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One-Year Anniversary of Atlanta Courthouse Shooting; Interior Secretary Resigns; Political Fallout from Failed Ports Deal; Man, 20, Charged with Sex Crimes in Case of New Jersey Girl

Aired March 10, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kyra -- Kyra Phillips live at the Fulton County Courthouse live in downtown Atlanta. One year ago Brian Nichols began his 26 hours of terror. Today on LIVE FROM I'll retrace his path and speak to the people whose lives were forever changed, among them Ashley Smith, the hostage who persuaded Nichols to turn himself in.
Thanks so much for being with us. I'm right here in the middle of the old courthouse. The new courthouse just a little bit, about a block behind me is where a memorial service was held today.

Claudia Barnes, the widow of Judge Rowland Barnes was there, Deborah Teasley, the widow of Sergeant Hoyt Keith Teasley, the only sheriff's deputy who had a chance to attempt to track Brian Nichols down, to chase him down the stairwell behind me until Brian Nichols turned the gun on him and shot him. He died right here on this sidewalk right in front of the courthouse.

We saw both of them at the memorial service, also Kylie Barnes, the daughter of Judge Rowland Barnes including Julie Brandau's family. As you'll remember, Julie Brandau was the court reporter that was in Judge Barnes' courtroom at the time of that shooting.

Everybody still feeling the same way they felt last year; it's just a matter of 360 days that they've had to learn how to deal with. It's never gotten easier.

We want to take you back to the manhunt they'll never forget.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody off the sidewalk.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Nine a.m., the halls of justice are now a crime scene, an area of confusion and fear. Judge Rowland Barnes, and court reporter Julie Ann Brandau are dead. The alleged killer, Brian Nichols, is fleeing the courthouse. In pursuit, Sergeant Hoyt Teasley.

Nearby, attorney Renee Rockwell steps off the elevator. She hears screams to get out of the building.

RENEE ROCKWELL, ATTORNEY: And I made a joke. I said, "What's the matter? Did somebody escape?"

PHILLIPS: A deputy pulls her back into the elevator. On the way down she's told the horrifying news.

ROCKWELL: A female deputy just put her hand on the wall and she was crying and I said, "What happened?"

She said, "The defendant got the gun and shot the judge."

I said, "What judge?"

And she said, "Judge Barnes."

PHILLIPS: By this time, Brian Nichols is on the street. Witnesses say he turns, firing several shots. Sergeant Teasley falls. Renee exits the courthouse and sees Deputy Teasley.

ROCKWELL: His eyes were open. He was laying down right here on his side sort of like this.

PHILLIPS (on camera): Was he moving?

ROCKWELL: No, he was nonresponsive but I think he was alive.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Deputies worked furiously to save Teasley's life.

DEBORAH TEASLEY, WIDOW OF DEPUTY HOYT TEASLEY: I just happened to be on break at about 9 to 9:15.

PHILLIPS: Sergeant Hoyt Keith Teasley's wife, Deborah.

TEASLEY: And I went in the cafeteria, and they have a very large television there and I said, "Sheriff's department, a shooting?" I made a phone call, and he didn't answer which, you know, you just kind of think, well, everything is chaotic.

PHILLIPS: Atlanta police responding to an all-points bulletin converge on the courthouse. Brian Nichols disappears into a neighboring parking garage, begins a series of five carjackings. One of those was a tow truck driven by Deronta Franklin.

DERONTA FRANKLIN, TOW TRUCK DRIVER: He came by the parking lot, pointed a gun to me, and told me to get out of the truck. And I told him, "You can have the truck." I bagged up and walked away.

PHILLIPS: Nichols makes his way into another parking garage, where he comes face to face with Atlanta newspaper reporter Don O'Briant.

DON O'BRIANT, NEWSPAPER REPORTER: And he pulls out a gun and said, "Give me your keys." I hesitated because I'm thinking that there's going to be an awful lot of hassle to get this car back. And he said, "Give me the keys or I'll kill you." So I handed him the keys.

