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Abducted Children Press Conference; Natalee Holloway Case; Shark Fears

Aired July 04, 2005 - 13:59   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And this just into CNN. We understand that a judge in Aruba has made a decision on whether or not to hold the three suspects in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. We understand that just moments ago a judge has come to a decision.
Unfortunately, we can't tell you what that decision is right now. But we understand that a judge in Aruba has made a decision on whether or not to hold the three suspects over for another 60 days in connection with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. We'll get to Chris Lawrence in Aruba in just a moment.

But right now all eyes are on Idaho, where we hope to get some new information any second now on a grisly case of murder and apparent child abduction. As you may know, a huge break in the seven-week-old case came Saturday when 8-year-old Shasta Groene turned up at a local restaurant.

Let's listen to the Kootenai County investigators.

CAPT. BEN WOLFINGER, KOOTENAI COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.: All right. Thank you for coming this morning. Thank you for spending your Independence Day with us as well.

We're going to have a little brief statement. We'll do some question and answer, and I just have a couple of minor housekeeping items after we're done with that.

Today marks seven weeks since this crime was discovered. It certainly has gone fast for all of us.

Today, the investigators are really focusing on their efforts to find Dylan. They have several locations in northern Idaho and western Montana that we've been able to acquire information on so they can try to find these places, see if that's where exactly Duncan and the Groene children were staying for the past six weeks.

Since Saturday morning, since we put the word out through you guys about the vehicle, we've had about 100 tips on the vehicle and Duncan. That is certainly helping guide investigators as to where they're going, where the possible sites have been that this family or these people have been staying, the Groene children and Mr. Duncan.

Yesterday I understand -- I was told this morning that Steve had a release hand delivered to some of the local media. That did not come through our office. My understanding is -- he asked the hospital staff to provide that to local media. I know that some of you did not get that. You know, I'm sorry about that. It didn't come through our office. However, Steve is trying to put together a press conference and we told him we'd help him facilitate that. That will probably be tomorrow it looks like.

So as soon as I get more definite times, we'll do that.

Obviously Mr. Duncan has court tomorrow. We're trying to work out a system now so everybody who wants to can film that.

It's a video court appearance. That's -- that video court appearance will probably be about 1:30 in the afternoon. We originally scheduled it for 2:00. We're working with the courts trying to schedule that for 1:30 to facilitate everybody here, and that way you don't have to sit through the other 40 or 50 people that have to go to court tomorrow. That would work out for everybody better.

That's -- like I say, it's a video court appearance. You'll be allowed to tape -- take actual tape off of a video monitor. And that's the only way we can work this at this point.

We're still working that out. And, of course, that could get kiboshed (ph) if the judge says no media. And that's the judge's option here in the state of Idaho.

So that's all I have for you right now. If you have any Q&A, I'll try to take those -- Eric.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) any tips that they saw Duncan with both children or just one of the children?

WOLFINGER: I really can't get into specifics, but they did see Duncan in the vehicle. And I guess that's what we really asked for, was Duncan in the vehicle.

You know, we've been asking for seven weeks now about the children and getting the pictures of those children out. And you guys have been great about doing that for us. And we've had about 2,000 tips regarding that, but nothing is solid.

It's stuff that -- you know, we're starting to see vehicle specific and Duncan specific. So they're really giving us some ideas of where to start looking.

QUESTION: Can you tell us about these locations you're searching? Are they lakes or homes?

WOLFINGER: We're not going to get into the details of where those locations are until the investigators have checked them out. And, you know, if they are the actual sites, then let them process those sites.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

WOLFINGER: Yes, I don't have that information. QUESTION: Do you believe Duncan is alive or...

WOLFINGER: Duncan is in jail.

QUESTION: Sorry, Dylan.

WOLFINGER: We seriously believe that Dylan is deceased unfortunately.

QUESTION: Do you have a timetable on when Duncan may have died?

WOLFINGER: Dylan.

QUESTION: I mean Dylan.

WOLFINGER: I don't have that at his point -- Toby.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

WOLFINGER: Well, we've got a lot of sources, Toby, through testimony, through physical evidence and through some of those tips here. It is all focused here in the northern Idaho-western Montana area.

QUESTION: Is Shasta still at the hospital?

WOLFINGER: Shasta is still at the hospital.

QUESTION: Can you talk a little bit about (INAUDIBLE)?

