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CNN Larry King Live

Manhunt for Suspect in Marine Killing; Suzanne Somers

Aired January 11, 2008 - 21:00   ET

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

SANCHEZ: That's the suspect right there, Marine Corporal Caesar Laurean.
Police officers on the case are saying right now that they will continue to try and investigate. But what they have right now, they say, is a bizarre case. They say that what they're expecting to find there, as they continue their investigation, will lead them to a conclusive evidence that he was, in fact, involved in this case. That's what they're saying. We're on it.

Larry King will bring you the very latest on this and all the questions. We'll have it for you right here.

Stay with us.

I'm Rick Sanchez.

Good night.

LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, a heart-breaking turn in the mystery of that missing pregnant Marine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF ED BROWN, ONSLOW COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: Mrs. Lauterbach is dead and has been buried.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Authorities in North Carolina search for this man -- her suspected killer -- the Marine corporal she accused of raping her.

We have the very latest on this tragic case.

And then, Suzanne Somers -- she hasn't just survived an abusive childhood, tabloid tattle, breast cancer and the fiery loss of her beloved home -- she has thrived.

What's the secret?

A revealing one-on-one with an ageless success.

All next on LARRY KING LIVE.

Good evening.

The pregnant Marine missing from Camp Lejeune is dead and law enforcement believes they've just found her remains in the suspected killer's backyard.

Marine Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach was eight months pregnant when she was reported missing December 19th.

The search is now on for Cesar Laurean. He is the man she had accused of raping her.

Joining us in the opening segment is Sheriff Ed Brown on Onslow County, who's been on top of this from the get go.

With him is Randi Kaye, our CNN correspondent, back now in New York.

And Jennifer Hlad of the Jacksonville, North Carolina "Daily News".

We, of course, start with Sheriff Brown.

Sheriff, an update.

What's the latest?

BROWN: The latest -- there's been two latest updates. The one earlier this evening, about 6:30, was the discovery of a cavity in the residence -- in the backyard of the residence of the suspect's home at 103 Meter Court (ph). That cavity was examined slightly and it produced evidence of possibly human remains.

That process has been delayed until in the morning because of the necessity for light. The other process which can be done in the dark -- it works in the dark -- is Luminol of the residence. That testing of the residence has produced evidence that there were activity in which blood was expelled on the walls and in other areas of the house.

KING: So, from this, Sheriff, you're making the assumption that she is dead and that the suspect -- this other Marine who she had accused of raping her -- he is the prime suspect.

Is that where we stand?

BROWN: Mr. Larry, that is where we stand. This morning, I thought the outcome as late as 8:00 was going to be positive. That was not the case. We had a key witness who came forth earlier this morning with some evidence and a statement that led us into this direction. And it seems that everything is coming to fruition and will let us know where the missing Marine is, some evidence of what happened to her.

The case continues to be investigated tomorrow by the medical examiner and those who will exhume the remains from the cavity in the backyard.

KING: What is the story about a note being found that seemed to indicate that the Marine had sent a note to his wife that the pregnant Marine had killed herself and that he had buried the body?

Is that true, there is such a note? BROWN: Mr. Larry, there was a note -- there is a note. That note was instrumental with the statement this morning. I would prefer to leave the person who brought the note in -- I think probably it's clear.

But the Marine, Laurean, downplayed his role in this. however, I believe, as the investigation and evidence will reveal, Mr. Laurean has not been clearly -- has clearly not been honest in what he says took place and evidence is beginning to prove that.

KING: This witness -- is he or she under protective custody since Mr. -- since the officer, Laurean, is still missing?

BROWN: This witness, I don't believe, feels the need or has indicated a need to be in protective custody. Mr. Laurean, we believe, has left this county, maybe this state. But if Mr. Laurean or any of his family is listening, since he's the one that left the note, I would ask him to come back and defend it, because as this investigation moves forward, his choice to come back will not be his.

KING: Laurean is just 21-years-old, right, and he has a wife?

Have you spoken to his wife?

BROWN: Yes, I have, sir.

KING: And what does she say?

BROWN: Mrs. Laurean has been completely cooperative with us. She was over there at the residence today -- this evening -- while the search warrant was being served. At this time, Mrs. Laurean is completely cooperative with the investigation.

KING: What did you find in the house?

