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Live From...
Robodoc; Arrest Made in Murder of Cape Cod Fashion Writer; Arrest Made in Murder of Cape Cod Fashion Writer; Brian Nichols Hearing; Vigil for Iraqi Hostage Canceled, Mayor to Issue Statement Later
Aired April 15, 2005 - 13:32 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Checking stories in the news right now, a break in a high-profile murder case. We should hear about it soon in a news conference. Former fashion writer Christa Worthington was found stabbed to death three years ago in her Cape Cod home three years ago. Thirty-three-year-old Christopher McCowan, A garbage collector, was arrested in connection with that case yesterday.
CNN's Mary Snow will have details in just about 30 minutes.
Blastoff from Kazakhstan. Next stop, the International Space Station. Onboard the Soyuz capsule, a Russian cosmonaut and an American astronaut. They'll replace the current long-orbiting ISS crew and the Russian space program has lead all space station work since the U.S. shuttle fleet's grounding two years ago.
President Bush back to Ohio today with Social Security on his mind. He speaks to an invitation-only group at Lakeland Community College, and will pop in on several Cleveland-area coffee shops to talk taxes with families and business owners.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Another day in Iraq marred by more insurgent violence and reports of American casualties. West of Baghdad in the volatile Al Anbar province, the military says a U.S. Marine was killed while fighting in the provincial capital of Ramadi. It was the second American death in that area this week. A Marine was killed in a mortar attack there Wednesday.
And today, in Baghdad, we're told that three separate bombs exploded, killing at least one person, a civilian, wounding eight others. One of the blasts apparently targeted an American military convoy. Soldiers have the area sealed off right now. No word on any casualties in that attack.
Now to a virtual operating room on the battlefield, kind of a Hawkeye meets Hal concept, a theme running through the show here, Hal.
It may sound like the stuff of pure sci-fi, but the Pentagon is investing millions to figure out how to make it a reality.
CNN's Barbara Starr with more on robodoc.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Urban combat in the year 2025 as envisioned by the Pentagon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man down, man down.
STARR: A soldier is shot. A driverless vehicle rolls up. The soldier is carried away and treated, by robots. No doctors or nurses are on the front line. Treatment is immediate. The soldier is saved. It's just a concept for now, but it's got a name, the trauma pod. And if it works, it can save lives.
DR. ADRIAN PARK, UNIV. OF MD. MEDICAL CENTER: Right now we're doing basic stabilization, so stabilization of fractures and hemostasis, or stopping the bleeding.
STARR: Today's operating rooms are already taking the first steps in automation and robotics. Surgeons routinely use laproscopic instruments to peer into the human body with tiny cameras, one step removed from directly holding the scalpel. But with the trauma pod, military surgeons will rely on high-definition screens and instant communications to tell the robot what to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I may be in another city, may be in another country.
STARR: The Pentagon is funding a $12 million effort to see what is possible.
(on camera): Here at the University of Maryland Medical Center, researchers are part of a team exploring critical issues that may occur when a badly wounded soldier is treated robotically by doctors hundreds of miles away.
(voice-over): High-speed communications will be a challenge. Any satellite delay sending data between the robot and the human surgeon must be less than .2 second. Robots will need to perform high-definition scans, insert IVs, and clear a soldier's airway. The robo-scrub nurse will provide instruments and bandages. As the robot scans, it will locate any body damage as small as 1/30 of an inch.
While robots will do the work, experts insist there will always be a human doctor in control.
TIM GANOUS, TRAUMA POD PROJECT MANAGER: There would be a surgeon on joysticks, let's say, back at a military hospital, who is participating in the surgery.
STARR: And then the soldier will be lifted out of the trauma pod and carried off by another robotic vehicle flying through the air.
Barbara Starr, CNN, University of Maryland Medical Center.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Still to come on CNN's live from, a gruesome admission in a Georgia courtroom. Hear a teenager describe what happened when she attacked her grandparents with a knife. That story when LIVE FROM continues. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: All right, big cases in the courtroom to tell you about. The defense gets its turn to grill the mother of Michael Jackson's teenage accuser. They're expected to try to portray the woman as a gold digger who made up the child molestation claims for money. Sound familiar? This morning prosecutors played surveillance tape intended to show Jackson's people kept close tabs on the family.
Utah now. The Associated Press reports there could be a plea deal today for the man accused of shooting his sleeping wife and then dumping her body in a trash bin. Mark Hacking is due in court about two and a half hours from now. He originally reportedly reported his wife Lori, missing, setting off a massive search. You'll recall that. Lori Hacking's body was found last October in a Salt Lake County landfill.
PHILLIPS: Gruesome details now of a headline-grabbing double murder, from a 15-year-old Georgia girl who brutally stabbed her grandparents to death. Holly Harvey recounted the crime at her sentencing yesterday. Harvey says she killed the couple last August so she'd be free to leave town with her friend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you thought about hiding the knife, is that right?
HOLLY HARVEY, ACCUSED KILLER: No. No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You closed your eyes and you stabbed them? Do you know where you stabbed her?
HARVEY: In the back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know how many times you stabbed her?
HARVEY: Maybe three times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All in the back? Well, when you stabbed her in the back, what happened the first time?
HARVEY: She made -- she screamed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then she screamed?
HARVEY: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then what happened?
HARVEY: My grandfather turned around. He had the phone in his hand, and I had pulled the cord out of the wall. Then he ran and grabbed a knife and I thought he was going to stab me. But I took the knife from my grandpa and I closed my eyes and I just started stabbing my grandpa real fast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Under a plea deal, Harvey was given life in prison. She could be eligible for parole in 20 years. Her friend also pleaded guilty to murder and was also sentenced to life behind bars.
Europe says good-bye to a prince. That story when LIVE FROM continues.
And coming up in the next hour, why Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez is being called a hero by one grateful mother.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: The conclave to elect a new pope begins next week at the Vatican. Much of which will happen is shrouded in secrecy, but the Sistine Chapel rooftop plays a pivotal role. Many eyes and camera lenses will be trained on that chimney, awaiting the smoke that signifies each vote taken by the cardinal. So today, a worker gingerly tiptoed across the top of the chapel to attach a taller stove pipe and make the viewing a little easier. Well, many people know that black smoke means no decision and white means a new pope is elected.
Tonight, Aaron Brown fills in more of the blanks in a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT," a conclave preview of what goes on behind locked doors. That's tonight at 10:00 Eastern.
A final farewell in Monaco as Prince Rainier is laid to rest. Today's somber funeral attended by his prince's three children and many other royals and heads of state. The ceremony was held in the same cathedral where the prince married Grace Kelly a half century ago. Prince Rainier, who died April 6th at the age of 81, ruled his tiny principality for 56 years. He was Europe's longest serving monarch.
O'BRIEN: He made history by helping end the Cold War with something he called perestroika. In today's edition of CNN's Anniversary series "Then and Now," a look back at Mikhail Gorbachev and what he's doing today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE):
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: With a wine-colored birthmark on his forehead, there's no mistaking Mikhail Gorbachev. The former Soviet president is still a household word. Gorby, the man who helped end the Cold War. In 1985, Gorbachev became communist party chief, the Soviet Union's top job. But with his charisma and charm, he broke the mold and so did his elegant wife, Raisa. Creator of perestroika, reform, and glasnost, openness, he tried to reshape the Soviet Union.
In August 1991, hardliners attempted a coup. Boris Yeltsin came to his rescue. But in December of that same year, Gorbachev resigned and the Soviet Union was dissolved. A few months later, he started the Gorbachev Foundation, dedicated to democratic values, and raised money for it by starring in an ad for Pizza Hut. He's also founding president of an environmental group called Green Cross International. His wife, Raisa, battled a rare form of leukemia and died in September 1999. These days, Gorbachev still travels the world, speaking out on nuclear disarmament, the environment and poverty.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: A break in a high profile murder case. We want to take you straight to a live news conference right now in Cape Cod, where former fashion writer Christa Worthington was found stabbed to death, her 2-year-old daughter clinging to her body. We believe now that police are going to announce who they've arrested in connection to this murder.
