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American Morning
Precious Doe's Identity Discovered; Defense Begins in Jackson Trial
Aired May 06, 2005 - 08:00 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush on his way to Europe right now. A five day tour with a rare single message -- spreading democracy.
More bloodshed in Iraq. A group of Iraqi police officers killed today in a suicide bombing.
And police say the murder of "Precious Doe" has been solved after four years. The little girl's parents are now charged and there is some closure in Kansas City on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody on a Friday.
Good to have you along with us today.
Good morning to you, as well.
O'BRIEN: Likewise.
HEMMER: The former contestant is going to be here in a moment. This be Corey Clark. He dropped a bombshell about the "American Idol" the other night on ABC. You head about that, right? Why he's talking, in a moment, and the claims he makes about Paula Abdul is coming up in a moment.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, we in the media have been getting knocked for our coverage of the runaway bride story a lot.
HEMMER: No?
O'BRIEN: Sometimes from our own parents, who feel like we've said enough, can we move on? But that's another story.
Anyway, we have a pretty funny report that's going to put the media in its place.
HEMMER: Check your e-mail for Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien, Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anything to make it stop.
O'BRIEN: I know.
CAFFERTY: Any -- I'll pay. O'BRIEN: I'm with you on this one.
CAFFERTY: Just make it stop. God.
Coming up in "The Cafferty File," a survey proves who America's favorite parent is.
A Florida man who's a human lightning rod twice.
And soak your feet in ice water, win a bus ticket to Albuquerque.
O'BRIEN: Huh?
HEMMER: Oh, I know where you're going with that.
O'BRIEN: I don't.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
To the headlines.
Here's Carol Costello again this morning -- Carol, good morning to you.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm going to sit here in figure that out.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: But it could take me all morning, so perhaps I should go on.
Good morning to you all of you.
Now in the news, President Bush is crossing the Atlantic on a four nation trip to Europe this morning. The president left Andrews Air Force Base last hour for Riga, Latvia. The trip commemorates the 60th anniversary of the end of World War 2. The president will make a final stop in Georgia, his first trip to that former Soviet republic.
At least seven Iraqi police officers have been killed in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. Officials say a suicide bomber rammed his car into a bus carrying Iraqi police officers to work. Three were wounded.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair weathering criticism over the Iraq war and winning an historic third term. Blair is the first Labor Party leader to win a third term as prime minister. Blair, who celebrates his 52nd birthday today, is promising to focus on domestic issues. Final election results are expected later today.
Police in New York City are questioning people in connection with the blast outside of the British consulate. Two makeshift grenades caused some damage on Thursday morning, but no injuries. Officials are poring through surveillance video from 17 different security cameras looking for clues. It's still not clear who or what was the apparent target.
And a forest fire in central Wisconsin blackening nearly 4,000 acres. Fire crews are trying to contain this fire. Heavy smoke pouring from the scene. Almost 100 people have now been evacuated, but many more -- actually, but many may be able to return to their homes as early as today, depending on what firefighters do out there. No word yet on what started this fire.
HEMMER: Thank you, Carol.
O'BRIEN: Carol, thanks.
Well, it has been a cold case, but it's not a cold case anymore. Four years after a 3-year-old girl was found beheaded in Kansas City, Missouri, police say that they have identified the child known as "Precious Doe." Her mother and her mother's boyfriend charged with the murder.
CNN's Drew Griffin has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ANNETTE JOHNSON, "PRECIOUS DOE COMMITTEE": This is -- right here, it's where her body laid, where
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT. Right where?
JOHNSON: I will take you.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Annette Johnson has walked this path dozens of times and wondered just who the little girl was. Her headless, nude body dumped on the road. The head found a week later dumped in a bag. No name, no family. No one in this little girl's life who even reported her missing. It was up to strangers to keep at least her case alive.
JOHNSON: I decided to put together a committee, which is called the "Precious Doe" Committee. That's the name that we gave her, because we didn't know who she was. And to us she was precious. And we named her "Precious Doe."
GRIFFIN: Annette Johnson and everyone in Kansas City who adopted a girl they never knew, heard the news they had waited four years to hear.
CHIEF JIM CORWIN, KANSAS CITY POLICE: The little girl we have known for four years as "Precious Doe" has a name.
GRIFFIN: Erica Michelle Marie Green would have been 8 years old this month.
JOHNSON: I felt so relieved. I felt so happy. And then I started to feel sad because I had to think about all night. And I tossed and turned and said, what happened?
GRIFFIN (on camera): But along with the joy of finding out who this little girl was, Kansas City also learned how precious Erica Green died, and there was nothing precious about it.