PHILLIPS: Nichols then opens the car trunk and orders O'Briant to get in. O'BRIANT: I'm about to say, "Please don't kill me" when all of a sudden I'm hit and I hit the concrete and hit my wrist and apparently broke it. Blood is running down my eyes. I can't -- I can only see out of one eye. I scramble to my feet, and I head for the nearest exit, expecting him to follow me, and by the time I get outside I look back, and he's nowhere around.

PHILLIPS: Minutes later Nichols is seen here on CNN security cameras driving off in Don O'Briant's car, or so it appears.

What comes next is one of the most extensive manhunts in Georgia history. A dragnet of officers including multiple state and federal agencies. A lockdown is ordered at several area schools. Police post alerts on busy interstates and converge on Nichols' most recent address, but he's not there.

As precious hours tick by, the manhunt intensifies. News choppers follow police cars as they chase down tip after tip.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four of these state troopers just took off at a high rate of speed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Georgia state patrol just added 100 more police cars.

PHILLIPS: Two p.m., about six hours after the courthouse shootings, police and state troopers in neighboring states are warned to be on the lookout for Brian Nichols.

(on camera) Brian Nichols has just eluded a police dragnet pulling off the perfect escape. He ditched O'Briant's car in the garage here and then walked up and past CNN. No one noticed him. Then he worked his way up to the subway MARTA station, where police say he caught a train.

(voice-over) In the Fulton County courthouse, Claudia Barnes learns the fate of her husband, Judge Rowland Barnes.

CLAUDIA BARNES, WIDOW OF ROWLAND BARNES: I kept asking the deputy to tell me something and I'm like, "Well, just tell me yes or no," I mean -- he wouldn't say anything. I'm like, "Well, you know, we work in this environment. I can handle it. Just -- I can't just sit here and not know something." And so I said, "Is he dead?" And he finally shook his head yes, and I said, "What about Julie?" And he said, yes.

PHILLIPS: Kylie Barnes a paralegal who works at a nearby law firm, is approached by one of the lawyers.

KYLIE BARNES, DAUGHTER OF ROWLAND BARNES: And he said, "Kylie, just listen to me and don't freak out." He said, "There's been a shooting in your dad's courtroom. Three people have been shot. Your dad was one of them, and they don't know if he's going to survive."

PHILLIPS: In a state of panic, Kylie decides to head to the Atlanta Grady Hospital. Her phone rings. On the line, a police officer.

K. BARNES: And he said, "Kylie, what are you doing right now?"

And I said, "I'm trying to find a ride to Grady."

And he said, "There's no need to go to Kylie, Grady. He's gone."

PHILLIPS: Deborah Teasley is told by supervisors to call her mother.

TEASLEY: She just told me that he had been shot and that I needed to get to Grady.

PHILLIPS: She rushes to be by her husband's side. But she's too late.

(on camera) You didn't realize that he was dead at this point?

TEASLEY: No.

PHILLIPS: Until you walked into that room?

TEASLEY: Right.

PHILLIPS: Did somebody tell you or you just knew by their faces?

TEASLEY: I knew by their faces and then I just said, "He didn't make it" and his mom just shook her head and said no.

PHILLIPS: He sure died a brave man.

TEASLEY: Right. At first I didn't understand everybody kept saying he's a hero because in my mind I'm saying, "Well, yes, but my hero is dead."

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Within 12 minutes a judge, court reporter and deputy are dead. Deputy Cynthia Hall is found in a holding cell. Still unconscious, she's rushed to a nearby hospital.

Brian Nichols, now the most wanted man in America, remains on the loose. Police fear the worst.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And that hero that Deborah Teasley was talking about, of course, was her husband, Sergeant Hoyt Keith Teasley, and this is the stairwell that he came through. He came down these stairs, chasing Brian Nichols out these doors. These steps and as you can see lead out to one of the main streets here. And this parking lot, this is actually where Brian Nichols was taking off to -- who knows what was on his mind thinking about getting away, looking for some type of vehicle.

Well, at that point Sergeant Teasley was coming out behind him, the only sheriff's deputy to try and chase Brian Nichols, and as Brian Nichols went right here in the middle of the street, that's when he was running, turning the gun and firing. He didn't even stop to look to make a target. It was a lucky shot, according to investigators. And Teasley just happened to be right in the line of fir.