MICHAEL O'KEEFE, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: ... DNA as a match to the sample of the DNA left at the crime scene. Further verification of the testing took place this past week, as the investigation continued. Mr. McGowan was located and monitored during the week by members of the state police detective unit attached to the district attorney's office.
I want to now introduce to you the team, which has worked on this case since January the 6th: Sergeant William Burke (ph) of the Massachusetts State Police, Trooper Christopher Mason of the Massachusetts State Police, Major Mark Delaney of the crime lab at Sudbury (ph), chemist Joan Squallia (ph), the technical manager of the crime lab, Chief John Thomas and all of the Touro police, Lieutenants John Allen and Bob Mylia (ph), both of the Massachusetts State Police and their respective units attached to the district attorney's office, and assistant district attorney, Rob Welsh (ph).
Before I ask Chief Thomas and Major Delaney to say a few words, I want to emphasize how important it is for public safety in our state to continue to expand the resources of our forensic infrastructure. And by that, I mean our crime lab and medical examiner's office. They must have the resources to do the job that we ask them to do and that the public expects them to do.
My colleagues and I at the District Attorney's Association have worked with the administration and President Travellini of the senate to make improvements in those areas. The governor in his budget this year doubled the resources of the medical examiner's office and increased the resources of the lab. These are not extras or frills. They're necessary to give to district attorneys and police around the state the ability to solve these crimes. We have never doubted the science that our lab puts out. It is excellent. But we have a capacity problem, and we need to continue to fix it.
Last night, I had an opportunity to speak with Christa's family, and to let them know that this phase of the case is over. I expressed to them the feelings the investigative team has had these many years, but particularly these last few days.
The investigation continues now as we move into the prosecution phase of the case. I want to also thank the FBI's behavioral analysis unit in Quantico, Virginia, particularly special agent Jim McNamara. I want to thank district attorney Tim Cruz (ph) of the Plymouth district attorney's office who sits with me on the Forensic Science Advisory Board. And I want to thank attorney general Tom Riley for the assistance that all have given to this office as we've gone forward in this investigation over the years -- Chief Thomas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon. I just want to thank the district attorney and the state police for their assistance in this case. Also, during the investigation, it's been asked whether or not it was a cold case. We never viewed it as a cold case. We always viewed it as an active case. I think this just shows that if you're consistent and determined that you can bring a case to closure.
O'KEEFE: Major Delaney.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On behalf of Colonel Robins (ph), I want to congratulate the district attorney, the state troopers assigned to the district attorney's office and the local police officers who worked on this case. They had the tenacity to stay with this case since 2002.
We also want to, as the head of the crime laboratory, commend the scientists and the crime scene service specialists that the troopers that go to the crime scene. The quality of the evidence collected at the crime scene is important and critical for the DNA analysts to analyze and perform their testing. It all starts at the crime scene. But from the crime scene, the DNA unit, which is overworked but does quality work, does excellent work, and they may help make the link to support the detectives in their work that they have to do every day.
O'KEEFE: Thank you, major.
Again, ladies and gentlemen, we'll answer what questions we think are appropriate, having in mind that this is now in the prosecution stage, the investigation is still ongoing in many different areas as a result of the activity undertaken last night. So with that caveat...
QUESTION: Was this a crime of opportunity? how did this happen?
O'KEEFE: Well, you know, the evidence would suggest, and I'm not going to go into a great deal of detail, that it was a person who knew Christa, only in the sense that they were familiar with her comings and goings. They were not personal acquaintances. They were not friends in any way, but if you, having those factors in mind, if you understand that to be a crime of opportunity, the answer would be yes.
QUESTION: Can you discuss any other links besides the DNA link that would support the murder charge?
O'KEEFE: I'm not going to discuss any other evidence in the case. Other than to say that there is a significant body of evidence in addition to that particular evidence that gives us a comfort level with respect to the strength of the case and forms the basis of us having gone forward.
QUESTION: Can you characterize the reaction in that (INAUDIBLE) police office when you all realized you had a hit?
O'KEEFE: Well, it was the crime laboratory, and it was interesting in that we had gone up to a regularly scheduled meeting to discuss protocols for the vast amount of DNA that had been collected in the case, and how we would best get it analyzed without further taxing the resources of the lab. And it was that morning that the crime lab in taking the most recent batch of samples that had been batched together per the protocol that we had agreed to, analyzed and compared that final batch that went in around July of 2004. And it was at 10:00 that morning that they made the hit.
QUESTION: Mr. District attorney, was the buckle swab taken, the only DNA sample provided to the police by this defendant?
O'KEEFE: Yes.
QUESTION: Was that voluntary?
O'KEEFE: Yes, it was.
QUESTION: How many DNA samples did you take?
O'KEEFE: Many.
QUESTION: Was McCowan -- he was the trash collector. Can you tell us this part of the story? This murder, was that the day, this murder, was that the day he was collecting the trash up there?
O'KEEFE: No, it was not the day he was collecting the trash, but I will indicate that he was employed by the company, that had the contract to collect the trash at that particular location.
QUESTION: Can you describe anything more about how you think this crime happened?
O'KEEFE: I can, but I'm not going to. I think we're going to let the investigation continue. There will be obviously the appropriate time for all of this information to come out in the courtroom, and I think we'll leave it for the courtroom for it to come out.
QUESTION: What company did he work for?
O'KEEFE: I'm not going to name the company. I'm sure the police will be back to speak with those people, and we'd like to have them be able do that in peace.
QUESTION: The D.A.'s office received some criticism for collecting these voluntarily samples. (INAUDIBLE).
O'KEEFE: That's for others to judge. We said from the outset this was a process we had been doing since the case began in 2002, and it's entirely appropriate for the police to ask people for their cooperation. The police did so in many different areas and in many different ways in this case, entirely appropriate to do that.
QUESTION: Can someone explain why it takes a year to really make a match? what goes on?
O'KEEFE: Well, I think, you know, without getting into a lot of detail, what we're talking about, again, is the "resource versus capacity versus quality" issue. Again, we have always been very impressed with the quality of what we're given by the laboratory in terms of not only just DNA, but all of the other things that they perform for us. It's the capacity to be able to turn it around, as we say in the parlance of this work, quickly and get it back into the hands of the investigators. And that is a resource issue.
And I can to into great detail with you about this issue, because I'm interested in it. I sit on the advisory committee with respect to forensic sciences. But you know, to just quickly say we are on the right track to increasing these resources. As I mentioned, the budget of the lab has been increased, the medical examiner's office, which those of you here from Massachusetts know of some issues, and that budget has been doubled this year. And the legislature and the administration have, I think, they have an appreciation now that this is a serious issue, that Massachusetts, rather than being so far behind the eight ball, if I can use that colloquialism, should be a leader in the country. Think of Massachusetts and our wonderful teaching hospitals, our educational facilities, our science labs and other respects. And we should be leaders in this field. And I think we're moving in that direction, but we have a long way to go.
QUESTION: Is there such a backlog that you weren't able to process this DNA and match it? The backlog is what did it?
O'KEEFE: We weren't able to process it more quickly than we did.
QUESTION: Because there was a backlog?
O'KEEFE: Because obviously there's a backlog. But you have to keep in mind that we're not the only district attorney's office in the state that has serious cases that we're asking the lab, who is operating with one hand tied behind their back essentially, to get this work done for us.
There are 11 district attorney's offices around the state. We all have serious cases that we're very interested in. The police around the state all have cases that they're very interested in.
And as I say, we're on the right track. We just have to stay at it and continue to properly resource the lab.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) a series of DNA samples ready to be tested that you had not tested as you began the sweep and -- and this was one of those?
O'KEEFE: I didn't understand that question.
QUESTION: Would it be correct to say that there were a series of DNA samples that you had not yet tested which were pending as you began to sweep Truro, and that this sample was one of those... O'KEEFE: Yes, that would be correct.