(voice-over): Prosecutor Mike Sanders, at this prayer vigil, said the mother and stepfather have confessed. He has charged both with second degree murder. Sanders said the reason the couple gave for killing the girl is even more horrific than how they disposed of her.
MIKE SANDERS, JACKSON COUNTY PROSECUTOR: She didn't want to go to bed, became somewhat fussy and started to cry. At that point, he then struck her, threw her to the ground and then by her statement, kicked her in the head.
GRIFFIN: Then, police say, the couple used a hedge clipper to decapitate this child, dumping the body down this road and the head in the woods. Not a happy ending. How could there be one?
But at least for those who have waited and prayed for a precious little girl, the ending has a name.
(on camera): Do you wish Erica Green, maybe she does, in your mind, know how much she's loved by this community?
JOHNSON: She does. I know she does because I feel her presence. Every time when I'm here I feel her presence. She's happy. She's running around. When we're holding hands she's running between us, you know, laughing, looking at her Teddy bears, touching them, smelling her flowers and said, "Boy, they love me. They love me."
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Drew Griffin, CNN, Kansas City, Missouri.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
O'BRIEN: Community activist Alonzo Washington placed that newspaper ad that led to the final breakthrough in the case.
He joins us from Kansas City, Missouri.
Thank you for being with us, Mr. Washington.
Appreciate your time.
It was your work, in the end, that really resolved this case after so many years.
Now that the suspects have been identified, the mother and the boyfriend of the mother, who's now her husband, do you feel closure?
How are you feeling today?
ALONZO WASHINGTON, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: Well, I feel good that I was able to take a dormant tip that an anonymous tipster had been calling in that wasn't taken seriously. He sought me out. He saw my ad and he said, "Mr. Washington, I know that you began this movement and if I give you the information that I have, you will have a name for "Precious Doe."" And, you know, within a matter of days, we had a break in the case. And I feel good that we have a break in the case now.
O'BRIEN: The details that have emerged about this little girl's death are so upsetting. It appears that the suspects told police that after kicking the girl -- and I guess she was unconscious -- and not getting any medical treatment for her, which they could have done, they carried her body to a wooded area, took hedge clippers and cut her head off with the hedge clippers, left the body in the woods then decided to go back and get the head because they were concerned about the smell attracting attention. And the suspect, the male suspect, the boyfriend, says that the mother carried her daughter's head and brought it back.
When you hear these absolutely horrific details, I mean it's mind-boggling, isn't it?
WASHINGTON: Oh, 100 percent. You know, it's something -- you know, that's the mistake that they made. You know, when this case broke in Kansas City, there was no committees. There were nothing. And I came out as an activist saying I am charging the entire community to make sure we never forget about this crime. The fact that it was so grizzly, the fact that it was so grotesque, was the energy and the zeal that we needed to keep this case alive.
I mean over the years I had began to receive criticism and ridicule because they said, you know, Alonzo is becoming obsessed. He is maybe seeking attention. He's a media hound.
So I almost did not take that ad. But, you know, I stayed resilient and said, you know, this is for "Precious Doe." Because any child thrown away like trash like that, she needs every advocate that she can get. And with that ad, we cracked this case wide open and "Precious Doe" is no longer "Precious Doe." She's Precious Erica. And we're going to bring those evil people who did this to justice.
O'BRIEN: We're looking at this ad right now, Alonzo. And this is the ad that you ran on the fourth anniversary of the discovery of this little girl. When the tipster called you, it turned out that he was a relative. And as you sort of referenced before, he was very frustrated. He says he had given that tip before.
What had happened?
WASHINGTON: Well, I mean there -- he had given this tip. I think that the investigators really didn't take him very seriously. You know, when I gave it to them, they were telling me, you know, it was almost verbal judo back and forth with the police, because they were saying Alonzo, this tip is no good. They have five children. And I'm telling them, it's eight. I found that out. They're saying there's no record of an Erica Green. But I said this is a little child and this is a mother that had a number of suitors, you know, this -- there may not be a record of it. Let's look at it closer.
And, you know, when I gave the information over to the Oklahoma police, they immediately arrested them. And I had my tipster send me pictures of eight children and also some DNA. And from there, you know, from Saturday on into Wednesday night, you know, we got a crack in the case and it's resolved after four years.
And I think this case could have been solved last year, because, you know, the tipster said I saw your ads last year. I've seen you in the community. I've seen all these other people. And, you know, they just won't believe me. But I know if I get it to you, you're going to make it happen.