BROWN: The other evidence that was found in the house has not been reported to me. I think the key evidence that they felt was important to this case -- to me and to you, the listening audience and the media -- is the fact that the traces of blood, the activity that produced it could have been and appeared to be violent. And that, right now, probably will be the most key thing until the excavating of the body tomorrow.

KING: When you say it could have been violent, does that mean it was found in many rooms?

BROWN: It was found in different locations. Room-wise, I don't know. But there is different locations and different activities, totally contradictory to the fact that supposedly it took place in the backyard. This doesn't indicate that.

KING: Any leads as to where the suspect might be?

BROWN: No, sir. I have no leads. I just have a message. And if you'll repeat that several times tonight. And that is he is bound to be listening to this and watching it. I would suggest to Mr. Laurean, come defend your statement at your liberty or as this thing progresses, it will not be your choice.

KING: And what can you tell us about the remains that you found?

Were they burned?

What was the condition?

BROWN: The remains that we found were -- let me just say they were remains and they were not intact. The medical examiner will remove it all tomorrow. And I think that's going to probably answer a lot of questions concerning was she still carrying the baby when she was murdered.

KING: Just a couple of other quick things.

Have the Marines played any part in this investigation?

BROWN: The NCIS, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the SBI office and the D.A.'s office of this county -- NCIS from the Naval Investigative Service -- who is the investigative team for the military -- the Marines. And they have been in superb in their support in this investigation.

We, sometimes, in law enforcement -- at the Sheriff's office in particular -- get impatient ourselves and seem to have a tendency not to want to go home if there's something to be uncovered. And -- but I can say, answering your question back, they have played a major part and we appreciate all they've done.

KING: Thank you, Sheriff.

You're doing yeoman like work.

We appreciate the time you've given us.

BROWN: You're welcome, sir.

KING: Sheriff Ed Brown.

And when we come back, Randi Kaye will join us, as will Jennifer Hlad. We'll also be joined by Tim Susanin, a former Navy JAG and a former federal prosecutor; Candice DeLong, the former FBI profiler, who predicted last night this would be over quickly; and Ron Grantski, you remember, Laci Peterson's stepfather. That's all ahead.

Suzanne Somers still to come.

Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Mrs. Lauterbach is dead and has been buried here in Onslow County. The suspect in the case is the Marine accused by her for assaulting her.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: And we're back with our panel.

Randi Kaye -- who I said was in New York. She is, in fact, still in Jacksonville. She's, of course, with CNN.

Jennifer Hlad of the "Jacksonville Daily News".

Tim Susanin, a former Navy JAG and a former federal prosecutor.

Candice DeLong, the former FBI profiler.

And our old friend Ron Grantski, Laci Peterson's stepfather. His, of course, stepdaughter killed in what can be called similar circumstances -- Randi, I understand you have some information about that witness.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I do, Larry.

As of this morning, we were being told that the witness who came forward who -- who told the sheriff's department here that they should go looking for this Corporal Laurean was a former female Marine. While in talking to some of our sources that we've been working with very closely here on this investigation, a source tonight now telling me that the witness who turned in Corporal Laurean was actually, indeed, his wife. That is who has come forward and spoken with the folks here at the sheriff's department to let them know that that is who they should be looking for. And that is why they are looking for him tonight.

KING: She...

KAYE: Also, I can tell you a little bit more about some of the evidence that was found in that house, Larry.

The blood that the Sheriff was talking about earlier in the home, he also told me that it appeared that that had -- there had been some attempt to cover that up. It had been found in the garage and in some other rooms in the house. It appeared that whoever tried to cover it up had painted over it and they were able to figure that out.

KING: Are you saying, Randi, that the wife is the one that reported that he said it was a suicide?

KAYE: He wouldn't go as far as to say that. We asked the sheriff about that tonight. He won't say that the wife is who brought the note. He would only say that this witness brought the note.

But I'm telling you that I have very good -- a strong person here saying that -- someone very close to the investigation telling me that it was the wife who actually told him...

KING: Got you.

KAYE: ...who they should be looking for. We also asked him...

KING: Jennifer...

KAYE: ...actually, if there's any chance the wife could be involved in this. And he said he wasn't going to discuss that.

KING: Jennifer, why did the search -- is that a big backyard?

JENNIFER HLAD, "JACKSONVILLE DAILY NEWS": It's not that big of a backyard. But as I understand it, they have to go very slowly when they're digging. And that's why it took a while to uncover the remains and why they still want to be looking tomorrow morning.