(CROSSTALK)
O'KEEFE: Excuse me?
QUESTION: Is this -- the guy you arrested, is he the one that had sex with her before she was killed? Is that this match?
O'KEEFE: We're not going to go into it any further other than to say that we have matched the DNA from the crime scene to this person.
QUESTION: But is that the DNA of the victim?
O'KEEFE: Anything else?
QUESTION: What eventually caused you to be attracted to him, and what is it that kept your interest in him?
O'KEEFE: Well, as many of you know who've covered the case, there were a number of scenarios that were bandied about quite significantly by you all in the media, and not inappropriately so. But the police were certainly working all of those scenarios.
And as the case moves forward, it moves into a phase where everyone who's in the orbit of this person's life, anyone who would have a contact or a reason to be at the home, be they handymen or mailmen or repairmen or trash collectors or anybody. So in that normal, good, solid police work, the police had their first encounter with this individual and had encounters with him subsequent there, too, with respect to the investigation of the case. So it's in the normal course of the investigation, Mike, that that would have taken place.
QUESTION: What prompted the giving his DNA? Was he asked to?
O'KEEFE: He was asked to.
QUESTION: Was it totally voluntary?
O'KEEFE: Yes.
QUESTION: Did you put any pressure on him to provide it?
QUESTION: Why wasn't he asked earlier?
O'KEEFE: He was asked.
QUESTION: There was one report that he did give DNA three months after the murder.
O'KEEFE: That was incorrect report.
QUESTION: OK.
(CROSSTALK) QUESTION: So is anybody going to get this reward?
O'KEEFE: I don't think -- I don't think the laboratory personnel can really, you know, take the $25,000, nor would they want to.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Can you just give us a little bit of the detail of how it was that he gave his DNA? What led up to that?
O'KEEFE: Just as we asked for virtually everybody's DNA who we encountered in the case.
QUESTION: But did you make a specific request of him, or did he just respond to the general request?
O'KEEFE: He responded to the request to supply DNA, as did all those who were in that, we visit the house because we're repairmen or mailmen or this, that or the other thing.
QUESTION: What brought him to the house that day? Why was he up there?
O'KEEFE: I'm not going to comment on that.
QUESTION: Recently there was an insinuation that this woman had had a relationship with her killer. And I think that insinuation was repeatedly recently on a television show. Is this something that you regret now, knowing that it was rape one in the first degree and a home invasion?
O'KEEFE: I don't know what -- I don't know what insinuation you're talking about, but we put out a number of different pieces of information in an effort to have people come forward and cooperate.
And one of those things was to suggest at one point that, you know, we would like the person to come forward who last was maybe in a relationship with Christa to help us identify this DNA. And that was a -- certainly a sincere request, but a device to further the identification of the DNA.
QUESTION: So this was not -- this was not a relationship?
QUESTION: But she did not have a relationship...
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) give you any kind of a statement? Did he say anything when the officers when in to arrest him?
O'KEEFE: I'm not going to get into that.
QUESTION: Was there a relationship?
O'KEEFE: There was no relationship.
QUESTION: Do you believe at any time he attempted to initiate a relationship with her?
O'KEEFE: No.
QUESTION: You say you were watching him as far back as April 2002. How come he didn't give a source before that?
O'KEEFE: He was asked back in 2002. He indicated, along with many others, that he would be willing to do that. And we got the source from him then subsequently in March of 2004.
QUESTION: It takes that long?
QUESTION: Mr. D.A., there are several people who know this woman who think that her character has been besmirched by this investigation. Do you have any apologies to her families or friends?
O'KEEFE: Well, you know, these cases are very difficult. And they're difficult when they attract a great deal of media attention.
I spoke with the family last night. I think that some family members will have something to say to the media today.
I've expressed to them my feelings about the matter in both -- on other occasions and last night and this morning when we spoke again. And I'm going to leave that between them...
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: He says he's matched the DNA. You've been listening to Cape and Islands district attorney, Michael O'Keefe. The victim, a fashion writer, a single mom who had given up the glitz of New York and Paris for the simple life on Cape Cod. The crime was as shocking as it was brutal, murder by stabbing, with the dead woman's toddler left clutching to her mother's body for hours.
For three years and three months this case was open, unsolved and fodder for even a best-selling book. Today there is a suspect, a charge and a plea. We just heard about it.
CNN's Mary Snow has more details now from our bureau in New York -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, that suspect has been identified as 33-year-old Christopher McCowen. He was arrested last night, according to police.
And police say that he had first been looked at by investigators in April of 2002, and that he had submitted a DNA sample in March of 2004. Police say that that DNA made a match in April of 2005.
He has been identified as a trash collector, that he worked for a company that collected trash in Truro, where Christa Worthington had lived. She had lived there with her daughter, as you just mentioned. She was 46 years old.
And this case had -- really had no developments. And the third anniversary of that murder became controversial because police began collecting random DNA samples from men in Truro. It's a town of about 2,000 people. There hadn't been a murder there in about 30 years. It had been very controversial because civil rights attorneys had said that this was a violation of civil rights. And that's why it had gained so much national attention in the past couple of months.
PHILLIPS: And this garbage collector now being charged, the D.A., Mary, saying that it was a crime of opportunity. That they didn't necessarily have a relationship or any type of friendship, but that because he worked in her area that they did know each other. And it looks like he had quite a bit of a rap sheet, criminal history from Florida.
SNOW: Yes. And, Kyra, there had been all kinds of speculation in these past couple years and people named as potential suspects for questioning. And there had been some reports that perhaps she had had a relationship with the person who murdered her, although that could never be sorted out until today. And as you mentioned, this was a man who worked for the company that collected trash in the area.
And also, one thing I wanted to point out, too, is that police had mentioned that there had been a backlog in terms of getting to these DNA samples, one of the things that had been mentioned by the district attorney and the police chief there, saying that more resources were needed for these labs. Because, as I mentioned, the DNA had initially been taken in 2004 when he had been looked at initially in 2002.
PHILLIPS: All right. Mary Snow from New York. Thank you so much -- Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, can you seat an impartial jury or grand jury in the same courthouse where the defendant allegedly killed a judge and two others? That issue brought Brian Nichols several lawyers, several deputies and a judge from a neighboring county to the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta today for the first time since Nichols allegedly went on a deadly rampage a month ago.
CNN's Tony Harris is there as well.
Hello, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good afternoon, Miles.
As you mentioned, it's the first time that Brian Nichols has been in this courthouse, the Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta, since March 11. And sadly, we all know what happened on that day. Brian Nichols is accused of but he hasn't been charged yet with killing three Fulton County employees.
I want to show you some pictures from a hearing this morning. And as you look at these pictures, you'll see that Brian Nichols is in a nice suit, open collar. We can tell you that he was shackled at the ankles and his hands were free. A number of armed officers in the courtroom with him as well this morning. I mentioned that Nichols has not yet been charged. That's because a grand jury has to take a look at the issues presented by the prosecution in this case. To do that, a new grand jury has to be seated.
The defense in this motion this morning is trying to be very much a part of that process. It's looking to do two things.
First of all, to question perspective grand jury members before they're seated. And once the grand jury is seated, it wants its work, all of its proceedings, to be recorded.
During the hearing, we can tell you that Nichols was attentive. That's how he was described, as being attentive, subdued.
He talked to his attorneys. And on a couple occasions he looked around the courtroom.
After the hearing, I want you to hear a couple of the comments from Brian Nichols' mother, Claritha Nichols, as she was leaving the courthouse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARITHA NICHOLS, BRIAN NICHOLS' MOTHER: We really are here to support our son.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mrs. Nichols, how is he? Did you see your son today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, very, very good. Thank you.
NICHOLS: He's doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did he look? Has he said anything to you about (INAUDIBLE)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us how the family is holding up under this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, how are you holding up?
NICHOLS: It's very difficult, extremely difficult.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you worried about him?