When he fired that shot, Teasley went down right here into this stairwell kind of leading to another door. He didn't have his bulletproof vest on, and this is the hardest part to understand and to hear, because Teasley had just gotten to work. He was listening to his radio. He heard that something was going on and went right into action. He didn't have time to even put his vest on.

So you can imagine that's changed now. Before any deputy is allowed to get out of their car, they have to have their vest on. They've got to put it on while they're at home.

But this is where it happened, Carol. And it's just hard to believe that it's been an entire year and it's still so fresh in everybody's mind.

Anyway, that's just one story we're going to tell you about in this special that of course airs tomorrow at 7 and Sunday night at 7, but for the next three hours on LIVE FROM I'm going to tell you more stories like the Teasley story and just talk about the bravery, talk about the emotions that these family members are going through now.

And of course, I'm also going to talk to you more about Ashley Smith, as well. You'll remember the woman that talked Brian Nichols into giving himself in.

CAROL LIN, HOST: Right, and how dramatically her life has changed.

Kyra, you and I talked about this earlier, when I first learned that you were working on this project. And the thing that struck you about the families and the survivors and how so little has changed for them. So much time has passed for all of us, but for them it's like they're frozen in time.

PHILLIPS: You know what? That's a great way to put it, frozen in time. Like when I talked to Deborah Teasley, I say, "Does it ever get any easier?"

And she said, "No, everybody always said to me, don't worry, in time you'll heal. It'll get easier to deal with." And she said, "I think about him every day. I pray to him every day. I talk to him every day."

Claudia Barnes, the same thing. She said she'll go to sleep at night and just start talking to him and praying to him. Both of them like to go back to the places where they used to have dinner, where they used to get away for the weekend and vacation, just so they can feel like they are in some way next to them and a part of them.

LIN: Right.

PHILLIPS: And I asked them also about Ashley Smith. Claudia Barnes at first didn't believe Ashley Smith. She wanted to meet her and wanted to hear her story, and she told me that after she finally met her, she thought she was the real deal. She believed that she didn't know Brian Nichols and that it was a miracle that she was able to talk him out of what he did.

LIN: Right, right. And Kyra, looking at some of the video that you took in Ashley -- I think this is her old house. This is where it went down with her husband when her husband was killed. And, you know, what I was fascinated about your interview with her is that she has -- this really changed her life. I mean she is on a completely different path to get her daughter back.

PHILLIPS: I missed just the last part of what you said, Carol. I think we were look at videotape...

LIN: Right.

PHILLIPS: ... of her home in Augusta. Is that right?

LIN: Right.

PHILLIPS: With her daughter? Is that where you were looking at?

LIN: Former crack house with knife -- you know with knife stab marks in the walls. And you can't imagine what her life was like then.

PHILLIPS: That's right. That's right. We went back. It's such a great point. We went back to the house where she lived with all those other drug addicts and, yes, you saw the holes in the wall where they used to just toss knives because it was a way to pass the time. And she just -- she couldn't believe she even lived that kind of life.

And I asked her, you know, this was -- this was a regular part of your life. You even had drugs in your apartment when Brian Nichols got there. Why didn't you use those drugs with him? What made you so strong to say no? I mean I asked her those hard questions because a lot of people are still wondering is that story true?

LIN: Right.

PHILLIPS: And we all I think, Carol, you and I have talked about this before -- we all want to believe in miracles.

LIN: Yes.

PHILLIPS: And at that point if you've got somebody with three guns and one's pointed at your head and you have a choice to either live or die, you're going to do everything possible to make it out of that situation alive.

LIN: Absolutely. I think we can all learn from her, and, Kyra, your interview, I just want to share with the audience, it is so compelling. You really see the real Ashley Smith. And, Kyra, I think you brought her out and all the hopes that she has for her future.

So Kyra is going to be out at the courthouse. She's going to be bringing us original reporting during this hour. In fact, she's going to be back in about 18 minutes with more.

But I just want to let the audience know that this Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, tune in to our special two-hour edition of "CNN PRESENTS: 26 HOURS OF TERROR." Kyra is going to bring you the untold story of the Fulton County Courthouse shooting spree, how the dramatic events unfolded that day and exclusive interviews with what suspect Brian Nichols faces come this October.