And I'm just glad that god used me as a vessel to make everybody know who "Precious Doe" truly is, Erica Green. I'm just so happy about that and I'm happy about pursuing justice in this case and I want to reach out to the other siblings to make sure they're safe. There's seven siblings. I don't want there to be another "Precious Doe."
So I'm just challenging all these people who were concerned about "Precious Doe" to extend their concern for those other children.
O'BRIEN: And maybe all small children, all little children who maybe aren't as watched as closely.
Alonzo Washington, good work.
Thanks for talking with us.
WASHINGTON: Thank you.
HEMMER: Good for Alonzo.
Eleven minutes past the hour now.
Let's shift our attention now to the weather.
Here is Chad Myers watching that.
What have you got your finger on there -- good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Well, the defense lawyers started their case in the Michael Jackson trial. Experts say the first two witnesses were strong. But could they end up backfiring anyway? We'll take a look.
HEMMER: Also, military service can take a toll on marriages. We know that. But some couples are coping after the advice on romance from the U.S. Army. A unique counseling program in our series today, "Battle Fatigue."
That's still to come this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Michael Jackson's defense team takes center stage. The first defense witnesses testified on Thursday, after the judge denied a motion to acquit the pop singer.
CNN's Rusty Dornin has more. (BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first two defense witnesses didn't hesitate. "Absolutely not," "No" and "Never." That was in response to whether they were sexually molested or inappropriately touched by Michael Jackson.
MARTIN KASINDORF, LEGAL ANALYST: It was a strong start, I thought, to the defense case, to bring on a very articulate young man who denied that, despite sleeping in Michael Jackson's bed on apparently dozens of occasions in several locations, denied that anything untoward or wrong or inappropriate sexually had ever happened.
DORNIN: Both young men say they slept in Jackson's bed countless times as children and as teenagers. They also contend they were together in Jackson's bedroom with former child actor, Macaulay Culkin one night.
During the prosecution's case, Jackson's former maid claimed she saw the first young man to testify taking a shower with Jackson, something the witness adamantly denied yesterday.
Under cross-examination, prosecutor Ron Zonen showed the first witness stacks of sexually explicit magazines and books belonging to Jackson. He repeatedly asked, "Do you think it's appropriate for a 10-year-old boy to be sleeping with someone who had these materials?"
The young man, now 22, replied, "If it was a man I didn't know, maybe. But not Michael."
JIM MORET, LEGAL ANALYST: There's something fundamentally upsetting about the idea of a 35-year-old man or a 45-year-old man sharing his bed with a young boy. And that may ultimately backfire on the defense.
DORNIN: Before the defense began its case, the attorneys argued charges should be dropped because they claim prosecutors hadn't proved their case.
District Attorney Thomas Sneddon passionately urged the judge to let the jury decide Jackson's fate. The judge agreed.
(on camera): The second witness told the court that both he and the first witness spent the night at Neverland the night before their testimony. Sources tell CNN the relatives of both witnesses are next up on the stand. They'll talk about what they saw at Neverland in the early '90s.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, Santa Maria, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
O'BRIEN: Actor Macaulay Culkin might take the stand today as a defense witness -- Bill.
HEMMER: Eighteen minutes past the hour.
In a moment here, some people suggest the media is running a bit out of control in this runaway bride story. The comics are getting plenty of material. Jeanne Moos on the lighter side of a woman on the run, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Here's Jack, the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Yes, a little fun on a Friday, Bill.
Tomorrow is the first and only time traveler convention to be held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Student organizers there argue that technically you only need one convention, since time travelers from the future can go to it any time they want.
The "New York Times" reports that organizers have roped off part of the MIT campus to be used as a landing pad for the time travel machines so that they don't crash into the trees or the dormitories.
Now, you'd think if they were smart enough to fly these things back here from some time in the future, they could avoid the trees, but the kids are being careful.
The question is this, if you could travel through time, where would you go?
Now some of your are writing and quibbling about the question should be when should you go. Just deal with it as where should you go. It's 8:30 and I ain't changing it now.
Bill in Colorado writes: "I'd become an assassin, travel back to the birth dates of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein and Idi Amin and smother them in their cribs."
John in Maine writes: "If I could time travel, I'd go back to the beginning of time, if possible, to see the start of religion and life. Did we come from a godlike spirit or from another world?"
Dana in North Carolina: "I would once a year, on April 15, go to the year 1900 to pay my taxes; to 1930 to buy my groceries; and then back to 2005 to get paid again."
And Dave in Nevada writes: "Your comment that travelers from the future can always attend the one conference is brilliant. Many years ago we saw a poster in Florida advertising a convention for psychics. My wife observed, 'Why do they need posters?'"