NICHOLS: Any mother would be concerned about her son in a situation like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. We can tell you that Judge Fuller will not rule on the motion today. In fact, he has given the attorneys on both sides of this some additional homework to do before he will issue a ruling. An indication to everyone in the courtroom today that we're in for a rather lengthy pretrial process -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. Tony, I know this might be somewhat a moot point, and the murder charges are obviously much more serious than the rape charges, which brought him into court in the first place. But ultimately, would he face charges on those charges at all, or doeoes the murder trial go forward and render all that moot?
HARRIS: Yes, the murder charges are going to move forward first. But we do understand that the rape charges that you mentioned are still pending.
Whether or not we will ever see another -- some kind of closure on the rape charges, we still don't know yet. But the first case that's to move forward will be on the murder charges.
O'BRIEN: All right. Tony Harris at the Fulton County Courthouse. Thanks much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: An unnamed teenage baseball player was due in juvenile court today for allegedly taking a bat to another boy and killing him. It happened on Tuesday at a pony league park in Palmdale, California, after the suspect's team suffered its first loss of the season.
In an interview today, the parents of victim Jeremy Rourke say they've known the alleged attacker for years and never considered him violent. Witnesses say Rourke was struck in the shin and then in the head after a post-game taunting incident.
Well, straight ahead on LIVE FROM, you might go bankrupt if you pay the asking price for some used cars.
O'BRIEN: Owners get a premium for the Prius. But American car makers, well, they're in idle. Will Detroit be able to catch up with Japan's popularity? We'll drive that one around, take it for a test drive a little later.
PHILLIPS: And a cute kid, a high-profile baseball player, in a crowded Boston street. Well, they add up to one major league save.
(MUSIC)
O'BRIEN: Only one reporter could give you this story, Jeanne Moos. Music that has really gone to the dogs. We'll get your pets' paws a tapping. We've got a hound sound.
Check later, Peanut and Annie. I hope you're watching.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: An Indiana businessman now in his fifth day of captivity in Iraq. Jeffrey Ake there is an entrepreneur, helping people bottle water, of all things. Kidnapped by insurgents and, of course, very much in harm's way.
A vigil continues in La Porte, Indiana, his home town. And joining us with an update from there is CNN's Keith Oppenheim -- Keith.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have a development in the story, Miles, that I want to put in context. Earlier this afternoon, the mayor of La Porte's office told us that a candlelight vigil that had been planned for Friday night, for this evening, has been canceled.
It was a vigil that a lot of people around here had been telling us that they very much wanted to attend to express their hopes for Jeffrey Ake's safe return. Now we're hearing from the mayor's office that this vigil will not be taking place.
We do not know why yet at this point. And we are waiting for a statement that the mayor's office says will be released later this afternoon, possibly, we hope, explaining why.
Again, this is all in the context of things that have been happening this week. The 47-year-old businessman, Jeffrey Ake, who lives in this home behind me, was in Iraq. And on Monday he was captured.
And he was running a business out of a town nearby here that made machinery to package liquid products such as bottled water and cooking oil, which he -- is what he was marketing in Iraq. And he's a well- known businessman around here. He had traveled around the globe to do this kind of work.
And his family here in La Porte, they have not been talking following the advice of government and the FBI asking them not to speak to the media for Jeffrey Ake's security and safety. So, again, this latest development is that we are trying to understand if there is great significance or not to the fact that a candlelight vigil that was scheduled for tonight here in La Porte as to why that has been canceled -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: And Keith, have you heard either through intermediaries or directly whether the family might be making a statement as well?
OPPENHEIM: No, I haven't. In fact, we have been kind of keeping a close eye on the home.
There are no cars parked in the driveway at this time. And usually we see more activity at the home.
I can't tell you for sure if anyone is in the house, but it's been very quiet at the home for much of the day here today. So we're sort of in an in-between phase right now trying to understand what, if anything, means about the cancellation of this planned ceremony this evening.
O'BRIEN: All right. CNN's Keith Oppenheim from La, Porte Indiana -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead, Michael Jackson's attorney goes on the attack, challenging the mother of his accuser on the witness stand. We're going to have a live report from the courthouse just ahead from LIVE FROM.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Allan Chernoff at the New York Stock Exchange. Up next, a big winner for drugmakers could be a loss for consumers. I'll have that story when LIVE FROM continues after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Well, a little bit of tension last night at Fenway Park between a visiting New York Yankee and an eager Red Sox fan. Now, here's how it unfolded.
Yankee right fielder, Gary Sheffield, chasing a ball against the back wall there -- actually, side wall there. It appears the fan reaches over, and appears a little bit of interference, actually in both directions.
A little shoving, a little smack talk. Sheffield says the guy hit him in the lip, he had no business reaching down there in the first place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY SHEFFIELD, YANKEE OUTFIELDER: It wasn't a bouncing ball, you know, where they can get the ball. The thing was, it was rolling around the outfield.
So nobody can see it if you're sitting in the stands. And when I reached down to pick up the ball and I grabbed it, I got hit in the mouth. And I threw the ball and continued with the play.
I couldn't really hear what nobody was saying. They were just yelling over there and throwing beer and everything. So I just tried to not react and just get away from it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Ah, discretion is the better part of valor, Mr. Sheffield. The whole thing could have generated into Auburn Hills very easily. Calm finally prevailed. The Red Sox went on to win, 8- 5.
Good way to button that one up.
Also in Boston, they're cheering Alex Rodriguez today. You don't hear that very often.
It's not what you think. A-Rod's all-star reflexes came in handy on a Boston street corner yesterday.
Sean Hennessey, from our Boston affiliate, my old employee (sic) WHDH, takes the story from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN HENNESSEY, REPORTER, WHDH (voice-over): He's one of the most visible symbols of the evil empire, but to this Yankees fan, A- Rod is a hero for a whole new reason.
PATRICK MCCARTHY, SAVED BY ALEX RODRIGUEZ: I was overwhelmed that I saw my favorite player. And I was just like -- it went -- it happened so fast.
HENNESSEY: What happened on Newbury Street was a brush with fame and fate. Patrick McCarthy and his mom had just finished shopping and were about to cross. The sign said it was OK.
(on camera): So little Patrick started walking. The problem was, there was a van in the way. And that prevented him from seeing what was coming down the street.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This man stopped and put his arm in front of him and said, "Whoa" -- you know, "Whoa, buddy, don't go."
P. MCCARTHY: So I stopped, and there was this moving car coming.
ALEX RODRIGUEZ, BASEBALL PLAYER: Right place, right time, I guess, for him.
HENNESSEY: Did you see the car coming the entire time?
RODRIGUEZ: Well, I was getting away from the car. And as I was getting away from it, he was coming into the car. So it was one of those incidents that I put my arm in front of him and the car almost ran us both over.
HENNESSEY (voice-over): The real shocker came when mom and son discovered who their good samaritan was.
MCCARTHY: And we looked up, and we saw -- we were like, "Was that A-Rod?" And we were like, "Yes, it was."
HENNESSEY: The two thanked the all-star, with Patrick telling him he'd be at Yankee Stadium next week.
MCCARTHY: I would like to say thank you again for saving my life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A-Rod just really -- I think he saved my son's life yesterday.
RODRIGUEZ: I mean, I'm just thankful for the little boy, that he's still around, I guess, you know?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: All right. That was Sean Hennessey there. And, of course, WHDH was my employer formerly, not employee.
Anyway, it turns out Patrick's family somewhat of a rarity. Although, there is a tribe of Yankees fans on the Vineyard.
That's where they live. They hold Yankees season tickets. A-Rod stuck around and chatted for a while, introduced the star-struck fan to fellow Yanks, Tino Martinez and Randy Johnson.
Maybe we can still win them over to the Red Sox nation, but maybe not now at this point.
PHILLIPS: Patrick's a little cutie pie.
O'BRIEN: I should say.
