Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Two Girls Found Dead in Illinois; L.A. Police Fire on SUV After Chase; Coalition Launches Attack in Anbar Province in Iraq

Aired May 09, 2005 - 13:00   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, CO-HOST: Police investigating a mystery near Chicago. The bodies of two girls found in a park. We're live with the latest.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Gunshots in the night and plenty of them. Compton, California, cops shoot more than just the suspect after a high-speed chase. Details straight ahead.

PHILLIPS: U.S. troops take the fight to Iraq's border with Syria after nabbing another big fish. We're live from the Pentagon.

O'BRIEN: First it was blogging. Now pod casting. If you aren't doing it now, you probably will. If you see how easy it is to be the star of your own show.

From the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien, Monday, May 9.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

O'BRIEN: Young girls missing in northern Illinois. Dead girls found hours later. We don't know yet whether two bodies found this morning in a park some 30 miles north of Chicago are the two reported missing last night. We do know investigators and dogs are swarming.

And CNN's Keith Oppenheim is working the phones in our Chicago bureau.

Keith, what do we know?

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, that's right. What we have is a description of a crime scene at this point but no direct linkage to a report of two missing girls that came in on Sunday.

What we're being told, it was near a biking and jogging trail in Zion, Illinois. The Zion police are working a crime scene where there's been a discovery of the bodies of two girls, and they say they are treating these deaths as homicides.

Police said this morning at around 6 a.m. local time someone called authorities, saying that the bodies were in the park. But at this point, the bodies have not been identified.

On Sunday night, Zion police got a report that two young girls were missing. But again, they haven't made a link to the discovery of the bodies to that specific report. I think we have another map that we can show you, just to give you a specific on just where this is in Illinois. Zion is about 40 miles north of Chicago. It's on Lake Michigan, and it's close to the Wisconsin border, as you can see right there. It's really not far from here. We have a crew on the way.

Sketchy details at this point, Miles, but we are keeping close tabs on it, and we are going to get back to you as soon as we have a little bit more information on the connection between the report and what they're looking at in this park right now.

O'BRIEN: All right. Keith Oppenheim in Chicago, thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Compton cops versus SUV caught on tape. One of the deputies in this dramatic video is wounded today, as is the driver of the SUV at the center of the gunfire. That man is also facing charges of eluding police and assault with a deadly weapon, namely, his vehicle.

CNN's Peter Viles is on the case in Los Angeles County.

Peter, do we know if that gunman fired first?

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We don't even know if he had a gun. We do know he had a weapon. The weapon was the vehicle. There may also have been a gun in the vehicle.

Quickly, what happened, Kyra, a chase began about midnight, lasted about 10 minutes through these narrow residential streets. Sheriff's deputies pinned this guy in, cornered him.

At that point, one of the deputies believes that this guy was trying to run him over, that his life was in danger. That's when the gunfire started, incredibly, much of it caught on tape.

Here's what it looks like.

Now, this came after a chase of about 10 minutes through this residential area of Compton, an area that is mixed. It's African- American and Hispanic, and it is known for violence. Police -- or sheriff's deputies investigating this shooting are also investigating another unrelated shooting about two blocks away.

But back to this one for a second. The suspect driving this vehicle, is said to be in good condition at a local hospital. So, too, the deputy who was shot in that gunfire, in good condition at a local hospital. Not clear who shot the deputy. But we are told there is a possibility he was hit by, as we say, friendly fire from another one of the deputies on scene.

And Kyra, this is almost destined to be a controversial shooting, because recently in Los Angeles, city of Los Angeles, there was a very controversial police shooting of a 13-year-old who had stolen a car and gone joy riding. The police shot him dead. Big controversy there. It ended with the police in Los Angeles changing their policy on when you fire on a moving vehicle. It's certainly, given the videotape here, that we'll have a lot of discussion of whether or not this shooting was justified.

But as of now, what they're saying is he was assaulting police officers or deputies or deputies with a deadly weapon, a vehicle. And that is a justification to fire on the vehicle.

PHILLIPS: Peter -- Peter, just real quickly, did you know if there was, indeed, a supervisor on the scene? One individual that was telling all of the various police officers and sheriffs' deputies what to do? Because when you look at the videotape, you see a lot of cross-fire. You see a lot people screaming at each other. You wonder if, indeed, was there one supervisor in control of that situation?

