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American Morning

Interview With Gordon Huiras, Charles Mathews

Aired August 27, 2002 - 07:02   ET

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

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: First, let's get "Up Front" this morning, an Oregon community again facing the grim facts and the grieving. Authorities say a second set of remains found on the property of Ward Weaver are, indeed, those of 12-year-old Ashley Pond.
The news coming just a day after police announced a first set of remains belonged to Ashley's friend, 13-year-old Miranda Gaddis. There are many nagging questions about why police waited so long to inspect Ward Weaver's house and his yard, when so many people around him considered him a suspect, including Weaver, himself.

A short time ago, I talked with Charles Mathews, the FBI agent in charge, and Gordon Huiras, the Oregon City police chief.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER (on camera): Gentlemen, good morning.

And, Chief Huiras, I would like to start with you. And if we go back several months, Ashley Pond had accused Ward Weaver, apparently, of molestation. If you couple that with a few other things that continued to linger in Oregon City, Ward Weaver saying he was a suspect. There is a report that he failed a lie detector test.

Put all of this together, and if, indeed, true, what was holding investigators back, Chief?

CHIEF GORDON HUIRAS, OREGON CITY POLICE: Well, there are certain legal standards that need to be met before we were able to obtain a search warrant to do the search that we did this weekend, and that information became available to us, and that search warrant was obtained just as soon as we could.

HEMMER: What about the ex-wife, when she accused her former husband of pouring a concrete slab in his backyard in the middle of the night for a hot tub that was never installed? Things like these, people are looking at. I know your office is taking a lot of heat right now. But did not some red flags go up in the air when you heard things like this?

HUIRAS: Well, certainly we were aware of the concrete slab and of the information. But like I said, there are certain standards to the law, require us that we have before we can conduct a search, and as soon as we got that -- met that standard, we applied and obtained a search warrant.

HEMMER: Chief, were you worried about making a mistake in such a high-profile matter?

HUIRAS: Well, that certainly was not the reason that affected any timeliness on this. But you're always working to make sure that you do everything correctly and meet the legal standards, so that you have a successful prosecution at the end, if that's where it's going.

HEMMER: Had Ward Weaver not granted permission this past weekend to take a look around his property, would investigators have gotten inside there?

HUIRAS: In addition to his consent, we had a search warrant signed by a circuit court judge in this county that also gave us the authority to enter the property.

HEMMER: How did you get that warrant, then, on Friday, when you had not had it prior to that day, Chief?

HUIRAS: Well, that was the time that all of that information came together. We, at that point, in consultation with legal counsel, decided that we had gained enough probable cause that a judge would issue a search warrant.

HEMMER: Can you tell us what changed, though, at that point?

HUIRAS: Well, I can't reveal any of the investigative information, but that's when the last piece of information became available to us that allowed us to make the affidavit for that warrant.

HEMMER: Agent Mathews, I'd like to direct this next question to you, sir. And I know investigators are still on the property, still in the backyard, still possibly even inside the home. Is there a possibility, a chance that there may be more victims?

CHARLES MATHEWS, FBI: Well, actually not on this property. The search of the property concluded late last night, and we're confident that we have obtained the evidence that's there, and in a format suitable to assist the prosecution.

HEMMER: So investigators, they've left the property, then, the home and the backyard included, right?

MATHEWS: That's correct.

HEMMER: Is there a working theory right now as to how these girls were killed?

MATHEWS: Actually, the official cause of death has not been determined or released, pending certain laboratory observations that have to be made and that will take a period of time to make.

HEMMER: Are you pursuing murder charges right now against Ward Weaver?

MATHEWS: Well, these are state charges, and the Clackamas County district attorney announced yesterday that he will be seeking to indict Mr. Weaver in connection with the two homicides.

HEMMER: How bad was the scene there?

MATHEWS: Well, I don't want to characterize it, but we were -- we have -- the crime scene technicians did find two sets of remains. One had been buried in a drum located underneath a cement pad. Another set had been discovered in a shed towards the rear of the property. It does not appear that those remains had been in that location actually since the time of the disappearance, though.

HEMMER: Chief Huiras, in the short time we have left, do you anticipate an indictment for murder coming down today, possibly, or when?

HUIRAS: No, it'll likely be a little bit of time yet. There's a great deal of evidence processing yet to do. The evidence that we seized this past weekend is being taken to the labs this week and will be analyzed, and it will not be today.

HEMMER: Do you anticipate Ward Weaver being charged with murder, sir?

HUIRAS: That's my anticipation.

HEMMER: Chief Huiras, thanks for your time.

HUIRAS: You're welcome.

HEMMER: Charles Mathews, FBI special agent in charge in Oregon City -- best of luck.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Again, we taped that interview a few moments ago, and one thing that we do want to fill in there. You heard the FBI special agent in charge, Agent Mathews, indicating that right now, the search of the home has been concluded, but he did not rule out, apparently, the possibility that there could be other investigations or other searches for evidence carried out in other parts of the city.

Again, we don't know that right now, but it is on the list of possibilities.

As for the home of Ward Weaver, apparently the work there right now is complete.

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