PHILLIPS: Well, a win for drugmakers could be a loss for consumers.
O'BRIEN: Allan Chernoff at the New York Stock Exchange with that and much more.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
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Aired April 15, 2005 - 13:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Checking stories in the news right now, a break in a high-profile murder case. We should hear about it soon in a news conference. Former fashion writer Christa Worthington was found stabbed to death three years ago in her Cape Cod home three years ago. Thirty-three-year-old Christopher McCowan, A garbage collector, was arrested in connection with that case yesterday.
CNN's Mary Snow will have details in just about 30 minutes.
Blastoff from Kazakhstan. Next stop, the International Space Station. Onboard the Soyuz capsule, a Russian cosmonaut and an American astronaut. They'll replace the current long-orbiting ISS crew and the Russian space program has lead all space station work since the U.S. shuttle fleet's grounding two years ago.
President Bush back to Ohio today with Social Security on his mind. He speaks to an invitation-only group at Lakeland Community College, and will pop in on several Cleveland-area coffee shops to talk taxes with families and business owners.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Another day in Iraq marred by more insurgent violence and reports of American casualties. West of Baghdad in the volatile Al Anbar province, the military says a U.S. Marine was killed while fighting in the provincial capital of Ramadi. It was the second American death in that area this week. A Marine was killed in a mortar attack there Wednesday.
And today, in Baghdad, we're told that three separate bombs exploded, killing at least one person, a civilian, wounding eight others. One of the blasts apparently targeted an American military convoy. Soldiers have the area sealed off right now. No word on any casualties in that attack.
Now to a virtual operating room on the battlefield, kind of a Hawkeye meets Hal concept, a theme running through the show here, Hal.
It may sound like the stuff of pure sci-fi, but the Pentagon is investing millions to figure out how to make it a reality.
CNN's Barbara Starr with more on robodoc.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Urban combat in the year 2025 as envisioned by the Pentagon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man down, man down.
STARR: A soldier is shot. A driverless vehicle rolls up. The soldier is carried away and treated, by robots. No doctors or nurses are on the front line. Treatment is immediate. The soldier is saved. It's just a concept for now, but it's got a name, the trauma pod. And if it works, it can save lives.
DR. ADRIAN PARK, UNIV. OF MD. MEDICAL CENTER: Right now we're doing basic stabilization, so stabilization of fractures and hemostasis, or stopping the bleeding.
STARR: Today's operating rooms are already taking the first steps in automation and robotics. Surgeons routinely use laproscopic instruments to peer into the human body with tiny cameras, one step removed from directly holding the scalpel. But with the trauma pod, military surgeons will rely on high-definition screens and instant communications to tell the robot what to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I may be in another city, may be in another country.
STARR: The Pentagon is funding a $12 million effort to see what is possible.
(on camera): Here at the University of Maryland Medical Center, researchers are part of a team exploring critical issues that may occur when a badly wounded soldier is treated robotically by doctors hundreds of miles away.
(voice-over): High-speed communications will be a challenge. Any satellite delay sending data between the robot and the human surgeon must be less than .2 second. Robots will need to perform high-definition scans, insert IVs, and clear a soldier's airway. The robo-scrub nurse will provide instruments and bandages. As the robot scans, it will locate any body damage as small as 1/30 of an inch.
While robots will do the work, experts insist there will always be a human doctor in control.
TIM GANOUS, TRAUMA POD PROJECT MANAGER: There would be a surgeon on joysticks, let's say, back at a military hospital, who is participating in the surgery.
STARR: And then the soldier will be lifted out of the trauma pod and carried off by another robotic vehicle flying through the air.
Barbara Starr, CNN, University of Maryland Medical Center.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Still to come on CNN's live from, a gruesome admission in a Georgia courtroom. Hear a teenager describe what happened when she attacked her grandparents with a knife. That story when LIVE FROM continues. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: All right, big cases in the courtroom to tell you about. The defense gets its turn to grill the mother of Michael Jackson's teenage accuser. They're expected to try to portray the woman as a gold digger who made up the child molestation claims for money. Sound familiar? This morning prosecutors played surveillance tape intended to show Jackson's people kept close tabs on the family.
Utah now. The Associated Press reports there could be a plea deal today for the man accused of shooting his sleeping wife and then dumping her body in a trash bin. Mark Hacking is due in court about two and a half hours from now. He originally reportedly reported his wife Lori, missing, setting off a massive search. You'll recall that. Lori Hacking's body was found last October in a Salt Lake County landfill.
PHILLIPS: Gruesome details now of a headline-grabbing double murder, from a 15-year-old Georgia girl who brutally stabbed her grandparents to death. Holly Harvey recounted the crime at her sentencing yesterday. Harvey says she killed the couple last August so she'd be free to leave town with her friend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you thought about hiding the knife, is that right?
HOLLY HARVEY, ACCUSED KILLER: No. No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You closed your eyes and you stabbed them? Do you know where you stabbed her?
HARVEY: In the back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know how many times you stabbed her?
HARVEY: Maybe three times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All in the back? Well, when you stabbed her in the back, what happened the first time?
HARVEY: She made -- she screamed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then she screamed?
HARVEY: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then what happened?
HARVEY: My grandfather turned around. He had the phone in his hand, and I had pulled the cord out of the wall. Then he ran and grabbed a knife and I thought he was going to stab me. But I took the knife from my grandpa and I closed my eyes and I just started stabbing my grandpa real fast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Under a plea deal, Harvey was given life in prison. She could be eligible for parole in 20 years. Her friend also pleaded guilty to murder and was also sentenced to life behind bars.
Europe says good-bye to a prince. That story when LIVE FROM continues.
And coming up in the next hour, why Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez is being called a hero by one grateful mother.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: The conclave to elect a new pope begins next week at the Vatican. Much of which will happen is shrouded in secrecy, but the Sistine Chapel rooftop plays a pivotal role. Many eyes and camera lenses will be trained on that chimney, awaiting the smoke that signifies each vote taken by the cardinal. So today, a worker gingerly tiptoed across the top of the chapel to attach a taller stove pipe and make the viewing a little easier. Well, many people know that black smoke means no decision and white means a new pope is elected.
Tonight, Aaron Brown fills in more of the blanks in a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT," a conclave preview of what goes on behind locked doors. That's tonight at 10:00 Eastern.
A final farewell in Monaco as Prince Rainier is laid to rest. Today's somber funeral attended by his prince's three children and many other royals and heads of state. The ceremony was held in the same cathedral where the prince married Grace Kelly a half century ago. Prince Rainier, who died April 6th at the age of 81, ruled his tiny principality for 56 years. He was Europe's longest serving monarch.
O'BRIEN: He made history by helping end the Cold War with something he called perestroika. In today's edition of CNN's Anniversary series "Then and Now," a look back at Mikhail Gorbachev and what he's doing today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE):
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: With a wine-colored birthmark on his forehead, there's no mistaking Mikhail Gorbachev. The former Soviet president is still a household word. Gorby, the man who helped end the Cold War. In 1985, Gorbachev became communist party chief, the Soviet Union's top job. But with his charisma and charm, he broke the mold and so did his elegant wife, Raisa. Creator of perestroika, reform, and glasnost, openness, he tried to reshape the Soviet Union.
In August 1991, hardliners attempted a coup. Boris Yeltsin came to his rescue. But in December of that same year, Gorbachev resigned and the Soviet Union was dissolved. A few months later, he started the Gorbachev Foundation, dedicated to democratic values, and raised money for it by starring in an ad for Pizza Hut. He's also founding president of an environmental group called Green Cross International. His wife, Raisa, battled a rare form of leukemia and died in September 1999. These days, Gorbachev still travels the world, speaking out on nuclear disarmament, the environment and poverty.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: A break in a high profile murder case. We want to take you straight to a live news conference right now in Cape Cod, where former fashion writer Christa Worthington was found stabbed to death, her 2-year-old daughter clinging to her body. We believe now that police are going to announce who they've arrested in connection to this murder.
