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Jury Selection Underway for Jessica Lunsford Case; Fresno Police Investigating Alleged Rape of 11-Year-Old Runaway; Building Explodes in New York City

Aired July 10, 2006 - 14:30   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, her kidnapping sparked fear. The discovery of her body brought anguish. Now Jessica Lunsford's admitted kidnapper and killer is about to stand trial. Jury selection is underway in Lake County, Florida in the State vs. John Evander Couey.
We asked the former prosecutor to join us for a preview. Of course you know Nancy Grace from her own show on CNN Headline News.

And I know you have been following this very closely, Nancy. Little jury selection 101, how does this play out?

NANCY GRACE, CNN HEADLINE NEWS HOST: Well thank you for having me and coincidentally, voir dire, jury selection, means to speak the truth. Now, in this case, they will probably have a selection of well over 1,000 jurors.

As you know, venue has already been changed from Citrus to Lake County. Why? Because of pretrial publicity and possible conflicts. In other words, someone in the jury panel may know someone involved in the case whether it's a sheriff, a neighbor, somebody in the neighborhood.

So, I think that the judge was wise in moving jurisdiction, moving venue. That creates a lot of problems, however. Long story short, you'll have a selection of about 1,000 jurors from a new territory: a territory that the prosecution is not familiar with. They will probably do individual voir dire, individual questioning of the jurors and I think that is very wise.

Why? Very simply, Kyra, right in the middle of jury selection when you've got 150 people sitting in the panel and you're questioning one of them, one may suddenly stand up and say I know John Evander Couey, I know he's guilty, he confessed to me.

You know what that means? You've got to throw out the whole panel. Or they could say something as it relates to innocence of John Evander Couey. You've got to start all over once you taint the panel. Solution? Individual questioning. Problem? It takes a really long time. But, you know what, we've already waited a year and a half.

PHILLIPS: Nancy, so many of us sit back and think, this guy has already been convicted of these types of crimes. And you wonder, how can someone like this even be allowed to walk the streets again. Now, we see what he allegedly did to Jessica Lunsford. Why won't the jury hear about his past crimes?

GRACE: Well, Kyra, as a matter of fact, it's a lot more extensive than what we're hearing about in court. I have his rap sheet here and he has an extensive rap sheet of burglaries dating all the way back to the '70s where he would allegedly enter into homes, four and five at a time for burglary purposes.

Then it graduated, according to these documents, to where he cut the screen of a home, the way it was done on Jessica Lunsford home, enters in and then puts his hand over the mouth of a 5-year-old little girl and kisses her. That was back in the '70s. Then fast forward to 1991, additional problems.

Long story short, he has quite the resume, the criminal history. The judge ruled that one was not similar enough and the prosecutor chose not to introduce another one. You know what, I'm a big believer in similar transactions to let the jury know the history of the defendant where relevant, but when you have got a death penalty case like this, why muddy the water with past convictions or past bad acts? You don't want a problem on appeal if you get a conviction. So I think the judge was wise in disallowing the similar transactions.

PHILLIPS: OK, interesting. Well let's talk about his confession, that was thrown out. We talked about this a couple of weeks ago. He talked about he had her in the closet, he fed her whatever he was eating, that he knows she suffered, he buried her alive, he molested her. I mean, he came right out without a problem and said these things. But now it's thrown out because he wanted a lawyer, he didn't get a lawyer. How is that going to affect the case?

GRACE: Well I don't think at the end it is going to affect the ultimate verdict. When you have the suppression of a statement like this, it is devastating. But the reality is, Judge Rick Howard did the right thing under the law.

The moment that Couey began discussing -- mentioning an attorney, questioning is to cease at that moment. It did not cease. Now I know where the detectives were coming from. In their defense, they thought that Jessie Lunsford may still be alive, Kyra, and they were pressing him and ultimately he told them where the body was.

But that does not excuse the failure to call a lawyer. Simply put in black and white, as I told you last week, they need to go flip burgers for a job because they have had a very, very vital piece of evidence thrown out because they did not follow the Constitution.

In the end, I don't think it's going to matter. There is blood, a great deal of Jessie Lunsford's blood on Couey's mattress. I'm sure on her body there will be fibers connecting her back to the home. There is the inevitable discovery of her body buried near his home and he made other statements afterwards. He told a jail guard that he didn't know why he killed the girl. He told another person that he didn't mean to kill the girl. Those statements are still coming in. I think the state will get a conviction.

PHILLIPS: Nancy, you're holding his rap sheet, you're talking about all these past crimes. We're seeing this case, so many people paying attention to this case.