O'BRIEN: Very funny. I don't even think it's necessarily when would you go. It's really how would you like to go back as.
CAFFERTY: OK.
O'BRIEN: You know, as Andy Serwer said, you want to go back to the Middle Ages, but not as a serf. CAFFERTY: No. No. You want to be among the landed gentry.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Well, does the runaway bride story make you want to run away? Stay put long enough to hear CNN's Jeanne Moos' take on the media's fascination with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the kind of story where you expect the camera to pop out from behind the curtain, where cable coverage means talk of having the runaway bride's head examined, is split screen so we can examine her bizarre head.
REV. THOMAS SMILEY, LAKEWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH: She is receiving professional therapy.
MOOS: Where the catchall phrase "cold feet" gets cold water thrown on it in the statement Jennifer Wilbanks stayed up all night writing.
SMILEY: May I assure you that my running away had nothing to do with cold feet.
MOOS: But even though she says she was excited about getting married...
SMILEY: "And how I could not wait to be called Mrs. John Mason."
MOOS: The late night comedians aren't buying it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, COURTESY CBS/WORLDWIDE PANTS)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: John, listen to me. This -- you've got an out. This is a gift from god. Grab it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: All eyes have been on the eyes of the runaway bride.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO," COURTESY NBC)
JAY LENO, HOST: It's like mesmerizing. I wonder what other famous people would look like with those eyes. Like Martha Stewart. How would she look with them? You see what I'm saying? Or even President Bush, if he was that way? You see what I'm saying?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Some TV critics have gotten cold feet about the coverage. "The runaway bride has turned into a runaway television embarrassment," says the "Washington Post" critic, who also works for CNN. Cartoonists are lampooning the media's obsession. Forget real missing posters. What's really missing is legitimate news in the never ending, ad nauseam and pointless TV coverage of the Georgia runaway bride.
(on camera): Now, does this count as ad nauseam and pointless?
(voice-over): You bet. But it's hard to resist when the story is often most popular on news Web sites.
The runaway bride is now running away from the media. Reporters ask in vain, "Where is she?"
SMILEY: She is in a location that she is in.
MOOS: The runaway bride's head gear has become the equivalent of Martha Stewart's poncho.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, one knitting blogger has posted the pattern just recently. Here it is. Now you, too, can have your fashionable blanket to wear over your head when hiding from the media.
MOOS: And just as the poncho became a punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO," COURTESY NBC)
LENO: Show the interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM FOX NEWS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you still love her?
JOHN MASON: Absolutely. Yes. I, just because we haven't walked down the aisle, just because we haven't stood, you know, in front of the 500 people and said I do...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
O'BRIEN: Oh my god.
HEMMER: You liked that?
O'BRIEN: Yes, I did.
As you well know, and to update this story even further, Jennifer Wilbanks intends to "make amends" for the time and the money that was spent on the search for her. That's according to her lawyer.
HEMMER: And stay tuned to the tabloids over the weekend, too. There's another shoe dropping in this story.
O'BRIEN: Oh, who knows?
HEMMER: If it's true, it's out there. Check it out.
O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE).
HEMMER: In a moment here, hamsters, guinea pigs, they make nice pets. But cute and cuddly could also mean seriously sick, too. There is a new health warning out from the CDC and we'll tell you what that is, when we continue, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Get the latest news every morning in your e-mail. Sign up for AMERICAN MORNING Quick News at cnn.com/am.
Still to come this morning, military service often puts a strain on marriages. But thanks to romance advice from the Army, some couples are coping. We'll take a special look at a special program in our series "Battle Fatigue."
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: On a Friday morning, 8:30 here in New York.
And good morning.
Good to have you along with us today.
The government's putting out this warning that those cute little pets may be passing on a form of salmonella. And this type cannot easily be treated with antibiotics. In fact, there are a number of people going to the hospital as a result. So we'll let you know what you need to know in a moment on that.
O'BRIEN: Also, in our "Battle Fatigue" series, we're going to take a look at how the Army is getting into the marriage counseling business to help soldiers who have got stress returning from the battlefield.
HEMMER: And really successful, too, at it. So we'll get to that.
O'BRIEN: Yes, that was a real surprise there.
Let's get to the headlines first, though, with Carol Costello -- hello, again.
HEMMER: Hi.
COSTELLO: Hello.
Good morning, everyone.
Now in the news, President Bush says each generation has a responsibility to work to achieve peace. The comments came as President Bush heads to Europe. He left in the last hour. The trip is meant to commemorate 60 years since the end of World War 2.