VILES: Very good question. The short answer, we don't know at this point. We may not know for a while, because they have begun one of these painstaking investigations, which will consist of three things, really: interviewing the deputies, searching for evidence, physical evidence. And the third thing, they'll have to look at that tape, because you can hear on that tape a lot of gunshots. And they'll have to add them up and try to figure out where they came from.

Short answer, though, to your question, though, we do not know if there was one law enforcement officer calling the shots here at about midnight when all this happened.

PHILLIPS: Peter Viles, thank you so much -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Liberty, Missouri, we go, where two cars are totaled, their drivers killed, more than 30 students in hospitals of the Ridgeview Elementary School in hospitals now with broken bones, cuts and bruises, sometimes worse. Authorities say bus Number 80 rammed the cars, not vice versa, at the intersection of two state highways. Not clear why, but we, of course, will keep you posted on this one.

PHILLIPS: It's anything but quiet on the western front. Seventy-five insurgents reported dead, maybe more in the first day of an all-out assault by U.S. troops and fighter jets in the vast and violent Anbar province of Iraq.

A commander in country tells CNN the push started Saturday, targeting so-called rat lines supposedly carrying weapons and fighters from Syria. The coalition hopes to learn some life-saving details from a man described as a top aide to terror kingpin Abu Musab al- Zarqawi. That aide was captured just a little over a week ago after a string of murderous car bombing he allegedly orchestrated.

CNN's Barbara Starr is keeping track of all these developments from the Pentagon -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, an awful lot going on in Iraq as this latest wave of violence continues to sweep the country. As you say, out in the far west, U.S. forces have now begun a major offensive against the foreign fighters they believe are holed up out there. Those foreign fighters responsible for so much of the recent violence in the country.

Earlier today, we spoke to a U.S. commander in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. BOB CHASE, U.S. MARINE CORPS: It's been a continuing focus. We've known for a very long time that there's been insurgent movement across the borders and moving toward -- west to east going to push foreign fighters, equipment and materials both to the larger cities in the north and in the east of Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Just a couple of indications on how serious the violence is getting. Over the weekend insurgents again took over a hospital in Falluja. That has not happened for some time. Launched some suicide car bomb attacks, killing three Marines.

Also, U.S. officials now detailing some new statistics. They tell us that the number of car bomb attacks in April doubled -- doubled since the month of February, when there was that well-noticed post-election lull. They say their estimate is perhaps as many as 300 Iraqis killed over the last 10 days, as this violence continues.

But as you say, over the last few days, they did capture another associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist who is said to be the ring leader of so much of the violence in the country.

They are going on somewhat of their own information offensive in the U.S. military. This you see here is a new chart that they have put out for the news media about Zarqawi, his associates, the killed, the wanted, the captured, telling us more than they certainly have in the past.

Also, quite an extraordinary press release from the U.S. military. What they told us in this statement, that -- was that Zarqawi became hysterical. Zarqawi did not know where he was.

That statement is attributed to a driver of Zarqawi that was captured on February 20, that driver saying that Zarqawi became hysterical.

Usually these types of statements about interrogations are classified, but now the U.S. military says they are putting out some of this information to try and demonstrate Zarqawi is not 10 feet tall.

So what happens if they ever capture or kill him? U.S. military commanders say it will help, certainly. It will put a dent in some of the insurgency and the terrorists' attacks, but they're not counting on capturing or killing Zarqawi to end it all. Already, U.S. military intelligence looking to identify the next round of terrorist leaders in Iraq that may be ready to step in and fill Zarqawi's shoes -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Two Marines are dead in eastern Afghanistan after a five-hour firefight that happened near Jalabad, where the Marines came under fire from insurgents they'd gone to root out.

U.S. attack jets covered the Marines and blasted a cave into which some of the attackers had fled. Two of the insurgents confirmed dead, but a U.S. spokeswoman says the true number could be higher.

Well, reopening a cold case. Police closed the file and said the killer went to jail decades ago. So why are four of the 1980s Atlanta child murders being reinvestigated?

And more on the background of runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks. You see, it turns out she kind of liked that five-finger discount.

Nothing unusual about a rock concert, except -- big names here in Havana. Politics aside, an American super group rocks Cuba. LIVE FROM's got your ticket a little later. Stay with us.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: News across America now.

A former Neverland employee takes the stand as the defense resumes its case in the Michael Jackson trial. The employee was called to dispute testimony by a maid who claimed the pop star inappropriately touched young boys. Former child star Macaulay Culkin is expected to testify this week.