How could this, the outcome of this case affect possibly tougher laws? I mean, it seems like we're talking about this all the time and we're talking about kids that are molested and raped and murdered and so many of these criminals continually walking the streets.

When are we ever going to see something happen where a law is made across the board that these type of individuals can't commit these kind of crimes again?

GRACE: Well, to stop people from committing heinous crimes like this on children is impossible. They will always be with us. I remember prosecuting right there where you are in inner city Atlanta and every week I would finish one calendar of 150 new felonies and a brand new calendar would come along that Monday morning of 150 new felonies, crimes on individuals, including children.

What can we do to stop the revolving door? This guy has had a history back to 1977, Kyra. Mark Lunsford has been pulled from his home. He is a reluctant victims rights advocate at this juncture and he has gotten law passed in Florida for stricter laws on child molesters, as well as GPS tracking once a molester, a convicted molester gets out of jail.

So far 15 states have followed suit. I met with him personally in Washington, but we were advocating the Child Safety Act of 2005. He is immensely persuasive in his own homespun way. That is the way we, you, I can make a difference.

PHILLIPS: Nancy Grace, always great to have you.

GRACE: Thank you, friend.

PHILLIPS: Appreciate it. Tune in to Nancy Grace's show tonight 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Headline Prime. Won't want to miss it.

Police in Fresno are talking to as many as 10 men, including college football players, in the alleged rape of an 11-year-old runaway. Two players are being held. We get the story now from Adam Sexton (ph) of CNN affiliate KSEE.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAM SEXTON (ph), KSEE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Investigators say the girl came to the Villa Hermosa apartment complex voluntarily, but was then subjected to repeated sex acts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Information that we received regarding the victim is that she is a potential runaway from a group home in the Fresno area.

SEXTON: Two men are under arrest, 20-year-old Mackey Davis and 19-year-old Eddie Scott. Valerie Tice says Davis and Scott moved into the apartment next to hers two weeks ago. She says they were good neighbors. VALERIE TICE, NEIGHBOR: They're very polite guys. You know, they have never disrespected nobody, you know, they come to my house and sit in there and play video games with my son.

SEXTON: Police say they have made contact with four other men living in the complex who may have been involved in the assault. There are potentially as many as eight other suspects and investigators claim they have evidence that clearly identifies the men who were in the apartment. Tice says after last night, parents in the complex are keeping a closer eye on their kids.

TICE: It just shocked me and it scares me now. I don't even want to -- I'm out here standing with them because I don't want them out here.

SEXTON: Police say many of the suspects are from out of the area, attending local colleges. For Eddie Scott and Mackey Davis, it was the football team that put them in the Villa Hermosa apartments.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arrangements for those individuals to live there were made by the head football coach at Fresno City College earlier this year.

SEXTON: Administrators and coaches from both Reedley and Fresno City College decline to comment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, that report from Adam Sexton of CNN affiliate KSEE.

Hair color, license plate numbers, inappropriate comments. Find out where police discovered detailed records of hundreds of women and where they were allegedly watched. That's coming up on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: New video in now, that explosion we've been telling you all throughout the morning. You know, they heard the blasts and New Yorkers thought the worst as that explosion ripped through a four- story building on New York City's Upper East Side. Several firefighters right here and a number of civilians were hurt. A lot of buildings, neighbors, are still shaken up. Firefighters say that natural gas apparently is to blame, but now they're also looking into to the possibility of a suicide attempt by the building's owner that caused this blaze.

Well, thunderous blasts, smoke filling the air. You can just imagine what people in post-9/11 New York were thinking. Guillermo Cowley is one of them. He joins us live.

How are you doing now, Guillermo? I know it was tougher this morning when it first happened, but have things settled?

GUILLERMO COWLEY, WITNESS: Right. Things have settled for a couple of hours now. New Yorkers don't get too perturbed over things. PHILLIPS: Well, tell me what happened. Did you hear the explosion, see the explosion? Where were you?

COWLEY: I was at my apartment at 62 and Park, and I was on the phone to Florida. And I heard a pop, and so I closed the window because there was a lot of noise outside. And I finished my talk and then I looked out and there was smoke and helicopters soon after that. So I figured it was a terrorist attack or else there wouldn't be so many helicopters looking for terrorists on the run. So that's what I thought.

PHILLIPS: Isn't that -- well, it's sad that that's even the first thing that we think about nowadays when you hear or see something like that. So, what did you do? Did you stay in for a while? Did you head out to find out what was going on?