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Aired May 6, 2005 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush on his way to Europe right now. A five day tour with a rare single message -- spreading democracy.
More bloodshed in Iraq. A group of Iraqi police officers killed today in a suicide bombing.
And police say the murder of "Precious Doe" has been solved after four years. The little girl's parents are now charged and there is some closure in Kansas City on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody on a Friday.
Good to have you along with us today.
Good morning to you, as well.
O'BRIEN: Likewise.
HEMMER: The former contestant is going to be here in a moment. This be Corey Clark. He dropped a bombshell about the "American Idol" the other night on ABC. You head about that, right? Why he's talking, in a moment, and the claims he makes about Paula Abdul is coming up in a moment.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, we in the media have been getting knocked for our coverage of the runaway bride story a lot.
HEMMER: No?
O'BRIEN: Sometimes from our own parents, who feel like we've said enough, can we move on? But that's another story.
Anyway, we have a pretty funny report that's going to put the media in its place.
HEMMER: Check your e-mail for Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien, Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anything to make it stop.
O'BRIEN: I know.
CAFFERTY: Any -- I'll pay. O'BRIEN: I'm with you on this one.
CAFFERTY: Just make it stop. God.
Coming up in "The Cafferty File," a survey proves who America's favorite parent is.
A Florida man who's a human lightning rod twice.
And soak your feet in ice water, win a bus ticket to Albuquerque.
O'BRIEN: Huh?
HEMMER: Oh, I know where you're going with that.
O'BRIEN: I don't.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
To the headlines.
Here's Carol Costello again this morning -- Carol, good morning to you.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm going to sit here in figure that out.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: But it could take me all morning, so perhaps I should go on.
Good morning to you all of you.
Now in the news, President Bush is crossing the Atlantic on a four nation trip to Europe this morning. The president left Andrews Air Force Base last hour for Riga, Latvia. The trip commemorates the 60th anniversary of the end of World War 2. The president will make a final stop in Georgia, his first trip to that former Soviet republic.
At least seven Iraqi police officers have been killed in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. Officials say a suicide bomber rammed his car into a bus carrying Iraqi police officers to work. Three were wounded.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair weathering criticism over the Iraq war and winning an historic third term. Blair is the first Labor Party leader to win a third term as prime minister. Blair, who celebrates his 52nd birthday today, is promising to focus on domestic issues. Final election results are expected later today.
Police in New York City are questioning people in connection with the blast outside of the British consulate. Two makeshift grenades caused some damage on Thursday morning, but no injuries. Officials are poring through surveillance video from 17 different security cameras looking for clues. It's still not clear who or what was the apparent target.
And a forest fire in central Wisconsin blackening nearly 4,000 acres. Fire crews are trying to contain this fire. Heavy smoke pouring from the scene. Almost 100 people have now been evacuated, but many more -- actually, but many may be able to return to their homes as early as today, depending on what firefighters do out there. No word yet on what started this fire.
HEMMER: Thank you, Carol.
O'BRIEN: Carol, thanks.
Well, it has been a cold case, but it's not a cold case anymore. Four years after a 3-year-old girl was found beheaded in Kansas City, Missouri, police say that they have identified the child known as "Precious Doe." Her mother and her mother's boyfriend charged with the murder.
CNN's Drew Griffin has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ANNETTE JOHNSON, "PRECIOUS DOE COMMITTEE": This is -- right here, it's where her body laid, where
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT. Right where?
JOHNSON: I will take you.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Annette Johnson has walked this path dozens of times and wondered just who the little girl was. Her headless, nude body dumped on the road. The head found a week later dumped in a bag. No name, no family. No one in this little girl's life who even reported her missing. It was up to strangers to keep at least her case alive.
JOHNSON: I decided to put together a committee, which is called the "Precious Doe" Committee. That's the name that we gave her, because we didn't know who she was. And to us she was precious. And we named her "Precious Doe."
GRIFFIN: Annette Johnson and everyone in Kansas City who adopted a girl they never knew, heard the news they had waited four years to hear.
CHIEF JIM CORWIN, KANSAS CITY POLICE: The little girl we have known for four years as "Precious Doe" has a name.
GRIFFIN: Erica Michelle Marie Green would have been 8 years old this month.
JOHNSON: I felt so relieved. I felt so happy. And then I started to feel sad because I had to think about all night. And I tossed and turned and said, what happened?
GRIFFIN (on camera): But along with the joy of finding out who this little girl was, Kansas City also learned how precious Erica Green died, and there was nothing precious about it.