Starting from scratch in another big trial, Ohio prosecutors will retry alleged highway shooter Charles McCoy Jr. A mistrial was determined yesterday. The jurors couldn't make up their minds on a verdict. McCoy is accused in a string of shootings that killed one person. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutors plan to meet with defense lawyers tomorrow.

Many of a memory came crashing down with the implosion of the old Baptist hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. It took less than 19 seconds to bring down the 93-year-old building. Developers are making way for a new pharmacy school and research park.

O'BRIEN: Reopening the books on a notorious serial murder case in Atlanta. Was Wayne Williams really the serial killer who terrorized the city more than two decades ago?

CNN's Sarah Dorsey with that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARAH DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For three years, starting in 1979, the city of Atlanta and gradually the rest of the nation watched with horror as 29 African-Americans, mostly boys and young men, disappeared and turned up dead.

In 1981, an emotional sigh of relief nationwide, as this man, Wayne Williams, was arrested. He was eventually convicted of two murders, and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Most of the evidence against Williams, circumstantial, based on fiber analysis of a carpet material Called Wellman 181-b.

Williams has always maintained his innocence. Since his conviction, controversy has surfaced over the very evidence that put him behind bars.

Louis Graham agrees. He was the assistant police chief in Fulton County, Georgia, at the time, and part of the missing and murder task force.

CHIEF LOUIS GRAHAM, DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA, POLICE: I don't think Wayne Williams is responsible for anything.

DORSEY: Today Graham is police chief in adjacent DeKalb County, where four of the victims lived. Their cases were shelved when Williams went to jail. Now that he's in charge, chief Graham is reopening those cold cases, armed with technology not available 25 years ago, seeking answers in the deaths of Patrick Baltazar, Curtis Walker, Joseph Bell and William Barrett.

GRAHAM: If we can solve one case, if we can, then I'm satisfied with that, but at this point, they are just too many open questions.

DORSEY: Old wounds reopened, a two decades old high-profile case about to be put back under the microscope.

Sarah Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, a daily double of tax hikes. Your cell phone bill is going up, no matter what service you use. That's bad enough, but a tax on your fast-food favorites? Super-sized controversy, straight ahead.

Going deep on a crime scene investigation. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta goes where the hit series doesn't.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENTS: There will be an occasional body in the water, but what the detailed investigation shows are known for rarely take place beneath the waves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eric, what do you got?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five bodies.

GUPTA: So is Hollywood accurately portraying reality? PHILLIPS: And later on LIVE FROM...

PATTY LUPONE, BROADWAY STAR (singing): Love at first sight love, love in bloom love, get the hell out of here before I kill you love, love. Love in all its forms. Blissful, passionate and painful. The mysteries of the heart.

PHILLIPS: Broadway legend Patty Lupone is in the house talking matters of the heart. Her hot show touring the U.S., right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, you may be paying more to chat on your cell phone. "USA Today" reports that many state and local governments are adding a new round of taxes and fees that could add up to -- add up to as much as $10 a month. The paper says that governments are trying to recoup money that they're losing from a decrease in the number of traditional land line phones. Well, the wireless industry is fighting back saying cell phones are already taxed heavily and sometimes unfairly.

Speaking of taxes, Detroit is looking to fans of Big Macs, Whoppers, and the like to take a bite of the city's budget deficit. Get this. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is proposing a 2 percent tax on fast-food purchases. If approved, this would be the nation's first tax targeting fast food. Opponents call it a fat tax that would hurt the poor, young people and the elderly.

O'BRIEN: All right. From oil to oil. We go to Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange where we hear of actually some good news as it relates to oil prices.

(STOCK REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Stories now in the news.

New Mexico authorities have issued an Amber Alert for this boy, 16-month-old Justin Black. Police say the baby's mother was found dead after she got into an argument with a 22-year-old Ivan Villa. Police believe that Villa may be driving a silver or gray Ford Mustang with New Mexico plates.

A horrific discovery today north of Chicago. The bodies of two young girls were found in a wooded area in Zion. It's not known if the bodies are those are two girls reported missing on Sunday. Authorities are treating the deaths as homicides.

One missing sailor is rescued, another is found dead off of Virginia. The Coast guard says the pair boarded a life raft after they hit bad weather on a trip from Connecticut to Bermuda. Three others who stayed on the boat were rescued last night. It appears the runaway bride has had a few run-ins with the law. The district attorney handling the case says Jennifer Wilbanks was arrested three times in the 1990s, all for shoplifting. Wilbanks served two weekends in jail and paid a fine after one charge. The D.A. is still considering charges relating to her vanishing and subsequent search.