KING: I see.

Jennifer, do you have any other information on this bizarre case?

HLAD: I don't have a lot of other information. I did talk to a friend of Maria's. His name is Shaun Gardner (ph). And he said he's known her for -- since they were little children, that they were their first -- each other's first friend. And he said that she was probably very misunderstood by a lot of people. He sort of talked a little bit about some of the emotion issues that other people have been alluding to. But he couldn't really give any more information than that. He just said that he is -- he's so sorry that this happened and he wished he had kept better in touch with her.

KING: Do we know if the possibility, Jennifer, that the baby was born?

HLAD: I'm not -- we haven't found out yet if the baby has been born or not. I know Sheriff Brown has said that he doesn't really have any information to suggest that the baby is alive. But that doesn't mean that the baby is dead, either.

I do know that here in North Carolina, in terms of murder charges, if Corporal Laurean is found and charged, he wouldn't be charged with two murders because in North Carolina the baby actually has to be breathing in order for a murder charge to be brought against him for that.

KING: Unlike the Peterson case in Northern California?

HLAD: Exactly. Unlike -- unfortunately, unlike -- unlike the Peterson case.

KING: All right, Kim, as a former criminal prosecutor in the Navy JAG, is this a Marine case or is it a police procedure in North Carolina?

TIM SUSANIN, FORMER NAVY JAG: Well, Larry, it could be either. There's overlapping jurisdiction here. And as you saw the Sheriff say -- or as you heard the Sheriff say, they've been working together.

Typically what happens here is the jurisdictions will meet and kind of agree as to who's going to take the lead in prosecuting. This is very much like the D.C. sniper from a few years back, Larry, where we saw Maryland had the ability to bring charges, Virginia had the ability to bring charges and the Feds had the ability.

And I think what Sheriff Brown was suggesting prior to today was that the Marines would take the lead on any rape case were she found alive and Sheriff Brown's department -- the state was going to continue with the kidnapping charges.

KING: Candice DeLong, the former FBI profiler, how did you know it would end -- the story would break quickly?

CANDICE DELONG, FORMER FBI PROFILER: Well, there were -- things seemed to be moving very quickly and there was more reason, I believed -- I saw more reason that she met with foul play -- a greater likelihood that was what happened than she was -- had run away or was holed up somewhere depressed because of her mental issues with bipolar disorder. And things seemed to have been moving very fast. And then, of course, there was the report that a man attempted to use her ATM and covered up the camera at the ATM.

It just looked like it was going in this direction. And when a story like this takes on national media proportions, frequently, there's so much paid to it, things happen very quickly.

KING: Ron, what are your thoughts on the fact that in North Carolina the baby has to be born for it to be a double murder charge?

RON GRANTSKI, LACI PETERSON'S STEP-FATHER: Well, that's not, I don't believe, totally true. Of course, I'm not a lawyer, but I do know that the president signed a bill in 2004, The Unborn Victims Act -- actually dubbed the Laci Conner Law that -- of course, I don't know this.

Was the house on the base?

Was it base housing?

KING: Tim, was it?

GRANTSKI: But if the crime...

SUSANIN: I don't think it was base housing, Larry. But he's right, The Unborn...

GRANTSKI: If there's a federal...

SUSANIN: ...Victims of Violence Act...

GRANTSKI: The federal law says that's two murders.

SUSANIN: That's right. There is a federal law here...

GRANTSKI: It says it's two murders.

SUSANIN: ...even though under North Carolina, it's not a double murder, it would be under federal law, which is the Laci and Conner Law. And it's applicable to military offenses.

KING: Of course, if you try him for both murders it...

GRANTSKI: And he's in the military, so it would apply to him.

KING: In a sense, though, Tim, it's moot, isn't it?

I mean if you have someone charged with murder rather than two murders, it's still murder?

SUSANIN: That's right, Larry. And if he comes in and confesses, he's going to get life -- at least, I would think -- for the one. So it is a moot point.

We -- I kind of hope at this point, going forward, I would suggest, if I worked with -- for Sheriff Brown, to release less details rather than more, as they're trying to bring this guy in. They want to bring him to justice and have an efficient close to the case -- avoid trial, hopefully. And I think the last thing he wants to be doing now is giving almost an hourly update on what he's finding in the house and just, in effect, giving that information away to Laurean and his lawyers.

KING: Yes.