COWLEY: I went outside, of course. And people are congregating over the fire, and then I realized there was something going on. And then I asked -- it was a doctor who had committed suicide through gas and took the whole building with him, but apparently didn't die in the end. And I just saw Dominick Dunne next door. So, there must be some sort of scandal or else he wouldn't be there, Dominick Dunne.

PHILLIPS: All right, I have to settle two things. We haven't talked to Dominick Dunne, so we'll have to investigate that scandal. As for the attempted suicide, that hasn't been confirmed, but we are definitely checking that out. The fire chief did come forward, Guillmero, and say they believe that may be the cause, due to an e- mail that they came across. Did you, by chance, know Dr. Bartha, Nicholas Bartha, that did own that building?

PHILLIPS: New video in now, that explosion we've been telling you all throughout the morning. You know, they heard the blasts and New Yorkers thought the worst as that explosion ripped through a four- story building on New York City's Upper East Side. Several firefighters right here and a number of civilians were hurt. A lot of buildings, neighbors, are still shaken up. Firefighters say that natural gas apparently is to blame, but now they're also looking into to the possibility of a suicide attempt by the building's owner that caused this blaze.

Well, thunderous blasts, smoke filling the air. You can just imagine what people in post-9/11 New York were thinking. Guillermo Cowley is one of them. He joins us live.

How are you doing now, Guillermo? I know it was tougher this morning when it first happened, but have things settled?

GUILLERMO COWLEY, WITNESS: Right. Things have settled for a couple of hours now. New Yorkers don't get too perturbed over things.

PHILLIPS: Well, tell me what happened. Did you hear the explosion, see the explosion? Where were you?

COWLEY: I was at my apartment at 62 and Park, and I was on the phone to Florida. And I heard a pop, and so I closed the window because there was a lot of noise outside. And I finished my talk and then I looked out and there was smoke and helicopters soon after that. So I figured it was a terrorist attack or else there wouldn't be so many helicopters looking for terrorists on the run. So that's what I thought.

PHILLIPS: Isn't that -- well, it's sad that that's even the first thing that we think about nowadays when you hear or see something like that. So, what did you do? Did you stay in for a while? Did you head out to find out what was going on?

COWLEY: I went outside, of course. And people are congregating over the fire, and then I realized there was something going on. And then I asked -- it was a doctor who had committed suicide through gas and took the whole building with him, but apparently didn't die in the end. And I just saw Dominick Dunn next door. So, there must be some sort of scandal or else he wouldn't be there, Dominick Dunn.

PHILLIPS: All right, I have to settle two things. We will have to investigate that scandal. As for the attempted suicide, that hasn't been confirmed but we are checking that out. The fire chief did come forward and say they believe that may be the cause due to an e-mail they came across. Did you, by chance, know Dr. Bartha, Nicholas Bartha, that did own that building?

COWLEY: No, but he must be successful, because every building here is very expensive. So he took the building down, apparently, because he didn't want his wife to have the property. I've heard that in the streets.

PHILLIPS: So, interesting.

COWLEY: So it must be that's why Dominick Dunne is investigating, and he's very nervous looking. He's very much on the hunt.

PHILLIPS: So, seriously, you...

COWLEY: And I'll ask him right after this.

PHILLIPS: You really did see Dominick Dunne, he really is looking into this? You're serious about that?

COWLEY: He's just half block away, right outside of the Colony Club.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. All right. Well, you just gave me...

COWLEY: Very tired...

PHILLIPS: You gave me another segment and interview idea unless Guillermo, of course, you can get the scoop and report back to us.

COWLEY: Well, I'm going to ask him. I said I'm going to ask him. He'll say, well, don't tell anybody, and then I'll call you back and tell you what he said.

PHILLIPS: That'd be perfect. Then I'd get the exclusive. I love you, Guillermo. Are you headed back to your apartment now?

COWLEY: Yes, I am. Right after this.

PHILLIPS: Guillermo Cowley, we're glad you're OK and your adorable pup. Appreciate you talking to us.

COWLEY: Thank you. Bye.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a muddy Monday in parts of Colorado after a weekend of heavy rain and floods. Several roads, including eight miles of Interstate 25 near Pueblo, had to shut down during the worst of it. Depending on where you were, you got from three to six inches of rain, more than enough for a disaster declaration from the governor. The bad part is, all that rain didn't make much of a dent in Colorado's drought.

