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American Morning
Search for Dru
Aired December 10, 2003 - 09:15 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: What then can the authorities do right now? What are they doing to try and solve the case? A former supervising criminologist with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department with us now, Elizabeth Devine, currently a writer and producer for "CSI," the television program, live today in Los Angeles.
Elizabeth, hello, and good morning to you.
ELIZABETH DEVINE, FMR. CRIMINALIST: Good morning.
HEMMER: If you've got this car right now, what are you doing to it in terms of your investigation?
DEVINE: Well, they're going to take that car apart and search it with a fine-toothed comb. Clearly, they've found blood in the back seat. That is very critical evidence. There perhaps is evidence of cleanup. I would be looking to see whether there's a volume of blood there, any other traces of her. You're looking for any kind of evidence that will substantiate the link of this individual to Dru.
HEMMER: Knowing that cleaning solution was discovered, apparently in the trunk of that car, can all the evidence be removed, or not?
DEVINE: I never think that suspects can remove all the evidence. I know that just based on the results already, that the authorities have good people on this case taking this apart, and they will find more evidence there.
DEVINE: What about this knife? One report says it was actually in a jar of cleaning solution. If that is the case, if that is true, how damaging could that be in terms of trying to extract evidence off that?
DEVINE: Well, you know, that is a problem. But, they'll take the knife apart. They'll see if there's anything in the mechanism of the knife. But more importantly, when the knife -- when the body is recovered, and I'm certain it will be, they can compare the wounds to that knife. So even if the knife is perfectly clean, authorities can, if and when the body is recovered, compare knife marks with any injuries she sustained. And still there's a possibility of linking that specific knife to the body.
HEMMER: What if there's a scenario here where the body is not discovered? How much more difficult does it become to prosecute?
DEVINE: Well, that is definitely a problem. It is not insurmountable. You can get a conviction on a murder without a body, but it is much more difficult. The body is a huge piece of evidence.
HEMMER: You heard what the sheriff said yesterday. Is he saying the right things right now?
DEVINE: Well, you know, it's a tough thing, and he's doing everything right from that standpoint, trying to keep hope alive. But the fact that you found her blood in the back seat of his car is not a good sign.
HEMMER: Thanks, Elizabeth. Elizabeth Devine in L.A.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 10, 2003 - 09:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: What then can the authorities do right now? What are they doing to try and solve the case? A former supervising criminologist with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department with us now, Elizabeth Devine, currently a writer and producer for "CSI," the television program, live today in Los Angeles.
Elizabeth, hello, and good morning to you.
ELIZABETH DEVINE, FMR. CRIMINALIST: Good morning.
HEMMER: If you've got this car right now, what are you doing to it in terms of your investigation?
DEVINE: Well, they're going to take that car apart and search it with a fine-toothed comb. Clearly, they've found blood in the back seat. That is very critical evidence. There perhaps is evidence of cleanup. I would be looking to see whether there's a volume of blood there, any other traces of her. You're looking for any kind of evidence that will substantiate the link of this individual to Dru.
HEMMER: Knowing that cleaning solution was discovered, apparently in the trunk of that car, can all the evidence be removed, or not?
DEVINE: I never think that suspects can remove all the evidence. I know that just based on the results already, that the authorities have good people on this case taking this apart, and they will find more evidence there.
DEVINE: What about this knife? One report says it was actually in a jar of cleaning solution. If that is the case, if that is true, how damaging could that be in terms of trying to extract evidence off that?
DEVINE: Well, you know, that is a problem. But, they'll take the knife apart. They'll see if there's anything in the mechanism of the knife. But more importantly, when the knife -- when the body is recovered, and I'm certain it will be, they can compare the wounds to that knife. So even if the knife is perfectly clean, authorities can, if and when the body is recovered, compare knife marks with any injuries she sustained. And still there's a possibility of linking that specific knife to the body.
HEMMER: What if there's a scenario here where the body is not discovered? How much more difficult does it become to prosecute?
DEVINE: Well, that is definitely a problem. It is not insurmountable. You can get a conviction on a murder without a body, but it is much more difficult. The body is a huge piece of evidence.
HEMMER: You heard what the sheriff said yesterday. Is he saying the right things right now?
DEVINE: Well, you know, it's a tough thing, and he's doing everything right from that standpoint, trying to keep hope alive. But the fact that you found her blood in the back seat of his car is not a good sign.
HEMMER: Thanks, Elizabeth. Elizabeth Devine in L.A.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