(voice-over): Prosecutor Mike Sanders, at this prayer vigil, said the mother and stepfather have confessed. He has charged both with second degree murder. Sanders said the reason the couple gave for killing the girl is even more horrific than how they disposed of her.
MIKE SANDERS, JACKSON COUNTY PROSECUTOR: She didn't want to go to bed, became somewhat fussy and started to cry. At that point, he then struck her, threw her to the ground and then by her statement, kicked her in the head.
GRIFFIN: Then, police say, the couple used a hedge clipper to decapitate this child, dumping the body down this road and the head in the woods. Not a happy ending. How could there be one?
But at least for those who have waited and prayed for a precious little girl, the ending has a name.
(on camera): Do you wish Erica Green, maybe she does, in your mind, know how much she's loved by this community?
JOHNSON: She does. I know she does because I feel her presence. Every time when I'm here I feel her presence. She's happy. She's running around. When we're holding hands she's running between us, you know, laughing, looking at her Teddy bears, touching them, smelling her flowers and said, "Boy, they love me. They love me."
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Drew Griffin, CNN, Kansas City, Missouri.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
O'BRIEN: Community activist Alonzo Washington placed that newspaper ad that led to the final breakthrough in the case.
He joins us from Kansas City, Missouri.
Thank you for being with us, Mr. Washington.
Appreciate your time.
It was your work, in the end, that really resolved this case after so many years.
Now that the suspects have been identified, the mother and the boyfriend of the mother, who's now her husband, do you feel closure?
How are you feeling today?
ALONZO WASHINGTON, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: Well, I feel good that I was able to take a dormant tip that an anonymous tipster had been calling in that wasn't taken seriously. He sought me out. He saw my ad and he said, "Mr. Washington, I know that you began this movement and if I give you the information that I have, you will have a name for "Precious Doe."" And, you know, within a matter of days, we had a break in the case. And I feel good that we have a break in the case now.
O'BRIEN: The details that have emerged about this little girl's death are so upsetting. It appears that the suspects told police that after kicking the girl -- and I guess she was unconscious -- and not getting any medical treatment for her, which they could have done, they carried her body to a wooded area, took hedge clippers and cut her head off with the hedge clippers, left the body in the woods then decided to go back and get the head because they were concerned about the smell attracting attention. And the suspect, the male suspect, the boyfriend, says that the mother carried her daughter's head and brought it back.
When you hear these absolutely horrific details, I mean it's mind-boggling, isn't it?
WASHINGTON: Oh, 100 percent. You know, it's something -- you know, that's the mistake that they made. You know, when this case broke in Kansas City, there was no committees. There were nothing. And I came out as an activist saying I am charging the entire community to make sure we never forget about this crime. The fact that it was so grizzly, the fact that it was so grotesque, was the energy and the zeal that we needed to keep this case alive.
I mean over the years I had began to receive criticism and ridicule because they said, you know, Alonzo is becoming obsessed. He is maybe seeking attention. He's a media hound.
So I almost did not take that ad. But, you know, I stayed resilient and said, you know, this is for "Precious Doe." Because any child thrown away like trash like that, she needs every advocate that she can get. And with that ad, we cracked this case wide open and "Precious Doe" is no longer "Precious Doe." She's Precious Erica. And we're going to bring those evil people who did this to justice.
O'BRIEN: We're looking at this ad right now, Alonzo. And this is the ad that you ran on the fourth anniversary of the discovery of this little girl. When the tipster called you, it turned out that he was a relative. And as you sort of referenced before, he was very frustrated. He says he had given that tip before.
What had happened?
WASHINGTON: Well, I mean there -- he had given this tip. I think that the investigators really didn't take him very seriously. You know, when I gave it to them, they were telling me, you know, it was almost verbal judo back and forth with the police, because they were saying Alonzo, this tip is no good. They have five children. And I'm telling them, it's eight. I found that out. They're saying there's no record of an Erica Green. But I said this is a little child and this is a mother that had a number of suitors, you know, this -- there may not be a record of it. Let's look at it closer.
And, you know, when I gave the information over to the Oklahoma police, they immediately arrested them. And I had my tipster send me pictures of eight children and also some DNA. And from there, you know, from Saturday on into Wednesday night, you know, we got a crack in the case and it's resolved after four years.
And I think this case could have been solved last year, because, you know, the tipster said I saw your ads last year. I've seen you in the community. I've seen all these other people. And, you know, they just won't believe me. But I know if I get it to you, you're going to make it happen.