I'm going to take a break and come back and ask Ron Grantski what he would say to the relatives of the victims.

Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Ron Grantski, as the stepfather of Laci Peterson, what would you say to the parents and relatives of Maria Lauterbach?

GRANTSKI: Well, first -- first of all, my extreme sympathy and sorrows go out to those folks. And I don't know why this happens at this time of year so much. And now to find out that it happened on a military -- in the military. And we also have this young man's family. It's got to be a shock to them, too.

KING: Yes.

GRANTSKI: And I would like to say that young man, be a man. Be a Marine come forward and stop all this before it gets worse.

KING: Randi, are the authorities there confident that they're going to get this guy?

KAYE: They are, Larry. They've been confident all day today. They do say, though, late tonight, that they think that he's -- he's awfully dangerous. They said this is not somebody that should be cornered. They've released the information about his car and certainly his picture all over the news today. But they don't think he should be approached. He's not someone who likes to be backed into a corner. But they're confident they'll get him. Right now they said that it -- federal authorities are not involved. They do think he's still in the State of North Carolina -- maybe even still here in Onslow County. But they are confident they will find him.

KING: Jennifer, what do we know about this relationship between Lauterbach and Laurean?

HLAD: Well, I do know that they worked together. And, of course, he -- she had accused him of sexually assaulting her. But, at the same time, we understand that after the accusation, they continued to maintain a quote/unquote friendly relationship, at least at work, which is partly why no one considered him a flight risk.

It's also interesting to know that she could have been assigned a victim advocate through the Marine Corps, but she apparently did decline to have a victim advocate assigned to her. So she apparently didn't feel as though she was -- she was at risk, which is, of course, unfortunate.

KING: What does that mean, Tim, that victim's advocate?

What does that mean?

SUSANIN: Well, that's a resource for people like Maria, who felt that they were maybe not having all their needs met by the legal system and they were going to go get other support, have someone advocate on their behalf -- for instance, if she wanted to get a restraining order against him and that type of thing.

But that's right. What we really have been hearing here is -- are things the gamut from she withdrew the complaint to they had resumed their relationship. And I think, combined with comments from the mother that she was a compulsive liar and had other issues, whether or not those are true, unfortunately, that seemed to create this atmosphere that maybe there really was no "there" there to her claim, which, in hindsight is very unfortunate.

KING: Candice, is violence in and around military bases -- military against military -- very uncommon?

DELONG: I don't think it's -- I mean it happens. You know, any time you've got a lot of people living together in close quarters, these kinds of things are going to happen.

A number of things about this case have made me scratch my head, more so than that violence occurred...

KING: What?

DELONG: ...and that it is her mother saying that she was bipolar.

Did the Marines know this when she was admitted to the Marine Corps?

Did it come up afterwards? Was she on medication?

Why was -- why were two people, one of whom was claiming to be victimized sexually by the other one -- not separated?

I mean they worked together. There's so many things about this that I think, looking back, as the judge's advocate said, now seem like craziness that they would have been allowed to happen.

KING: Ron, have you -- I guess I don't know if we ever come -- have you come to understand why what happened to your daughter happened?

Have you come to understand to yourself why Scott Peterson killed her?

GRANTSKI: No. Number one, there is no understanding of that, because if you're a decent human being, you can't understand something like that because it just -- it just doesn't compute in your makeup. And I don't think we'll ever understand it. And I know that Scott, you know, he's wiped it out of his mind. You know, he just -- he's in another world.

KING: Randi Kaye, do you think we'll have a lot more answers tomorrow?

KAYE: I do. They're going to be back out there, Larry, early in the morning. They said that the nighttime isn't very good for this -- getting into this cavity. So they're going to go there at first daylight. And they already believe that they've spotted the remains. They're going to have the medical examiner out there with them. And they do expect that they will find her in this cavity.

The Sheriff has this very unique tool -- a divining rod that he's happened to have made out of a hanger of his. And that is how they -- partly how they found this cavity, Larry. He was using it out there. And it bobs up and down when there's an opening in the ground. And that's where they stopped. He's used it before. He's actually solved murder cases before. He's found other bodies this way and he believes that's where the answer is.

KING: Thank you all very much -- Randi, Jennifer, Tim, Candice and Ron.

By the way, Sunday night, as you know, is the Golden Globes. It not -- it will not be an entertaining telecast in that it will be a press conference with the names and winners read off. And in that regard, we will, therefore, carry that press conference live on CNN. And I will anchor it.

