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Suspect in Baton Rouge Area Serial Killings Could be Returned to Louisiana Today

Aired May 28, 2003 - 07:31   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.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The suspect in the Baton Rouge area serial killings could be returned to Louisiana as early as today. Derrick Todd Lee was arrested last night by police in Atlanta, acting on a tip from the FBI. Authorities say that DNA evidence links him to the killings of five women over a two year span.
Joining us now from Baton Rouge, Charles Cunningham, acting special FBI agent with the New Orleans division of the bureau.

You've got to be awfully -- actually, awfully happy about this news and relieved there in Baton Rouge now that Derrick Todd Lee is in custody.

How soon will he be back in Louisiana?

CHARLES CUNNINGHAM, FBI ACTING SPECIAL AGENT: Sir, after their -- some processes today in Atlanta, we expect him back here today.

HARRIS: Have you talked at all with any of the families that have been linked to the -- or actually the families who are involved in this case who have lost loved ones?

CUNNINGHAM: Leon, I have not spoken directly with these families and I do want to extend my sympathies for their losses. But I know that the task force has reached out for them and given them information throughout the investigation.

HARRIS: What was the key piece of information that the FBI passed on to the police in Atlanta? I understand there was a tip involved here?

CUNNINGHAM: Well, there was a tip that let us know that he may be in Atlanta. The tip, there was a second tip up in Atlanta that gave the police his location behind a tire store. The Atlanta Police Department rolled out there with some of their fugitive units and were able to identify Mr. Lee and he provided identification and surrendered.

HARRIS: A little while ago, we asked Chief Pennington of Atlanta's police department if he was concerned that this man might have been in Atlanta for some reason, if he was connected to the area or if he was there to perhaps commit a killing or some other crime or whatever.

Is that the kind of tip that you passed on to him? Was there a concern by the FBI on your part that that's exactly why he was in Atlanta?

CUNNINGHAM: No. That is not the reason, Leon. What we're trying to do is as the investigation unfolds, now that we have apprehended Mr. Lee, what'll happen now is we'll try to identify every city, every place that this individual has been, try to link any unsolved murders that may have been accomplished by this individual and then through DNA analysis hopefully bring some closure to some of these unsolved murders.

HARRIS: Now, as we hear it, the FBI has come up with DNA evidence that you say you believe is totally incontrovertible and that directly points to Derrick Todd Lee.

Can you tell us how you got that DNA information?

CUNNINGHAM: Well, there was DNA at the murder scenes and that DNA was analyzed. And then after the analysis, there's a -- and I'm not sure of the actual 99.9 percent accuracy of these things -- but that is linked to Mr. Derrick Lee. And so it's very strong evidence.

HARRIS: Well, the question was, is really for us how did you get his DNA to make these tests?

CUNNINGHAM: There was a swabbing done recently, probably about three weeks ago, by the parish out in western Louisiana that had an unsolved murder case that they were looking into and an unrelated situation to the Louisiana task force here.

HARRIS: All right, Agent Charles Cunningham, thank you very much.

And, again, congratulations to your forces who have been out there looking for this guy or for the suspect in this case, I should say, for so long. We'll have to continue to follow this story and see where it leads.

Thank you very much.

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





Returned to Louisiana Today>


Aired May 28, 2003 - 07:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The suspect in the Baton Rouge area serial killings could be returned to Louisiana as early as today. Derrick Todd Lee was arrested last night by police in Atlanta, acting on a tip from the FBI. Authorities say that DNA evidence links him to the killings of five women over a two year span.
Joining us now from Baton Rouge, Charles Cunningham, acting special FBI agent with the New Orleans division of the bureau.

You've got to be awfully -- actually, awfully happy about this news and relieved there in Baton Rouge now that Derrick Todd Lee is in custody.

How soon will he be back in Louisiana?

CHARLES CUNNINGHAM, FBI ACTING SPECIAL AGENT: Sir, after their -- some processes today in Atlanta, we expect him back here today.

HARRIS: Have you talked at all with any of the families that have been linked to the -- or actually the families who are involved in this case who have lost loved ones?

CUNNINGHAM: Leon, I have not spoken directly with these families and I do want to extend my sympathies for their losses. But I know that the task force has reached out for them and given them information throughout the investigation.

HARRIS: What was the key piece of information that the FBI passed on to the police in Atlanta? I understand there was a tip involved here?

CUNNINGHAM: Well, there was a tip that let us know that he may be in Atlanta. The tip, there was a second tip up in Atlanta that gave the police his location behind a tire store. The Atlanta Police Department rolled out there with some of their fugitive units and were able to identify Mr. Lee and he provided identification and surrendered.

HARRIS: A little while ago, we asked Chief Pennington of Atlanta's police department if he was concerned that this man might have been in Atlanta for some reason, if he was connected to the area or if he was there to perhaps commit a killing or some other crime or whatever.

Is that the kind of tip that you passed on to him? Was there a concern by the FBI on your part that that's exactly why he was in Atlanta?

CUNNINGHAM: No. That is not the reason, Leon. What we're trying to do is as the investigation unfolds, now that we have apprehended Mr. Lee, what'll happen now is we'll try to identify every city, every place that this individual has been, try to link any unsolved murders that may have been accomplished by this individual and then through DNA analysis hopefully bring some closure to some of these unsolved murders.

HARRIS: Now, as we hear it, the FBI has come up with DNA evidence that you say you believe is totally incontrovertible and that directly points to Derrick Todd Lee.

Can you tell us how you got that DNA information?

CUNNINGHAM: Well, there was DNA at the murder scenes and that DNA was analyzed. And then after the analysis, there's a -- and I'm not sure of the actual 99.9 percent accuracy of these things -- but that is linked to Mr. Derrick Lee. And so it's very strong evidence.

HARRIS: Well, the question was, is really for us how did you get his DNA to make these tests?

CUNNINGHAM: There was a swabbing done recently, probably about three weeks ago, by the parish out in western Louisiana that had an unsolved murder case that they were looking into and an unrelated situation to the Louisiana task force here.

HARRIS: All right, Agent Charles Cunningham, thank you very much.

And, again, congratulations to your forces who have been out there looking for this guy or for the suspect in this case, I should say, for so long. We'll have to continue to follow this story and see where it leads.

Thank you very much.

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





Returned to Louisiana Today>