If I`m talking to somebody, I look down

and she`s already made a little bed for herself. They`re adaptable.

GARRISON: That`s right. That`s right. The dogs in the shelters are great dogs. They just are homeless.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Exactly. Well, give a last pitch ten seconds, somebody out there with a big heart can use this -- has a home for this beautiful

boy.

GARRISON: Yes. 60-pound love bug. Great in the house. Completely housebroken. Great in a car. Great on a leash. He has one week. Come

on, let`s find this guy a home. We don`t want him killed.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know that every Thursday we do animal stories here. I`m an animal lover. We also are going to do throughout the month more

dogs -- Jane is going to bring other dogs in who need homes. We`re going to save a lot of lives this month.

And thank you at home for caring the way we do.

Nancy`s next.

END