MICHAEL O'KEEFE, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: ... DNA as a match to the sample of the DNA left at the crime scene. Further verification of the testing took place this past week, as the investigation continued. Mr. McGowan was located and monitored during the week by members of the state police detective unit attached to the district attorney's office.
I want to now introduce to you the team, which has worked on this case since January the 6th: Sergeant William Burke (ph) of the Massachusetts State Police, Trooper Christopher Mason of the Massachusetts State Police, Major Mark Delaney of the crime lab at Sudbury (ph), chemist Joan Squallia (ph), the technical manager of the crime lab, Chief John Thomas and all of the Touro police, Lieutenants John Allen and Bob Mylia (ph), both of the Massachusetts State Police and their respective units attached to the district attorney's office, and assistant district attorney, Rob Welsh (ph).
Before I ask Chief Thomas and Major Delaney to say a few words, I want to emphasize how important it is for public safety in our state to continue to expand the resources of our forensic infrastructure. And by that, I mean our crime lab and medical examiner's office. They must have the resources to do the job that we ask them to do and that the public expects them to do.
My colleagues and I at the District Attorney's Association have worked with the administration and President Travellini of the senate to make improvements in those areas. The governor in his budget this year doubled the resources of the medical examiner's office and increased the resources of the lab. These are not extras or frills. They're necessary to give to district attorneys and police around the state the ability to solve these crimes. We have never doubted the science that our lab puts out. It is excellent. But we have a capacity problem, and we need to continue to fix it.
Last night, I had an opportunity to speak with Christa's family, and to let them know that this phase of the case is over. I expressed to them the feelings the investigative team has had these many years, but particularly these last few days.
The investigation continues now as we move into the prosecution phase of the case. I want to also thank the FBI's behavioral analysis unit in Quantico, Virginia, particularly special agent Jim McNamara. I want to thank district attorney Tim Cruz (ph) of the Plymouth district attorney's office who sits with me on the Forensic Science Advisory Board. And I want to thank attorney general Tom Riley for the assistance that all have given to this office as we've gone forward in this investigation over the years -- Chief Thomas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon. I just want to thank the district attorney and the state police for their assistance in this case. Also, during the investigation, it's been asked whether or not it was a cold case. We never viewed it as a cold case. We always viewed it as an active case. I think this just shows that if you're consistent and determined that you can bring a case to closure.
O'KEEFE: Major Delaney.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On behalf of Colonel Robins (ph), I want to congratulate the district attorney, the state troopers assigned to the district attorney's office and the local police officers who worked on this case. They had the tenacity to stay with this case since 2002.
We also want to, as the head of the crime laboratory, commend the scientists and the crime scene service specialists that the troopers that go to the crime scene. The quality of the evidence collected at the crime scene is important and critical for the DNA analysts to analyze and perform their testing. It all starts at the crime scene. But from the crime scene, the DNA unit, which is overworked but does quality work, does excellent work, and they may help make the link to support the detectives in their work that they have to do every day.
O'KEEFE: Thank you, major.
Again, ladies and gentlemen, we'll answer what questions we think are appropriate, having in mind that this is now in the prosecution stage, the investigation is still ongoing in many different areas as a result of the activity undertaken last night. So with that caveat...
QUESTION: Was this a crime of opportunity? how did this happen?
O'KEEFE: Well, you know, the evidence would suggest, and I'm not going to go into a great deal of detail, that it was a person who knew Christa, only in the sense that they were familiar with her comings and goings. They were not personal acquaintances. They were not friends in any way, but if you, having those factors in mind, if you understand that to be a crime of opportunity, the answer would be yes.
QUESTION: Can you discuss any other links besides the DNA link that would support the murder charge?
O'KEEFE: I'm not going to discuss any other evidence in the case. Other than to say that there is a significant body of evidence in addition to that particular evidence that gives us a comfort level with respect to the strength of the case and forms the basis of us having gone forward.
QUESTION: Can you characterize the reaction in that (INAUDIBLE) police office when you all realized you had a hit?
O'KEEFE: Well, it was the crime laboratory, and it was interesting in that we had gone up to a regularly scheduled meeting to discuss protocols for the vast amount of DNA that had been collected in the case, and how we would best get it analyzed without further taxing the resources of the lab. And it was that morning that the crime lab in taking the most recent batch of samples that had been batched together per the protocol that we had agreed to, analyzed and compared that final batch that went in around July of 2004. And it was at 10:00 that morning that they made the hit.
QUESTION: Mr. District attorney, was the buckle swab taken, the only DNA sample provided to the police by this defendant?
O'KEEFE: Yes.
QUESTION: Was that voluntary?
O'KEEFE: Yes, it was.
QUESTION: How many DNA samples did you take?
O'KEEFE: Many.
QUESTION: Was McCowan -- he was the trash collector. Can you tell us this part of the story? This murder, was that the day, this murder, was that the day he was collecting the trash up there?
O'KEEFE: No, it was not the day he was collecting the trash, but I will indicate that he was employed by the company, that had the contract to collect the trash at that particular location.
QUESTION: Can you describe anything more about how you think this crime happened?
O'KEEFE: I can, but I'm not going to. I think we're going to let the investigation continue. There will be obviously the appropriate time for all of this information to come out in the courtroom, and I think we'll leave it for the courtroom for it to come out.
QUESTION: What company did he work for?
O'KEEFE: I'm not going to name the company. I'm sure the police will be back to speak with those people, and we'd like to have them be able do that in peace.
QUESTION: The D.A.'s office received some criticism for collecting these voluntarily samples. (INAUDIBLE).
O'KEEFE: That's for others to judge. We said from the outset this was a process we had been doing since the case began in 2002, and it's entirely appropriate for the police to ask people for their cooperation. The police did so in many different areas and in many different ways in this case, entirely appropriate to do that.
QUESTION: Can someone explain why it takes a year to really make a match? what goes on?
O'KEEFE: Well, I think, you know, without getting into a lot of detail, what we're talking about, again, is the "resource versus capacity versus quality" issue. Again, we have always been very impressed with the quality of what we're given by the laboratory in terms of not only just DNA, but all of the other things that they perform for us. It's the capacity to be able to turn it around, as we say in the parlance of this work, quickly and get it back into the hands of the investigators. And that is a resource issue.
And I can to into great detail with you about this issue, because I'm interested in it. I sit on the advisory committee with respect to forensic sciences. But you know, to just quickly say we are on the right track to increasing these resources. As I mentioned, the budget of the lab has been increased, the medical examiner's office, which those of you here from Massachusetts know of some issues, and that budget has been doubled this year. And the legislature and the administration have, I think, they have an appreciation now that this is a serious issue, that Massachusetts, rather than being so far behind the eight ball, if I can use that colloquialism, should be a leader in the country. Think of Massachusetts and our wonderful teaching hospitals, our educational facilities, our science labs and other respects. And we should be leaders in this field. And I think we're moving in that direction, but we have a long way to go.
QUESTION: Is there such a backlog that you weren't able to process this DNA and match it? The backlog is what did it?
O'KEEFE: We weren't able to process it more quickly than we did.
QUESTION: Because there was a backlog?
O'KEEFE: Because obviously there's a backlog. But you have to keep in mind that we're not the only district attorney's office in the state that has serious cases that we're asking the lab, who is operating with one hand tied behind their back essentially, to get this work done for us.
There are 11 district attorney's offices around the state. We all have serious cases that we're very interested in. The police around the state all have cases that they're very interested in.
And as I say, we're on the right track. We just have to stay at it and continue to properly resource the lab.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) a series of DNA samples ready to be tested that you had not tested as you began the sweep and -- and this was one of those?
O'KEEFE: I didn't understand that question.
QUESTION: Would it be correct to say that there were a series of DNA samples that you had not yet tested which were pending as you began to sweep Truro, and that this sample was one of those... O'KEEFE: Yes, that would be correct.
(CROSSTALK)
O'KEEFE: Excuse me?