Right now we've got a developing story out of the White House. CNN's Elaine Quijano now on the latest on the interior secretary resigning.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Carol. That's right. Just getting word of this now. Apparently, a news release laying out, really, a letter that interior Secretary Gale Norton apparently giving to President Bush in which she talks about her decision to leave.

She has been interior secretary for five years. She was sworn in January 31, 2001. And in this, she says that she will be leaving the president's cabinet at the end of March.

Now, in her letter, as well, she says, quote, "Now I feel it is time for me to leave this mountain you gave me to climb, catch my breath and set my sights on new goals to achieve in the private sector. Hopefully, my husband and I will end up closer to the mountains we love in the west."

And she goes on to say that "there will never be a perfect time to leave. There's always more work to do. My leaving now gives you the opportunity to appoint a new secretary to accomplish the goals you set out for the rest of your administration."

So Secretary Norton, the first woman to serve as a secretary of interior, after five years announcing that she will be leaving. She plans to leave at the end of March -- Carol.

LIN: All right, Elaine Quijano, thank you very much. It sounds like a very personal decision.

Well, a new twist in the case of a New Jersey teen who disappeared and then turned up days later. We're live from Jersey City.

The news keeps coming. And we're going to bring it to you. More LIVE FROM next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: A Dubai based company's decision to call off its U.S. port management deal has Washington talking. Congressional opponents are claiming a cautious victory, but the political fallout is just beginning.

Our congressional correspondent, Ed Henry, is on Capitol Hill right now. Ed, what's the latest?

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, you know, Democrats have endured, really, months, maybe even years of criticism within their own party that they really have failed to capitalize on some of President Bush's miscues, especially as he's dropped in the polls in recent months.

And I think they finally feel up here some optimism. Democrats think that they're going to turn the corner on security, an issue that they've had so much trouble with in recent elections.

If you look at the New Jersey Senate race, for example, Democrat Bob Menendez just a month ago was trailing in that race. He's jumped all over this port issue for the last three or four weeks. And now there's one poll out, showing him up five points over his Republican challenger. Another one shows him in a dead heat.

The question, though, is whether it's really going to be translated into anything. Is this just a blip? You know, will Menendez be able to win that race? Will other Democrats across the country be able to really turn this into a plus for Democrats?

But there's no doubting the fact that the political climate has changed, at least a bit. If you think back five, six weeks ago Karl Rove, the top White House aide, gave this speech to the Republican National Committee, saying this midterm election was going to be all about security, that Republicans were much stronger than Democrats on that, and they would win this election based on that issue.

Well, obviously that equation has changed. Maybe it hasn't tilted to the Democrats but it's now a wild card, which it wasn't just a few weeks ago, Carol.

LIN: Ed, for 5 1/2 years the Republicans on Capitol Hill have been in lockstep with the president. So do you think there's going to be a price to be paid? Is there going to be a fallout from this split between the Republicans and the White House?

HENRY: I think the Republicans, certainly, especially for the president especially as he tries to figure out his legacy over the next three years, in terms of the agenda on the Hill, this is a clear sign that it's stalled a bit as if you needed more evidence.

Republicans even before this had been asking tough questions about the NSA, domestic surveillance program. Last year the Republicans gave up on the president's signature Social Security reform plan amid all that Democratic opposition.

But there's another way to look at it, if you flip it around, that could actually help the Republicans, which is that the president is not on the ballot in November. He's down in the polls right now, but he's not on the ballot. Republicans here on the Hill are.

And as you noted, they've been marching in lockstep with this president for over five years. Now that they've had this high-profile break with the president, you're going to see them turn to the voters in November and say, "You know what? We're not marching in lockstep any more. We've broken a bit with an unpopular president." And they may try to use this to their advantage, saying, "We're not a rubber stamp Congress."

Obviously, Democrats are going to say that's not the case; this is a last-minute conversion. But Republicans may also try to spin this and get some political benefits out of it, as well, Carol.

LIN: Ed, thank you very much.

HENRY: Thank you.