We'll start at 8:00 Eastern and take you right through the announcement of all the awards. We'll have interviews with various people, as well. That's Sunday night live as 8:00.

Our new pod cast is available for downloading at CNN.com/larryking or iTunes. There you see it on my iPod. It's an incredible guest, by the way, named Lee Thomas. Lee is a TV anchor who happens to be black, but his skin is turning white. He will open up about this rare skin condition and his brave battle with it. It's the LARRY KING pod cast, available at CNN.com/larryking or iTunes.

And when we come back, our dear friend -- the one, the only, Suzanne Somers.

Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We now welcome to LARRY KING LIVE Suzanne Somers, entertainer, entrepreneur, breast cancer survivor. She broke the story about that cancer on this program. She's a best selling author of 16 books, her most recent number one "New York Times" best seller is "Ageless, The Naked Truth About Bio-Identical Hormones." It's now out in paperback. There you see it's cover.

Let's catch up a little. Your home was destroyed, the Malibu home was destroyed about a year ago.

SUZANNE SOMERS, AUTHOR, "AGELESS": A year ago yesterday.

KING: How are things now? Have you rebuilt?

SOMERS: No, I haven't rebuilt yet. I don't own any things yet. I have a few clothes. I haven't done much about it. There's an empty lot. It looks exactly like it did. We just haven't gotten all the permits.

I don't know. I learned a lot this year. It changed me a lot. I grew a lot. I'm not attached to things very much now.

KING: They are just things.

SOMERS: I like having no clutter. My closets are clean. My drawers are not jumbled up.

KING: Where are you living?

SOMERS: I lease the house. Actually, I was evacuated a couple months ago when they had the other Malibu fire. It's my third fire. In Palm Springs, I had a fire 20 years ago and Sonny Bono saved my house, 20 years ago.

KING: He saved it?

SOMERS: He did. He wasn't the mayor yet. I guess he had moved in near me. And I was up in Reno performing and I get a call that my house was on fire. Sonny saw it and ran up the back of the hill and gathered men along the way and formed a bucket brigade from the pool, and kept the fire at bay. So this is my third experience with this.

KING: Does your husband deal with this as well as you?

SOMERS: Better. You know, we both are of the thinking that you have to adjust to change. I remember standing there looking at the ashes thinking, OK, you know, it's gone.

KING: But a year ago with us, you said you were going to rebuild. Is that on hold?

SOMERS: I will. I'm going to rebuild. It just takes a while and I have been working a lot and writing another book and waiting for permits and things like that.

KING: Why go back to Malibu, not that it's not pretty, but my gosh.

SOMERS: Oh, I love it there. You have been there. It's a sophisticated village. It's Los Angeles, but it's not of it. It's calmer. But I am -- I'm going to build a fireproof house. But it's not going to be pretty. I'll invite you over. It's going to be concrete and roll down steel shutters with concrete underneath and a sprinkler system. I think if you live in a fire prone area, I'm surprised they don't even require that you should build as fireproof a house as you can. It's going to come again. That I know.

KING: They insure them? They have insurance or they don't?

SOMERS: It's pretty good. They paid for the wood.

KING: You have also survived cancer. We'll not soon forget that night you came on this show and announced you had it when tabloids were printing you were going in for breast removal. You did not beat cancer the conventional way, right?

SOMERS: No.

KING: Did not do chemotherapy. What did you do?

SOMERS: I had been writing books on the hormone influence. So I knew -- I was acquainted with hormones and I also knew that the brain recognizes a reproductive template, meaning the hormones have to be put back in exactly the right ratio as it was when we were young. And so when I put together that I had taken birth control pills for 22 years -- and when you take a birth control pill, you never fully ovulate.

So if I wasn't fully ovulating, I was just setting my body up for cancer. And I thought, if I put my hormones back exactly the way they were at my optimal prime, that the cancer in me would be left at bay.

KING: You did that on your own?

SOMERS: Yes, this was mine. And my doctors weren't very happy about it.

KING: Where do we stand now?

SOMERS: Perfect.

KING: You have no cancer.

SOMERS: I have no cancer.

KING: You had no mastectomy (ph)?

SOMERS: Well, they removed some. I'm looking good.

KING: But you have no cancer now?

SOMERS: I have no cancer. I'm healthy. I'm happy. I sleep.