QUESTION: Is this -- the guy you arrested, is he the one that had sex with her before she was killed? Is that this match?
O'KEEFE: We're not going to go into it any further other than to say that we have matched the DNA from the crime scene to this person.
QUESTION: But is that the DNA of the victim?
O'KEEFE: Anything else?
QUESTION: What eventually caused you to be attracted to him, and what is it that kept your interest in him?
O'KEEFE: Well, as many of you know who've covered the case, there were a number of scenarios that were bandied about quite significantly by you all in the media, and not inappropriately so. But the police were certainly working all of those scenarios.
And as the case moves forward, it moves into a phase where everyone who's in the orbit of this person's life, anyone who would have a contact or a reason to be at the home, be they handymen or mailmen or repairmen or trash collectors or anybody. So in that normal, good, solid police work, the police had their first encounter with this individual and had encounters with him subsequent there, too, with respect to the investigation of the case. So it's in the normal course of the investigation, Mike, that that would have taken place.
QUESTION: What prompted the giving his DNA? Was he asked to?
O'KEEFE: He was asked to.
QUESTION: Was it totally voluntary?
O'KEEFE: Yes.
QUESTION: Did you put any pressure on him to provide it?
QUESTION: Why wasn't he asked earlier?
O'KEEFE: He was asked.
QUESTION: There was one report that he did give DNA three months after the murder.
O'KEEFE: That was incorrect report.
QUESTION: OK.
(CROSSTALK) QUESTION: So is anybody going to get this reward?
O'KEEFE: I don't think -- I don't think the laboratory personnel can really, you know, take the $25,000, nor would they want to.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Can you just give us a little bit of the detail of how it was that he gave his DNA? What led up to that?
O'KEEFE: Just as we asked for virtually everybody's DNA who we encountered in the case.
QUESTION: But did you make a specific request of him, or did he just respond to the general request?
O'KEEFE: He responded to the request to supply DNA, as did all those who were in that, we visit the house because we're repairmen or mailmen or this, that or the other thing.
QUESTION: What brought him to the house that day? Why was he up there?
O'KEEFE: I'm not going to comment on that.
QUESTION: Recently there was an insinuation that this woman had had a relationship with her killer. And I think that insinuation was repeatedly recently on a television show. Is this something that you regret now, knowing that it was rape one in the first degree and a home invasion?
O'KEEFE: I don't know what -- I don't know what insinuation you're talking about, but we put out a number of different pieces of information in an effort to have people come forward and cooperate.
And one of those things was to suggest at one point that, you know, we would like the person to come forward who last was maybe in a relationship with Christa to help us identify this DNA. And that was a -- certainly a sincere request, but a device to further the identification of the DNA.
QUESTION: So this was not -- this was not a relationship?
QUESTION: But she did not have a relationship...
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) give you any kind of a statement? Did he say anything when the officers when in to arrest him?
O'KEEFE: I'm not going to get into that.
QUESTION: Was there a relationship?
O'KEEFE: There was no relationship.
QUESTION: Do you believe at any time he attempted to initiate a relationship with her?
O'KEEFE: No.
QUESTION: You say you were watching him as far back as April 2002. How come he didn't give a source before that?
O'KEEFE: He was asked back in 2002. He indicated, along with many others, that he would be willing to do that. And we got the source from him then subsequently in March of 2004.
QUESTION: It takes that long?
QUESTION: Mr. D.A., there are several people who know this woman who think that her character has been besmirched by this investigation. Do you have any apologies to her families or friends?
O'KEEFE: Well, you know, these cases are very difficult. And they're difficult when they attract a great deal of media attention.
I spoke with the family last night. I think that some family members will have something to say to the media today.
I've expressed to them my feelings about the matter in both -- on other occasions and last night and this morning when we spoke again. And I'm going to leave that between them...
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: He says he's matched the DNA. You've been listening to Cape and Islands district attorney, Michael O'Keefe. The victim, a fashion writer, a single mom who had given up the glitz of New York and Paris for the simple life on Cape Cod. The crime was as shocking as it was brutal, murder by stabbing, with the dead woman's toddler left clutching to her mother's body for hours.
For three years and three months this case was open, unsolved and fodder for even a best-selling book. Today there is a suspect, a charge and a plea. We just heard about it.
CNN's Mary Snow has more details now from our bureau in New York -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, that suspect has been identified as 33-year-old Christopher McCowen. He was arrested last night, according to police.
And police say that he had first been looked at by investigators in April of 2002, and that he had submitted a DNA sample in March of 2004. Police say that that DNA made a match in April of 2005.
He has been identified as a trash collector, that he worked for a company that collected trash in Truro, where Christa Worthington had lived. She had lived there with her daughter, as you just mentioned. She was 46 years old.
And this case had -- really had no developments. And the third anniversary of that murder became controversial because police began collecting random DNA samples from men in Truro. It's a town of about 2,000 people. There hadn't been a murder there in about 30 years. It had been very controversial because civil rights attorneys had said that this was a violation of civil rights. And that's why it had gained so much national attention in the past couple of months.
PHILLIPS: And this garbage collector now being charged, the D.A., Mary, saying that it was a crime of opportunity. That they didn't necessarily have a relationship or any type of friendship, but that because he worked in her area that they did know each other. And it looks like he had quite a bit of a rap sheet, criminal history from Florida.
SNOW: Yes. And, Kyra, there had been all kinds of speculation in these past couple years and people named as potential suspects for questioning. And there had been some reports that perhaps she had had a relationship with the person who murdered her, although that could never be sorted out until today. And as you mentioned, this was a man who worked for the company that collected trash in the area.
And also, one thing I wanted to point out, too, is that police had mentioned that there had been a backlog in terms of getting to these DNA samples, one of the things that had been mentioned by the district attorney and the police chief there, saying that more resources were needed for these labs. Because, as I mentioned, the DNA had initially been taken in 2004 when he had been looked at initially in 2002.
PHILLIPS: All right. Mary Snow from New York. Thank you so much -- Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, can you seat an impartial jury or grand jury in the same courthouse where the defendant allegedly killed a judge and two others? That issue brought Brian Nichols several lawyers, several deputies and a judge from a neighboring county to the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta today for the first time since Nichols allegedly went on a deadly rampage a month ago.
CNN's Tony Harris is there as well.
Hello, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good afternoon, Miles.
As you mentioned, it's the first time that Brian Nichols has been in this courthouse, the Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta, since March 11. And sadly, we all know what happened on that day. Brian Nichols is accused of but he hasn't been charged yet with killing three Fulton County employees.
I want to show you some pictures from a hearing this morning. And as you look at these pictures, you'll see that Brian Nichols is in a nice suit, open collar. We can tell you that he was shackled at the ankles and his hands were free. A number of armed officers in the courtroom with him as well this morning. I mentioned that Nichols has not yet been charged. That's because a grand jury has to take a look at the issues presented by the prosecution in this case. To do that, a new grand jury has to be seated.
The defense in this motion this morning is trying to be very much a part of that process. It's looking to do two things.
First of all, to question perspective grand jury members before they're seated. And once the grand jury is seated, it wants its work, all of its proceedings, to be recorded.
During the hearing, we can tell you that Nichols was attentive. That's how he was described, as being attentive, subdued.
He talked to his attorneys. And on a couple occasions he looked around the courtroom.
After the hearing, I want you to hear a couple of the comments from Brian Nichols' mother, Claritha Nichols, as she was leaving the courthouse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARITHA NICHOLS, BRIAN NICHOLS' MOTHER: We really are here to support our son.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mrs. Nichols, how is he? Did you see your son today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, very, very good. Thank you.
NICHOLS: He's doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did he look? Has he said anything to you about (INAUDIBLE)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us how the family is holding up under this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, how are you holding up?
NICHOLS: It's very difficult, extremely difficult.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you worried about him?