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


Aired May 9, 2005 - 13:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Police investigating a mystery near Chicago. The bodies of two girls found in a park. We're live with the latest.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Gunshots in the night and plenty of them. Compton, California, cops shoot more than just the suspect after a high-speed chase. Details straight ahead.

PHILLIPS: U.S. troops take the fight to Iraq's border with Syria after nabbing another big fish. We're live from the Pentagon.

O'BRIEN: First it was blogging. Now pod casting. If you aren't doing it now, you probably will. If you see how easy it is to be the star of your own show.

From the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien, Monday, May 9.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

O'BRIEN: Young girls missing in northern Illinois. Dead girls found hours later. We don't know yet whether two bodies found this morning in a park some 30 miles north of Chicago are the two reported missing last night. We do know investigators and dogs are swarming.

And CNN's Keith Oppenheim is working the phones in our Chicago bureau.

Keith, what do we know?

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, that's right. What we have is a description of a crime scene at this point but no direct linkage to a report of two missing girls that came in on Sunday.

What we're being told, it was near a biking and jogging trail in Zion, Illinois. The Zion police are working a crime scene where there's been a discovery of the bodies of two girls, and they say they are treating these deaths as homicides.

Police said this morning at around 6 a.m. local time someone called authorities, saying that the bodies were in the park. But at this point, the bodies have not been identified.

On Sunday night, Zion police got a report that two young girls were missing. But again, they haven't made a link to the discovery of the bodies to that specific report. I think we have another map that we can show you, just to give you a specific on just where this is in Illinois. Zion is about 40 miles north of Chicago. It's on Lake Michigan, and it's close to the Wisconsin border, as you can see right there. It's really not far from here. We have a crew on the way.

Sketchy details at this point, Miles, but we are keeping close tabs on it, and we are going to get back to you as soon as we have a little bit more information on the connection between the report and what they're looking at in this park right now.

O'BRIEN: All right. Keith Oppenheim in Chicago, thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Compton cops versus SUV caught on tape. One of the deputies in this dramatic video is wounded today, as is the driver of the SUV at the center of the gunfire. That man is also facing charges of eluding police and assault with a deadly weapon, namely, his vehicle.

CNN's Peter Viles is on the case in Los Angeles County.

Peter, do we know if that gunman fired first?

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We don't even know if he had a gun. We do know he had a weapon. The weapon was the vehicle. There may also have been a gun in the vehicle.

Quickly, what happened, Kyra, a chase began about midnight, lasted about 10 minutes through these narrow residential streets. Sheriff's deputies pinned this guy in, cornered him.

At that point, one of the deputies believes that this guy was trying to run him over, that his life was in danger. That's when the gunfire started, incredibly, much of it caught on tape.

Here's what it looks like.

Now, this came after a chase of about 10 minutes through this residential area of Compton, an area that is mixed. It's African- American and Hispanic, and it is known for violence. Police -- or sheriff's deputies investigating this shooting are also investigating another unrelated shooting about two blocks away.

But back to this one for a second. The suspect driving this vehicle, is said to be in good condition at a local hospital. So, too, the deputy who was shot in that gunfire, in good condition at a local hospital. Not clear who shot the deputy. But we are told there is a possibility he was hit by, as we say, friendly fire from another one of the deputies on scene.

And Kyra, this is almost destined to be a controversial shooting, because recently in Los Angeles, city of Los Angeles, there was a very controversial police shooting of a 13-year-old who had stolen a car and gone joy riding. The police shot him dead. Big controversy there. It ended with the police in Los Angeles changing their policy on when you fire on a moving vehicle. It's certainly, given the videotape here, that we'll have a lot of discussion of whether or not this shooting was justified.

But as of now, what they're saying is he was assaulting police officers or deputies or deputies with a deadly weapon, a vehicle. And that is a justification to fire on the vehicle.

PHILLIPS: Peter -- Peter, just real quickly, did you know if there was, indeed, a supervisor on the scene? One individual that was telling all of the various police officers and sheriffs' deputies what to do? Because when you look at the videotape, you see a lot of cross-fire. You see a lot people screaming at each other. You wonder if, indeed, was there one supervisor in control of that situation?

VILES: Very good question. The short answer, we don't know at this point. We may not know for a while, because they have begun one of these painstaking investigations, which will consist of three things, really: interviewing the deputies, searching for evidence, physical evidence. And the third thing, they'll have to look at that tape, because you can hear on that tape a lot of gunshots. And they'll have to add them up and try to figure out where they came from.