Look closely. That used to be a Toyota Camry right there. It was parked along Highway 6 near Golden, Colorado, henceforth known as the wrong place at the wrong time. A four-ton slab of rock came sliding down as if the car had a bull's eye on its roof. Crews had to use dynamite to break the rock into small enough pieces to cart away. No one was hurt. The car's owner was rock climbing at the time. When he saw what happened, he said, quote, "looks like karma got me."

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right, well, straight ahead, entertainment news with A.J. Hammer of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." Hey, A.J., what's on tap?

A.J. HAMMER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, well, pirates have taken over the box office. A newlywed is going solo, and where in the world is Baby Suri? I'll have all the details, when LIVE FROM returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Pirates found their treasure this weekend. A newly solo hit Nick hits the road and has anybody seen Tom's baby? A.J. Hammer has today's entertainment report and a sneak peak at "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." Hey, A.J.

HAMMER: Hey Kyra. Talk about a booty. Talk about a bounty. Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow pirated the box office over the weekend. The result was a record-breaking debut. "Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man's Chest" sailed away with a record $132 million in it's first three days. That makes it the all-time best movie debut ever.

The swashbuckling sequel knocked 2002 "Spider Man" out of the top spot by over $18 million and it did nearly three times the opening sales of its predecessor, which of course was "Pirates of the Caribbean, the Curse of the Black Pearl."

Here's just how huge these figures are. On Friday alone, "Dead Man's Chest" grossed 55.5 million bucks. That's a new one day record. It's nearly $10 million more than "Curse of the Black Pearl" did in its entire opening weekend. It also became the first movie to reach the $100 million mark in just two days. Basically the list of stats goes on and on.

So, let's move on. With his divorce to pop superstar Jessica Simpson now final single singer Nick Lachey is now taking his solo act on the road.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER (voice-over): The former newly wed and "98 Degrees" star is launching his first ever solo tour in support of his brand new album "What's Left of Me." The disc, which was released in May, after his high profile split from Simpson, debuted at number two on Billboard's pop album chart. It's already certified gold. As for this tour, Lachey is going to be hitting the road in September for at least a month of non-stop concert dates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: And Kyra, from what I hear, apparently being a pop star on the road, pretty good way to meet women, if that's what you're looking to do.

PHILLIPS: He is quite the eligible bachelor now, isn't he?

HAMMER: I believe he is now probably out there doing whatever the heck he wants.

PHILLIPS: I can just imagine. What is this talk about Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, baby Suri, who we haven't seen a glimpse yet.

HAMMER: Have you seen a picture yet?

PHILLIPS: No, there's a lot of conspiracy theories out there, wondering if it's true.

HAMMER: Well there's a lot of people saying different things. Some friends of Tom and Katie, John Travolta, for one, hasn't seen a single picture of the baby yet. There's, you know, the baby was born down the hall from Brooke Shields and Brooke Shields hasn't phoned in to anybody saying she actually saw a baby coming out of that room. Everybody wants to show off the pictures of the baby and Tom and Katie not so much.

PHILLIPS: What about a birth certificate, that would clear things up, right?

HAMMER: You would think that that would clear things up but a there are a couple of problems and it's actually prompting more questions than answers, Kyra. The birth certificate was supposed to be filed within ten days of little Suri's birth. It wasn't filed until 20 days later, apparently they were waiting for a signature from somebody to certify the birth.

It was signed by somebody who was labeled only as a friend, whoever that friend was, their signature was illegible. Also, the attendant from the hospital, who was supposed to sign it, originally that is supposed to be the doctor, the doctor was unavailable, so an attendant signed it instead. Apparently the attendant was not in the delivery room and never saw the baby herself.

PHILLIPS: What about daddy Tom Cruise, is he saying anything about this?

HAMMER: No, they're keeping mum about it. Basically their camp is saying that everything is just fine, don't you worry. Who the heck knows. There are conspiracy theorists out there who are actually saying there is no baby Suri.

PHILLIPS: You going to be talking about it tonight?

HAMMER: Oh, of course, much more on the tomcat bundle of joy. It's going to be on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." We'll investigate this whole controversy. We were the first to report it last week and really talk about it. Lots of controversy swirling around where in the world is baby Suri. We'll get into it on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 11:00 p.m. Eastern, TV's most provocative entertainment news show on CNN headline prime. Kyra, we're going to get to the bottom of this.

PHILLIPS: I know you will of all people. A.J. we'll be waiting for the scoop.

HAMMER: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Talk about an all night party but what are these folks so worked up about? If you're Italian, you understand. Coming up on LIVE FROM Italy's climb to the top of the soccer world. Live pictures of the team's celebration in Rome right now, where I tell you what, I don't think anybody is working today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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