Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

In Southern California, Authorities Warning Public to Be on Lookout For Killer

Aired July 18, 2002 - 05:03   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: In Southern California, authorities are warning the public to be on the lookout for the killer of a young girl. He is believed to be a serial rapist who may kill again. Officials positively identified a body that was found in Riverside County as that of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion. Runnion had been abducted kicking and screaming from outside her Orange County home on Monday evening and at the same place, a vigil for the young girl was held last night.

Authorities say the killer made no attempt to hide the body and that makes them believe it's a type of a calling card for future activity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD GARCIA, FBI AGENT: The term serial killer can't necessarily be put on this individual right now. What we can say is this, that it appears this individual has committed sexual assaults before with children. This may be the first time it has caused death and because of that, we're very concerned that this person may do it again and soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLAWAY: The suspect's described as a Hispanic male 25 to 40 years old, with greased back black hair and a thin black mustache. The reward for information leading to his capture now stands at about a quarter of a million dollars.

And the killing of Samantha Runnion has shaken Stanton, California.

As CNN's Anne McDermott reports, the death is causing families to make some adjustments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNE MCDERMOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Marez family always plays together. But now they stick closer than ever because they know a monster is among them, a monster that two of the Marez kids think they may have spoken to a month before Samantha Runnion was killed. SAMANTHA MAREZ, STANTON RESIDENT: He asked for, if we could help him catch his dog and we said no, we can't. And then he's like well, there's going to be a big reward. And he was like sort of telling us, convincing us to go with him and look for the dog.

MCDERMOTT: The family says they'll tell the authorities about this sighting and the cops say if your children see this man or any other stranger, run away.

SHERIFF MICHAEL CARONA, ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: You need to fight, yell, scream, scratch, bite, do whatever you can to get away.

MCDERMOTT: Some parents are scared. Some parents are angry.

PAUL ALLEN, VICTIM'S NEIGHBOR: I think the guy should be, die a horrible lingering slow death. People I talked to said they want to put him in jail because the cons in the prisons hate, absolutely hate pedophiles.

MCDERMOTT: And then some parents are fatalistic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It happens everywhere all the time.

MCDERMOTT: Actually, it doesn't. What happened to Samantha, what happened to Danielle van Dam, what happened to Elizabeth Smart, whatever that might be, it's still incredibly rare. But that it happens at all is enough to unnerve the Marez family, particularly the mother.

(on camera): Do you think you will ever be quite the same?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

MCDERMOTT: And that's why she's making sure her family is staying close these days, closer than ever.

Anne McDermott, CNN, Stanton, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: And the White House has offered FBI assistance to help find Samantha's killer. Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona told CNN's Larry King about one critical way the agency is helping.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARONA: The FBI has made a lot of resources available to us. One of those resources is their profiling bureau in Washington, D.C. We shared with that, that group of individuals the data that we had, where the body was positioned, pictures of the body and they worked through the night. Early this morning we had a pretty good profile as to what type of individual would commit this type of crime. It is probably a sexual predator, one who has acted this way before, may be a serial sexual predator or a serial killer and based upon that profile, he or she may act again. In this case we believe it's a man and that he would have the potential of acting very quickly again. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLAWAY: And the sheriff had this warning for the killer -- "don't eat, don't sleep, because we are coming after u."

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com