KING: What do you make of this, earlier this week, the FDA sent letters to seven pharmacy operations warning that the claims they have made about the safety and effectiveness of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, of those products, are unsupported by medical evidence, and area considered false and misleading. The FDA says it is concerned that unfounded claims like these mislead women and health care professionals.

The FDA has posted an article titled, "Bio-identicals, Sorting Myths From Facts" on its website. You can find that, by the way -- we do that as a courtesy to the FDA and in fairness --- at FDA.gov/consumer?

SOMERS: As you say that, I actually feel my blood boil. First of all, this was filed by Wieth (ph) Pharmaceuticals. They filed a citizens petition. Wieth is not a citizen. Now, I believe in connecting the dots. When the Women's Health Initiative came out, saying to women, do not use these dangerous synthetic hormones; it would be better for women to take nothing at all than to take these dangerous, harmful, even fatal hormones.

At the same time, my book "Sexy Years" came out and you were so kind to have me on. Their revenues dropped 68 percent. That was two billion dollars in one year. The next year, their revenues dropped on synthetic hormones, 1.8 billion.

KING: Of course you would hurt them. That doesn't mean they're wrong, does it, just because you hurt them financially?

SOMERS: These hormones have been proven dangerous. Bio- identical hormones -- they keep saying there are no sudden studies on them. There are studies on them. They're are reams of studies on them in Europe. But they don't think that European human beings are the same as American human beings.

KING: What are you saying?

SOMERS: I'm saying, first of all, I read that report, and it said that it was about the hormone Estreal (ph). Estreal is not FDA approved in the drug Premerin (ph). Premerin doesn't have Estreal. Estreal is what protects your breasts from breasts cancer.

KING: So you defend bio-identicals?

SOMERS: I would go to the wall. I will take these to the day I die.

KING: Why are they so vehement against them?

SOMERS: Because it's money. You have to follow the money on this. If -- I'm not anti-pharmaceutical at all. When you need them, they are a God-send and I have needed them in my life for pain, for infection, for mental illness. But when you have a condition such as hormone decline, why would you take a drug when you can take a non- drug that works well. There's a quote --

KING: Let me get a break in. You pick it up. Our guest is Suzanne Somers, who's chomping at the bit. The book is "Ageless." It's now out in paper back. We'll be right back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOMERS: If you look, you know -- every time you walk through, you look to see if there's a little piece of your life in here, nature, you know. And in a minute, you know -- when it decides it wants what it wants, there's no stopping it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The wonderful Suzanne Somers!

SOMERS: Do you know what? I made them notice me!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, Crissy, what's the joke?

SOMERS: I need you back at the apartment, and I do mean need you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy Birth-da? Where's the Y?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: What a fun show that was. You were in the middle of a rant.

SOMERS: I was in the middle of a rant because this upsets me so much. Compounding pharmacists are being shut down because of a Wyeth petition. I was thinking today, there's a quote by Chopinouer (ph) about truth; "truth has three stages, first, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. And third, it is accepted as self-evident."

I think we're in stages one and two. I get a lot of ridicule. Right now, I think shutting down compounding pharmacists is violent opposition. But women -- if women could call into this show, women who have found bio-identical hormones, your life changes.

KING: Pharmacists use compounds to put this together, is that what you're saying?

SOMERS: Yes, there's even questions on is it a drug or not. Let's say it's a drug, so that I don't get into that whole discussion. But bio-identical hormones are made from soy and plant extracts, synthesized into a lab to exactly replicate the human hormone. So it's like putting the key in the door and the key fits.

KING: We have an e-mail question from Bob in New York. We should not, we have scores of emails on this very topic. "I understand you are against water fluoridation. How did you come to that position?"

SOMERS: Fluoride is a waste product.

KING: But it prevents cavities?

SOMERS: No, it does not.

KING: It doesn't? It's in every water system in America.

SOMERS: Not every one. They're trying to put it in LA.

KING: It's not in LA.

SOMERS: It may be in there now. There's a fight against it. But fluoridation is a chemical. It's a waste product. And it was sold a bill of goods to the American Dental Association that it was cavity preventive and it actually has the opposite effect. We don't need fluoride.

KING: Those initially opposed, they thought it was a Communist plot to destroy America. You don't share that? You're not into that?

Moving on to some headline stories. What are your thoughts on the writer's strike?