And I'm just glad that god used me as a vessel to make everybody know who "Precious Doe" truly is, Erica Green. I'm just so happy about that and I'm happy about pursuing justice in this case and I want to reach out to the other siblings to make sure they're safe. There's seven siblings. I don't want there to be another "Precious Doe."
So I'm just challenging all these people who were concerned about "Precious Doe" to extend their concern for those other children.
O'BRIEN: And maybe all small children, all little children who maybe aren't as watched as closely.
Alonzo Washington, good work.
Thanks for talking with us.
WASHINGTON: Thank you.
HEMMER: Good for Alonzo.
Eleven minutes past the hour now.
Let's shift our attention now to the weather.
Here is Chad Myers watching that.
What have you got your finger on there -- good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Well, the defense lawyers started their case in the Michael Jackson trial. Experts say the first two witnesses were strong. But could they end up backfiring anyway? We'll take a look.
HEMMER: Also, military service can take a toll on marriages. We know that. But some couples are coping after the advice on romance from the U.S. Army. A unique counseling program in our series today, "Battle Fatigue."
That's still to come this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Michael Jackson's defense team takes center stage. The first defense witnesses testified on Thursday, after the judge denied a motion to acquit the pop singer.
CNN's Rusty Dornin has more. (BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first two defense witnesses didn't hesitate. "Absolutely not," "No" and "Never." That was in response to whether they were sexually molested or inappropriately touched by Michael Jackson.
MARTIN KASINDORF, LEGAL ANALYST: It was a strong start, I thought, to the defense case, to bring on a very articulate young man who denied that, despite sleeping in Michael Jackson's bed on apparently dozens of occasions in several locations, denied that anything untoward or wrong or inappropriate sexually had ever happened.
DORNIN: Both young men say they slept in Jackson's bed countless times as children and as teenagers. They also contend they were together in Jackson's bedroom with former child actor, Macaulay Culkin one night.
During the prosecution's case, Jackson's former maid claimed she saw the first young man to testify taking a shower with Jackson, something the witness adamantly denied yesterday.
Under cross-examination, prosecutor Ron Zonen showed the first witness stacks of sexually explicit magazines and books belonging to Jackson. He repeatedly asked, "Do you think it's appropriate for a 10-year-old boy to be sleeping with someone who had these materials?"
The young man, now 22, replied, "If it was a man I didn't know, maybe. But not Michael."
JIM MORET, LEGAL ANALYST: There's something fundamentally upsetting about the idea of a 35-year-old man or a 45-year-old man sharing his bed with a young boy. And that may ultimately backfire on the defense.
DORNIN: Before the defense began its case, the attorneys argued charges should be dropped because they claim prosecutors hadn't proved their case.
District Attorney Thomas Sneddon passionately urged the judge to let the jury decide Jackson's fate. The judge agreed.
(on camera): The second witness told the court that both he and the first witness spent the night at Neverland the night before their testimony. Sources tell CNN the relatives of both witnesses are next up on the stand. They'll talk about what they saw at Neverland in the early '90s.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, Santa Maria, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
O'BRIEN: Actor Macaulay Culkin might take the stand today as a defense witness -- Bill.
HEMMER: Eighteen minutes past the hour.
In a moment here, some people suggest the media is running a bit out of control in this runaway bride story. The comics are getting plenty of material. Jeanne Moos on the lighter side of a woman on the run, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Here's Jack, the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Yes, a little fun on a Friday, Bill.
Tomorrow is the first and only time traveler convention to be held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Student organizers there argue that technically you only need one convention, since time travelers from the future can go to it any time they want.
The "New York Times" reports that organizers have roped off part of the MIT campus to be used as a landing pad for the time travel machines so that they don't crash into the trees or the dormitories.
Now, you'd think if they were smart enough to fly these things back here from some time in the future, they could avoid the trees, but the kids are being careful.
The question is this, if you could travel through time, where would you go?
Now some of your are writing and quibbling about the question should be when should you go. Just deal with it as where should you go. It's 8:30 and I ain't changing it now.
Bill in Colorado writes: "I'd become an assassin, travel back to the birth dates of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein and Idi Amin and smother them in their cribs."
John in Maine writes: "If I could time travel, I'd go back to the beginning of time, if possible, to see the start of religion and life. Did we come from a godlike spirit or from another world?"
Dana in North Carolina: "I would once a year, on April 15, go to the year 1900 to pay my taxes; to 1930 to buy my groceries; and then back to 2005 to get paid again."
And Dave in Nevada writes: "Your comment that travelers from the future can always attend the one conference is brilliant. Many years ago we saw a poster in Florida advertising a convention for psychics. My wife observed, 'Why do they need posters?'"