Short answer, though, to your question, though, we do not know if there was one law enforcement officer calling the shots here at about midnight when all this happened.

PHILLIPS: Peter Viles, thank you so much -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Liberty, Missouri, we go, where two cars are totaled, their drivers killed, more than 30 students in hospitals of the Ridgeview Elementary School in hospitals now with broken bones, cuts and bruises, sometimes worse. Authorities say bus Number 80 rammed the cars, not vice versa, at the intersection of two state highways. Not clear why, but we, of course, will keep you posted on this one.

PHILLIPS: It's anything but quiet on the western front. Seventy-five insurgents reported dead, maybe more in the first day of an all-out assault by U.S. troops and fighter jets in the vast and violent Anbar province of Iraq.

A commander in country tells CNN the push started Saturday, targeting so-called rat lines supposedly carrying weapons and fighters from Syria. The coalition hopes to learn some life-saving details from a man described as a top aide to terror kingpin Abu Musab al- Zarqawi. That aide was captured just a little over a week ago after a string of murderous car bombing he allegedly orchestrated.

CNN's Barbara Starr is keeping track of all these developments from the Pentagon -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, an awful lot going on in Iraq as this latest wave of violence continues to sweep the country. As you say, out in the far west, U.S. forces have now begun a major offensive against the foreign fighters they believe are holed up out there. Those foreign fighters responsible for so much of the recent violence in the country.

Earlier today, we spoke to a U.S. commander in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. BOB CHASE, U.S. MARINE CORPS: It's been a continuing focus. We've known for a very long time that there's been insurgent movement across the borders and moving toward -- west to east going to push foreign fighters, equipment and materials both to the larger cities in the north and in the east of Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Just a couple of indications on how serious the violence is getting. Over the weekend insurgents again took over a hospital in Falluja. That has not happened for some time. Launched some suicide car bomb attacks, killing three Marines.

Also, U.S. officials now detailing some new statistics. They tell us that the number of car bomb attacks in April doubled -- doubled since the month of February, when there was that well-noticed post-election lull. They say their estimate is perhaps as many as 300 Iraqis killed over the last 10 days, as this violence continues.

But as you say, over the last few days, they did capture another associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist who is said to be the ring leader of so much of the violence in the country.

They are going on somewhat of their own information offensive in the U.S. military. This you see here is a new chart that they have put out for the news media about Zarqawi, his associates, the killed, the wanted, the captured, telling us more than they certainly have in the past.

Also, quite an extraordinary press release from the U.S. military. What they told us in this statement, that -- was that Zarqawi became hysterical. Zarqawi did not know where he was.

That statement is attributed to a driver of Zarqawi that was captured on February 20, that driver saying that Zarqawi became hysterical.

Usually these types of statements about interrogations are classified, but now the U.S. military says they are putting out some of this information to try and demonstrate Zarqawi is not 10 feet tall.

So what happens if they ever capture or kill him? U.S. military commanders say it will help, certainly. It will put a dent in some of the insurgency and the terrorists' attacks, but they're not counting on capturing or killing Zarqawi to end it all. Already, U.S. military intelligence looking to identify the next round of terrorist leaders in Iraq that may be ready to step in and fill Zarqawi's shoes -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Two Marines are dead in eastern Afghanistan after a five-hour firefight that happened near Jalabad, where the Marines came under fire from insurgents they'd gone to root out.

U.S. attack jets covered the Marines and blasted a cave into which some of the attackers had fled. Two of the insurgents confirmed dead, but a U.S. spokeswoman says the true number could be higher.

Well, reopening a cold case. Police closed the file and said the killer went to jail decades ago. So why are four of the 1980s Atlanta child murders being reinvestigated?

And more on the background of runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks. You see, it turns out she kind of liked that five-finger discount.

Nothing unusual about a rock concert, except -- big names here in Havana. Politics aside, an American super group rocks Cuba. LIVE FROM's got your ticket a little later. Stay with us.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: News across America now.

A former Neverland employee takes the stand as the defense resumes its case in the Michael Jackson trial. The employee was called to dispute testimony by a maid who claimed the pop star inappropriately touched young boys. Former child star Macaulay Culkin is expected to testify this week.

Starting from scratch in another big trial, Ohio prosecutors will retry alleged highway shooter Charles McCoy Jr. A mistrial was determined yesterday. The jurors couldn't make up their minds on a verdict. McCoy is accused in a string of shootings that killed one person. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutors plan to meet with defense lawyers tomorrow.