WOLFINGER: Yes, we can't give the specific information. It's a slow process with Shasta.

She is a little girl -- like I said yesterday, you know, god only knows what she's been through in the last six or seven weeks. And we're, you know, taking that very slow. But taking we're taking that information, combining it with the physical information, the other sources, and trying to get some locations where they may have been staying.

QUESTION: Can you tell at least if she's been able to provide any helpful information?

WOLFINGER: Yes, she has.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) is that they were camping?

WOLFINGER: I'm not going to go into where they've been staying at this point, Eric.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

WOLFINGER: Cooperation has been phenomenal. Not only with the team here, the state police, the FBI and the sheriff's office, but we have investigators back in Fargo working that angle. The western Montana authorities have been great. They've been working with us, helping us all together.

You know, it's a team effort. You know, law enforcement, regardless of where they're at.

QUESTION: Are you getting any information out of North Dakota that's helpful at all?

WOLFINGER: I haven't heard anything coming out of North Dakota yet, but people are back there.

QUESTION: Will Shasta go to her dad?

QUESTION: Any indication yet of how long Duncan has actually had possession of that Cherokee and when he was first spotted, if he was (INAUDIBLE)?

WOLFINGER: Well, I don't know when he was first spotted. He had -- the vehicle was reported stolen on April 27. That's the report, it's stolen. Now, my understanding is he actually rented it before that and it was never returned, and that's why it was reported stolen.

QUESTION: Have you been able to learn anything from the writings?

WOLFINGER: I haven't even looked at his writings. I don't know what the investigators learned from that.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

WOLFINGER: Sixty at this point. We've had up of 100 when we had an evidence recovery team going through the landfill and things like that. We brought in 30 people just to do that landfill search. So right now about 60 people total across the country working this.

QUESTION: And Shasta's release from the hospital, is she, one, expected to be released today? And two, is she definitely going with her father, or will she go with an aunt or an uncle? Or is she definitely going to be with her father?

WOLFINGER: Well, I don't know when she'll be released. That's a medical decision, and that's -- we're not privy to that. The court papers that are currently on file say that her father has joint custody. So unless the judge changes that, that's where she'll go.

QUESTION: A question for Mr. Fuhrman of the FBI. On his Web Site, one of his last postings, he mentioned about getting away with it again and again since getting out of prison in 2000. Do you have any outstanding cases that you have been able to possibly link to this suspect, Mr. Duncan?

TIM FUHRMAN, FBI: At this point in time, Dan, the cases that I am aware of involving Mr. Duncan are the ones for which he has already been charged in Minnesota, and, of course, the case we have here.

QUESTION: Are you looking at others where he has lived? FUHRMAN: What I would say is that the investigators are gathering as much information as they can about Mr. Duncan, and then we will provide that information to the appropriate law enforcement authorities when we -- when we are in a position to be able to disseminate it. And when that occurs, we will determine if there is anything else out there. But at this point in time, the only case I'm aware of is the one in Minnesota, plus the case we have here in Idaho.

QUESTION: Are there any new links between him and the murders?

FUHRMAN: I'm not aware of anything, you know, that would link him to the murders. Obviously he is in -- has Shasta with him when he was recovered. So clearly, you know, we're curious as to whether or not he has any information with respect to the murders. As we mentioned yesterday, Mr. Duncan has invoked his right to an attorney, and we have not questioned him after he invoked that right.

QUESTION: But does he fit the profile of the type of person who would conduct this murder given his past?

FUHRMAN: I'm not going to speculate as to whether he fits a profile or not. I don't know enough about Mr. Duncan to say whether he fits any kind of profile or whatever the situation may be.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

FUHRMAN: We are continuing to conduct our investigation, and we're two days into it. And we're exploring all possibilities, whether he knew anybody, whether he knew anybody in Coeur d'Alene, whom he may have known all around the country. So at this point in time we can't say one way or another.

QUESTION: What kind of discussions have you had with regard to Duncan and whether he will be transferred from state to federal jurisdiction?

FUHRMAN: We have had, of course, discussions with the prosecutors both at the state and federal level. I think it's up to the prosecutors to make charging decisions.

As of now, as you're aware, he is charged at the state level. But we clearly are discussing the case with prosecutors. And it's not appropriate for me to speak on behalf of the prosecutors' offices.