SOMERS: Well, you know, I was thinking about "Three's Company" and one of the things, when I was fired because I was the first woman to ask to be paid commensurate with the men, which I still think I deserved --

KING: John Ridder made more than you?

SOMERS: Yes, all the men at that time were making from five to ten times more. It just didn't feel right. I thought, are they ten times more talented? Anyway, when I went in there, I asked them for the salary, and everybody made a big deal about asking for 150,000 a week. At that time, it was exorbitant. But Alda was making 250,000, so I thought I won't go all the way.

I also asked for a piece of the back, and I also asked for revenue in -- at that time they had video tapes, JVCs, I think they were called. I never got any of it. I didn't get anything. I struck out. So now, like, when I walked in here tonight, there was a guy, a fan waiting outside and he asked me to sign the boxed set of the first year of "Three's Company" and I look at all these boxed sets and I don't get it.

KING: You get no cut of that?

SOMERS: Nothing. So it's really inconvenient with the writer's strike right now, but the world is changing and we're in a technological age, and there are many other ways to sell product. When I watch myself on "Three's Company," happy to see her and it's fun and everything, but I don't get any money.

KING: So you think writers therefore get ripped off?

SOMERS: Yes, but I think they have to be smart about business. Anyway.

KING: All right, we're going to take a break. Do we check in with Anderson? Anderson Cooper, the host of "AC 360," will be with us -- there he is -- will be with us at the top of the hour. What's up tonight?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Larry, a lot of stories; we're following the breaking news in the story of Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach (ph). We learned earlier today that she was not on the run but, sadly, is dad. Within the past few hours authorities have said that they have found what they believe to be the remains of Miss Lauterbach, and they're making a plea to the man who they say killed her and is now on the run.

We're also following all the latest from the presidential race. All the major candidates were pressing the flesh today. We'll tell you where and we'll tell you what voters now say is their number one concern. All that and more, Larry, at the top of the hour.

KING: That's Anderson Cooper, the host of "AC 360," 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific. We'll be right back with Suzanne Somers. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're coming with me.

SOMERS: Well, OK, Jack Tripper, you're under arrest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, you're coming with me. Come this way. Walk this way.

SOMERS: Don't you hate that?

(CROSS TALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is the key?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOMERS: That's why you're not in the mood for sex, because you don't have any sex hormones. You have to have sex more hormones to feel sex. I mean, you can do it. I mean, we're women, you know. You can do it, but, frankly, you would rather have a smoothie, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: You sold over 10 million Thigh Masters?

SOMERS: I did. Every once in a while you get lucky.

KING: You were also telling me that you favor testosterone for men. Right?

SOMERS: Oh, in "Ageless," there's a whole section on men. If men could understand the joys of testosterone replacement -- my husband has been on testosterone replacement for 10 years. Oh my god is it fun to be with him. I can walk in a room and I can see which men are on testosterone and which men aren't. If men knew that this decline, you know -- you lose muscle tone when you don't have testosterone.

KING: How do you take it.

SOMERS: You just rub it on. You take a blood test. They see where you're deficient and they tell you exactly how much cream, because our livers are so toxic from all the chemicals in the environment that you have to put it on his skin. My husband puts on his thigh, and with every pulse of the blood, it goes through?

KING: How often?

SOMERS: Every morning and every night.

KING: It's an anabolic steroid though, isn't it?

SOMERS: But that's not a bad thing. You're thinking about athletes over-using. Have you ever seen your prostate?

KING: Yes.

SOMERS: So, it's like a little walnut, right?

KING: Right.

SOMERS: And this little walnut can bring such joy, if it's working right, and if it's not working right, it brings such pain and suffering and even death. So a man's prostate is the equivalent of a woman's breast. It has ducts. In our ducts we make milk, and in your ducts you make -- testosterone makes the fluid for the sperm. So, to be a man, you have to have the ratio of testosterone to estrogen and it's really important.

But as you age, you lose a little and your shoulders start slumping. Then you get grumpy. And then you get deep belly fat. And then you don't want to dance anymore. Pretty soon, it gets so low that your testosterone is lower than your estrogen, and now you're a woman.

Well, that's what happens. When this happens, your voice gets higher. This obviously has not happened to you. And men grow little breasts and they become feminized. Back to the prostate, because everybody's always worried about prostate and testosterone, prostate cancer. If you keep the level up here, that prostate won't grow; your testosterone is still making food for the sperm. And so you don't get an enlarged prostate. And you can keep that at bay. That's interesting stuff.