O'BRIEN: Very funny. I don't even think it's necessarily when would you go. It's really how would you like to go back as.
CAFFERTY: OK.
O'BRIEN: You know, as Andy Serwer said, you want to go back to the Middle Ages, but not as a serf. CAFFERTY: No. No. You want to be among the landed gentry.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Well, does the runaway bride story make you want to run away? Stay put long enough to hear CNN's Jeanne Moos' take on the media's fascination with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the kind of story where you expect the camera to pop out from behind the curtain, where cable coverage means talk of having the runaway bride's head examined, is split screen so we can examine her bizarre head.
REV. THOMAS SMILEY, LAKEWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH: She is receiving professional therapy.
MOOS: Where the catchall phrase "cold feet" gets cold water thrown on it in the statement Jennifer Wilbanks stayed up all night writing.
SMILEY: May I assure you that my running away had nothing to do with cold feet.
MOOS: But even though she says she was excited about getting married...
SMILEY: "And how I could not wait to be called Mrs. John Mason."
MOOS: The late night comedians aren't buying it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, COURTESY CBS/WORLDWIDE PANTS)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: John, listen to me. This -- you've got an out. This is a gift from god. Grab it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: All eyes have been on the eyes of the runaway bride.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO," COURTESY NBC)
JAY LENO, HOST: It's like mesmerizing. I wonder what other famous people would look like with those eyes. Like Martha Stewart. How would she look with them? You see what I'm saying? Or even President Bush, if he was that way? You see what I'm saying?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Some TV critics have gotten cold feet about the coverage. "The runaway bride has turned into a runaway television embarrassment," says the "Washington Post" critic, who also works for CNN. Cartoonists are lampooning the media's obsession. Forget real missing posters. What's really missing is legitimate news in the never ending, ad nauseam and pointless TV coverage of the Georgia runaway bride.
(on camera): Now, does this count as ad nauseam and pointless?
(voice-over): You bet. But it's hard to resist when the story is often most popular on news Web sites.
The runaway bride is now running away from the media. Reporters ask in vain, "Where is she?"
SMILEY: She is in a location that she is in.
MOOS: The runaway bride's head gear has become the equivalent of Martha Stewart's poncho.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, one knitting blogger has posted the pattern just recently. Here it is. Now you, too, can have your fashionable blanket to wear over your head when hiding from the media.
MOOS: And just as the poncho became a punch line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO," COURTESY NBC)
LENO: Show the interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM FOX NEWS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you still love her?
JOHN MASON: Absolutely. Yes. I, just because we haven't walked down the aisle, just because we haven't stood, you know, in front of the 500 people and said I do...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
O'BRIEN: Oh my god.
HEMMER: You liked that?
O'BRIEN: Yes, I did.
As you well know, and to update this story even further, Jennifer Wilbanks intends to "make amends" for the time and the money that was spent on the search for her. That's according to her lawyer.
HEMMER: And stay tuned to the tabloids over the weekend, too. There's another shoe dropping in this story.
O'BRIEN: Oh, who knows?
HEMMER: If it's true, it's out there. Check it out.
O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE).
HEMMER: In a moment here, hamsters, guinea pigs, they make nice pets. But cute and cuddly could also mean seriously sick, too. There is a new health warning out from the CDC and we'll tell you what that is, when we continue, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Get the latest news every morning in your e-mail. Sign up for AMERICAN MORNING Quick News at cnn.com/am.
Still to come this morning, military service often puts a strain on marriages. But thanks to romance advice from the Army, some couples are coping. We'll take a special look at a special program in our series "Battle Fatigue."
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: On a Friday morning, 8:30 here in New York.
And good morning.
Good to have you along with us today.
The government's putting out this warning that those cute little pets may be passing on a form of salmonella. And this type cannot easily be treated with antibiotics. In fact, there are a number of people going to the hospital as a result. So we'll let you know what you need to know in a moment on that.
O'BRIEN: Also, in our "Battle Fatigue" series, we're going to take a look at how the Army is getting into the marriage counseling business to help soldiers who have got stress returning from the battlefield.
HEMMER: And really successful, too, at it. So we'll get to that.
O'BRIEN: Yes, that was a real surprise there.
Let's get to the headlines first, though, with Carol Costello -- hello, again.
HEMMER: Hi.
COSTELLO: Hello.
Good morning, everyone.
Now in the news, President Bush says each generation has a responsibility to work to achieve peace. The comments came as President Bush heads to Europe. He left in the last hour. The trip is meant to commemorate 60 years since the end of World War 2.
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