LIN: As for the president, President Bush says he is concerned about the reaction to the collapse of the ports deal, especially in the Middle East. He told a Washington audience this morning that the U.S. has to build better relations with moderate Arab states.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm concerned about a broader message this issue could send to our friends and allies around the world, particularly in the Middle East. In order to win the war on terror we have got to strengthen our relationships and friendships with moderate, Arab countries in the Middle East.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Now, shortly after -- after the president spoke, the administration announced that free trade talks with the United Arab Emirates have been postponed. Now they were supposed to resume on Monday. It is not clear whether the delay is related to the ports debate.

All right. News here in the United States, as well. The NYPD hasn't lost interest in its person of interest. It's the case of a graduate student's brutal rape and killing. The only potential suspect so far is Darryl Littlejohn. Now this is his mug shot. He's in jail for breaking parole in a different case.

Littlejohn stood in a lineup yesterday as part of an unrelated investigation, a rape. He wasn't identified by the victim in that case.

Imette St. Guillen's body was found late last month in Brooklyn. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Detectives put Darryl Littlejohn at the bar where the young woman was last seen alive.

Now, in another twist in a case of a 13-year-old New Jersey girl, who disappeared then turned up days later, saying she had been raped. CNN's Allan Chernoff is in Hackensack to sort it all out for us.

Allan, good that the girl is back with her family but confusing about the circumstances of her disappearance.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, there have been so many questions around this case. And as you say, many twists and turns. And now we have the latest news here.

The Bergen County prosecutor here in New Jersey is charging a 20- year-old male with criminal sexual contact with this 13-year-old girl. Previously, the Jersey City police had told us it was a 19-year-old who was being charged but, in fact, we now know it is a 20-year-old male who is being charged here.

And according to the prosecutor, the sex here was consensual, and the girl was not abducted.

Now, that is the reason that this case has really gathered so much attention in the New York area, because this girl, on her way to school on Monday, disappeared suddenly. She was missing for nearly three days. She had text messaged her mother, saying that she had been abducted, that she was in a basement somewhere. And she also claimed in her text messages that she was being forced to do things she didn't want to do.

Now, yesterday early morning, the girl called home. A cab took her to a police station. She walked in and claimed to a police officer that she had been sexually abused. She was examined at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital, but doctors there found absolutely no injuries. And late yesterday the chief of police of Jersey City said that he actually doubted the girl's credibility.

Well, now we do have a charge coming from the prosecutor's office here, a charge against one male of criminal sexual conduct, contact. And keep in mind, of course, this girl is 13 years old. That, of course, well below the age of consent here in New Jersey -- Carol.

LIN: So, Allan, what happens with the girl next, then?

CHERNOFF: Well, the girl is back home. Her parents have said that she certainly is going to be grounded. She's going to have her computer taken away, her cell phone taken away. The parents yesterday telling the news media they have certainly learned a very hard-learned lesson here, that they certainly need to keep their daughter on a much tighter leash.

LIN: Allan Chernoff, thank you very much.

Well, you've warned your children not to talk to strangers, but nowadays typing to strangers can be just as risky. Blogging, texting and instant messaging are the top ways teens hang out these days. And what you don't know about their online worlds might terrify you. We're going to take you there. Straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: This is what's happening live right now. You're looking at a scene in Chicago, where thousands of demonstrators are gathered near Union Park. They are going to be marching to the federal plaza.

They are protesting a border security bill that the House has just introduced, House Bill 737, that would make it illegal for anyone to help undocumented workers. For example, if doctors provide health care for undocumented workers or their families, they could be considered criminals, as well, under this legislation.

So we're watching as these pictures are just coming in to the CNN Center. The people that you're looking at are anyone anywhere, from citizens, to undocumented workers and immigrants, gathering now to protest this bill.

Although supporters of the bill say that they believe that America's resources should go to people who live in the country legally. That American debate on the streets of Chicago right now.

Now, there could be something in the failed Dubai port deal for you. It could lead to higher interest rates if it scares off foreign investors. Business correspondent Susan Lisovicz joins me live now from the New York Stock Exchange with a look at some scenarios.

Susan, we don't think about the amount of money, you know, here in the United States, coming from the Middle East.

(STOCK REPORT)

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