QUESTION: Is it conceivable you still have a killer out there then?

FUHRMAN: At this point in time, you know, we're going to go ahead and conduct this investigation to determine what evidence we have to link this individual, any other individuals that may be out there. I think anything is conceivable or possible, but I'm not going to speculate as to any particular individual.

QUESTION: Can you talk about (INAUDIBLE)? Is that something that the FBI has taken seriously (INAUDIBLE)? FUHRMAN: I can't really talk about those writings because I haven't really seen any, other than the investigators are clearly reviewing some writings. But they haven't really discussed them with me.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

FUHRMAN: We are getting tips primarily from the northwest. We do know that we've gotten some tips during the course of the investigation from a great distance, but for the most part they're coming in from this -- the part of the country we're talking about, northern Idaho-western Montana.

QUESTION: Can you talk about the breakdown between the 60 officers working on this? Are they all detectives around the country?

FUHRMAN: As Captain Wolfinger mentioned, we've got a joint effort here with the FBI. As I've mentioned several times, we have agents involved. We have analytical personnel involved. We have support personnel.

The same with the sheriff's department here. We have people in our Salt Lake City office, agent and analytical individuals involved. Obviously we have lab technicians back in Washington and, you know, in other areas working on it.

So I can't give you the specific numbers, how many of each of those categories are involved.

QUESTION: Does Duncan have an attorney yet?

FUHRMAN: No, he does not to my knowledge. I mean, he may have an attorney in his Minnesota case, but he has not been appointed an attorney here in Idaho yet.

QUESTION: What can we expect tomorrow? Will there be charges filed with the prosecutor?

FUHRMAN: This is a -- that's a state proceeding. I'm going to defer to Captain Wolfinger. He may refer you to the local district attorney's office.

QUESTION: Mr. Fuhrman, can you characterize how the investigation is going? Is it moving forward? How's it going?

FUHRMAN: I think we're making good progress in the investigation. Whenever you bring the numbers of resources we've brought to the investigation, we are making good progress. We're in day 49 of the case, and I am assured and I do believe we're making good progress in the investigation.

QUESTION: And this is a huge break what happened over the weekend as far as solving the entire case.

FUHRMAN: That's absolutely correct from the standpoint of we have recovered a young girl who was missing, and clearly that is a break. And we have been able to gather much more information.

I think Captain Wolfinger has described it as a mountain of information. But we are clearly tasking our resources, and we're working very, very long hours. A number of people are working long hours across all of the jurisdictions.

QUESTION: Captain Wolfinger, considering the fact he's facing charges in Minnesota and he was let out on exceptionally low bail, can you talk -- is there any degree of frustration that this guy was even (INAUDIBLE) to allegedly commit this crime in the first place?

WOLFINGER: Well, I'm not going to discuss the Minnesota case. I don't know enough about it to really speak to that.

I can speak to the question about the courts, though. Tomorrow's first appearance is just that. He will go before the judge. The judge will make sure he understands his rights, his constitutional rights.

He will tell him the charges that are against him, he's been charged with. He may set a bail or he may set no bail. That's the court's option. And that is all that will happen tomorrow.

Now, it is up to the prosecutor's office if they're going to add additional charges between now and that time. When he was arrested, he was arrested first for kidnapping, and then they found the outstanding warrants and the on unlawful flights and I think a parole violation. So that's all he's charged with at this point.

QUESTION: What happens in court today? I understand a judge has to sign a document to keep him?

WOLFINGER: This morning, yes. A standard procedure here in Idaho is within 48 hours of an arrest the judges look at the paperwork that accompany that arrest to make sure there's probable cause, that that person should be -- should have been arrested and be held pending a formal first appearance hearing.

That was done this morning, and I'm certain that either Mr. Fuhrman or I would have been told if there was a probable cause. But as you all know this case as well as I do, there's certainly probable cause to hold Mr. Duncan.

HARRIS: Authorities wrapping up a news conference in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. You're hearing from the captain, Ben Wolfinger, of the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department.

The investigation right now of the Groene children. As you know -- as you heard from the captain, there is pretty much a desperate search going on right now for that young man you see in the picture, Dylan Groene, 9 years old, who, as you heard from the captain, is missing and presumed dead.

The search right now seems to be centered in northern Idaho and western Montana. A big break in the case came over the weekend when 8-year-old Shasta Groene was recovered at a Denny's restaurant in Coeur d'Alene. She was with Joseph Duncan, a convicted child rapist.