KING: Watch this switch, because I want to cover a lot of bases. What do you think of Britney Spears?

SOMERS: Needs testosterone so badly.

KING: You were in the limelight for a long time as an entertainer.

SOMERS: I feel compassion for her. It's too much, too soon, too young, too much power. I saw it on a television series that I did. Boy, a good switch from the walnut to Britney Spears. It's a very hard thing to handle success. At the height of my success on "Three's Company," I didn't feel I was worth it. So, obviously --

KING: Really?

SOMERS: When I got shot down, when I renegotiated, I walked away thinking somehow I shouldn't have done that; I was bad. It takes a long time to get a sense of yourselves. How can you when you have that kind of power, more power than your parents? You also get used to the high. Anybody in the addictive world knows that for every high you want to go higher.

KING: What do you do when you're bigger than your parents? That's true, and now her baby sister.

SOMERS: Right, and -- well, that -- then that. I don't know how you handle it. I would never have wanted my son to go into that business at that young age. After he was older, better.

KING: We'll be back with more Suzanne Somers.

SOMERS: And then we can talk about other body parts.

KING: I'm going to hit you. I would never hit you. I'm going to scowl at you. We'll be right back. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOMERS: I dreamed of this as a little girl, but I would never tell anybody my dreams because you never think your dreams can come true. And I now know that our dreams are us, knowing the infinite possibilities of what we can do with our life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Monday night a major guest announcement, it will be announced Monday morning. We can't announce it before then. Mitt Romney will be with us as well. We have another email for Suzanne Somers from Vince in New York. "What continues to inspire you to write books and be intellectual rather than take your great talent back to the TV screen or film?"

SOMERS: Well, thanks, Vince. It's not so easy at this age to go back to the screen. And those are the realities. It's fine with me. I had a great career and it doesn't mean it's over, but I refocused on these books.

KING: That drives you now?

SOMERS: We were walking down the street in New York a couple of weeks ago and Allen said, you can't walk five feet without some woman throwing their arms around you and crying and kissing you. So to be in the helping field and be so passionate about it -- and I walk the walk that I talk. I mean, I do these things.

KING: What do you take every day?

SOMERS: OK, every day of the month I take estrogen cream. I rub it on this arm and I kind of take it in a rhythm. Two weeks of the month, I take progesterone (ph) cream on this arm, and I take that in a rhythm. I take testosterone every day and I put it right here. I take DHEA. I put it on my inner thigh.

I inject HGH, Human Growth Hormone, because I am deficient, and probably you are too, and anybody who is over 30.

SOMERS: You'll be before the House Committee.

SOMERS: I'd be happy to. I so understand Human Growth Hormone. It's a part of the missing song. I take supplements and vitamins and I sleep eight, nine, 10 hours a night, because I'm so hormonally balance. I'm happy. I have a great libido. My life is great on these hormones.

KING: I know your husband is smiling all the way to the grave. Do you ever add things? Do you ever find a new vitamin like?

SOMERS: Well, there are --

KING: Like Q-10.

SOMERS: CO-Q-10, absolutely. I take CO-Q-10. I take Zinc. I take Niacin instead of Statins. I think Statins are the worst thing.

KING: Statins? You don't like Lipitor? They lower cholesterol.

SOMERS: No. It's also --

KING: They may do other wonderful things too, they think.

SOMERS: Niacin, over the counter Niacin, has been shown to actually reverse and flush arterial plaque. Lipitor, a cholesterol -- let's say a Statin -- I don't want to pick on Lipitor. A Statin drug inhibits your body from making anymore cholesterol, which is a good thing. So the plaque you have is the plaque you have. But the brain, the neurons in the brain, require cholesterol to reproduce themselves. So now if you're taking a drug that inhibits your body from making anymore cholesterol, you're depriving your brain of its ability to reproduce. They're predicting dementia down the road from all the Statins.

KING: We have to go. But --

(CROSS TALK)

KING: We'll have you back very soon. Will you come back?

SOMERS: Oh yes.

KING: Suzanne Somers, not very comfortably. You put three companies out of business tonight. If you haven't been to our website lately, check out CNN.com/LarryKing. You can download our current podcast. A man whose skin color is changing, Lee Thomas, will tell you about vitilate (ph) -- I can't get through this.

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