Many of a memory came crashing down with the implosion of the old Baptist hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. It took less than 19 seconds to bring down the 93-year-old building. Developers are making way for a new pharmacy school and research park.

O'BRIEN: Reopening the books on a notorious serial murder case in Atlanta. Was Wayne Williams really the serial killer who terrorized the city more than two decades ago?

CNN's Sarah Dorsey with that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARAH DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For three years, starting in 1979, the city of Atlanta and gradually the rest of the nation watched with horror as 29 African-Americans, mostly boys and young men, disappeared and turned up dead.

In 1981, an emotional sigh of relief nationwide, as this man, Wayne Williams, was arrested. He was eventually convicted of two murders, and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Most of the evidence against Williams, circumstantial, based on fiber analysis of a carpet material Called Wellman 181-b.

Williams has always maintained his innocence. Since his conviction, controversy has surfaced over the very evidence that put him behind bars.

Louis Graham agrees. He was the assistant police chief in Fulton County, Georgia, at the time, and part of the missing and murder task force.

CHIEF LOUIS GRAHAM, DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA, POLICE: I don't think Wayne Williams is responsible for anything.

DORSEY: Today Graham is police chief in adjacent DeKalb County, where four of the victims lived. Their cases were shelved when Williams went to jail. Now that he's in charge, chief Graham is reopening those cold cases, armed with technology not available 25 years ago, seeking answers in the deaths of Patrick Baltazar, Curtis Walker, Joseph Bell and William Barrett.

GRAHAM: If we can solve one case, if we can, then I'm satisfied with that, but at this point, they are just too many open questions.

DORSEY: Old wounds reopened, a two decades old high-profile case about to be put back under the microscope.

Sarah Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, a daily double of tax hikes. Your cell phone bill is going up, no matter what service you use. That's bad enough, but a tax on your fast-food favorites? Super-sized controversy, straight ahead.

Going deep on a crime scene investigation. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta goes where the hit series doesn't.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENTS: There will be an occasional body in the water, but what the detailed investigation shows are known for rarely take place beneath the waves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eric, what do you got?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five bodies.

GUPTA: So is Hollywood accurately portraying reality? PHILLIPS: And later on LIVE FROM...

PATTY LUPONE, BROADWAY STAR (singing): Love at first sight love, love in bloom love, get the hell out of here before I kill you love, love. Love in all its forms. Blissful, passionate and painful. The mysteries of the heart.

PHILLIPS: Broadway legend Patty Lupone is in the house talking matters of the heart. Her hot show touring the U.S., right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, you may be paying more to chat on your cell phone. "USA Today" reports that many state and local governments are adding a new round of taxes and fees that could add up to -- add up to as much as $10 a month. The paper says that governments are trying to recoup money that they're losing from a decrease in the number of traditional land line phones. Well, the wireless industry is fighting back saying cell phones are already taxed heavily and sometimes unfairly.

Speaking of taxes, Detroit is looking to fans of Big Macs, Whoppers, and the like to take a bite of the city's budget deficit. Get this. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is proposing a 2 percent tax on fast-food purchases. If approved, this would be the nation's first tax targeting fast food. Opponents call it a fat tax that would hurt the poor, young people and the elderly.

O'BRIEN: All right. From oil to oil. We go to Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange where we hear of actually some good news as it relates to oil prices.

(STOCK REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Stories now in the news.

New Mexico authorities have issued an Amber Alert for this boy, 16-month-old Justin Black. Police say the baby's mother was found dead after she got into an argument with a 22-year-old Ivan Villa. Police believe that Villa may be driving a silver or gray Ford Mustang with New Mexico plates.

A horrific discovery today north of Chicago. The bodies of two young girls were found in a wooded area in Zion. It's not known if the bodies are those are two girls reported missing on Sunday. Authorities are treating the deaths as homicides.

One missing sailor is rescued, another is found dead off of Virginia. The Coast guard says the pair boarded a life raft after they hit bad weather on a trip from Connecticut to Bermuda. Three others who stayed on the boat were rescued last night. It appears the runaway bride has had a few run-ins with the law. The district attorney handling the case says Jennifer Wilbanks was arrested three times in the 1990s, all for shoplifting. Wilbanks served two weekends in jail and paid a fine after one charge. The D.A. is still considering charges relating to her vanishing and subsequent search.

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