NICHOLS: Any mother would be concerned about her son in a situation like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. We can tell you that Judge Fuller will not rule on the motion today. In fact, he has given the attorneys on both sides of this some additional homework to do before he will issue a ruling. An indication to everyone in the courtroom today that we're in for a rather lengthy pretrial process -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. Tony, I know this might be somewhat a moot point, and the murder charges are obviously much more serious than the rape charges, which brought him into court in the first place. But ultimately, would he face charges on those charges at all, or doeoes the murder trial go forward and render all that moot?
HARRIS: Yes, the murder charges are going to move forward first. But we do understand that the rape charges that you mentioned are still pending.
Whether or not we will ever see another -- some kind of closure on the rape charges, we still don't know yet. But the first case that's to move forward will be on the murder charges.
O'BRIEN: All right. Tony Harris at the Fulton County Courthouse. Thanks much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: An unnamed teenage baseball player was due in juvenile court today for allegedly taking a bat to another boy and killing him. It happened on Tuesday at a pony league park in Palmdale, California, after the suspect's team suffered its first loss of the season.
In an interview today, the parents of victim Jeremy Rourke say they've known the alleged attacker for years and never considered him violent. Witnesses say Rourke was struck in the shin and then in the head after a post-game taunting incident.
Well, straight ahead on LIVE FROM, you might go bankrupt if you pay the asking price for some used cars.
O'BRIEN: Owners get a premium for the Prius. But American car makers, well, they're in idle. Will Detroit be able to catch up with Japan's popularity? We'll drive that one around, take it for a test drive a little later.
PHILLIPS: And a cute kid, a high-profile baseball player, in a crowded Boston street. Well, they add up to one major league save.
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O'BRIEN: Only one reporter could give you this story, Jeanne Moos. Music that has really gone to the dogs. We'll get your pets' paws a tapping. We've got a hound sound.
Check later, Peanut and Annie. I hope you're watching.
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O'BRIEN: An Indiana businessman now in his fifth day of captivity in Iraq. Jeffrey Ake there is an entrepreneur, helping people bottle water, of all things. Kidnapped by insurgents and, of course, very much in harm's way.
A vigil continues in La Porte, Indiana, his home town. And joining us with an update from there is CNN's Keith Oppenheim -- Keith.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have a development in the story, Miles, that I want to put in context. Earlier this afternoon, the mayor of La Porte's office told us that a candlelight vigil that had been planned for Friday night, for this evening, has been canceled.
It was a vigil that a lot of people around here had been telling us that they very much wanted to attend to express their hopes for Jeffrey Ake's safe return. Now we're hearing from the mayor's office that this vigil will not be taking place.
We do not know why yet at this point. And we are waiting for a statement that the mayor's office says will be released later this afternoon, possibly, we hope, explaining why.
Again, this is all in the context of things that have been happening this week. The 47-year-old businessman, Jeffrey Ake, who lives in this home behind me, was in Iraq. And on Monday he was captured.
And he was running a business out of a town nearby here that made machinery to package liquid products such as bottled water and cooking oil, which he -- is what he was marketing in Iraq. And he's a well- known businessman around here. He had traveled around the globe to do this kind of work.
And his family here in La Porte, they have not been talking following the advice of government and the FBI asking them not to speak to the media for Jeffrey Ake's security and safety. So, again, this latest development is that we are trying to understand if there is great significance or not to the fact that a candlelight vigil that was scheduled for tonight here in La Porte as to why that has been canceled -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: And Keith, have you heard either through intermediaries or directly whether the family might be making a statement as well?
OPPENHEIM: No, I haven't. In fact, we have been kind of keeping a close eye on the home.
There are no cars parked in the driveway at this time. And usually we see more activity at the home.
I can't tell you for sure if anyone is in the house, but it's been very quiet at the home for much of the day here today. So we're sort of in an in-between phase right now trying to understand what, if anything, means about the cancellation of this planned ceremony this evening.
O'BRIEN: All right. CNN's Keith Oppenheim from La, Porte Indiana -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead, Michael Jackson's attorney goes on the attack, challenging the mother of his accuser on the witness stand. We're going to have a live report from the courthouse just ahead from LIVE FROM.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Allan Chernoff at the New York Stock Exchange. Up next, a big winner for drugmakers could be a loss for consumers. I'll have that story when LIVE FROM continues after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Well, a little bit of tension last night at Fenway Park between a visiting New York Yankee and an eager Red Sox fan. Now, here's how it unfolded.
Yankee right fielder, Gary Sheffield, chasing a ball against the back wall there -- actually, side wall there. It appears the fan reaches over, and appears a little bit of interference, actually in both directions.
A little shoving, a little smack talk. Sheffield says the guy hit him in the lip, he had no business reaching down there in the first place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY SHEFFIELD, YANKEE OUTFIELDER: It wasn't a bouncing ball, you know, where they can get the ball. The thing was, it was rolling around the outfield.
So nobody can see it if you're sitting in the stands. And when I reached down to pick up the ball and I grabbed it, I got hit in the mouth. And I threw the ball and continued with the play.
I couldn't really hear what nobody was saying. They were just yelling over there and throwing beer and everything. So I just tried to not react and just get away from it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Ah, discretion is the better part of valor, Mr. Sheffield. The whole thing could have generated into Auburn Hills very easily. Calm finally prevailed. The Red Sox went on to win, 8- 5.
Good way to button that one up.
Also in Boston, they're cheering Alex Rodriguez today. You don't hear that very often.
It's not what you think. A-Rod's all-star reflexes came in handy on a Boston street corner yesterday.
Sean Hennessey, from our Boston affiliate, my old employee (sic) WHDH, takes the story from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN HENNESSEY, REPORTER, WHDH (voice-over): He's one of the most visible symbols of the evil empire, but to this Yankees fan, A- Rod is a hero for a whole new reason.
PATRICK MCCARTHY, SAVED BY ALEX RODRIGUEZ: I was overwhelmed that I saw my favorite player. And I was just like -- it went -- it happened so fast.
HENNESSEY: What happened on Newbury Street was a brush with fame and fate. Patrick McCarthy and his mom had just finished shopping and were about to cross. The sign said it was OK.
(on camera): So little Patrick started walking. The problem was, there was a van in the way. And that prevented him from seeing what was coming down the street.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This man stopped and put his arm in front of him and said, "Whoa" -- you know, "Whoa, buddy, don't go."
P. MCCARTHY: So I stopped, and there was this moving car coming.
ALEX RODRIGUEZ, BASEBALL PLAYER: Right place, right time, I guess, for him.
HENNESSEY: Did you see the car coming the entire time?
RODRIGUEZ: Well, I was getting away from the car. And as I was getting away from it, he was coming into the car. So it was one of those incidents that I put my arm in front of him and the car almost ran us both over.
HENNESSEY (voice-over): The real shocker came when mom and son discovered who their good samaritan was.
MCCARTHY: And we looked up, and we saw -- we were like, "Was that A-Rod?" And we were like, "Yes, it was."
HENNESSEY: The two thanked the all-star, with Patrick telling him he'd be at Yankee Stadium next week.
MCCARTHY: I would like to say thank you again for saving my life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A-Rod just really -- I think he saved my son's life yesterday.
RODRIGUEZ: I mean, I'm just thankful for the little boy, that he's still around, I guess, you know?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: All right. That was Sean Hennessey there. And, of course, WHDH was my employer formerly, not employee.
Anyway, it turns out Patrick's family somewhat of a rarity. Although, there is a tribe of Yankees fans on the Vineyard.
That's where they live. They hold Yankees season tickets. A-Rod stuck around and chatted for a while, introduced the star-struck fan to fellow Yanks, Tino Martinez and Randy Johnson.
Maybe we can still win them over to the Red Sox nation, but maybe not now at this point.
PHILLIPS: Patrick's a little cutie pie.
O'BRIEN: I should say.
PHILLIPS: Well, a win for drugmakers could be a loss for consumers.
O'BRIEN: Allan Chernoff at the New York Stock Exchange with that and much more.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
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END
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