He has been arrested and obviously is in custody on kidnapping charges. He'll have a first appearance in court tomorrow at about 1:30 in the afternoon Eastern Time.

Duncan, we're learning some disturbing information about him in his own words from his own personal Web blog. He will be in court tomorrow where he will learn his rights and get a sense of the process that lies ahead of him.

That is the latest from Coeur d'Alene. We will continue to follow that story obviously throughout the day.

In Aruba this hour, still no sightings but yet another hearing in the Natalee Holloway case. Three young suspects who have been in custody for almost a month should find out later today whether prosecutors can hold them 60 more days.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is on the story -- Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, here's the way it usually happens. At some point today, it could be in an hour, it could be later today, a clerk will walk out of the courthouse and issue the ruling that the judge has made.

Now, several things could happen. The judge could rule that one or all three of the suspects can walk free, or that they can be held for up to two more months by the police.

Now, just to backtrack a little bit, we've got two brothers, Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, who say they dropped off Natalee Holloway and Joran Van Der Sloot on a beach nearby just up the shore from where her hotel was. Joran Van Der Sloot says that he spent some time on that beach with her and then left her alone and went home.

Yesterday, prosecutors took all three back to different points on the island, sort of retracing their steps. "What did you pass? Where did you stop? How did you get out? How much time did you spend here?"

They call it a site survey, trying to match their story to specific details. They may have brought that up to the date in court, because when we asked the attorney for Deepak Kalpoe, we said, "Have you heard anything from the prosecutors today that caught you by surprise?" Here was his answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY OOMEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nothing additional.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you...

OOMEN: On the contrary. The more -- the more we get, the more it shows that my client has nothing to do with any crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LAWRENCE: OK. So here we go today. We wait now to find out what the judge has ruled, whether he's made his decision to let them go or keep them in custody. Either way, prosecutors have said they will push on with the case -- Tony.

HARRIS: Chris, have these attorneys given you any indication of what the evidence might be beyond these were the last people to see Natalee?

LAWRENCE: They don't talk about it. It's a very different system. It's not like the United States, where you can sit in the courtroom and get the information for yourself.

Things happen inside that courtroom. The parents of Natalee Holloway showed up in court today. They were allowed to stand out in the hallway, but even they can't go in. So it's a matter of waiting until it's all over and then having people come back and tell you what happened.

HARRIS: Chris, any kind of a public transcript available? I guess you would have told us if there were, if there were some kind of public transcript of the proceeding available.

LAWRENCE: No, there is not. There's no public transcript.

These are -- these are very closed-door proceedings, although we did speak with an attorney last week, and she said, once it gets to the actual trial, she said that people would be allowed to sit in, in perhaps like a viewing room...

HARRIS: I see. OK.

LAWRENCE: ... at that point. But that's down the road.

HARRIS: All right. Chris Lawrence in Aruba for us. Chris, thank you.

What would the fourth be without a trip to the beach? Live pictures now from Miami Beach, where folks are soaking up the sun. But do recent shark attacks have them wary of going into the water? We'll have a live report just ahead.

And a feeding frenzy in New Jersey as determined eaters downed some serious dogs. We'll show you who the champ is later on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Oh, not your typical nuptials. That's for sure.

We're trying to imagine the bachelor party if this is what the wedding looked like. The bride and groom wore matching neoprene.

And instead of the traditional "Wedding March," it was the theme song from "Jaws" as the happy couple became Mr. and Mrs. in this Tampa, Florida, shark tank. Nine sharks and two shark handlers served as witnesses. Gail (ph) and Wayne Landrey's (ph) other guests observed from outside the tank. Thank you very much. After this, dealing with the in-laws, well, it should be a piece of cake.

A recent string of shark attacks in Florida may be on the minds of some beach-goers this Fourth of July holiday, but apparently not enough to make them give up their spots under the sun.

Our John Zarrella is at Houlover Beach today, and he's definitely not alone -- John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, definitely not alone. You're absolutely right, Tony.

Tens of thousands of people, maybe hundreds of thousands certainly over the holiday weekend, on the beaches of Florida. Most of them with the idea of the shark attacks in the back of their minds.

Now, we're actually on the lifeguard stand, and introduce you to Gunder (ph) and Mosso (ph) there, the Miami-Dade County lifeguards who are keeping a close eye on everybody on the water. And they've had, you know, a busy morning and afternoon.

No sharks, fortunately. That's not been the issue. But making sure that people are not going out too deep, that is an issue. And that is definitely something that they have to keep an eye on, is where the people are going out there.

You know, the reality, Tony, is that there are about 30 shark attacks a year in Florida. One deadly attack every four to five years. So the numbers are very, very -- are very low.

The reality, the experts tell us, is that the reason that we seem to see more shark attacks in the summer is because there are a lot more people in the water. And actually, there are a lot fewer sharks in the water.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BURGESS, SHARK EXPERT: The sharks are very much like Yankee tourists. They head south for the winter and head north for the summer. So at this time of the year the big concentration of sharks that were here in the winter in Florida are now moving up the East Coast and heading up as far as New England by the end of the summer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Now, I had an opportunity to speak with Heather Van Olst. She's 19 years old. She was 14 years old back when she was attacked by a bull shark up north of Palm Beach County, about 50, 60 miles from here.

And she was out boogie boarding on the water about 100 yards out. She had gone out too far with her brother and some friends. And all of a sudden, bang, she got hit by a bull shark. It tore her knee up very badly. It took 500 stitches to go ahead and repair her leg. Heather said that she's not afraid of the water any longer, but it was a pretty weird situation the first time she went back to the beach after the accident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEATHER VAN OLST, BITTEN BY SHARK: I was sitting on the beach on my towel, and I went to the beach with my family. So a couple of my brothers were in the water, and I said -- I was looking out on the water and, of course, I was looking for sharks.

And I saw this shadow in the water and I was like, "Mom, what's that?" And I was like, "It's a shark." And she looks, and sure enough, it was a shark.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Bottom line, Tony, it's just a good thing to be careful when you're out here. Be with friends and stay close to a lifeguard stand like I am -- Tony.

HARRIS: Very smart. John Zarrella, we appreciate it. Thank you.

A wave of iPod thefts takes a deadly turn in New York. Police say a teenage boy was stabbed to death for the music device. Details ahead.

And a woman known as Canada's most notorious killer goes free this afternoon, but there's something her lawyer does not want you to know about her release.

And NASA releases new pictures of a collision between a space probe and a huge comet. We'll show you the pictures ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, it is a crime that stunned even jaded New Yorkers. Two teens are in custody in connection with the death of another teen. Police believe 15-year-old Christopher Rose was stabbed to death over an iPod player.

Ken Rosato with our affiliate WABC has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERROL ROSE, VICTIM'S FATHER: So we're just hoping and praying that the guy is going to deal with him somehow.

KEN ROSATO, REPORTER, WABC (voice-over): Just one day after the brutal stabbing death of 15-year-old Christopher Rose, police make two arrests but acknowledge there may be many more to go. The young victim's father horrified by what some suggest may have been gang- related activity. ROSE: Because when kids congregate like that, you know definitely trouble is going to start. It has a lot to do with drugs and everything else that you can possibly think of.

ROSATO: Christopher and two friends leave the Rose home on Albany Avenue in East Flatbush. They only walk a few blocks when witnesses tell police the three were taunted by anywhere from 10 to 20 youths who also demand the iPod music player that Christopher was wearing at the time.

Police say the three boys ran, were chased and beaten, and after relieving Christopher of what was a friend's iPod, the attacker stabbed the boy several times in the chest. And while police have two youths in custody, sources say it's not believed that either teen was the actual murderer.

SHARON ROSE, VICTIM'S MOTHER: I would like to see the real blood-thirsty culprit, the one who actually had the guts and the gall to turn the dagger in my son's, you know, heart.

ROSATO: Young Christopher would soon be pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital. His parents worked hard for years to buy a house in Pennsylvania so they could send their boy there to have a better education. Chris happened to be headed to catch a bus to return to school there when the attack occurred. Chris' grief-stricken mother on her son's killer...

S. ROSE: We're all born with a conscience, and hopefully his conscience will start to eat away at him until he can't sleep, until he can't eat.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: That was Ken Rosato with our affiliate WABC in New York City.

A notorious killer in Canada is due to go free today, and she fears for her life. Karla Homolka served 12 years for her role in three grisly murders, including that of her sister. Her lawyers say she's getting threats from people who want her punished more severely.

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